by Joseph Storm
“Emma!” Stacey called out.
“Mom!” she said, as the two went to hug. Rock stopped her. “Don’t move!”
“Son!” Joe Striker called out.
“Don’t call me son! You’ve disgraced me!”
“You’ve disgraced yourself...and your mother’s memory by believing them. Siding with evil over good. There’s still time to change...search your heart. You’re not one of them...you’re a Striker!”
“That name will go down in history...as the man who betrayed his government!” Rock yelled, as he aimed the gun at his father, about to pull the trigger.
Boom! Suddenly, Rock’s eyes flipped upward. He dropped to the ground. Emma appeared behind him with a large rock in her hand. She had taken him out.
Stacey and Gunner ran towards their daughter. The three of them embraced, uniting the family again.
Joe retrieved his weapon from Rock’s hand. He took one last look at his son’s face, as disappointment covered him. “This isn’t over,” he said. “I know there is good in you...and I’ll return to make sure you find it.”
“Come with us!” Gunner said to Emma.
“I can’t.”
“Don’t tell me you believe in this shit too?” he asked.
“I believe in him,” she said, pointing to Rock. “In fact, I love him.”
“Really?” Gunner asked in disbelief. “What’s to love in that asshole?” He turned towards Striker. “No offense or anything.”
“No...you’re right...he’s an asshole.”
“I know his heart...it just needs to be healed. That’s all. I’ll tell him a prisoner took him out...he’ll believe me. Go on!” Emma said, as Stacey hugged her one more time. It was the most affection she had ever received from her mother.
Gunner approached her. “I finally get you back! Now I have to leave you again?”
“You never stopped searching for me before...don’t stop now. Take these people down...and know...your little girl will be waiting for you.”
“I won’t lose you again! You stay safe...kiddo!” he told her, as they embraced. For the first time in years, he felt like a father again. He felt alive.
“Let’s go!” Joe Striker said. They made their way towards the surrounding woods. More importantly, they made their way to freedom.
******
Leader Judas and Under-Leader Ben Arnold waited nervously in the Oval Office. Commander Xavier Sin entered. He turned on the hologram phone, revealing Mika Sorka at a desk.
Leader Judas nervously started talking, afraid that he was in trouble. “I rushed when I got the word, Mr. Sorka. I was fully briefed on the situation in the North Virginia camp. I give you my word, sir...we will redouble our efforts...triple the guard numbers at the other camps...”
“Silence!” Mika yelled. “In fact...this meeting has nothing to do with the camps...as they are no longer your responsibility. I am taking over the reigns...clearly you are not able to handle such a monumental task. Prepare for my arrival. I shall soon step upon American soil.”
“Excellent suggestion, sir. It will be wonderful to see you again!”
“Enough with the false pleasantries...this meeting has to do with something more than failed leadership.”
The look of extreme nervousness came over the two leaders.
“Please...do tell, Mr. Sorka,” Leader Judas begged him.
“One of you knows what sin I speak of,” Sorka said cryptically. “Commander...do the honors.”
Commander Sin pulled a gun from his belt, aiming it at Leader Judas.
“What? What is this?” Judas asked.
“We got the chip,” Commander Sin said.
“You did what? Why wasn’t it brought to me first...like I ordered?” he nervously asked.
Mika Sorka chimed in. “Rock discovered it...and will be responsible for destroying it.”
Commander Xavier Sin snarled in disapproval.
“With the chip...comes critical information. The access code of the mole has been discovered!” Mika Sorka said.
“It wasn’t me, sir...I...I...” Leader Judas pleaded.
“I know it wasn’t you...imbecile! It was the man...next to you,” he said, as Commander Sin turned the gun on Under-Leader Arnold.
“Never!” Ben Arnold proclaimed.
“It was a valiant effort Mr. Arnold...but the access number incriminates you. You may have guessed it would never end up in our hands...but you guessed wrong. The charade is over.”
“It’s impossible,” Ben Arnold said, though his own thoughts interrupted themselves. He looked at Leader Judas, and shouted, “You bastard!” He remembered back to the day when his superior demanded that he “lend” him his access code to the system. No explanation was given. It was just days before the election.
“But...we’re supposed to guard this with our lives,” he told Judas.
“Insubordination is no way to start out a partnership...is it, Under-Leader?” he stressed the word under. “This favor will be repaid with power...wealth. You have my word.”
“I’ll do it,” the once poor man said. He hoped to see the riches once promised him, but not received. Between the access code and constant accusations put into Mika’s head, Judas had set Ben Arnold up from the beginning.
“I always knew there was something suspicious about you. I just never knew you would go this far,” Leader Judas said, with a smirk on his face.
“Don’t I get a trial?” Ben asked.
“We are an equal opportunity government, Mr. Arnold,” Mika Sorka blurted out.
“What does that mean?”
“You get the same trial as any other criminal...guilty.”
“No!” he begged Commander Xavier. The gun was placed against the scapegoat’s head, and his brains were splattered against the wall.
Even though it was nothing new, Leader Judas wiped bits of skull fracture from his face. He gasped in fright at the sight. That could have been me, he told himself. The truth was, it should have been him, due to a dark secret hidden inside. It was one of vengeance, meant to bring justice to his past and freedom to his future. He was the one who aimed to destroy The Government Party before they could win the election.
Upon Simon Judas’s arrival in America, he managed to sneak in as many popular movies and books as he could. In most of them, a theme came up that was completely foreign to him. It was one which he was never taught: The American Hero. He studied every one that he could find, though they only seemed to exist in history books, comics, or John Wayne films. Are there no more American heroes? he asked himself. It wasn’t until he scanned archival newspapers that Joe Striker’s story reached out like a lifeline. It was titled All American Hero, and it told of his battle against an oppressive regime. He’s the one, Simon told himself.
Judas downloaded the government’s damning information, sending it out before Sorka’s weekly audit could reveal the breach. In the end, he was too late, opting to fully embrace his role in the government. He was too weak to fight them himself, and therefore had no other choice than to play his part.
His secret would die with Under-Leader Ben Arnold. Though unfortunately for Simon Judas, it would only lock his chains tighter. The last hurdle of the governments’ quest for immortality was cleared.
However, the leader’s anger still burned hot. I swear, if the opportunity ever arises again...I’ll take them all down.
******
A new day had come. The large group of newly freed prisoners briskly hiked for days, finding energy deep within their souls. They drank as much water as they wanted, ate small quantities of real meat, and headed deeper into the Shenandoah Mountains. They set up a temporary camp near a river, where fish were in abundance. Each person sprawled out in the frosted, trampled weeds, taking up as much space as their bodies allowed them.
“Are you sure about this, kid?” Gunner asked Joe. “I mean...we finally have the army you talked about. We’re going to make that assault on the arsenal...and do it right this time.
”
“I’ll get word to you when the time is right. Until then...scout...train...rest...and heal,” he said, looking over at a depressed Becky Fox.
He placed his arm around her, “Especially you. Don’t worry about me.”
“I find my destiny...and he runs off into the danger zone? What luck I have!”
“It’s something I have to do...for Jenny. For my son. For our future. The local forces are in disarray...if there’s a time to infiltrate them...it’s now.”
“I know you’re right,” she said. “I just wish we had some time together...as a couple. Just promise me...you’ll be careful. Don’t be a hero, Joe Striker. Not this time.”
“You know that’s hard for me to promise...but I’ll try. I’ll make you a deal...I’ll come back safely...if you grow your hair back.”
“Deal,” she said emphatically.
Next, Joe moved to Father Tyme. “God speed,” Francis said. “He’s with you always, even when it seems he isn’t. And remember, son...you were born to lead...not follow.” Joe smiled at him, not embracing or denying the challenge.
“Well, kid...I guess this is goodbye,” Gunner said, as he made his way over, punching Joe in the arm.
“This is only goodbye for now,” Joe said. “You’re in charge...don’t do anything I wouldn’t.”
“Now why would I do that?” he asked sarcastically. “Keep an eye on my little girl...will ya, kid?”
“You can count on it.”
“Someday...we’ll sit down at a real bar...have a drink and laugh about this whole thing,” Gunner said in hope.
“There’s nothing more American than that,” Joe Striker said with a smile.
“To the underground,” Gunner said, as he held up a makeshift cup of water, pretending it was a beer.
Joe placed the black ski mask of the Elite Authoritarian Guard over his head, holding up his own cup of river water.
“To saving my son. From the government....and from himself.”
###
Table of Contents
Book I
PART II
PART III
PART I
Chapter 2 - The Government
Chapter 3 - The Package
Chapter 4 - The Trap
Chapter 5 - The Burial
Chapter 6 - The New Order
Chapter 7 - The Twitch
Chapter 8 - The Second Phase
Chapter 9 - The River
Chapter 10 - The Chase
Chapter 11 - The Journey Home
Chapter 12 - The Ambush
Chapter 13 - The Final Phase
Chapter 14 - The Experiment
Chapter 15 - The Reunion
Chapter 16 - The Plan
Chapter 17 - The Revolt