by Adam Yoshida
"You want to strip the defenses of Chicago?" asked the High Commissioner with a note of incredulity in his voice.
"They don't seem to be moving on this front," said the Minister, "and if they encircle us, we're as good as finished anyways. We have political support here, but not enough to re-fight Stalingrad on the streets of Chicago."
The High Commissioner looked down at his desk for a long minute before speaking again.
"You'll have to let me think about this one, Minister," he finally said.
"Very well," said Minister Ransom in response as he nodded and walked out the door. As soon as the door closed behind him, Ransom turned to one of his aides.
"Cut the orders, but be quiet about it," he said.
Near Camp David, Maryland
The driver of the Cadillac SUV had never seen it coming. The former Secret Service vehicles left at the disposal of the security force that had been left at Camp David had been allowed to run down during the months since the advent of the FNAS. Only a handful of them had proven to be drivable when the orders had come from above to bug out before any of the high-value detainees held there fell into the control of the government of the United States. As a result, instead of travelling in a motorcade of more than a dozen vehicles of various types, President Kevin Bryan and his guards had been travelling alone when an ex-Soviet rocket-propelled grenade struck the front window of the SUV. The up-armored vehicle survived the impact, but the shock of the impact was enough to stun the driver, who reflexively turned the vehicle to the right, sending it tumbling over along the side of the road.
A dazed Kevin Bryan had barely managed to process what had happened when he first caught sight of the guns.
"Who the fuck are you?" he asked, finishing his question with a long, hacking, and productive cough. He raised his sleeve to his mouth and wiped away some blood.
The handful of men in front of him stopped for a moment, slack-jawed. They were wearing a motley mix of military and quasi-military uniforms.
"We're members of the Maryland Volunteer Defense Force," one of the men finally said before falling silent once more.
After a pause of several more seconds, one of the men stopped and turned to face Bryan once more.
"You're Kevin Bryan," he said flatly.
Off to Bryan's right one of the other men who had been in the SUV began to crawl forward. One of the militiamen saw the movement and responded to it by calmly raising his rifle and opening fire. The three-round burst killed the wounded man instantly.
"I am," said Bryan, attempting to sound defiant.
"Then you, sir," said the man who appeared to be in command, "are under arrest in the name of the people of the United States."
Rickover-Chan Campaign Headquarters, Colorado Springs, Colorado
"Just over two weeks to go and we're down by seven points," said the campaign manager, "the trend in not favorable to us."
"I know it," said Ira Skelton, "but what do you want me to do about it?"
"You're the fucking Chief of Staff," raged the campaign manager, "get him out of his cocoon and get him campaigning."
"He's the Commander-in-Chief in wartime," said Skelton, "he can't just leave and head out on a ten-state swing."
"Well, tell him - he hasn't called me back in forty-eight hours, by the way - that he's not going to be the Goddamned Commander-in-Chief much longer if he doesn't get off his ass and work to save his job."
Skelton sighed deeply.
"Is there anything hopeful that I can take back. Something, at least, that will soften this news?"
"It's the war that's really killing us. People are tired of it and not sure if they agree with continuing to fight because they don't really see an exit strategy. Win the war before Election Day and I think that, maybe, we can pull it off. But we'll be swimming against the tide."
Temporary Seat of the Government of the United States, Colorado Springs, Colorado
"I want to see Washington," said Acting President Terrance Rickover.
"Mr. President," replied General Monroe, "we haven't even actually entered the city itself yet. There's an ungodly mix of militia forces, remnants of the FNASA, and even some other foreign forces still fighting there. Never mind a civilian population that wasn't exactly friendly even before we dropped a thousand tons of bombs in their midst."
"Quite accurately," pointed out Mark Preston.
"To be sure," agreed General Monroe, "but there were still - and will still be - misses. The situation is incredibly dangerous and, furthermore, the military commanders on the ground need to be focused on consolidating the situation."
"That isn't how General Mackenzie sees it," noted the Acting President, "I would be travelling, after all, at his invitation."
"I'm aware of that, sir. However, I should add that while General Mackenzie is certainly in command of the Army of Northern Virginia, he doesn't necessarily have - nor has he sought - the unanimous backing of his commanders in making his own public pronouncements."
"I can think of no more powerful signal to the American people that this war is coming to an end - to a victorious end - than to see the Federal Government restored to the national capital," insisted Rickover.
"Hold on, hold on," said Secretary Simpson, "do you mean to say, Mr. President, that you intend to relocate our operations to Washington, DC in the immediate future?"
"I don't deny that some infrastructure that we've set up here in Colorado and elsewhere will have to remain here for the immediate future - and that some of it might not be better off left where it is on a permanent basis - but at the very least the President of the United States should be in the White House."
"But, sir," said General Monroe, "we haven't been in Washington in two years. We have no idea what the condition of facilities there will be when we get there. We don't know whether or not they'll be functional - let alone secure and safe."
"All that I need to execute my duties at the present time," noted the Acting President, "will be a secure internet connection. You've been able to provide that for our forces in the field, including General Mackenzie who is, at my last count, roughly fifteen miles from the White House."
"I just don't think that this is a prudent move, sir," said Ira Skelton, finally breaking his own silence.
"Fuck prudence, Ira," shot back the Acting President, "action and activity are what this moment requires."
The men around the table fell momentarily silent, some looking away.
"Make it happen, gentlemen," said Rickover, "that's an order from the Commander-in-Chief."
"It'll take some time, sir," said General Monroe, "even after we take control of the city."
"I recognize that," said Rickover, "I'll give you ten days. In that time I am going to address the nation from the White House."
Author's Note
I don't know if there's a "law" with someone's name on it about this phenomenon, but epic tales are easy to start and hard to finish. "The Second Civil War" began just over two years ago (as I have previously related, I began to write it around the 2012 Presidential Election) and it is coming to a conclusion around twenty-six months later. What was originally conceived as a two-book "quick" series to be written while I researched Middle Eastern Christianity for a hypothetical work entitled "The Tenth Crusade" is now projected to cover five volumes in total with a projected final word count for the combined edition of somewhere in the range of 350,000 words.
The fifth and final volume of the main series (there may be a sequel series some day. I won't say never) is to be entitled "A Just and Lasting Peace" and the good news is that it should be due in the immediate future. I hope to have it out by December at the absolute latest, as it really only requires the completion of one major section and some editing.
Adam Yoshida
Vancouver, British Columbia
November 10, 2014
About the Author
Adam Teiichi Yoshida is a columnist and blogger whose work has been published in multiple f
orums, including the National Post , Washington Times , Insight Magazine , and The American Thinker . He is the author of multiple novels.