“We are,” Grenade says, his voice tinged with pain and regret. “But I knew you guys would never agree to this. At least, not initially. I thought if I could just get you down here… reveal our intentions to the four of you at the same time… you would recognize what needs to be done for the greater good. I thought it would be easier to accept this way.”
“Well you were wrong, because we’re not helping you!” Boom Boom erupts, her fiery red hair whipping around in the gusting wind like lapping flames. “And we’re definitely not helping that psychopathic bitch!”
Boom Boom points a quivering finger at Klaxton, who scowls in response.
Grenade raises his hands and calmly says, “Boom Boom… Lance… Krystal… I know this is a lot for you to process, but…”
Unable to control my emotions any longer, I lunge toward Grenade and punch him in his face. My hand immediately erupts in pain. But it’s absolutely worth it. Just to see Grenade stagger back and grunt in pain, as blood pours from his busted lip, his eyes wide with shock and anger.
Not backing down, I scream in his bewildered face, “We fucking trusted you! And you used us for some insane, psychotic plan that has no chance to succeed! You had ‘delusions of grandeur’ about saving the world or some shit, and you put all of our lives at risk! For a fantasy, Grenade! That’s what this is! A goddamn fucking fantasy!”
I pull back my fist and punch Grenade again. Everyone around us starts murmuring to one another. But no one dares intervene. Not Boom Boom, not Krystal, not Klaxton, not River, and especially not any of the other natives. I think everyone’s too confused to do anything. Who’s the bad guy here? Me for sucker-punching some old-ass cyborg, or Grenade for manipulating everyone? I know where I stand, and that’s all that matters.
I punch Grenade again and again and again. But no matter how hard I hit him… no matter how many times I sock him in his battle-scarred face, he doesn’t fight back. He just takes my punches, wipes away the blood, and stares back at me with his creepy, glowing bionic eyes. And that just makes me even angrier. No matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to hurt the son of a bitch. Not physically, not emotionally… he pretty much is a robot now.
I throw a few more punches before I finally slump over and start crying. If I wasn’t so fucked up from all my drug use, I’d probably be able to keep my emotions in check. But withdrawal is a bitch. People who have never been hooked on heroin will never know what I’m going through. It’s like every cell in my body is on fire. Combine that with Grenade’s shocking act of betrayal, and you have the perfect storm for a full-blown mental breakdown.
“Damn you, Grenade,” I sob, collapsing into his arms. “Goddamn you…”
Instead of pushing me away, Grenade wraps his arms around me and gives me a hug. And even though half of me wants to continue pummeling him, the other half wants to accept his embrace. I almost want to believe that he’s still on our side… that he still cares about us. I’ve lost every other father figure I’ve ever had. Grenade was the only one I had left. If I lose him… then I’m just lost.
Boom Boom starts crying, too. “This is sick, Grenade! You honestly expect us to join forces with that monster?! She killed Arrow! And have you forgotten how she nearly brought us to the brink of nuclear war?!”
“Hey, I don’t want to work with you brats, either,” Klaxton says. “You destroyed my presidency and ruined my life!”
“You goddamn bitch!” Boom Boom screams. Before anyone can stop her, she hurls herself toward Klaxton and tackles her to the ground. They both start trading punches. Boom Boom gets a few good licks in, blasting Klaxton in the mouth quite a number of times. But Klaxton gives just as good as she gets, punching Boom Boom in the nose and right eye. Thankfully some of the natives pull the kicking and screaming women apart before they tear each other to pieces.
Grenade shoves me aside and roars, “ENOUGH!!!”
Everyone stops what they’re doing and turns to stare at Grenade.
“Do you idiots not realize what’s at stake here?!” he screams, shaking his bionic fist into the air. “Armageddon is upon us! As much as it may pain you to realize it, Klaxton is our last, best hope to stop the Chinese in their tracks. We are proceeding with this mission if I have to knock you all out and drag you back to Washington myself!”
Thiago raises his hand, prompting dozens of his men to aim their arrows and spears at Grenade. Grenade looks all around him and realizes he is facing a losing battle. He lowers his shoulders and heaves a heavy, defeated sigh.
“We discuss this in my hut,” Thiago says. “No violence. Anyone who not obey, they shot dead. Understand?”
The irony in Thiago’s choice of words is mind-boggling. No violence or you die. But his threat does the trick. We all follow Thiago into his hut, including Klaxton. I’m relieved when River enters the hut as well. I know she’s pissed off that I misled her. But the fact she hasn’t stormed off tells me there’s still a chance for reconciliation.
Thiago directs us all to sit on the ground around a low-lying table. I make sure to keep my distance from both Grenade and Klaxton. River sits across from me, beside her father. Much to my annoyance, Alex sits in between me and Boom Boom. Several of the natives stand guard in the back, clutching their weapons. I’m sure Thiago will make good on his threat to kill us if we get out of hand. I can only hope Klaxton starts acting all belligerent. It would be sweet, poetic justice if Klaxton were impaled with a spear right in front of her new buddy, Grenade. I’d love to see his ‘master plan’ go up in smoke as a result of Klaxton’s grisly demise.
Several of the native women pass out platters of baked fish along with more of the Caimito Amarillos and cups of murky water. Not surprisingly, no one eats or drinks anything (except for Krystal, who wouldn’t miss a meal even if the end of the world was upon us). Everyone glares at each other, gnashing their teeth and clenching their fists. The tension in the hut is almost palpable. It’s like there’s a massive powder keg right underneath us, ready to detonate at a moment’s notice. All it would take is one little spark. I’d bet all the gold in China that spark is coming any second now.
Thiago is the first to speak. “Talk. Make peace. Now.”
“Peace is impossible,” Boom Boom says quietly. “Not after what she did.”
Boom Boom and Klaxton exchange smoldering glares.
Grenade clears his throat for the umpteenth time that evening and raises his bionic arm. “Let me show you guys something. Hopefully this will knock some sense into your dense skulls.”
A holographic screen materializes out of Grenade’s arm. It’s a news report from back in the states. According to the date and time on the bottom, it’s from just a few hours ago.
The attractive female news reporter starts talking about the freefalling economy… how it hasn’t been this bad since the beginning of the Klaxton Administration. (I glance at Klaxton and notice she’s smiling smugly, like she feels vindicated.) I turn back to the newscast as images of bread lines flicker before us. The bread lines are longer than I’ve ever seen, and I’ve encountered some pretty long ones. Then I realize the bread lines are in supposedly ‘wealthy’ areas like Sanctuary 41. My mouth falls open in shock. If Sanctuary 41 has thousands of people waiting in line for food, then the situation must be absolutely horrendous everywhere else.
Images of stockbrokers and business people leaping out of skyscrapers are shown next. Apparently they can no longer find a purpose in life now that their fortunes have evaporated. Next up are heartbreaking images of entire families being evicted from the sanctuary cities. Families who worked hard all their lives so they could live in relative peace and prosperity, and now, due to the decimated economy, have nothing to show for their years of hard labor… and no money to pay their sky-high rent. I know for a fact most of these people won’t last long. Outside the sanctuary walls, the world is a cold, unforgiving, deadly place. They will be competing for scarce resources with sadistic murderers, rapists, con-artists, mobsters… no, they won’t
last long at all. Outside the sanctuary walls, there are no safety nets… just death and despair.
There are more images like this, each one worse than the one that came before it. Images of people rioting in the streets, over-running police barracades and unleashing anarchy. Hundreds brutally killed… countless thousands wounded… and this is happening in sanctuary cities all cross the country… not just the regular cities, the ones without the concrete walls to keep out all of society’s ills… these are the fortress cities that once meant safety and security, if you could afford to live there…. If the sanctuaries are falling… if their once impenetrable walls are on the verge of collapse… then all is truly lost. Could Grenade be right? Could Klaxton be the only one who can turn this madness around? I can’t believe that… I refuse to believe it…. But I also can’t ignore reality when it’s smacking me in the face. Is it really true that the only way to save our country from imminent collapse is to join forces with evil incarnate? To collaborate with the very person I’ve spent the past several months fantasizing about killing? I can’t believe things haven’t gotten so bad that Klaxton has become our only salvation. I refuse to believe it.
The next image rattles me more than all the others combined. Imperial Chinese warships off the coast of South America… not too far from us, actually. And not just one or two… not even a few dozen… but hundreds of them. Satellite images detail how the Chinese have smashed through our South Pacific defenses. About an hour ago they actually started firing missiles and rockets into Chile! Hundreds are thought to be dead… many thousands more wounded. All of our military outposts on the south-western border of South America have been taken out, giving the Chinese a clear pathway for an invasion. And that invasion is imminent. I look around the table and see everyone is as flabbergasted as I am. Klaxton is livid. Her mouth is open in a silent scream, and the veins in her neck are pulsating like crazy. She spent over two decades keeping the Chinese off our land, and in just a few short months LeBeau has negated all of her defensive gains. I look over at Boom Boom, and her mouth is agape as well. I wonder if she’s thinking what I am… that maybe Grenade is right… maybe we do need to coexist with Klaxton in order to fix this gargantuan clusterfuck of a situation. That would explain the tears sparkling in her aqua-blue eyes… the thought of working with her boyfriend’s killer.
The reporter ends her newscast by saying President LeBeau hasn’t been seen by the general public in weeks, even though the country is on the verge of going up in flames. Despite her best attempts to portray impartiality, the bitterness and anger in the reporter’s voice is hard to miss. Like everyone else, she feels betrayed by the so-called ‘leader’ who is supposed to be ‘leading’ us out of this mess. Cindy LeBeau may be many things, but she is no president. That much is painfully obvious.
The holographic newscast fizzles out and Grenade lowers his arm.
“LeBeau is a coward,” Klaxton hisses like a snake coiling up for a death-strike. “She is completely unfit to be president. She’s unfit to be an American! What sort of leader goes into hiding while their country burns?!”
I’m tempted to point out that Klaxton, in fact, did precisely that. But I figure I shouldn’t provoke her too much, considering she nearly strangled me just a few minutes ago.
Boom Boom slowly turns toward Klaxton and asks, “If you feel that way… if LeBeau is such a coward… why the hell did you make her your vice president?”
Klaxton glares at Boom Boom and bares her teeth, like she can’t believe a mere “citizen” would speak to her in such a manner.
In a deadly quiet voice, she says, “Because you stupid bitch, I didn’t want to have to fear a knife in my back while I was running the country. When I first became president 22 years ago, I decided it would be best to have a weak, passive vice president… someone who would never dream of challenging my authority. I thought that would be the best way to keep the peace… to keep America running. In order to have a unified, cohesive government. I needed people in my inner circle that I could trust… people who wouldn’t constantly attempt to undermine me for their own political gain. That’s how this country used to operate, you know. Democrats and Republicans, constantly at each other’s throats in an attempt to gain power and influence. Hell, at one point it got so bad you even had Democrats fighting Democrats and Republicans fighting Republicans. Back in the late 20th and early 21st century, our democracy was essentially broken. There was perpetual gridlock that prevented any and all progress. That’s what led to all the problems at the beginning of this century. No one would work together to get things down. I fixed that.”
“By turning our democracy into a dictatorship?” Boom Boom interrupts.
“By getting shit done, you fucking bitch!” Klaxton explodes, banging her fist on the table and rattling all of our untouched platters of fish and fruit.
Boom Boom smirks, finding immense pleasure in the fact that she successfully flustered the ‘Great and Powerful’ Klaxton. “Yes, well, you did such a wonderful job as dictator-president,” she says all condescendingly.
“Yes, I did do a great job,” Klaxton growls, the veins in her thin neck pulsating like crazy. “I brought this country back from the brink of collapse. It’s not my fault everything has suddenly gone to hell. That’s your fault! You can criticize my methods all you want, but they worked. Everything was working splendidly until you goddamn teenagers fucked it all up. You are the reason the country is in the state it is. You are the reason the Chinese are about to march onto our shores without so much as a single shot being fired. You did this, not me. You have damned us all!”
Unmoved by Klaxton’s heated outburst, Boom Boom responds, “I’m flattered you think I hold such incredible power and influence. But I think all those weeks hiding in the sweltering jungle have scrambled your brain. You seem to have forgotten that you were on the verge of inciting a GODDAMN WORLD WAR!!”
Boom Boom leaps to her feet, her anger getting the best of her. She marches over to Klaxton and towers over her, continuing her explosive tirade. “If we let you have your way, this entire world would be covered in ash! Your solution to fix the economy and break the back of the Chinese was to assassinate their empress… with a nuclear weapon!”
Klaxton scrambles to her feet and stands nose-to-nose with Boom Boom, seething with rage. Everyone else in the hut (myself included) watches the epic stand-off with bated breath. Thiago raises his hand, and several of his men make their way over to Boom Boom and Klaxton, ready to pull them apart if things get physical.
Talking in a much quieter but also more acidic voice, Klaxton says, “I was not trying to incite a nuclear war, you stupid cunt. It was going to be a proxy war. To help stimulate the economy. To energize our demoralized citizens. Make them stand up and fight for our country. Make them proud to be Americans. Make it so that the Chinese would see millions upon millions of heavily armed, patriotic Americans marching in the streets, singing our national anthem, mobilizing for war. That would have been enough to thwart a Chinese invasion. They are attacking now because they sense weakness… they sense a lack of patriotism… an apathy to fighting… an aversion to defending our homeland. That’s why they are attacking! They wouldn’t have dreamed of such a brazen assault if my plan had been allowed to come to fruition! They wouldn’t have dared to so much as behead one of our citizens on their own soil, let alone fire missiles into our cities!”
“Are you delusional?” Boom Boom cries. “How can you be so sure that your little ‘proxy war’ wouldn’t have transformed into a conflagration that would have consumed the entire world? You were going to assassinate their leader! WITH A NUCLEAR WEAPON!! How can you possibly delude yourself into thinking they wouldn’t retaliate in kind?!”
Speaking calmly and clearly, as if she were talking to a mentally challenged child, Klaxton replies, “There was no risk of my ‘proxy war’ growing out of control, you stupid, wretched girl. China wouldn’t have dared to fire their nuclear and antimatter missiles at us, just like
we wouldn’t have dared to fire back. The prospect of mutual annihilation was enough to avert a nuclear holocaust during the first Cold War. It would have been a similar deterrent for this new one. You forget that the Empress’ assassination was going to be staged in such a way that Rasputin and his rag-tag band of Russian terrorists would have been the ones implicated in the attack. The Chinese would have indubitably suspected our involvement, but they would never have been able to prove it. We would have had a few skirmishes, most likely out at sea or in Africa, and that would have been enough to end our crippling depression. Our country would have experienced all the economic benefits of being at war, without all the disastrous side effects. We’ve practically been at war all these years anyway; why not apply a little nudge and go all the way? A few battles here and there… lose a few, win a few…. The American People would have been motivated. They’d be working in factories, building guns and bullets and bombs. They’d have helped fortify our sea wall defenses. The depression would be over! Do you understand that? It would have been over by now if you just let me do what needed to be done! And after it was all said and done, after a few years of waging a half-assed world war, we could have finally had lasting peace with China. We would’ve signed some stupid peace treaty on some aircraft carrier in the North Atlantic. And then maybe… just maybe… we could have coexisted as equal super powers. They would control their hemisphere, and we would control ours. Sometimes you have to fight with your enemies in order to finally bury the bloodied hatchet. But no… you kids revealed my plans to the world. You sent me into exile. And now…”
World War Forever (Highway To Armageddon Book 2) Page 39