“What the fuck are you talking about?” Greg asked, his heart falling.
“We’ve been working for the Globalists this whole time. Everything we’ve done was to get Liam Hensen elected President,” Jared taunted him.
Greg did not reply, having a hard time swallowing the news that Jared had revealed. Jared continued. “So, you could run today. I bet there’s a clear path to the exit at this point, thanks to this goddamned ambush. But there is no escaping your fate, Greg. I’m going to chase you all over the country and hunt you down to make you pay for what you’ve done. Even if you leave the country, I’ll still come for you. I’ll have the full force of the United States government behind me. Just give up now. You can’t win.”
Greg was breathing heavily. The shocks of the day were starting to pile up heavily on him. First Veronica still being alive, then the revelation of the link between the Black Hand and the Globalists. There was only thing he could think to say, “Fuck you, Bennett.”
“As you wish. You’re only going to make this worse for yourself,” Jared replied.
A spray of bullets came through the ceiling, narrowly missing Greg. He stumbled down the hallway and went back downstairs, thinking only of trying to escape. Greg found an exit to the hallway and found that he was on the backside of the building, facing the water. He turned and went to the nearest alley and looped around towards the gunfire.
Greg saw Zach continuing to fire on the building. He waved at him, trying to catch his attention while not blowing his location to the Black Hand still within. Zach did not look right at him, but waved a hand at Greg, urging him forward. Greg obliged, moving forward slowly until he got around the side of the building. He ran for it at that point, getting behind the Continental lines.
“Fall back!” Zach shouted, continuing to fire on the building to keep the Black Hand from following them.
“We need to leave the city, NOW!” Greg shouted.
“Greg, are you sure?” Zach said. “What about Veronica?”
“She wasn’t there. It was just a setup, but Bennett moved her before we were even close. But we need to get out of the city,” Greg said. “I wouldn’t put it past Jared to try to stop us from leaving the city by calling in every Black Hand agent within on the island.”
“Okay, Greg,” Zach said. “We’re going.”
Jared looked out the window and saw that the Continentals had gotten away. “Did Carlton get away?” he asked.
“Yes,” one of his subordinates said. “Do you want to initiate pursuit?”
“Forward his picture to every agent in the city,” Jared said. “I want to know where he is going. I’m going to kill him myself.”
“Avoid the tunnels,” Zach said, looking behind them. “I’m not getting trapped in a tube with the Black Hand.”
“The bridges aren’t going to be any better,” David said.
“I’d rather take the bridges over the tunnels. We get out of Queens, cut across Lower Manhattan, then jet across New Jersey. Hopefully we shake the Black Hand before we cross the East River,” Zach said.
Greg remained silent as his military leaders plotted their escape from the city. “Well, that didn’t take long,” David said, looking out the side view mirror.
“Are they going to shoot?” Zach asked.
“Doesn’t look like it. It’s just a tail,” David said.
“We can’t open fire on them in the city,” Zach said.
“Do it,” Greg said suddenly. “That doesn’t matter anymore, just get them off our tail.”
Zach was confused, but not enough to interrupt his chance to fire on Black Hand soldiers. He leapt towards the back of the truck and opened fire on the enemy vehicle. The Black Hand soldiers clearly did not expect to be fired upon and swerved off the road and slammed into two other vehicles.
“Tail’s gone,” Zach said.
“Keep it that way,” Greg said. “If you see another Black Hand vehicle, do not waste any time and just fire on them.”
“Greg, what the hell is going on?” Zach asked. “We’re going to get in trouble with the Fed for getting into shootout with the Black Hand in the city. I got away with it the two other times because we were with the Army, but we are way out of line here.”
“In two days, it won’t matter,” Greg said. “Jared told me that they were working with the Globalists this whole time. Our relationship with the Fed is over. We just need to do whatever we need to do to survive now.”
Zach stared at Greg, his jaw locked in fury. “What do you mean, working with the Globalists?”
“It was all too perfect,” Greg said. “The Black Hand terrorizes the country and scares the voters into the Globalists’ waiting arms. It was just a power play by the Globalists. Didn’t you say that their plan was too controlling? Back in June? They’re going to use the Black Hand to realize that plan. Fuck, I bet they staged that abduction to gain popularity.”
Zach was breathing deeply. “We’ve got to tell everyone. We’ve got to warn them what’s coming.”
“What can we do, Zach?” Greg demanded. “We just need to make a break for Kansas City and try to figure out a plan when we get there. I just don’t know how we’re going to fight the Black Hand when they are going to have the full weight of the Fed behind them.”
Zach nodded. “Let’s just get the hell out of the city first.” He picked up his radio and said, “All Continental troops, fire on Black Hand soldiers at will. It does not matter if we’re in the city or not. Just fire at will.”
The various other trucks acknowledged the order. David asked. “Should we all split up?”
“No, we keep everyone together,” Zach said. “Every Black Hand agent is going to be on our ass and I’m not going to give them a bigger numbers advantage than they’ll already have.”
“Understood,” David said.
The Continental convoy got out of Queens without seeing any more Black Hand agents tailing them. For Greg, the quiet was unsettling. “Do you think they might be tailing us undercover?”
“It’s possible,” Zach admitted. “David, if you see anyone following us for too long, take out their tires. It may be a coincidence, so I don’t want you accidently killing a civilian.”
“Well, if that’s the case,” David said. He turned and shot out a tire on a car driving in his blind spot, sending the car careening into water barrels lining the road. “He’s been on my hip since Queens,” David explained, putting his gun on the dashboard.
A couple of bullets scraped the side of the truck. “Huh,” Zach said. “Good catch.”
“Aren’t you worried about the gunfire?” Greg asked.
“It was just from the car that David stopped. We pissed off a Black Hand tail, nothing else,” Zach said.
“Should we head further north into Manhattan, or just go straight for Jersey?” David asked.
“They probably know we’re heading west, so that’s where they’ll try to intercept us,” Zach said. “But the NYPD might come after us if we go further into Manhattan.”
“So which would you rather fight, the NYPD or the Black Hand?” Greg asked.
“There’s no guarantee we’ll get stopped by the NYPD,” Zach said. “Head north. It’s a risk we have to take.”
David obliged, turned north, and headed towards Midtown. No other vehicles were tailing them at this point, which indicated to Greg that they had made the right choice.
“Where do we cross the river?” David asked.
“Go all the way up to 287,” Zach said. “Then follow that highway until we merge onto 80 heading west.”
“Why so far north?” Greg asked.
“In case we get into another shootout. I want to be in an area with less people and going up to 287 takes around Newark instead of through it,” Zach explained.
More bullets hit the truck suddenly. Zach looked out the window and saw that they had originated from a nearby building. “That was from a stationary target,” he said. “But they know which direction we’re g
oing again.”
“As long as we don’t get into a knockdown, drag out, full on firefight, we should be fine,” Greg said.
“The Black Hand may be reluctant to do that here in the city, but the gloves might come off once we get on 80,” Zach said.
“Hopefully we just shake them before then,” David said.
It was a harrowing drive. Several times, Zach or Greg had been forced to fire on vehicles that had been following them for too long, but they did not get involved with the NYPD at all. Every few minutes, several bullets impacted the truck, but the steel casing of the truck held, not allowing the bullets to hit anyone within.
After what seemed like an eternity, the Continental convoy got across the Hudson River at Highway 287. The Black Hand apparently did not think they would cross the river there and had no one at the bridge to harass their crossing.
“Maybe they thought we were trying to make a break for Canada,” Greg said.
“Well, whatever the case, just fucking floor it,” Zach said.
David made his way west along 287 until they got to I-80. They merged onto the highway and headed west. There was no sign of the Black Hand as they continued west and Greg at long last breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
“We’re well out of the city now,” Zach said. “I think that sigh was warranted.”
Greg had not been sitting down the entire time they had been fleeing the city. He collapsed in a heap on the floor, utterly exhausted.
“Are you okay, Greg?” Zach asked.
Greg shook his head. “She never gave up on me,” he croaked, his voice choking up. “I left her behind, but she never gave up on me.”
“Veronica?” Zach asked. “Did Jared tell you that? He may have just been fucking with you.”
“I would’ve thought so too if I hadn’t seen that video,” Greg said hoarsely. “They have her after all, you know.”
Zach sighed. “I don’t know what to make of all that. But this Globalist connection…I…” he trailed off, at a loss for words.
Greg wiped a tear from his eyes. “I don’t know how I’m going to explain this to Ashley.”
Chapter Forty-Six
Election Day
A cold Canadian air mass swept across the country as the week of the election began. By Tuesday, it had swept from coast to coast and caused calm, clear weather across the nation. It was a perfect day for the tens of millions of Americans who had yet to vote to go out and do so. As dawn broke over the East Coast, thousands had already taken to the polls, eager to vote and bring a close to another long campaign season.
Liam Hensen did not rise early on Election Day. He got into New York late in the overnight hours after a rally in Florida. For the first time in nearly a month, he contented himself to sleep in and go vote later that day. Besides voting for himself, he only needed to attend his own victory party and that would not occur until later in the evening.
The sun snuck in through one of his blinds in the mid-morning hours, waking him as suddenly as if someone had shaken him awake. He stretched in his bed and picked up his nearby phone to look at the morning headlines. There was nothing of any special note; the voters were going to the polls in droves. Other than a couple of voting machine glitches, there did not appear to be any issues.
There was a knock at his door. Liam pulled on a shirt and got up, saying, “Come on in.”
Liam had expected Ryan to be there, but was surprised to see Jared instead. “How the hell did you find me?” Liam demanded. “Also, what the fuck are you thinking, doing here?”
“Relax, Hensen,” Jared said. “I don’t think there’s anything that can happen at this point that’ll fuck up this election for you.”
“In this age of instant communication?” Liam asked. “I don’t want to risk it.”
“Well, I’m already here, so there’s no point in worrying about it,” Jared said. “Did Julia tell you about my plan to take out the Continentals?”
“Yes, did it work?” Liam asked.
“No,” Jared said. “We got ambushed again instead.”
“Goddamn it!” Liam said.
“I wouldn’t worry about it,” Jared said. “They aren’t in New York City at all and there were only a few hundred of them anyway. There’s at least one hundred thousand Black Hand agents all over the country at this point. I think we can handle it.”
“Did you tell them about us?” Liam asked in a low voice.
Jared sighed. “I did. I don’t know what you’re worried about,” Jared continued as Liam groaned. “You’re going to be elected President regardless.”
“No, but public knowledge of our relationship will impact how we operate going forward,” Liam said.
“I suppose this is as good a time as any to tell you that I have the plans in place for the politicians that need some help falling into line,” Jared said.
Liam nodded. “Thank you, Jared. That’s good to hear.”
Jared bowed his head in acknowledgement. “I’m going to head out now. I’ve got most of the Black Hand looking for where the Continental bastards got off to.”
“Jared, can I borrow Julia?” Liam asked.
Jared looked annoyed as he said, “Why?”
“I just think that she would be able to be more effective with me instead of with your outfit,” Liam explained.
Jared glared at him suspiciously, but said, “If you give me Ryan.”
“What? Why?” Liam asked.
“If I’m going to let you have my second in command, then I want to have yours,” Jared said. “Simple as that.”
“Deal,” Ryan said as he walked into the room.
“Seriously?” Liam said.
Ryan shrugged. “I don’t know what good I would have done in your administration. I think I can take my talents over here to Jared and be useful with the Black Hand.”
“If that’s the way you feel,” Liam said uncertainly. “We can talk about this later. I have to go vote and you know the media will be all over that, so I need to get ready. Ryan, I’ll meet you at the victory party. Jared, whenever we can meet.”
Jared nodded. “I’m off to go hunting for some shitheads.”
The Black Hand leader walked out of the room. “What do you think you’ll be able to do with him anyway?” Liam asked.
“Make sure the Black Hand is organized properly so the plan can be carried out,” Ryan said. “I organized your entire campaign from the ground up. I’m sure I could do something as good with Jared’s outfit.”
“We’re going to be running an entire country in two months’ time,” Liam said. “You better get working on that first thing in the morning.”
“No, I’m taking a day off to relish the fact that I got someone elected President of the United fucking States,” Ryan said smugly. “It’s a matter of pride for me.”
“I can’t blame you for that,” Liam said. “But I really do need to get ready for the day, so if you’ll excuse me…”
By noon, Liam was at an elementary school in the Bronx that was designated as his voting location. There were a handful of reporters there simply to show that Liam had gone out and voted, much like they had for major Presidential candidates for decades. It was a simple photo op for Liam to be smiling and confident in front of the media on Election Day.
After the photo op, Liam went straight to the convention hall where his victory party was being held. He wanted to be on site to make a speech if and when he was declared President-elect. He would not be out on the main convention floor, but would instead by in a room near the floor watching every network he could along with a dozen laptops to track individual states as results came in.
After going to pick up some Chinese food on the way over, Liam arrived at the convention hall. The public had not been let into the building yet as the party was not due to start until 5 pm. The first polls would not close for another hour after that point and the networks would not start calling states for another hour after that.
Julia was there in the
information room waiting for Liam when he arrived. “I didn’t think that Jared would get you over here so quickly,” Liam said.
“He said that since we are about to transition over to the new regime anyway, then I might as well be over here,” Julia said, smiling widely. “I’m not really that upset to be leaving the Black Hand behind.”
“You won’t be leaving them entirely though,” Liam said.
“Close enough,” Julia said. “It’s enough for me.”
“So, what would you like to do all afternoon?” Liam asked. He looked around at the various screens that were already tuned into the cable networks. “I don’t know if you want to be watching election stuff all day.”
“I don’t mind,” Julia said. “I’m just happy to be here with you.”
Liam raised his eyebrows at that statement. “You’re really glad to be away from Jared, aren’t you?”
“You have no idea,” Julia said, sitting down in front of one of the laptops.
Liam sat down in front of her. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“I don’t know,” Julia said uncertainly.
“I’m not going to tell him,” Liam said. “I’m not his friend. He’s just someone I have to work with to achieve my ends.”
“Really?” Julia asked. “Why?”
“The Black Hand was always a means to an end,” Liam explained. “My, um, boss picked them out personally.”
“Your boss?” Julia asked.
“It’s kind of hard to explain,” Liam started. “But my boss noticed was looking through the street gangs across the nation to weaponize and grow to the point where we could use them to carry out the Globalist domestic program. I didn’t make the positive ID on Jared as a potential client, but somebody else did. My boss got into contact with the Black Hand and one thing led to another.”
“So when John accused Jared of working for somebody else, he was actually right?” Julia asked.
“Yes,” Liam said. “Although, Jared probably would’ve been smarter to let you all in the know about the connection sooner so as to prevent a disaster like Staten Island, but the Black Hand recovered nicely once we staged that abduction at my convention.”
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