A Democracy Fallen

by Matthew Savage

  “How did they manage to steal them?” Sarah asked and she could tell Orson was interested in this fact also because he sat up as if to listen better.

  “I heard something about knocking out an air tower. I am not sure where but what it seems is that most of the Midwest has been knocked out so all flights have been grounded. At least that is what I heard. I think they are moving all the flights around that area.”

  “They must have destroyed the air control tower,” Orson said knowingly

  “Why do you say that? Sarah asked.

  “The only way to disable that much air traffic is to destroy the tower. Unless they cut all power to the tower but that is risky. They might be able to repair it by the time they get all the planes in the air.”

  “I don’t think the tower was destroyed. From what I heard from people talking is that they didn’t want to make it seem like a terrorist attack. Senator Powell said that if we make it seem like we are attacking the American People, then President Marshal can use that against us. I think they used some sort of electromagnetic pulse bomb to disable power for some time.”

  “That is good thinking on our part,” Orson said. “We are treading water when it comes to how fast things can turn against us. Right now the government is the one everyone mistrusts. Until this movement really gets going then we will need the people's support. Some might think that the government is the lesser of two evils.”

  Sarah had never really thought about this. Orson and Ian talked tactics while Sarah’s mind wandered. Since the incident in their restaurant back home, she had considered the Democratic Insurgence to be better than the government. It had never crossed her mind that maybe other people would think they were the bad guys. She knew she was on the right side. After hearing what Jake had said about, the Security Bureau taking people against their will to work for them. She knew that the Insurgence would never do that. Her thoughts were cut off when there was a knock at the door. Sarah got up from the bed and answered it. It was Steven and he was joined by Detective Foster.

  “I didn’t think you would mind if he came with us,” Steven said juggling the MREs.

  Sarah had almost forgotten how hungry she was. She helped Steven and everyone found somewhere to sit and started eating. It was quiet in the room as Sarah, Steven and Orson ate. Detective Foster introduced himself to Ian and took a seat at the table.

  “You found a room I suppose?” Orson asked.

  “We did. They got us in a temporary room and gave us some food. Cerina had most of mine. Command is still trying to find out where to put us. Some people in high command, which I think is the Senator, said they don’t want pregnant women in a war zone.”

  “I can’t say I blame him,” Orson said after swallowing a large bit of food.

  “I don’t either but after what happened in Chicago I doubt I will be able to go anywhere. We are most likely wanted for sure.”

  “We have isolated areas where wanted civilians who can’t fight hide. We got a lot of them for helping up but getting captured. So we would relocate them until we can find them a new identity and try and get them back in society. I think most so far are staying there.”

  “Where is that at?” Sarah asked. She had never heard of any place like this before.

  “I think it is in the Senator’s home state.”

  “Oregon?” Detective Foster asked.

  “At least that was the rumor,” Steven said. “If I remember correctly we were going to take you and Nolan there.”

  “Really?” Sarah asked.

  “Complications arose and things changed,” Orson added with a chuckle.

  “To say the least,” Sarah said. She felt a little tinge of pain at how light-hearted Orson’s remark was.

  Orson must have sensed it and backtracked. “I didn’t mean to make it sound like that.”

  “I know you didn’t,” Sarah said.

  Everyone had finished eating. Sarah gave her dessert to Ian and he was really excited about it. Sarah’s mind wandered as everyone made small talk. She wondered how long the interrogation would go. Was this something that could take days? She was hoping that it would be fast. If this place was half as bad as Jake made it out to be then if they were going to save her father it would have to be done soon.

  It was around an hour later and the team was getting tired. Steven had laid down on the bed and was sleeping next to Sarah who was sitting talking to Ian. Orson and Laurence were both playing some sort of card game when the door clicked open. Nolan walked into the room in a rage.

  “I don’t fucking believe it!” He yelled. Beginning to pace. Sarah could see the large bags under his eyes. “They aren’t going to let us get him.”

  “What?” Sarah said outraged. “Why not?”

  “Command said it was too risky. They said doing a raid on the prison wasn’t worth it.” He paced around the room like he wanted to hit something. “They literally said that! It isn’t worth it,” Nolan mocked.

  “I have to say,” Orson said in a calm voice and at this Steven stirred and sat up. “I didn’t think they would approve it.”

  “Why the hell not?” Nolan asked as if to take some of his rage out on Orson.

  “It isn’t worth it to them. What we gain needs to be large if they are going to make an open attack.”

  “We wouldn’t attack, we would…”

  Nolan was cut off by Steven, “It would be an attack. There is no way to go into a place like that and it does not turn into a fight.”

  “Steven is right.” Orson adding “The high command isn’t ready for a big fight. Our support is still up in the air. The target they choose to be the first will have to be important if they are going to win over the people.”

  “This place is a nightmare though. It is a prison that doubles as slave labor.” Sarah said. “We all heard what Jake said.”

  “The problem is these are people who are thought to be terrorist and traitors to the United States,” Steven said in a sympathetic voice. Sarah knew he was trying to reason with him. “Think about what we did during the war in the Middle East. No one cared how many we imprisoned or slaughtered. After the attacks on Miami and Los Angeles. People didn’t blink an eye after we rounded up suspected terrorists. If it made them safe they bent the rules.”

  “Which is what got us into this situation in the first place,” Nolan said.

  “Nolan, you are right,” Laurence said. “That is what got us here. It is that thinking that got me to join up with Neil. We weren’t going to let the fear of being attacked stop us from being an American. We have rules and no matter what happened we don’t break those rules because they mean something. I took an oath when I served in the army and when I became a cop. Protect this country from foreign and domestic attacks. That attack is now coming from our government, which has turned against its people. That is what the people need to learn.”

  “How do you expect them to do that?” Orson asked. “I get it. I am here to fight too but we need to make sure we can win. If we turn into terrorist them we might as well give up because even if we win the American people will never be with us.”

  There was a knock on the door and this seemed to bring Nolan back to reality. He walked to the door and opened it. Captain Underwood and Mary were there along with Director Moore. Nolan let them in and all three stood and looked around the room at everyone sitting there.

  “I suppose judging by all of your expressions and Nolan’s yelling,” Captain Wilson started. He looked at Nolan for a moment before he spoke again. “You all heard that high command has denied our request to go into The Fortress.”

  “We have, sir,” Sarah said doing a much better job at holding her anger than Nolan had done.

  “They said that this operation would be not worth the risk. This is a heavily guarded prison. The word of someone who was forced to work there against their will isn’t a strong argument for why it is possible to get in.” Captain Underwood took a moment and looked everyone in the room in the eyes. “We nee
d to stand with our people. That is something our government is not doing. They don’t care about the people they govern. They care about power and keeping it. Which is not why we are here. We are all here because we believe in making this country better. We stand with each other which is why we are all here now. We are supporting each other. We don’t abandon our comrades.” He looked at Director Moore who nodded at him. “Which is why the two of us, decided that we are going to get Neil anyway.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  The Senator’s Surprise

  Nolan stood shocked, he couldn’t have heard that right. Captain Wilson Underwood was going to defy high command’s choice to go into The Fortress. Nolan had been so angry when he came back to the room. When Captain Underwood was speaking he thought he must have misheard.

  “How do you plan on doing this if we don’t have permission?” Steven asked.

  Director Moore stepped forward. “We steal the aircraft we need and go. The Fortress is in the area that is a blackout for air traffic. Which means as long as we go immediately we can be undetected.”

  “We are stealing aircraft and going against command,” Orson said and sat up straight.

  “I can’t make anyone go. Mary and I decided we will be going. We figured Sarah and Nolan would be in.” Captain Underwood said.

  “We are.” Sarah and Nolan said together.

  “It is up to the rest of you if you wish to join.”

  “To save Neil, of course, I am in,” Laurence said.

  “I am not going to miss a fight,” Steven said excitement in his voice.

  “I won’t be the only one staying behind,” Orson said with a grin.

  “I am going to come too,” Ian said.

  Nolan had forgotten he was here and apparently so did Captain Underwood when he looked at Ian. Nolan knew he was considering what to do. Ian had heard what they were going to do, Captain Underwood most likely didn’t trust Ian to not give them up to command.

  “You can’t come, Ian. I know how Senator Powell feels about you. If we make it back we will be in a lot of trouble. I don’t think I could talk my way out of it if you came with us. You are also not a part of my unit.”

  “But you need people. Steven said it himself. There is no way you go in there and it does not turn into a fight. I went through training just like everyone else.”

  Nolan could tell that Captain Underwood was thinking about what to do. Ian was so young he thought to himself. He shouldn't be in a war zone. Captain Underwood couldn’t seem to make up his mind so Director Moore did.

  “You are right,” Director Moore said. “You are a soldier like the rest of us. I will allow you to join. The Senator’s anger will be on me when that time comes.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Ian said excitedly.

  “I don’t mean to be the one who doubts this mission,” Orson spoke up. “But how are the seven of us supposed to take on this prison?”

  “It doesn’t have to be just us,” Ian said. This surprised everyone. “We could gather up people who would be willing to go.” Ian looked around as if everyone was thinking this. “We all know people who would be willing to help. We have several helicopters and planes in the hangar.”

  “That is risky.” Captain Underwood said.

  “I am sure the people who trained with us would come help,” Sarah said.

  “I'll talk to the guys I trained with,” Steven said. “They all are apart of our army so they have been waiting for a fight.”

  “If we have people we could cause a distraction and enter on the opposite side of the prison,” Orson said.

  “You need the people Will,” Director Moore said. “I don’t like the idea of involving loads of people but having more people improve the odds of success.”

  “It is against my judgment.” Captain Underwood paused thinking before giving in. “Alright wake up who you can right now. We need to leave as soon as possible.”

  “I am going to use your phone to call Cerina and let her know I am leaving.”

  “That is fine. Sarah and I will wake up Aaron and Evan.”

  “I will try and get Karli,” Ian said and rushed out of the room.

  Mary and Captain Underwood followed. Steven and Orson discussed who they will try and get as they left the room. After Laurence was off the phone, Nolan, Sarah, and Detective Foster made their way to the elevator and down several floors. They stopped at Aaron and Evan’s floor. They moved fast while being careful not to make too much noise going down the hall. When they found Aaron and Evan’s room they knocked. The first knock Nolan did was quiet. He didn’t want to make too much noise but still wanted wake them. His second knock was harder. Nolan could hear stirring in the room and someone moving towards the door. Evan answered the door and Nolan could tell was surprised to see him, Sarah, and Laurence. Who he didn’t know and now they were standing there.

  “Do you all have any idea what time it is?” Evan said his voice hoarse from waking up.

  “We do.” Nolan started “But we need a favor from you and Aaron.”

  “What kind of favor?” Evan asked.

  “Who is it?” Asked a voice from the room and Nolan recognized it as Aaron’s.

  “Can we come in?” Sarah asked.

  “Fine,” Evan said and grudgingly let them in.

  Aaron sat up when he realized people were in his room and seemed to awaken when he realized who was there. “What are you all doing here? Who is that?” Aaron said pointing at Detective Foster.

  Nolan and Sarah filled them in on everything that had happened since their training together. Nolan explained that their father was being held at this place called The Fortress. He explained how they were told they couldn’t go, then explained how Director Moore was going to let them go and try and get him back. For a moment after they had finished Nolan wondered if they were going to come with or turn them in. To his surprise, they both stood up.

  “We’ll get ready,” Evan said.

  “I know a couple guys who I can wake up and they’ll help us,” Aaron said and got ready and rushed out the room.

  “So now what?” Evan asked.

  “Now, we need to steal weapons and aircraft from the Insurgence,” Laurence laughed.

  They all laughed at how nonchalant he had been. Evan finished getting ready and they headed for the elevator. The doors opened and Aaron was standing there with eight other people. He did a brief introduction. Nolan was trying to remember names but he was overwhelmed with the people and what they still had to do.

  Sarah was trying to fill everyone in, about what was going to happen. The group was quiet, asking minimal questions as she talked. The elevator reached the bottom and the doors opened. Nolan checked to make sure the hall was empty, and the group hurried towards the hanger.

  “Where are we meeting Captain Underwood?” Sarah asked.

  “He didn’t say,” Nolan said feeling concerned about where he could be.

  “Psst,” A voice whispered.

  Nolan’s heart stopped until he saw Captain Underwood signaling to come by him. He was at the entrance of a small hallway which Nolan knew led to the armory. The group headed towards Captain Underwood who told them to go down the hall to the others. Nolan and Sarah paused to talk to the Captain.

  “You guys did well. Steven brought fifteen people. Orson got seven and we are still waiting on Ian.” The Captain said doing the math on his hand. “Oh, and Director Moore woke up some of the other Intelligence teams that are here. So that leaves us with about forty-five people.”

  Mary came down the hall and told them that they made it into the armory and had started stocking up. They were discussing their plan for how to get the aircraft they needed. As they talked Ian showed up with five people which included Sergeant Wolf, Karli and Corporal Clearwater. Who by Nolan’s observation had been promoted to Sergeant.

  “Absolutely not!” Mary said walking up to her sister.

  “Why not?” Sergeant Clearwater fired back.

  “It is too dang
erous and you are not going,” Mary said and crossed her arms as if that made it final.

  “You can’t stop me.”

  “You want to bet?”

  The two were nose to nose now.

  “We need everyone we can, dear.” Captain Underwood said.

  “Thank you, Will.” Sergeant Clearwater said.

  “Sue this is not a debate. You are not coming.” Mary said in a firm voice.

  “You go on dangerous missions all the time. Have I ever stopped you? Do you think it doesn’t make me worry when you are gone cause, guess what? It does!”

  At this Mary seemed like she wasn’t sure what to say. She looked at Captain Underwood for a moment as if to tell him to join in on her side. Wilson was silent and made a face as if saying ‘She made a good point’. Mary sighed.

  “Well get some weapons,” Mary said giving in and nodded her head to tell her sister to go to the armory.

  The rest of the people Ian brought followed. Karli smiled and blushed as she walked past Nolan while Ian ducked his head as he made his way past Mary. She glanced at him but Ian didn’t make eye contact. As Sergeant Wolf walked past he gave Sarah and Nolan pats on the back. Nolan was pleased he was there. It gave him pride that so many people, most he had never met, all came to help. Captain Underwood told them both to get ready in the armory.

  They walked into the large room that kept all of the weapons for the Insurgence. Nolan was in awe of the people who were loading weapons and extra magazines. People were helping each other find vest that fit and deciding what kind of gear they would need to bring. Nolan knew that most of these people had never seen combat, himself included. He hoped that everything would go according to plan. He had the terrible feeling that some of these people might not make it back. Nolan brushed it from his mind and started grabbing what he thought he might need. With every piece of equipment, he prepared he felt more and more anxious. He knew that he was going to see his father soon. He wondered if anyone had any medical equipment in case his father was hurt. Then it dawned on him, many people were going to get hurt in this raid. Again he put it from his mind and tried to focus on the task at hand.