by Robert Boren
“Why?” asked Lieutenant Fauré. “What difference does it make?”
“I’m interested to see how he reacts.”
Lieutenant Fauré sighed, pulling out his phone, loading the browser, then going to the 8chan standings. “Look at the reads on your articles.” He held the phone out, Craig straining against his chains to see, his eyes getting wide. There were twelve million reads of his first article, and eight million reads of the second one, with almost a million comments.
“Wow,” Craig said. “John was right. We’re gonna bury you guys. The people will take you down. That second article went up this afternoon.”
“Don’t hit him again,” Sean said. “We’ll need pictures when he’s brought in. People need to recognize him.”
“The detention center won’t have good enough security,” Lieutenant Fauré said. “I’ll bring that up with Dunton’s chief of staff.”
“Traitors,” Craig muttered under his breath.
“Watch your mouth,” Lieutenant Fauré said. “I don’t have to take Sean’s advice.”
“You’d better,” Sean said. “You don’t out-rank me, and you’re on thin ice for the other thing. I’m surprised you’re still in uniform.”
“Shut up about that.”
“Uh oh, what’d you do?” Craig asked.
“I said shut up. Both of you.”
Sean chuckled. “This moron gave the order to shoot prisoners in Penn Wynne.”
“Dammit, Sean, I’ll report you.”
“I’ll take it under advisement,” Sean said. “It’s your fault that we had to pull the Peacekeepers out.”
Craig snickered. “Oh, I don’t know, Peacekeepers misbehaved in New York as well. Notice the spanking their getting in California, at the hands of citizens?”
Lieutenant Fauré moved towards Craig.
“Sit down, you moron,” Sean said. “If you make a martyr out of this one, they’ll shoot you dead.”
Lieutenant Fauré growled, sitting down. “How long till we get there?”
“Thirty-five minutes, give or take. Why don’t you relax? Nothing this guy can say will hurt you. Don’t take the bait.”
“You’re baiting me more than he is,” Lieutenant Fauré said. “I’ll discuss it with the CO.”
“Do that. I’d love to get off this lousy detail.”
“What lousy detail?” Craig asked.
“Rounding up resistance leaders.”
***
The intel room in the Manhattan bunker was buzzing with activity, Albena gathering more user IDs for the MVS. Penko was monitoring cameras in Queens and the Bronx, which were getting back to normal. Taylor and Laleh were helping, as was Tad and Kinsey. Chief Harvey and Mayor Fine walked in, with Jean, Kate, and Julio.
“Seeing any activity around the checkpoints?” Chief Harvey asked.
Albena turned towards him. “The first twenty have been dismantled, but there’s forty to go. The NYPD is out in force, which is good, although the protesters still show up to throw rocks and bottles here and there.”
“After all that’s happened,” Jean said, shaking her head.
“Things are better, though,” Penko said. “The subway is up and running everywhere north of Central Park.”
“We need to get out of here,” Mayor Fine said. “Jean, see if Jared is available, please.”
“Yes sir,” she said. “You want to take it in here?”
“Sure, unless he would rather do it in the private call room.”
“Okay,” Jean said, turning to her station, placing the call.
“The state hasn’t sent forces here yet, at least,” Taylor said, “and there are no UN Peacekeepers around at all now, except for the UN Headquarters compound.”
“How many are there?” Julio asked.
“That I can see, less than a thousand,” Albena said.
“Jared is coming on,” Jean said.
“Hello, all,” Jared said over the room speakers. “Sorry I’ve been so busy. What can I do for you?”
“We’d like to get topside,” Mayor Fine said. “I was wondering if there is space in the building above us.”
“There is, but I have an alternate suggestion,” Jared said. “We have several more complexes in the city with bunkers and offices above. It would be better to move you to one of those. We need to protect the bunker you’re in. It’s central, and has the most capability.”
“That’s fine with me,” Mayor Fine said. “Where would you suggest?”
“Lexington and 118th Street,” Jared said. “That’s close to NYPD’s Precinct 25.”
“That would work for me,” Chief Harvey said. “I know that facility. I could easily run the department from that building, and it’s got an emergency bunker under it as well.”
“There’s a bunker that ties into the subway system?” Mayor Fine asked.
“Yes, we can get you there via the moles. You could travel back and forth between the other locations as well.”
“The subway is up and running now, you know,” Julio said.
“Yes. The moles were designed to co-exist in the tunnels. They won’t be secret for long, of course.”
“They aren’t much of a secret now,” Albena said. “One of the UN Peacekeepers took phone video, and it leaked out. It’s all the rage on 8chan and the other outlets.”
“What about the state government?” Kate asked. “You know they’ve been compromised, right?”
“It’s worse than you think,” Jared said. “Don’t worry about it, we’ve got plans for that situation.”
“How is it worse?” Mayor Fine asked. “Did Tracy McCain get killed?”
“No, my sources say she’s safely installed in the Governor’s office, but we have reason to believe she’s been turned.”
“Who turned her?” Chief Harvey asked.
“The same operative who turned Governor Romano. She’s an ex-Dutch Secret Service agent, working for the EU high command.”
“Wonderful,” Mayor Fine said. “Anything we can do about that?”
“We’ll need to take her out,” Jared said. “That’s a discussion for later, though. Don’t accept an invite to Albany from Tracy.”
Mayor Fine chuckled. “Yeah, I’m not interested in making that trip, after being told we were no longer legitimate by the state government.”
“Tracy will make it sound like she’s defeated those people. Don’t trust her.”
“Hey, something just came over the wire,” Penko said, looking up from his screen.
“What?” Mayor Fine asked.
“Senator Walter’s body was just found in Canada.”
“Where?” Chief Harvey asked.
“Woods outside Brockville,” Penko said.
“Ten to one Dannon killed him,” Chief Harvey said.
“Why would you think that?” Kate asked.
“It puts him one step closer to the Governor’s office.”
“Let’s not discuss that now,” Mayor Fine said. “When can we move to the new facility, Jared?”
“Whenever you’re ready,” Jared said. “Just watch yourselves. I wouldn’t go walking the streets yet.”
“Yeah, I’ve got no plans to do that,” Mayor Fine said. “I’ll hold a press conference, but the attendees will be screened and searched.”
“Some of them will refuse,” Julio said.
“Then they won’t be let in,” Mayor Fine said. “Can you send us instructions on how to get there?”
“I’ll have those sent through Jace, and he’ll get you there via the moles. Be careful. You are more important than you think. Talk to you soon.”
“He’s gone,” Jean said.
“Okay, thanks. See if you can get ahold of Tracy McCain. I’ll take that one in the private call room.”
“On it,” Jean said.
“I’m going to make some calls about Precinct 25,” Chief Harvey said, “unless you need me for the call with Tracy.”
“No need. I just want to set some boundaries
and quiz her.”
“Good luck.” Chief Harvey left the room.
“Got her,” Jean said.
“Thanks.” Mayor Fine went into the private call room and shut the door, putting the phone on speaker. “Tracy?”
“Mayor Fine. So nice to hear from you.”
“You’re safe?”
“Thanks to you, yes,” she said. “That news conference was a good call.”
“Was there an attempt?”
“Yes, but it failed. I’d like to meet with you. Can you get to Albany?”
“Not in the foreseeable future, I’m afraid,” Mayor Fine said.
“You’re no longer in the City Hall bunker.”
“That’s true, I’m in an alternate location,” Mayor Fine said, “and I plan to move around, because there are people hunting me and my team. I won’t be taking any trips out of city limits, and I’ll be well guarded wherever I go.”
Tracy was silent for a moment. “Okay, I understand. We’ll just have to do video calls. You’ve got the capability, I trust.”
“That won’t be a problem,” Mayor Fine said. “You heard about Senator Walter, I assume?”
“Yes. Terrible. Definitely murder.”
“Watch out for Dannon.”
“Do you think he did it?” Tracy asked.
“I have no proof of that, but who else had motive?”
“Our enemy might have wanted to kill everybody in the line,” Tracy said.
“Okay, you’re right about that. Have you been contacted by Canadian authorities about the investigation?”
“Not yet, but I expect them to contact me. If they don’t call me in a few hours, I’ll call them.”
“Good idea.”
“How did you get out of the City Hall bunker?”
Mayor Fine chuckled. “With great difficulty. We used the subway tunnel.”
“I figured that would be the case. The surface there is still dangerous, from what we’ve heard.”
“It is.”
There was an uneasy pause.
“You still there?” Mayor Fine asked.
“Yes, just thinking. Did you hear about John Clancy?”
“No. Who’s he?”
“He’s an indy author.”
“Indy?”
“Meaning he doesn’t have a publishing deal. His eBooks are available on all the web platforms.”
“What about him?”
“You should check out the comments about him on 8chan. I haven’t read any of his books. They sound like subversive nonsense to me, borderline racist. Not woke at all. The comments give a good indication of where the public is at, though. You should take some time to go through them. The posts got me thinking in a new direction. That will help us deal with the current situation. Check the posts, especially the anarchist posts. Red… something, for instance, and JackSprat. You might be able to use that in your planning for the city.”
“I’ll check it out, thanks,” Mayor Fine said. “Are you safe?”
“As safe as you’d expect,” she said softly. “Take care, Mayor Fine.”
The call ended. Mayor Fine sat there for a moment, thinking. She’s not compromised, she’s a prisoner. He left the private call room, going straight to Albena’s station, sitting next to her. She glanced at him, her fingers hammering the keyboard.
“Something happened.”
“What do you know about 8chan and John Clancy?”
She stopped typing. “You just talked to Tracy McCain. What’s going on?”
“She’s being held. There are messages on 8chan that she suggested I look at.”
“I know who John Clancy is,” Kinsey said from across the table. “Totally underrated author. He’s our Thomas Paine. His brother-in-law is having even more impact now, though, especially on 8chan. Rumor has it he was arrested today, from his home in Valley Forge.”
“How have I never heard of these two?” Mayor Fine asked.
“John Clancy has been selling books for a few years,” Kinsey said, “but he’s small potatoes. The books have gotten more and more political over time. The last one was a doozy, and his Facebook author page says there’s another almost done.”
“Maybe this is just marketing,” Penko quipped.
Kinsey shook his head. “The brother-in-law has only written two articles for a local paper, but they nailed the situation in Pennsylvania and the country at large. They got posted on all the alternative sites. Pretty obvious to me that he and John talk a lot.”
“What’s his name?” Mayor Fine asked.
“Craig Smetana.”
“Who can get me started on 8chan, other than Albena. She’s too busy.”
“I can,” Penko said. “Come over here, and bring your laptop.”
Mayor Fine nodded, going to his room for the laptop, coming back to find Penko staring at the screen, his eyes wide.
“What?” Mayor Fine asked, setting down his laptop.
“Craig Smetana’s articles have millions of views each, and millions of comments. It’s viral, and it’s dragging John Clancy’s stuff along. Word of their relationship got posted. This is crazy, man.”
“The woke morons are getting on now, trying to make the point that it’s all racist,” Kinsey said, looking over from his machine.
“Oh, you’re on it too, huh?”
“Yeah. Did McCain mention any usernames to look at?”
“Red something, and Jack_Sprat.”
“I’ll search on Red,” Kinsey said. “Oh geez, there’s sixteen thousand usernames that start with that.”
“Look for any who conversed with Jack_Sprat,” Albena said. “You know how, right?”
“Yeah,” Kinsey said.
“Here’s the opening page,” Penko said. “Go to this page and make up a username and password. I wouldn’t use Mayor_Fine.”
Mayor Fine chuckled, then looked closely at Penko’s screen, typing the URL on his laptop, which put him at the portal. He made the username and password.
“Tracy McCain is very clever,” Kinsey said.
“How so?” Mayor Fine asked.
“There’s a user subgroup that has Jack_Sprat as a connection. There are about ten-thousand members. They were generated, but non-hackers won’t get it.”
“Why would she create that?” Mayor Fine asked.
“That’s classic,” Penko said. “You can pass messages that way and hide the author behind so many levels of crap that nobody will figure it out, except another very good hacker, and those are few and far between.”
Mayor Fine leaned back in his chair as his profile populated and generated connections. “So we won’t be able to tell if it’s Tracy?”
“The contents of the posts will tell you that,” Albena said. “She’d better be careful, though. Whoever I’ve been battling is very sharp. He might notice. Don’t do anything on those boards that draws more attention to them. Any of you.”
Kinsey backed away from his monitor. “Shit. This is insane.”
“What now?” Penko asked.
“This thread is about the EU High Command, and the state governments they are suspected of controlling.”
“New York?” Mayor Fine asked.
“And Pennsylvania, and most of the other east coast states north of Virginia. Also California, Oregon, and Washington.”
“Oh boy,” Mayor Fine said. “We need to gather info on the EU High Command.”
“I’ll do that,” Penko said.
“Good idea,” Albena said. “Let me know if you need help.”
Chief Harvey walked into the room. “Precinct 25 is being readied as the headquarters, and we’re installing much more rigorous security as well. It links up via the subway with the building Jared suggested for our temporary City Hall, by the way.” He froze when he saw Mayor Fine’s expression. “Oh crap, what happened?”
“Tracy McCain might be under house arrest,” Mayor Fine said. “She gave me some clues.”
“Did she try to lure you to Albany?”
“She asked, but was very understanding when I declined.”
“Romano was turned by an EU honeypot, and murdered when he wasn’t towing the line,” Kinsey said. “His failure to convince you to stand down against the UN Peacekeeper invasion might have led to his death.”
“They planned to take him out anyway,” Chief Harvey said.
“Why do you think that?” Kinsey asked.
“There was no need to kill the rest of the state government. That operation was not spur-of-the-moment. They’ll kill Tracy McCain soon enough. I’m sure she knows it already. Her giving clues to you will probably lead to her death, but she did it anyway.”
Mayor Fine looked over at him. “Do you think they killed Walter up in Canada?”
Chief Harvey shook his head. “I’d be shocked.”
“Who do you think did it, then?” Kinsey asked.
“Dan Dannon,” Chief Harvey said. “We had a file an inch thick on him, and the FBI had him under surveillance too.”
“Do I want to hear about this?” Mayor Fine asked, shaking his head.
“Remember that scandal he was involved with about three years ago?” Chief Harvey asked.
“Yeah. Too thin to get rid of him.”
“It was, and the investigation was badly done by Romano’s office. They knew, and tried to neutralize him.”
“I don’t follow,” Mayor Fine said.
“He was a spook in the CIA. Retired when questions were raised. People he worked with called him a psychopath. All of them are dead now. Every one.”
“Don’t tell me, let me guess,” Penko said. “Special Forces with PTSD.”
“Nope,” Chief Harvey said. “He’s as capable as anybody I know of in Special Forces, but he’s completely self-taught. He’s got survivalist tendencies, and he’ll take off into the wilderness by himself for a month or more at a time.”
Mayor Fine backed away from his laptop. “Okay, so who’s side is this guy on? I know he didn’t see eye to eye with the establishment in New York. He was a big thorn in their sides.”
“That’s an easy question,” Chief Harvey said. “Dannon is on his own side. He killed the only other surviving New York Senator so he’d be one notch further up in line. We don’t want this guy becoming a governor. There’s only one bit of good news here.”
“What could be good about this situation?” Albena asked.
