“Fuck that bullshit. I’m hungry, tired, and in desperate need of a shower. Now get out of my way.” Krystal barges past us and stomps down the ramp.
Klaxton glares at Krystal’s voluptuous backside as she saunters up to the compound without a care in the world. “How you little punks stayed alive as long as you have is beyond me,” she mutters.
“We’re extremely hard to kill,” I say with a smirk as I follow Krystal out of the plane, with Boom Boom right behind me. Klaxton reluctantly brings up the rear, muttering something about how much she hates brash teenagers.
Krystal waltzes up to the front of the compound and is just about to knock when the door slides open, revealing a pretty brunette girl with a huge smile on her face.
“I don’t believe it,” the young girl says excitedly. “Secretary Montgomery told me to expect you guys, but I thought for sure he was off his rocker. Come in, make yourself comfortable. I’ll phone the secretary right away. We have much that needs to be done.”
The four of us enter the dimly-lit compound and follow the young soldier into an entertainment room, complete with several holographic TVs broadcasting the news and a fridge stocked with sandwiches, sodas, and bottled water.
“Thank god, I’m famished as fuck,” Krystal says, grabbing three sandwiches and scarfing them down like she’s a starving refugee or some shit.
Several other young soldiers rush in to greet us, just as excited about our arrival as the young girl (who I quickly learn is named Becky). Klaxton relaxes considerably at the sight of all the soldiers. Apparently she knows most of them, and finds them to be trustworthy. She hugs all the soldiers, who gush about how excited they are that she’s returned.
“And you guys are sure Montgomery knows what he’s doing?” Klaxton asks somewhat skeptically. “I mean, I know a significant portion of the military would gladly embrace my return, but are they really willing to put their lives on the line to stage a coup?”
“You have no idea how much you’ve been missed, Madam President,” Becky says, with genuine tears in her eyes. “That fraud LeBeau has destroyed everything we’ve worked toward in just a matter of months. Before you went into exile, we had the Chinese right where we wanted them. But LeBeau has basically rolled over and allowed the bastards to do as they please. You know all the generals in the military, Ms. Klaxton. Do you really think they enjoy standing by and allowing the Chinese to sink our ships? Invade our coasts? They’ve been begging LeBeau to allow them to fight back, but she forbids a military confrontation with the Chinese. She seems to think if we just turn you over to them, they will leave us alone. Even when the Chinese invaded Chile last night, she ordered a full retreat. She sent a squadron of troops down to the Amazon, but it wasn’t to help fortify our defenses. No, she sent them down there to look for you, so she could turn you over to the Chinese as part of a peace offering. She has lost her freaking mind.”
“She’s really that bad, huh?” Klaxton says with a tone of vindication.
“LeBeau isn’t fit to lick your boots, Madam President,” a young male soldier says with contempt.
“She has to be the worst president in American history,” another soldier says in disgust. “An absolute disgrace. Even the American People, who weren’t quite fond of you after the, er, incident with Rasputin, they’ve started to speak of you in whimsical terms again. I think you underestimate how much you’ve been missed, Madam President. When word gets out that you have returned, there will be dancing in the streets… a celebration not seen since the dying days of World War 2. That I assure you.”
Klaxton flashes a taut little smile at all the adulation Montgomery’s inner circle are lavishing on her. She turns toward us and says, “See? I told you I wasn’t that bad.”
“Oh barf,” Boom Boom says with an eye roll.
Becky and the others seem appalled at Boom Boom’s lack of respect for Klaxton. In an attempt to keep the peace with our new allies, I laugh and say, “She’s just kidding. She and Klaxton have a… er… complicated relationship. They, er, like to rib each other… joke around.”
“This is news to me,” Klaxton growls, giving Boom Boom a dirty look.
I wrap my arm around Boom Boom’s shoulder and say, “Hey, why don’t we go check out the news, Firecracker? I’m sure Klaxton and her friends have a lot of catching up to do.”
I lead Boom Boom away from Klaxton and her buddies before things deteriorate even further. If these are the people we’re going into battle with, we certainly don’t want to start things off on the wrong foot.
Boom Boom, Krystal and I eat some sandwiches while we watch the news. I didn’t realize how hungry I was until I took my first bite. I end up scarfing down three of the sandwiches in about five minutes. Krystal has me beat, though. I catch her inhaling seven of them.
We spend the next half an hour or so watching all the craziness going on in the world. I shake my head in repugnance as the news reports come flying at us in rapid fire succession, one after another. The reporters ramble on about the continuing Chinese invasion (which seems to be accelerating in ferocity and intensity), the plummeting economy, the explosion of riots in the streets, the total collapse of law and order in the sanctuaries as criminals and gangbangers take over… it’s like everybody has lost their fucking minds. Becky was right; in just a matter of months, LeBeau has presided over the complete decimation of American society. Klaxton had a lot of flaws as president, but at least she kept the country from unraveling. It’s become blatantly obvious we need a ruthless, totalitarian dictator in order to keep America from imploding.
Krystal starts sniffing herself and hollers, “Damn, I stank like booty! How come nobody said anything? I need a shower asap!”
Krystal gets up off the couch and makes her way over to Klaxton. As she walks past me, I get a good whiff of her body odor. She may have actually understated how much she reeks. Then again, I’m sure I don’t smell like roses either. We all could go for a good cleansing.
“Hey, where are the showers?” Krystal shouts at Klaxton and her buddies as she grabs another sandwich from the fridge and shoves the entire thing into her mouth. Her cheeks bulge out in a comical manner, reminding me of an obese chipmunk.
Becky points toward the door. “Down the hall and to your left. We have towels in the linen closet.”
“Thanks,” Krystal mumbles with her mouth full.
Before Krystal can exit the room, however, Klaxton holds out her hand and says, “Wait, what do you want to take a shower for?”
Krystal cocks her head to the side and stares at Klaxton like she just asked the stupidest question in the world.
“Um, hello! We just rolled around in the mud in the humid-ass rainforest. We’re all bloodied and covered in grime. The fuck you mean why do I want a shower?!”
Klaxton scowls at Krystal’s mini-outburst and says, “You can clean up after the coup. I want the American people to see the hell we’ve been through trying to bring the country back from the brink. I want them to see our sweat, our blood, our tears. It’s all about creating authenticity.”
Krystal scratches her head and says, “Did you just smoke some crack or something?”
“Go sit down,” Klaxton snaps.
Krystal grumbles a bunch of unpleasant obscenities under her breath as she wobbles back over to us and plops down on the couch.
“… crazy motherfucking bitch…” I hear her mumble before she starts chowing down on another sandwich.
I’m just about to change the channel (the news can be so damn depressing) when a familiar voice thunders, “By God, you crazy sons of bitches actually did it!”
We all turn around to find Secretary of Defense Dallas Montgomery barging into the entertainment room with an over-zealous swagger. He has a deliriously happy smile plastered all over his deliriously happy face. You would think he just won the lottery or something. Chuckling jovial, Montgomery gives Klaxton a smothering hug, the kind lovers often give each other.
“Oh how I’ve misse
d you, Angela,” Montgomery says in a throaty, lustful manner.
Klaxton tightens her embrace of Montgomery and purrs, “And how I’ve missed you, Dallas.”
“I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit,” Krystal gags.
Montgomery steps back, his hands still firmly clamped down on Klaxton’s shoulders. “Wow, you look…”
“Skinny?” Klaxton suggests.
Montgomery chuckles and replies, “Well I was going to say you look like crap, but yeah, you did lose an awful lot of weight, too.”
Klaxton scoffs and playfully smacks Montgomery on his shoulder.
I lean toward Krystal and Boom Boom and whisper, “I bet if we said she looked like shit, we’d have been shot in the head!”
Montgomery makes his way over to us and enthusiastically shakes our hands.
“I must admit I had my doubts that you guys would be able to pull this off,” Montgomery says with a grin while slapping me on the back. “But Grenade told me not to worry. He assured me that with you three by his side, the prospect of failure was an outright impossibility!”
Montgomery’s grin falters ever-so-slightly as he looks around and asks, “Speaking of the bionic devil, where is the cranky old curmudgeon? I figured he would have started running his mouth as soon as I stepped into the room.”
A lump forms in my throat as I hesitantly say, “Um, Secretary Montgomery? Grenade… he didn’t… um…”
“He didn’t make it, Dallas,” Klaxton says solemnly.
All the laughter and glee in Montgomery’s wrinkled face instantly vanishes. I’m reminded of the sun being blotted out by a passing solar eclipse. Montgomery’s eyes widen in abject horror and his jaw falls open, as if uttering a silent scream. He staggers backwards, leaning against the wall for support. He appears to be in total shock.
“I… no! Tell me… tell me you’re kidding!”
“I would never joke about something of this nature, Dallas,” Klaxton says, rubbing his left shoulder. “Your friend, he… he died serving his country. He died… saving me.”
Klaxton’s voice cracks slightly near the end, as if she just realized how much she owes Grenade.
Montgomery closes his eyes and sighs. “It’s always the good ones that go first. Grenade was a good man… a great man.”
Montgomery opens his eyes again, which are now swimming in tears. “Has anyone told Audrey?”
I shake my head. “No. We just arrived a short while ago. We haven’t had a chance to talk to anyone.”
“I’ll call her after we’re done here,” Montgomery says, sounding like a man who just lost his best friend. “She’s going to take this very hard. They were so close. A match made in Heaven, one might say. She’s the reason he was able to move on from the tragic deaths of Rebecca and Joey. If not for Audrey, Grenade would have been lost to us a long time ago.”
Montgomery heaves another heavy sigh before turning toward us and saying, “Please join us in the war room. We have much to discuss.”
Krystal, Boom Boom and I follow Montgomery, Klaxton, Becky and the rest of their camouflaged entourage down the hall to the massive war room. The room is filled with holographic maps of the world and TV screens broadcasting various news broadcasts. We all gather around a circular wooden table in the middle of the room.
Montgomery waves his hand in the air, and all the holographic televisions start broadcasting an image of the White House. “My military advisors and I have decided the best time to begin the assault on the White House is 6:00pm tonight. We debated waiting a day or so, but after much deliberation we decided we should strike as soon as humanly possible. This is going to be a massive operation and we can’t risk the possibility of word leaking out.”
“6:00?!” I holler. “Are you insane? That’s in just a few hours!”
“Exactly,” Montgomery says. “We have the element of surprise. We need to strike fast and hard, while nobody’s expecting it.”
“Well if that’s the case, why not strike now?” Boom Boom inquires. “Why wait?”
“Because we want as many people as possible to see the attack,” Montgomery explains. “6:00 here means it will be 10:00 in the East, 9:00 in the central sanctuaries, 8:00 near the Rockies, and so on and so forth. Most of the American public will be home at that time, watching the news or browsing the internet. It’s imperative that as many people as possible see LeBeau’s removal from power.”
“Wait, you mean you’re going to record the assault as it happens, and then broadcast it live to the entire country?” I blurt out.
“Not just to the entire country,”
Montgomery explains. “The entire world. Some of our best hackers have been working around the clock, hacking into foreign telecommunication systems so that we can broadcast the invasion to places like China and Bavaria. It will be early in the morning in China when the attack occurs, but the Chinese people will hear about it as soon as they wake up. The whole point of thrusting Klaxton back into power is to intimidate the Chinese into backing down. We need to get the word out to the entire world that shit’s changed; Klaxton’s back, and America ain’t about to become China’s bottom bitch.”
Krystal snorts. “Bottom bitch. Hilarious.”
“So you expect us to exchange gunfire with secret service agents while holding up cameras?” Boom Boom says.
“Of course not,” Montgomery says. “We brought a bunch of flying robotic mosquitos. They will fly into the White House tunnels with us and record everything. But you three won’t be seeing much action.”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“You guys are far too valuable to our cause to risk you getting shot and killed,” Montgomery elaborates. “We’re going to send a convoy of soldiers into the White House tunnels first, so they can clear a path for us. Then you three and Angela will bring up the rear. It’ll look like you’re part of the action, but you really won’t be. We do need to make sure you’re on film when LeBeau is executed, though. We need a strong image of the four of you standing side by side while the sitting President is forcibly removed from power. It’s good for theatrics.”
I feel incredibly uneasy that Montgomery is far more interested in the “theatrics” of our coup than he is with the actual mission. I understand “propaganda” is important and all when you’re trying to consolidate power, but I don’t think it should be our top priority. Not at the moment, at least.
Krystal articulates what I’m feeling when she blurts out, “Is all this really necessary? All the cameras and shit? Why can’t we just barge into the White House and kill that bitch LeBeau without making a big scene?”
“Often times the theatrics of a military operation are even more important than the actual operation itself,” Klaxton says, taking over for Montgomery (who is busy quenching his parched throat with a soda). “Yes it’s important that we remove LeBeau from power, but we need to do it in a grand fashion. We need to do something to rally the American People. The American Public feels so demoralized, so downtrodden, so defeated, so hopeless… they need something invigorating to incite them to rise to their collective feet, to gather the arms guaranteed them in the 2nd amendment, to go out and feverishly defend the homeland from the invading Chinese marauders. That is the only way we will repel the Chinese invasion. And it all starts with us storming the White House on live television and reclaiming the throne that is rightfully ours.”
“Ours?” I say, surprised that she is being so inclusive in her rhetoric.
“Yes, ours,” Klaxton says with a shrewd smile. “We’re all in this together now. Whatever history we had, it’s just that… history. Your friend Grenade was absolutely right. I see that so clearly now. We all need each other. I can’t pull this off without your help. Your unparalleled popularity, your credibility with the American People, it’s precisely what I need to help consolidate and validate my return to power. And you all need me to succeed in order to keep your loved ones, including your young niece and nephew, from becoming crushed under the
jackboots of the Asian invaders.”
With her mouth stuffed with another sandwich, Krystal says, “You may be one crazy psycho bitch, but you sure do have a way with words.”
“Er, thanks. I think,” Klaxton says, her wicked smile widening.
Montgomery and his advisers continue laying out the groundwork and schematics of our pending assault against the White House. According to Montgomery, a heavily armed and armored squad of 100 of his finest, most vicious soldiers will storm the White House tunnels first, mowing down whoever stands in their way. Montgomery estimates there are upwards of 70-100 secret service agents manning the tunnels at any given time. As the attack will be a complete and total surprise, he doesn’t expect there to be a vicious counterattack. But just to be safe, his ‘crack-squad’ will flush out the tunnels first, so the rest of us don’t get caught in the crossfire.
After the first wave of soldiers enters the tunnel, Klaxton, Boom Boom, Krystal, Montgomery and I (along with another squad of soldiers to serve as our ‘buffer zone’ in case any secret service agents manage to survive the first wave of attack) will follow suit. We will be led to Klaxton’s bunker deep underground, the same bunker she’s apparently been holed up in ever since we departed for the Amazon.
World War Forever (Highway To Armageddon Book 2) Page 51
