by JC Ryan
Daniel could see her slipping away with every passing moment and tears began to fill his eyes.
She spoke to him, “I won’t last much longer, Daniel. You are going to have to make the decisions.” She paused, her breathing labored. “Lean on Nigel, trust my appointees, they’re loyal—you can do it, Daniel. I’ve seen you at work—I know you’re the right man for this.” Her voice was barely audible.”
“Don’t worry; I’ll ‘hold the fort until you’re better, Laurie.”
Her face had grown pale; she tried to smile, “Daniel, the prisoners …” she faded out.
“Yes?” he said bending down to get his ear close enough to hear. “What about the prisoners. Laurie?”
“They’re … they’re … Cl … liff…” and she exhaled her final breath.
Daniel hung his head, allowing the tears to flow freely. The doctor shoved him out of the way, yelling for Max’s help.
Max began mouth to mouth resuscitation while the doctor prepared the defibrillator.
After several minutes of trying unsuccessfully to restart her heart, the doctor reached out to brush her eyes closed and pulled the sheet up over her face.
Nigel stood quietly with his hand on Daniel’s right shoulder, struggling to regain his composure.
It was several moments before anyone stirred. Finally, Nigel spoke softly, “Daniel, this has to get out to the people.”
“I know,” he whispered, “go ahead.”
“No, Daniel. You are now President. The people need you.”
Daniel was white in the face, he clenched his fists and hissed through his gritted teeth. “You better run and hide, Tom Hayden. Today, you’ve made an enemy out of the Rosslerites.”
Nigel felt goosebumps over his body when he heard Daniel’s words. He knew what it meant, and he almost felt sorry for Hayden.
Chapter 35- You will be his slaves
Fifteen minutes after Laurie Campbell let out her last breath, a meeting of the Rossler Foundation leadership was called in the hanger at Mount Ararat. Daniel, Sarah, Nigel, JR, Rebecca, and Luke were present in the hanger. Sam, Salome, and the other leadership dialed in on Daniel’s mirror phone from the Rabbit Hole and were on speaker.
“President Campbell is dead,” Daniel said bluntly and paused to get his quivering voice under control. He waited through the exclamations of distress coming over the phone.
“She died about a quarter of an hour ago, while recording a speech for the nation.” Daniel’s voice broke, and he paused to clear his throat.
“This message needs to get out to the media and the nation as soon as possible. Can a link be set up here, or would it be better if I come back to the Rabbit Hole?”
“Stand by, Daniel,” Sam responded in a solemn tone. The line went silent as it was muted.
Daniel looked at Luke and Nigel. “What’s that about?”
Nigel shook his head, and Luke just raised an eyebrow and shrugged his shoulders.
Sam’s voice came over the phone again. “Daniel, I assume then that you are now President and will be addressing the nation as such; is that correct?”
Daniel nodded glumly, and then realized that Sam couldn’t see him, “Yes, that’s correct.”
“We could set you up there, but we all think it would be better, and just as fast, for you to come here—for a number of reasons. That’s if you are in good enough physical state to make the trip here.”
“Very well, you can explain your reasons to me later,” Daniel said, “Just make sure everything is set up and ready to go when I arrive.”
“We’ll be ready. Oh, and please send us that recording over right away so we can work on it to remove any background noise and disturbances.”
“Will do,” Daniel replied and ended the connection.
“Let’s get Daniel on his way. JR and some of the others can stay and take care of things here,” Nigel suggested. “Sarah, Luke, Rebecca, and I should accompany Daniel.”
Everyone agreed.
“Come on, let’s go see Peter,” Luke said. “He and Kelly have a few horses—that will get us to the Rabbit Hole much quicker.”
They departed the hanger and made their way across the yard to the house.
“Peter!” Luke called as he entered the house.
“Over here!” Peter replied from the kitchen.
Luke pulled him to the side, out of earshot of the other people in the house and said. “Daniel, Sarah, Nigel, Rebecca and I need to get to the Rabbit Hole immediately—I was hoping we could use your horses?”
“Help me get them saddled,” Peter replied without hesitation.
Twenty minutes later the five horsemen rode across the meadow and disappeared into the tree line. Rebecca had tried to persuade Daniel not to make the trip but in the end had to give up after a heated argument. She gave him a painkiller injection and strapped his wounded arm tight to his body to prevent it from too much movement.
The afternoon air was warm, and the coolness between the trees felt good. The peacefulness of nature stood in sharp contrast to the turmoil in their minds, the misery and suffering brought upon the people of America again, by another madman.
Despite the morphine shot Rebecca gave him, within five minutes Daniel was clenching his teeth in pain. Sarah was leading Daniel’s horse, Nigel and Luke kept their horses on either side of his, close enough to support him if the need arose. As Daniel tried to divert his mind from the pain in his shoulder, he managed to look around him and breath.
If it weren’t for Laurie’s death, the pain in my shoulder and the national crisis, I could have enjoyed this.
They arrived at the Rabbit Hole in less than two hours. Daniel was in agony from the jarring his shoulder took with the motion of the horse.
Rebecca and the rest just shook their heads in disbelief that Daniel was able to make it to the Rabbit Hole without passing out. A shoulder wound was one of the most excruciatingly painful wounds one could sustain. It is nothing like in the movies where the hero gets shot in the shoulder and is still able to knock the villain out with a world-class uppercut or hook.
***
A warm but worried welcome awaited them in the Robert Cartwright Town Hall, and despite the urgency of the message he carried, Daniel, as pale as bleached white linen, took a bit of time to greet his family and the rest of the Rosslerites.
Finally, he motioned to Sam that it was time to get down to business and Sam led him away from the crowd, to a room that had been set up to resemble a formal office—no sign that they were in a cave. A dark blue fabric hung behind a desk framed by two American Flags on stands. He had no idea where all the decorations came from and how they were able to set it up so professionally in such a short time. Then again, those were the Rosslerites for you—give them a challenge and they will meet and exceed any expectations.
“You can sit at the desk, Daniel. We’ll play the recording from President Campbell and then switch over to you for your address to the nation.”
“Thanks,” Daniel said. Despite the fact that Nigel had coached him and helped him prepare what he had to say he was still nervous.
Nigel, who had just joined them, stopped himself from slapping Daniel on the shoulder and simply said, “You’ll do fine, Daniel. Just do it—you’ve got it.”
Daniel was dressed in a dark suit, white shirt, and red tie; his arm was in a clearly visible sling. As previously agreed Nigel was also suited up and took a seat next to Daniel.
Raj and Roy pulled off the same stunt they did a few days ago with John Brideaux when they took over all broadcasting stations and communications satellites across the globe.
Daniel waited while they played President Campbell’s recorded message to the American people, fighting to subdue the turmoil of emotions when he listened to Laurie’s voice again.
When Sam pointed to him, he began to speak.
“My fellow Americans, it is with deep regret and profound sadness,” his voice cracked a little, “that I have to inform you that Presid
ent Laurie Campbell passed away a few hours ago. She died of a gunshot wound inflicted when General Thomas Hayden and his men launched a domestic terrorist attack on the White House last night...” He paused.
Hayden was agape when the TV screen all of a sudden went blank. He stared as Daniel and Nigel appeared and gave a startled jump as Daniel began to speak. “Stop it!” He yelled. “You idiots. Get them off the air!”
The aide jumped to get hold of the remote, frantically pushing buttons to no avail. Every channel had been compromised. Daniel’s and Nigel’s faces were everywhere.
“Nothing we can do sir.” The jumpy aide said. “It looks like he has somehow hijacked all TV and radio stations. You want me to turn the power off?”
“No, you moron! Get hold of the TV stations and order them to get this retard off the air. Tell them if they don’t I will personally see to it that they’re shut down. Incompetent bunch of apes.” He was shaking with rage and frustration.
Then all of sudden it dawned on him, a wild almost elated expression settled on his face, and he started shouting, “I got her! I got her! The bitch is dead! And I am President!”
His few moments of delusional glory were interrupted as he again became aware of Daniel’s voice and turned to the screen.
“General Hayden’s dastardly actions have caused more than fifty deaths, hundreds are wounded, and chaos and disruption have erupted in our towns and cities,” Daniel said while Nigel nodded.
“He still refuses to abide by the presidential succession rules of the Constitution of this country. Instead, he has chosen to ignore it and overthrow our democracy, killing and hurting innocent people just to declare himself President.
“General Hayden has created a regime and intends to rule the United States with force after this illegal coup. What he has done and is busy doing is unconstitutional. It’s undemocratic. It goes against everything America stands for.
“General Hayden, I have a message from the American people for you today; we cannot and will not accept it. We have just rid ourselves from the chains of an insane dictator—we will not accept that of another—never.
“We, the American people, will bring you to justice for your reprehensible actions.”
Hayden exploded again. “You, you… snotnose! Who are you to threaten me, the President of the United States! I will get hold of you! And I will make you regret every word you have uttered.” The spit was flying from his mouth. “What the hell is going on with those TV stations! When are they going to shut this damn circus down?”
He didn’t realize that he was the only person in the room. Everyone had scampered out of his way when he started raving.
“Hayden is not a peaceful man. He is not upholding the ideals and principles of the Constitution of the United States of America, which he swore to defend when he entered the Army. General Hayden has reneged on his oath; he has betrayed his country, he has betrayed the American people.
“You have heard, President Laurie Campbell’s last words …” Daniel slowly and measuredly repeated her exact words, “‘I beg of you to stop fighting, join together, and restore this once proud nation.’
“She spoke from wisdom. We don’t need a dictator, we don’t need a military regime, we need to come together and work together to raise this nation from the chaos created, first by John Brideaux and his Council, and now by General Hayden.
“We have a constitution which has guided this great nation for centuries—let’s respect it and follow it. Let’s defend it and uphold it—against all enemies, foreign and domestic. The time has come for us to rise up and defend our Constitution.
“Hayden is a vulture. He’s exploiting a vulnerable situation; instead of working together to bring restoration, stability, and peace, he has chosen himself and his own selfish goals which brought nothing but death, destruction, division, and civil war.
“He is responsible for the death of President Laurie Campbell—he is a murderer. I was there; I saw what he and his men did.
“In terms of our Constitution, which still exists, whether General Hayden likes it or not, the Vice President becomes President when the sitting President dies while in office. There is a very specific order of succession—it is not something that’s decided on the whim of a delusional power-hungry man.
“Unfortunately, General Hayden has decided that he is greater and more important than our Constitution, and is somehow beyond the laws of our country.
“As the constitutionally appointed successor of the late President Laurie Campbell, I give you my solemn promise that I intend to bring a swift and just end to this death and division. I will work with duly, democratically elected, and appointed members of our government to restore law and order, to return democracy to our nation.
“The unspeakable atrocities committed by John Brideaux and his Council will not go unpunished, neither will those of General Thomas Hayden.
“My fellow Americans I call on you, one and all, to abandon Thomas Hayden, defend our Constitution, turn your back on lawlessness and chaos. Join us to restore our democracy. With Thomas Hayden there is no future, you will be his slaves, and you will lose your freedom in the same manner that you lost it when John Brideaux and his council ruled.
“May God bless you and may God bless America.”
Across the entire country, TV screens and radio stations went blank and remained off the air for twenty-four hours. This brought absolute frustration and annoyance to General Hayden who had no way to get any messages out to the public.
At the end of the speech, Daniel was totally exhausted. He slumped forward onto the desk. He was barely aware of the waves of deep grief and nausea that rolled through him. Some part of him wanted to scream, to punch something, to kill Hayden, but he had no energy left.
Rebecca, Sarah, and Nigel helped him to his feet and lowered him onto the gurney which Cyndi had rolled in.
Daniel opened his eyes, looked up and saw Raj standing close to him, pale in the face and very worried. “Raj can you please get Peter, Jack, JR, and the others on the video link,” he said softly, “I want a meeting with them and the rest of our team in the planning room as quickly as possible.”
Then he turned his head and looked at Sam and Nigel. “Sam I’d appreciate it if you could help to get the rest of the leadership team together.”
Rebecca pushed Daniel out of the room in silence, directly to the clinic to attend to his wound. She tried, unsuccessfully, to persuade him to rest. No amount of arguing could change his mind, not Sarah, not Nigel, not his parents, in the end, they gave up and let him be. He refused another pain-killing injection.
Chapter 36- A little carried away
When the TV screens went blank again, Thomas Hayden bounced out of his seat and executed a silly dance while chanting; “I got her! I got her! That bitch won’t cause me any more trouble now!”
He punched a button on his phone to reach his secretary. “Sheryl, I want a meeting in the cabinet room in three hours. Make sure Generals Nguyen, Potter, Frayser, and Neeley, and Colonels Baum and Stillwater are there. Get Hold of General Lucas Nguyen first and tell him I want to see him immediately.” He didn’t even wait for her to reply before he hit the disconnect button.
He continued his ludicrous dance around the office singing “Yee-haw, I got her, I got her, yippee-ki-yi-yay, I got her. I’m President now. Yee-haw.”
Carrie Trent had a somber demeanor as she entered the office and saw Hayden’s elation.
He grinned at her. “You heard the news? The bitch is dead. Now we’re going to get somewhere!”
Carrie frowned. “I heard Tom.” She said softly and managed to suppress the, ‘I don’t think it’s a reason to be dancing around in the Oval Office’ comment.
“What’s your problem? Aren’t you happy that she’s out of the way?”
Carrie was crying now. “I thought you’d make her see reason … how much the country needed you … I certainly didn’t think you’d kill her.”
“Well, now
you know different.” Hayden snapped bombastically. “Let this be a lesson to everyone—don’t mess with Thomas Hayden.”
“Tom, you’re scaring me.”
“There’s nothing to be scared of darlin’. I’ve called a meeting and we’re going to start running this country right now—we’ll turn it back into the best country in the world in no time. I’m going to get rid of the freeloaders, put women back in the home where they belong, and make men work whether they want to or not. I won’t have any mamby-pamby lazy-ass men who won’t take care of their families. They can man-up or get out of the country.”
“That sounds great, Tom,” she whispered, too afraid to get into an argument with him. In the last minute or two, she had discovered Thomas Hayden’s true nature. A tsunami of guilt threatened to drown her as the biblical account of Judas’s betrayal of Jesus rose in her mind.
“I’m the President now and the people will follow my orders or suffer the consequences. Come on; we’ve got about 20 minutes before the meeting, let’s go upstairs and ‘celebrate’ while we wait.” Hayden, totally oblivious of her emotional state winked and smiled.
Carrie was repulsed but managed to hide it when she said, “Please Tom, not now. This is not a good time...”
Hayden grabbed her arm and started to drag her from the room. “I said we’re going to go upstairs and celebrate and that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”
She pulled back. “You’d force me?”
He turned to face her. “I’m the man here and women are supposed to obey men, so you’ll do as I say.”
“I’m not going to obey you or be submissive to any man,” she shouted. People passing in the hallway heard her.
Hayden slapped her with such force it knocked her off her feet. She landed on the couch, he jumped on top of her, pinning her down with one hand covering her mouth. “If you cry out, I’ll kill you too.”
He started ripping her clothes off as she continued to struggle and when she scratched his face, he hit her in the face with a clenched fist. Mercifully, she lost consciousness.
