by Joe Jarvis
Perfect, Drake thought, they already picked up the first bit of misinformation put out there by NNE without fact checking, in an attempt to give a quick, gripping story to the public.
"Themis and Atlas were admitted into an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries; the rest of the family escaped without any major physical harm."
Drake was feeling good about the setup, and he sent a message to a trusted NNE reporter who had another story waiting for release. Refreshing the home page, Drake saw the story appear with a bold red headline after the uppercase phrase: "BREAKING NEWS."
The story started by recounting the events of just hours earlier, and naming the drug cartel involved. Then it became the first outlet to report that Mr. Barry was in fact murdered, mixing truth with fiction by reporting that Barry was murdered by the same thugs who broke into Themis’s home and set it on fire. The article explained that Barry Arbitration had been secretly investigating the Cartel, and preparing multiple warrants for a crackdown targeting suspects from a variety of unsolved New England crimes, as the cartel expanded its New England influence. CCS was to execute the warrants this very morning, the article continued, which sparked the late night attack on CCS’ head investigator, Themis. Molly had been attacked earlier in a successful attempt to keep the story out of the headlines. The article urged people to remain indoors for at least 24 hours, since undisclosed sources claimed more attacks were coming, possibly on a larger scale.
By the time the sun started to rise over the Atlantic, the News of New England article had been picked up by most area news outlets, and repeated relentlessly. Drake prepared a statement as his customers clamored for more details, and reassurances that they would be safe. But first he sent word to his men, and Mr. Patrick sent word to his, that all traffic coming into New England was to be halted at the border, and rerouted to stations under NESA or Minutemen Arms control. Every officer was called in on emergency, and by the time most people in the "border" towns awoke, patrols of heavily armed police battalions were marching through their streets.
Drake gazed out his arched office window as the first rays of light shone through. His employees were already mustering, and the cameras were ready. Drake sat down at his desk with the cameras rolling to make a statement.
He was calm, as always, and spoke slowly and deeply. Confidence bristled from every pore of Drake’s body.
"People of New England, we are in a crisis. As you have undoubtedly heard, a drug cartel from New York has implemented a series of attacks against the media, arbiters, and security officers. As the largest security company in New England, it is my duty, not only to the customers of New England Security Agency, but to every honest inhabitant of New England, to keep you and your family safe.
"NESA cares about more than just profits, we care about the future of peace and stability in our beloved region. Many of you remember the interim years before order was restored, and I vow to each and every one of you that under my watch, chaos will never return to New England! That is why, effective immediately and until further notice, NESA and our partners will secure every home, business, street, and person in New England against all crimes.
"In the interest of security, today in New England we cannot rely on fragmented forces to deliver safety when a coordinated attack looms at our borders. That is why I am calling on all security agencies to put their differences, their egos, their desire for control, and their bank accounts aside, and allow the expertise and experience of NESA to dictate the response we need, if we are to survive as a peaceful, prosperous region.
"Mr. Patrick of Minutemen Arms has graciously ceded control of his forces to the militia structure of NESA, necessary for issuing orders that will prevent further death and destruction. Mr. Atlas of Atlas Protection has been hospitalized by the very same enemy – this is not the time to fight amongst ourselves and allow inexperienced security personnel to call the shots, in their own selfish attempts to promote their careers, or play hero. Some things are bigger than money, some events call for us to put aside our quarrels, and have faith in experienced leadership to keep us safe.
"NESA will not tolerate obstructionists while eradicating the cartel criminal element that has seeped into New England. There may be no time for arbitration when any delay in justice will surely lead to unnecessary death, and could give the cartel the foothold it needs to expand permanently into New England, threatening our stability and economy. These are terrorists and must be treated as the invading enemy that they are. Justice cannot be served in the timeframe we need if they are treated like any old criminal. These methods may seem at times unorthodox, but trust me when I say they are necessary sacrifices if you wish to continue to live securely in peace.
"I ask you all to stay in your homes, and await instruction. In times of great crisis, it takes the collective to join hands and oppose evil which can be vanquished by no individual, by no disorganized band of profit seekers ready to exploit fears, even as the enemy closes in around them. Together, we can get through this. Together, we will keep this cartel from dragging us down, and instead, move forward!"
Drake finished, and the video cut out. A crowd of employees had gathered in his office to hear the address, and all looked at Drake with mesmerized adoration. Never had they known their boss to be so articulate, and such a fatherly leader. A slow clap started somewhere in the back, and grew to a loud applause. Cheers followed, and even Drake could not suppress a humble smile as employees shook his hand and patted him on the back.
"True leadership shines through in dark times!"
"Amazing speech sir, gave me chills."
Employees whispered to each other, how could they be worried with Drake in charge? They were so confident in his ability, and were thrilled to be a part of the company that would save New England. They had never been so proud to wear NESA badges. Emboldened by his speech, the employees returned to their posts to continue organizing.
Most other security companies seemed to be glad to have orders to follow, rather than be forced to deal with this crisis on their own. There was no precedent for an event like this, not the least of their problems including scared, frenzied customers. After all, they were used to petty criminals, not organized attacks by larger groups.
"Mr. Drake! You have to see this." His secretary, Benjamin, was frantically rushing toward Drake with a tablet in hand, pointing horrified at the screen.
It was a discussion board frequented by locals from southwestern New England, where the pods were being stopped. Criticism abounded of NESA, with reports of lies and exaggerations. One post read:
"I live right next to the station where all the pods are being rerouted. No drug cartels, just businessmen and women. I saw one guy get arrested after he refused to be detained in the station."
Another: "Where are the cartels streaming in that Drake’s talking about?? All I see is everyday folks being harassed and manhandled by his thugs."
More: "Drake is a lying son of a bitch! He just committed a crime against every New Englander and should be held accountable! He needs to rot in a cell! DO NOT COMPLY! Alert your security company immediately if NESA cops try to use FORCE on you!"
"Oh just accept your authority and you’ll save us? Thanks so much Drake, what would we do without you?" said with sarcasm. A serious tone followed, "The only thing I trust is my 30/30. I DARE those NESA thugs to push me around. No warrant? Shove it up your ass!"
"No druggies on the border. This is scary people. Remember your history lessons."
And worse still for Drake was that at least two smaller news outlets were already reporting on the lack of turmoil at the border. Drake tapped his finger against his desk, his jaw tight. He motioned for his secretary to leave and shut the door, then reached for his screen, and pressed some buttons.
The CEO of Coastal Internet appeared. "Mr. Drake, good morning."
"Good morning. My Agents will be coming to your offices soon. I need you to comply with them. I’m sending over the code for 100 Con
traCoins. You should leave now and instruct your employees to follow their orders when they get there."
The CEO was silent at first, and he appeared to be in thought. The code arrived for the hundred ContraCoins: about $60,000. He glanced down at the codes, and pressed to collect them. Looking back at Drake, the CEO said gravely, "Please do everything you can to resolve this situation quickly," and disconnected.
Drake then quickly pressed more buttons.
"Yes sir?" A high ranking NESA officer appeared on the screen.
"Drug cartel members have taken over Coastal Internet, raid immediately, cut transmission, detain everyone; suspects are dressed in plain clothes and will be indistinguishable from the workers."
The officer gave a confused look, apparently not entirely believing Drake. "They… they’re that organized sir?"
"This isn’t some half-ass attack, this has been planned, officer. Now I need you to follow my orders. Raid and detain."
"Yes sir", the officer spoke slowly without confidence, "Should I… Should I wait for a warrant?"
Drake slammed his fist on his desk, and raised his voice, "Dammit there’s no time! Do as you’re told or I will find someone who will!"
"Yes sir! Right away!" and the officer changed his tune and immediately began to follow his orders.
Drake disconnected, and punched in another number. This time he had to bribe the editor of Post Daily to change the story and say that there were in fact cartel soldiers streaming into New England, but not on the pods, on the roads! Unfortunately Drake had to tip his hand in order to have the editor comply; he kept the details minimal, but offered the editor, in addition to money, an "unprecedented position with the power to review all media before it is disseminated to the public, in the interest of keeping damaging lies out of people’s heads."
Arbiters were also calling Drake, furious that he was acting without permission or warrants. Most he ignored, but one hinted that he knew what was going on, and could offer his agency to cover Drake’s actions, "in the interest of security, and the greater good of New England," of course.
The CEO of Collective Arbitration said he just wanted to be "rewarded" for his commitment to the security of New England, once the smoke cleared. Drake was glad to have warrants for all further actions, as his first attempt to issue orders without one was tense. And anyway, Barry was no longer around to become Minister of Arbitration. He sent along a warrant to placate the officer he had earlier ordered to raid Coastal Internet.
Drake was delighted to find that Mr. Patrick was already effectively using his power as Minister of Transportation. All pod transportation – except to and from hospitals, and for security companies – had been suspended inside of New England until further notice, with Minutemen Arms troops enforcing the freeze. They were also doing their best to keep the skies clear of pesky skyships and airplanes, and had closed major highways. The excuse was that a number of drug cartel soldiers had already infiltrated New England, and were going to muster to take out high level targets in order to collapse the security system, and set up their own criminal regime. News of New England seeded the proper story.
The media was doing its best to keep up with the details, but there was so much information to sort through, they ended up reporting whatever they could find. What the public got was a hodgepodge of misinformation, downright lies, and some truths; but only the truths that worked for Drake’s needs. The editor he bribed was already testing out his position as Minister of Communications, and making up press releases which were taken as gospel by another 10 or so outlets. He also managed to use some of Drake’s officers to remove certain websites, and block Internet access in more problem areas besides the southern coast.
It was only 9:00 in the morning, and so far things seemed to be materializing easily for Drake. But there were some notable exceptions. A large number of people from south central New England were not complying with the order to stay in their homes, and were busily communicating a resistance plan, according to NESA officers in the area.
Drake got his Minister of Resources on a video call and instructed her to cut the power to anyone she supplied in the trouble areas. He then sent a unit to close down another power plant that served the south central area, releasing reports that cartel members in the vicinity planned a devastating attack on the nuclear station. He blacked out power for 100,000 people, and reinforced the area with more patrols. This was, so it was reported, a hotbed area for cartel sleeper agents.
Drake knew that there would be countless more issues to deal with, so he sat in his office, prepared to issue more orders, and clean up more problems. In the meantime, he needed to put in motion his plan for when the smoke settled.
The Minister of Economics – who ran a New England-based charity that provided arbitration against corrupt businesses for those who could not afford it – was waiting outside his office, giddy with excitement, overflowing with ideas of how to best control New England's businesses, and how to best set in motion a plan for economic equality.
Nine
Atlas got a video call from his office. He jolted up in his hospital bed, and told the employee he would be in momentarily. As a nurse protested, Atlas removed the IV from his arm, and tore off the sensors monitoring his vitals.
"I’m sorry, thank you all so much, I’ll be fine," he was saying to the nurse as he left the room. Molly was in the waiting area nodding off.
"What’s going on?" she asked Atlas, yawning and stretching.
"Drake’s taking control. He’s trying to get all security to follow his orders because we are ‘in a crisis.’" He made quotation marks with his fingers. They were walking swiftly down the hallway toward the non-emergency mag tube entrance in the hospital. "He mentioned me in a little speech he made. Said I was in the hospital, trying to act like we need to unify security in order to beat the threat from drug cartels. I need to get all my officers word that we are NOT playing along with this little game."
"Was this all Drake’s plan?" Molly asked, exasperated.
"I don’t know, but it sure is starting to seem like that. You should go check on Themis, make sure he knows what's going on. Let me know if he found out who the dead thug is, will you?"
"I’m on it," Molly said, with renewed vigor, taking a deep breath as the pod door closed behind Atlas. She started a brisk walk toward Themis’s room.
His family members were all in various chairs sleeping with legs over the sides, and heads tilted in strange directions. Themis was on his tablet with an oxygen mask that was also administering small doses of various medicines to repair the lung tissue and dissolve the smoke residue. When Molly entered he removed his mask and smiled. Molly gave a nod back and quietly, so as not to wake his family, launched into an explanation of what she had just heard from Atlas.
Themis raised his hand to calm her. "I know, I am trying to get some evidence out to various arbitration agencies and security companies. Turns out that ‘thug’ was actually a Security Agent who went by Agent Orange – we don’t know his real name. There’s some evidence that he worked for Drake, and took contracts from others as well, it is just hard to trace due to the pay structure. Interestingly, the sunglasses he was wearing were able to block facial recognition, which is why last time we couldn’t ID him and his partner leaving Barry’s, but it’s almost certain they are the same guys.
"The glasses are being analyzed to see if we can get any more info out of them, but it’s high tech stuff, so I wouldn’t be surprised if safeguards were built in to stop us. This does however connect Drake to Barry’s murder, even though we would need more evidence for successful arbitration; but it will definitely help get some warrants to look into this further."
"But what about what’s happening now? If Drake gets his way there won’t be any arbiters left to go to!"
"Well, I am sending everything I have to Independent Arbitration since they are doing the review of the Barry Arbitration and Atlas Protection debacle. It doesn’t hurt that they are pretty muc
h the most influential arbiters in New England. I’ve sent along my notes too, linking your break-in with Barry’s ‘suicide’ and the home invasion last night. I added my thoughts on where this whole power grab this morning is going, so hopefully they will take that into consideration – especially if I am right. I told them depending on how well this whole border/drug/terrorism crisis goes for Drake, he’ll suggest rationing food and water, and moving to one currency."
"How do you figure that?" Molly asked.
"Well… I admit it is a bit of a stretch," Themis explained, "But Drake’s actions this morning will not be taken lightly. He is all in: unless he holds onto the policing power he’s attempted to grab this morning, he will certainly be arrested."
"But people won’t go along with it, will they?" Molly’s heart was pounding, and she couldn’t understand why Themis seemed so calm.
Themis shrugged. "Unfortunately CCS instructed their street divisions to defer to NESA judgments if they come into contact with them. I think they are just trying to avoid any confrontations, but it could be bad news – sure is a bad precedent. And Drake’s got one arbiter on his side, which I didn’t see coming, but Collective Arbitration has already issued about a dozen warrants for NESA. The benefits of having investigatory database clearance," Themis added at Molly’s questioning glance.
"Well, shouldn’t we be out doing something about this?" Molly asked concerned.
Themis pointed to his tablet, "I’m doing everything I can from here, and it’s a safer distance too," he managed a half-hearted smile. "Nights like last night, they put things in perspective. I’ve got a family, and I need to be here for them. Times like these you’ve got to keep calm. Chaos is exactly what Drake is depending on; panic."
