by Joe Jarvis
"You’re right," Molly replied, a bit calmer, "And I’ve got to do everything I can do, too. After all, action is the proper fruit of knowledge," and she smiled, a sort of confident yet cautious, modest smile.
"Where did you hear that?" Themis asked, letting out a couple of chuckles and a cough.
"I read it from a fortune cookie. I’m going down to the office, I’m going to start telling anyone who will listen what’s really going on. Stay in contact!"
As Atlas got to his office, his employees descended on him, trying to figure out what to do. Atlas held up his hand to quiet his staff.
"First things first. Tell all field units that the only orders they should be listening to will come from this office. NESA is not in charge, and NESA will be held accountable for their actions in violating our customers’ contracts. If that doesn’t answer your questions, please see me in my office."
Some employees hurried back to their desks and some lined up at Atlas’s door.
"We have a unit on 84 responding to an AP customer who claims he is being harassed by NESA troops. It’s a standoff right now. He’s in his car, we got a unit with guns drawn yelling to us for guidance, and NESA keeps calling more officers to the scene. It’s about 25 to 10 right now." Atlas’ secretary had made her way to the front and was briefing him.
"Do we have a skyship in the area? Let’s get full surveillance of the situation. Tell our officers to try to get the customer on his way; if they can't, let’s get an overruling on the warrant they have for the stop. Tell them not to do anything until we have eyes on the scene." She walked briskly out to do as he said.
Another employee came in. "Mr. Atlas, we have a complaint that one of our customers was detained while at work for Coastal Internet. He is accused of colluding with cartels to suppress Internet media. The raid took place before a warrant was issued, and no evidence has been forwarded to us."
"Are they still at their building?"
"He is being held at the regional NESA detainment center."
"Contact arbitration and send a team to the jail to free him. Let's see who else was detained too, and contact their security to see if we can work together on this."
"On it."
Molly was trying to decide how to go about alerting people to Drake's true intentions. She wanted to tell everything she knew, but some of it could not yet be verified with evidence. Overwhelmed by the events of the morning and the inquiries coming in, her boss essentially handed the reins to Molly.
"Put whatever you need to on the homepage, Molly. People need to be informed, and you're in the position to do it," Otto said. So Molly got to work.
Molly wrote:
Do we have all the information about what is really happening with NESA and Mr. Drake? No, and BER doesn't claim to. This is simply my account of what has happened over the past three weeks.
It started with my investigation into Barry Arbitration. There were some red flags to begin with, but BER standards for an ethical downgrade were met when evidence surfaced that Mr. Barry had accepted a personal bribe. All the information was on my personal devices, accounts, and safe drive. The article was due out in just days, today in fact, and BA was likely to go under.
I got a knock on my door the night of Saturday, September 26th, and I answered it, not knowing what was about to happen to me. I suffered a violent home invasion and attempted murder at the hands of a supposed drug cartel member who was following orders to kill me, due to my investigations into the drug cartel he worked for. The only problem; I have never in my career investigated any drug cartel. Business Ethics Review focuses on corruption in legitimate businesses; not on organizations who make their money through extortion and turf wars.
But there was someone who stood to gain from my death, and the disappearance of my devices: Barry Arbitration. Pains were taken to obscure the true purpose of the attempt on my life, but it now appears to have been a trade between Reed Barry and Cole Drake, CEO of New England Security Agency.
Barry Arbitration made the claim that Atlas Protection had manufactured evidence, a claim hotly disputed and under review by Independent Arbitration. But we do know that Mr. Barry had accepted bribes in the past, casting doubt on the truthfulness of the claims against AP.
Atlas Protection is a main competitor of NESA, and takes more fleeing customers from NESA than any other security company. This is the nature of the trade between Mr. Drake and Mr. Barry. But when Mr. Drake did not hold up his end of the bargain, Mr. Barry went from an accomplice to a liability for Mr. Drake.
The evening of Mr. Barry's murder – it is true it was not a suicide – Mr. Barry had visited Mr. Drake at his NESA office. Later that night, Agents were seen leaving Mr. Barry's house around the time of his death. One of those Agents has been identified with a high probability as having worked for Mr. Drake. Last night that Agent and his partner invaded and burned down the home of Officer James Themis, lead investigator of violent crimes at Corner Cop Security, in an attempt on his life. This has already been cast in the media as a drug cartel hit, just as was the attempt on my life, and the murder of Mr. Barry.
Since these agents have no known connection to drug cartels, and a probable connection to NESA, evidence suggests cartels are merely a scapegoat for the actions of Mr. Drake.
This morning's power grab by Mr. Drake further casts doubt on the drug cartel story, and highlights a desire for control and the retention of a fading business as Mr. Drake’s motives.
I realize this is not a typical BER publication, nor does the evidence mentioned hold up to the usual standards of beyond reasonable doubt. However under the circumstances, and with such dire consequences, this information must be discussed prematurely, before it is too late. What is crystal clear, however, is that NESA has violated the rights of countless citizens today, in the name of securing the region. Please check back as more updates follow.
Molly felt strange posting such an incomplete article, as BER staked their reputation on accuracy of facts, and non-circumstantial evidence. But she was worried about what would happen if people did not know the truth. Three people had been attacked so far at Drake's command, with others caught in the crossfire. How many more would die or be maimed if she waited to amass evidence beyond a reasonable doubt?
Drake had shown his willingness to use force to get his way, and Molly was well aware of the danger she was in. Already she had survived two assassination attempts. If Drake solidified control of New England and created a border, her life would again be in jeopardy. But at least it would be difficult for Drake to take action against her when people heard the accusations; further attempts on her life would arouse even more suspicion and risk proving her claims. Then again, if Drake was successful in bringing New England under his control, he would be able to do away with Molly and her whistle-blowing without any consequences if she remained in the area.
She was risking her career, and indeed her life, but the future and freedom of New England was at stake. She knew she had to act. So Molly pressed submit, and the article appeared on the homepage. Drake would be tried in the court of public opinion. Molly hoped the market would respond properly.
Drake was furious that the article had been up for an hour before he was told. Jay and Hunter sat at the far side of Drake’s desk, in the low chairs, terrified. Drake didn't yell, he didn't swear, he just stared from one to the other, jaw clenched, from time to time grinding his teeth. Jay was sweating noticeably.
"I would have told you sooner," he stammered, "but I was only informed a half hour ago," he shot an accusing glance at Hunter, seated on his left, who swallowed hard, "and... I thought I could get BER to take it down."
Drake was silent as he drew in a long breath through his nose and let it out, still staring from his droopy eyes, cheeks more bulldog-esque than ever, keeping eye contact that burned through Jay.
Jay nervously continued his failing explanation after a few unbearable silent seconds that seemed like an eternity.
"I mean, it�
��s totally unsubstantiated..." he attempted a lighthearted, broken chuckle which was just short bursts of air and a half-hearted smirk, "their reputation..." Jay trailed off as he wiped the grin off his face, swallowed hard, and retreated back into silence, brow furrowed, to wait out the death stare from Drake.
Another eternity in seconds passed before Drake finally sighed and turned his chair, breaking the eye contact, to the immense relief of Jay and Hunter.
"Get the cameras. I need to make another statement," Drake ordered without expression. The two employees hurried out of the office.
Once on camera, streamed to News of New England’s live feed, for the second time that day, Drake addressed viewers.
"As many of you know, I have always respected the information presented by Business Ethics Review, which has long supported ethical business practices. This is why I was disappointed to learn of a shoddy, unsubstantiated post by BER to their homepage. This post cast aside the usual guidelines used by BER to establish fact-based substantive reporting, instead relying on rumors and wild conjectures to cast myself, my business, and my tragically deceased friend Mr. Barry as corrupt criminals who would murder for profit.
"I call on Business Ethics Review to remove this defamatory and baseless post, and explain to the public why their trust should continue to be put in BER after such a sophomoric display of reporting. NESA has done nothing but make New England safer, standing up today for the people of New England against a grave threat of the unbridled invasion of drug cartels, just as this company, led by my grandfather, stood up to Unified New America when they invaded New England some 60 years ago.
"The actions of BER have put New Englanders at risk by downplaying the very real threat we face today from the cartels, and selfishly obstructing the mission of NESA in an attempt to grab headlines. NESA will not allow fringe conspiracy theories to undermine the security of our customers, and everyone else whom we have selflessly agreed to protect in this time of crisis.
"Thank you for believing in the honorable mission of NESA, and standing with us in this fight against cartel terrorism. BER has shown today it seeks only to divide, while you and I know that when it comes to making New England safe, together we can."
As Drake spoke, an article appeared from News of New England titled, "Have Drug Cartels Infiltrated New England Media?" as another reporter for NNE spoke on camera about the possibility that New York cartels had been planning a takeover of New England for some time, and could easily have entrenched sympathizers in media outlets, banks, security agencies, and everywhere else. "Was the attack on Molly Metis staged?" asked another outlet, "so that a supposed victim could divert blame away from the cartels and toward the strongest security company rivaling cartel insurgency?"
Other news outlets didn’t take this story as fact, however it obscured the story from BER since most news debates began to surround the idea of whether or not cartels had infiltrated New England and to what degree. Molly’s theory, published on BER, was not as widely discussed by the mainstream outlets, though some speculated on why BER would publish such conspiracy theories.
But again some media and online commenters could not all be fooled, and many voiced their opposition to NESA’s actions, and supported the BER story Molly had written. Even if it is shoddy reporting, she had plenty of reason to draw those conclusions, they said. This prompted yet another raid of an Internet Service Provider by NESA. Drake couldn’t shut down BER or remove the story without creating a bigger mess, so he tried to black out the areas of New England most opposed to NESA rule, with help from his Minister of Resources and her influence on the power grid.
This also involved more bribes, more sold positions for the coming government, and more trumped up charges for dissenters. Atlas Protection was the only company actively opposing the violations of contract by NESA. Everyone else was following the orders of Drake, or just doing nothing.
At this point, his orders were not entirely unreasonable. Drake had his own NESA forces carrying out any sketchy raids or enforcement, while other companies who had yielded control were mostly patrolling and policing the few actual crimes and unrest that had taken place over the course of the day. The heavy militarized presence, and supposed threat from cartels had convinced most people to just stay inside and wait it out.
Benjamin remained by Drake’s side to update him as any pertinent information came into NESA headquarters. Most other employees were kept in the dark, believing that NESA was actually fighting a dangerous threat to their freedom.
"There’s a small security agency refusing to follow the orders issued by NESA." Benjamin paused, frowning slightly, and looked to Drake for a response.
Drake was staring off, not looking at anything in particular, and fidgeting with a cigar lighter in his left hand. "Let’s get a warrant issued for the CEO for conspiring with the cartels to violate select contracts. Arrest him, and disperse his employees with the threat of arrest if they continue to carry out their roles as employees of the agency."
Benjamin made a note, and continued, "We have several standoffs with Atlas Protection at this point. But they are too big to deal with the same as the smaller agencies."
"What happened with the highway standoff?" Drake asked.
Benjamin summarized for Drake all the information he had gathered.
The original motorist whom NESA pulled over was allowed to leave, but Atlas Protection units and NESA units remained on the scene, each trying to serve arrest warrants. NESA Agents managed to detain a handful of AP units through the use of flashbangs and smoke grenades, while the other Atlas Protection units had been cornered, just off the highway.
As the NESA detainee transport vehicle departed the scene, more AP units who had set up post a quarter-mile down the road threw a spike strip across the lane. The tires blew out on the transport truck, it skidded sideways, almost regained control, and then skid into the center barrier with the back of the vehicle slamming into a mag tunnel pole.
AP then swarmed the vehicle and detained the NESA units, transporting them and the freed AP detainees out of the area via skyship. When the skyship arrived at the hospital the AP police were taken in to check on their injuries from the crash, but before the NESA captives could be transported to an AP detainment facility, more NESA Agents stepped in, commandeered the skyship, and detained the remaining AP crew.
Drake gave a satisfied nod. Benjamin continued to give him all the relevant information.
Units from each company had also clashed at the detention center where Coastal Internet employees were being held, after Atlantic Arbitration refused to accept the warrants issued by Collective Arbitration. The situation unfolded similarly to the standoff on the highway. NESA Agents detained Atlas Protection units, before being thwarted and detained themselves.
"Everyone’s been smart enough so far not to use lethal force," added Benjamin. "It just seems like it is only a matter of time until something goes wrong, and gets violent. When you got all these Agents with loaded guns being aimed at each other, and military equipment being used," Benjamin shrugged. "I think patience is wearing thin."
Drake had the information he needed, and was done listening to his secretary’s commentary.
"Thank you Benjamin, that will be all."
Arbitration agencies would usually work these problems out without incident, but NESA’s arbiter was following none of the usual procedure. Adding to the problem was the fact that some arbitration agencies could not even function, since employees could not reach work through roads and mag tunnels, and others could not work remotely due to certain Internet and power blackouts, orchestrated by NESA, yet blamed on the cartels.
It seemed the media was having trouble teasing apart what had been caused by NESA, and what they had solved. News teams were on the scene when NESA Agents got one power plant back up and running. News teams had not been on the scene three hours earlier when NESA Agents had raided the plant and cut the power output.
Of course, this gridlock pose
d another problem for New England, where normal life had now been stopped for almost 12 hours. Since NESA was now in the business of solving problems, this just helped them get poised for the next phase, taking control as they "reopened" New England. Food shipments needed to resume (many were held at the border controlled by NESA), people needed to get to work and get their Internet back, in order to work from home.
Power outages had also posed problems for regular activities, especially with most transportation relying on electricity. Many people didn’t know that NESA had directly caused the power outages, the Internet blackouts, the gridlock on the mag tunnels, the impasse on the highways, and the stoppage of travel, imports, and exports at the borders of New England. But they knew that NESA kept saying, and the media repeating, that it could get everything solved and going again. New England residents just had to trust in NESA, and by the time of tomorrow morning’s commute, the pods in the mag tunnels would be running on time.
Some of the few arbiters that were able to stay open despite the turmoil had issued rulings and warrants against NESA. But since NESA had control of the vast majority of street forces in New England, there was no one to enforce these warrants, except an already overwhelmed Atlas Protection. NESA also said that all new arbitration rulings between security agencies would be suspended until everything was resolved, since arbiters were not functioning as they should, meaning NESA’s arbiter could issue warrants against other companies that ran power, Internet, and shipping, but other company’s arbiters couldn’t issue a ruling or warrant against NESA or any other security agency. This inadvertently helped AP avoid major warrants against it by Collective Arbitration, though some warrants had been issued before the NESA decree limiting further warrants.
Law was in a jumble as NESA tried to keep the appearance of legitimacy, while really doing anything they wanted. The appearance, however, was extremely important, at least until control could be solidified, and they could scale back the posturing. To instill confidence in NESA, Drake decided that he would coordinate all power and Internet to be turned back on, just in time for an address by himself to the people of New England. Like the earlier addresses, Drake assumed media outlets would focus on his words; so it was just a matter of creating the right talking points to keep people distracted from the real events and facts.
