by Vincent Heck
Dany pulled up to Logan Circle a few blocks from the arena. “This is far enough away from the battle scene. It’ll expand in a few days. But, we don’t plan for it to last that long.”
“Why so close though?”
“We don’t want to go too far. We want to crowd that space. We’re just the command center. They’ll come here for food, they’ll come here for ammo, they’ll come here for gas or whatever it is they need. We’ve got electricity and communication. They don’t.”
“How?”
“Jason and Tameka had been working on this before they engaged it all.”
“They had to have had some help.”
Dany shrugged his shoulders. “Look, I think that’s Tameka, now.”
Tameka walked up to the truck which was parked in the middle of the park. “Hey, Dany. Hey, Czyra.”
“Tameka. You know my name? I mean, you’re alive? How?”
“Of course I know your name. Anyone you have to pull out of a roadside ditch is a person you can’t forget.”
“That was you?”
“Mmhm. As for the hows and whys: those are for after the outcome. Let’s save hows and whys for then. For now, I’m going to need you to help me take care of these young ladies.”
The night air danced with whistles from small missiles and crackles and hisses of smoke bombs.
“While everyone is back from the dead, has anyone seen, or heard from, Jason?” Christine asked.
“I haven’t yet. But, he’ll be here, soon enough. We’ll need him here.” Tameka said. “Patience is the key. I’m going to track him, and try to speed up the process.”
Jason and Michael had to use a key to unlock the, typically, electric security reinforced doors of the DHS headquarters. Sliding the doors open, they could hear the loud ear-piercing from the military police. “LRAD.” Jason said. “I’m pretty sure this is going to spread the riots to various parts of the city.”
“Well, this whole city is teamed with police and military. And it’s pitch black out here. So, I wouldn’t be surprised if this city is torn down by the morning.”
Machine gun shots fired off in the distance.
“So how are we going to get uptown with no light?” Jason asked.
“Very slowly.”
“Where’s my car? We could do it with that.”
“We took it to an undisclosed lab for analysis.”
“You’ll never get anything from it.”
“I know. But, does that really matter now, Jason? I mean, really.”
“I never miss the opportunity to boast.”
From behind an SUV hummed up the road at rapid speed.
“Duck for cover, Jay!” Michael dove back into the vestibule of the building. But, Jason stood still in the front of the building. Something about this vehicle’s presence was more comfortable than it was scary.
The SUV came to a screeching halt. “What are you doing, Jason?” Michael hollered. “Duck for cover!”
The passenger window came down. A glowing neon blue light illuminated the inside. It was Tameka. She was smiling. “It’s been four years, partner. Hop in. We’ve gotta go assist the troops. Tyranny attacks.”
Michael hopped up off of the ground and dusted himself off.
“Hey handsome.” Tameka winked at Michael. “Hop in the back.”
Once inside, the windshield was lit up in cobalt blue. Although it was pitch-black outside, the windshield displayed a crisp image.
“Well, this should get us to Logan Circle.” Jason said.
“Is that where we’re going?” Michael asked. “How do you know we’re going there?”
“He has been scanning his chip with his memory card.” Tameka answered. “I developed this memory card to help Jason recover the memory we buried away. That memory chip is crucial, right now.” She looked towards Jason. “It’s imperative that anytime you become confused, you scan your chip. Everything is on that chip. It will recall the memories you need at the time.”
A bright light flashed in the distance. “Drone! Twelve o’clock! It’s firing!” Michael shouted.
“I see it.” Tameka said, flipping a switch on her steering wheel.
As the missile speared towards them, it exploded in mid-air. “Looks like we’re latched onto. Sirus. Sheilds up, and take us offline.”
“Hello, Tameka. Are you sure you want to go offline? Your GPS will be disable, and your night vision quality will be decreased.”
“I confirm, Sirus.”
“You are now offline.”
Verizon Stadium
Mr. Brendenhall paced the board room on the stadium suite level. “What are we going to do? Were we prepared for this, Grambling?”
“I’m not sure we were prepared for quite all of this. I mean—“
“How could you not be prepared? They’re nothing but rats in a rat wheel. We’ve been preparing this for decades. Send them to work, send them home, bombard them with philosophies, bills, debt, and recreation. Keep them moving on the rat wheel… they’re not supposed to have this much organization.”
“Well, I don’t know how they—“
“Why do they have military grade weapons? How did they shut down the country’s electric? And where are they getting theirs?”
“Perhaps we missed something, sir. I don’t—“
“I don’t have time for your guesses. You’ve failed this mission over and over—where’s Jason?”
“Last I left him, he was locked away in our secure holding room.”
Brendenhall bit his bottom lip. “You better hope the Megiddos don’t come after you. Because, surely, they are livid, right now.”
“Yes we are.” Frederick Tyson, said pointing a gun at the two men.
“Vice President, Tyson?” Mr. Brendenhall said backing away from the table.
“Yes. ‘Vice President Tyson,’ also known as the Megiddo chairman.” He grinned.
“You folks have failed miserably. We knew you would. We knew you’d get this far and then just screw it all up. So, we had plans of our own. So, you’re here. And I’m here.” He said waving his gun eratically. “And now, it’s time to start eliminating.”
“It’s not going to help anything, Tyson.”
“Oh, well that’s a matter of opinion. You see, you had no clue what was going on. That riot outside was designed and armed by my genius. And now that they’ve stunned you, I’m bringing in the big guns. After I kill you, and Mr. Brendenhall, I’m going to kill all of those people outside. We’re going to continue with our own plan to unite the world, and there will no longer be any dispute on ideology. How’s that sound?”
“Listen—“
The crack of Tyson’s gun exploded in an instant. Mr. Brendenhall grabbed his chest and stumbled back into the wall. Several more shots rang out landing in Mr. Brendenhall’s torso.
Tyson turned his attention to Grambling. “Homeland Security Advisor, huh?” He laughed. “I must say, you’ve done an excellent job. So well, I may have a position for you.”
Grambling quietly stared down the barrel of Tyson’s gun. “You’re just so secure.” Tyson said. “Do you accept my position as Homeland Security Advisor, Mr. Grambling?”
Grambling hesitantly nodded his head. “OK. Great. Are you ready for your first mission, Mr. Grambling?” Tyson asked while still aiming the gun at Grambling.
Grambling nodded again.
Czyra found a corner in the back of Dany’s truck to sink into. Emotion from the bottom of his heart surged into his face and out his eyes. He held back a verbal sob. Jasmine was the only real death he had experienced, it seemed. He wanted to go out there with the crowd and fight. He wanted to fight government and the Brendenhalls.
“Hey.” He heard off in front of him. Footsteps stepped up into the back of the truck. “If you want privacy, this isn’t the place you’re going to want to be.” It was Dany. “More of the guys are coming to reup on amm
o and sustenance.”
Outside of the truck’s trailer, the boys heard Christine scream. “Jason!”
Both boys hopped up and jumped out of the back of the trailer to see Christine rush towards Jason and embrace him. An explosion mushroomed in the background illuminating the park and the reunited couple. Both of their eyes were closed. Tears streamed down Christine’s eyes. “I’m so sorry for everything, Jason. I thought I had lost you.”
“Then, I guess that makes us even.”
Christine laughed through her tears of joy.
“I’ve still got a little bit more to do, hun. Work has been kicking my butt.” Christine finished off her laugh with a cackle.
“Well, you’ve found your sense of humor since the last time I saw you.”
“Alright, that’s enough.” Tameka said. “Does anyone still hear missiles, bullets and bombs? Gather around. Czyra, Dany, let’s discuss. Jason, I’m gonna need you to scan, right now.”
Jason scanned his body chip.
“What are you getting?”
A flash of book text appeared into his head. The text read clear, but the meaning was blurry. Jason scanned again. ‘Tyranny’, ‘secret societies’ and George Washington and the freemason symbol passed through his mind.
“This is the final war against secret societies.”
“Bingo.” Tameka said. “We’ve gotta get money, greed and power out of politics. It will never happen with the Brendenhalls and Megiddos active.” Turning towards the listening group gathered, she continued. “So, Jason and I put a temporary secret society together. A group of the brightest people on earth. We searched I.Q. scores. We watched through the equipment we had. We developed a plan, then we killed ourselves and who we recruited off to execute it.”
“Why’d you have to kill yourselves?” Betsy asked.
“Because. It’s impossible to defeat these people under the surveillance they had implemented. In order to not be suspected—“
“You had to not exist.” Czyra finished.
Tameka looked at Czyra. “Precisely. And you were our existing hero, kid. You did great.”
A static noise sounded from Tameka’s device. “Attention.” A voice said from the speaker. “This is Homeland Security Advisor, Josh Grambling to the U.S. Military patrolling and in combat. You have my permission to secure our city back with any force necessary. Employ the most force as you can to quickly gain back our city. Over and out.”
“Megiddo has control. The Brendenhalls are done.” Michael said.
“Yeah. You would have figured that would have had to happen at some point.” Tameka said. “With the country’s power down, the Brendenhalls are rendered useless. Their U.S. businesses are out of commission, they can’t check their stocks, they can’t get into their bank accounts, their cards don’t work – nothing. A nationwide powerdown instantly cuts them. The Megiddos now have control of this government, and it’s looking to get ugly.”
She clicked her device to another channel. “This is X to the patriots. It’s time for you to pick up your pants. Subtle Luminosity is complete. Last War at Mt. Megiddo has been engaged.”
“Now, what do we do?” Dany asked.
“We find somewhere to sit, and we wait.”
Tameka grabbed guns for Michael, Jason, Czyra and herself. Everyone sat on the grass at the base of the John A. Logan statue. “By time this is done, Michael, you should be the new President of the United States.”
“We’re going to kill President Harris?” Michael asked.
“No. Trust me on this one, President Harris is already gone. Megiddo is in charge.”
“How do you know they’d kill the President?”
“Because the chairman of the Megiddos is Vice President. Anyway to move into the highest position of power. That’s what the Megiddos are about.”
“Fredrick Tyson?” Czyra asked.
“That’s the one.”
A man crept up in the dark. Tameka flashed a light four times. The man returned a flash three times, and went into the back of the truck. Same happened for three more armed civilians.
“So how long did it take you guys to organize it all?” Czyra asked.
“A full seven years. It only took great young people like you and Dany three-four years to get yourselves together.”
“Does it count that you tricked, and chipped me?” Dany asked Tameka.
The trickle of fighters coming to restock turned into a throng of people quietly assembling and restocking.
Jason stood up. “Ladies and gentlemen.” He said quietly. The throng of people froze before Jason continued. “It’s Jason Upton and Michael Young here, from the Department of Homeland security.”
A few guns cocked. “Wait.” Czyra said. “They’re good guys. We wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for him. Listen up, folks.”
“Thanks, Czy. Hey, look. I know we have drones and military shooting at us. But, we need you to lead us into that stadium. Vice President, Frederick Tyson has killed President Harris. We need to take him down, and end this war. Mr. Young will be our new acting POTUS, and the decades long operation F.A.I.T.H. will be terminated for good. Just help us get in there.”
Tameka spoke up. “Those weapons you just picked up are much more powerful than the ones you had. These are fully automatic guns. You could end up killing a lot of people if you don’t shoot the way you’ve been trained. We’re going to send you into the building. You only fire on people in military gear with weapons. You got it? Let’s make this walk.”
Tameka jumped into her SUV, along with Michael, Jason, Christine, Clareese and Betsy. Dany climbed into the driver seat of his truck to the brigade down the quiet, dark, 13th St.
Thousands of civilians were still fighting in front of the Verizon Center downtown. The walk was about 10 blocks and 30 minutes long.
“How long do you think the Megiddos are going to stay in that building?” Dany asked.
“They’ll stay until all their members can safely exit.” Tameka said. “I have my device set to the military’s channel. I’ll know when they decide to leave. They haven’t, yet.”
Injured and dead bodies lay motionless on the sidewalks and streets as the parade of Logan Circle fighters moved closer to the Verizon Center.
Another 3 minutes of marching lead to the corner of 7th and F St. Smoke and debris hovered in the air.
“You folks ready?” Tameka asked. “We’re going to hop in Dany’s truck and barrel around the corner. We’re going to take this thing, and ram it straight into the front doors of the Verizon Center.”
“But, what about the overhang?”
“Right. I guess we’re going to have to use the SUV.”
Tameka shifted into gear. “OK, folks. Buckle up. We’re heading in for a crash landing.” Tameka looked in the back. “Mom, girls, maybe you guys should stay here.” She called a couple of the biggest guys from the crowd. “These are our most prized possessions. Please take care of them. We’re going in there to take down the Megiddos.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” Betsy said.
“Mom. I promise you I’m coming back. I only need one more hour from you, then we can get our lives back.”
Jason jumped out of the passenger seat and opened the door. He embraced Christine. “One more mission and then that’s it. I’ll be a … librarian after this.” He laughed. Christine leaned forward and kissed him. Her mouth tasted like peaches. “I love you babe.” She said.
“I’ll be back.”
She hopped out of the car, and helped Betsy down from the tall vehicle, too.
Jason returned to his passenger side and buckled up. “Tell Dany we’re ready.”
“Dany.” Tameka said. “It’s go-time.”
The growl of the 18 wheeler revved high and slowly crept a wide turn onto F St. The headlights beamed through the foggy haze of dust. Dany blew his air horn the crowds parted out of the way towards the sidewalks. The tanks blocking the other end of the street geared up. The barrels of their cannon
s swiveled in front of their spotlights and aimed at the truck.
Dany opened the door and hopped out hitting the ground hard as the tractor trailer barreled towards the tanks. From behind the truck Tameka sped through the path left behind. The SUV made a messy hop over the curb smashing through the front glass doors of the stadium.
Over the radio, Tameka heard the soldiers frantically scream “We have a breach. I repeat, the fort has been breached.”
“Let’s go.” Tameka said to the semi-stunned Jason, Czyra, and Michael. Staggering into the building, they rushed to the suite level of the stadium with military chasing behind them. “Where would they be?” Jason asked.
“We had a suite here.” Tameka said. “Whenever we’d meet, we’d go to the Player’s Club room.”
Running down the hall behind Tameka Jason laughed. “The Player’s Club?”
“Yeah. Their name. Not mine.”
They approached the Player’s Club suites. Inside was quiet. “There are probably only a couple Megiddos in here.” Tameka whispered. The rest are probably on event level. I’m hoping I picked the right place.”
“I think we do.” Czyra said. “There goes President Harris and Josh Grambling dead by the pool table.”
Michael’s eyes began to tear up. “I can’t believe this.”
“Why would President Harris be up here?” Czyra asked. “The event is way down on the floor.”
“He was probably lured up here.”
Out of the darkness a huge gun emerged from the shadows into a small pocket of light from the generator lights on the stage level. “Well done. That’s exactly what happened. I lured him up here, and had the best Defensive Advisor in America’s history finish him off.”
Tyson sat in one of the suite love seats waving his gun. So, we’ve got what? One, two, three, four, government employees pointing their guns at the Vice President of the United States, for what?”
“Cut the crap, Tyson. You know I know that you’re the chairman and presider over the Megiddos.”
