Obviously, a simple case of self-defense. The two cops first on the scene saw the crazy signs and remembered when they tangled with these assholes before. They both shrugged, took statements and let everyone go. The cops had far more pressing matters to attend to anyway.
Sophie took careful note of the whole thing. For years, no one had ever been able to do anything about these insane religious fanatics. More than a decade of lawsuits, court injunctions and physical threats only emboldened them. However, with a little direct action, these people permanently removed that thorn in the ass of humanity. Unfortunately, that was the only lesson she took home that day.
It was a lesson she couldn’t wait to teach others.
Manhattan, NY
It was a scary time to be rich and successful. Something about having everything makes you worry about losing it all. It was also that incredible wealth, that ability to live in a different world, which made it so difficult to comprehend their irrational poorer brethren. So many of these prestigious Ivy League Alumni were scions of wealthy families. Old money, to put it mildly.
Since they had never experienced having nothing, they couldn’t fathom the frustration and sense of hopelessness the lower classes struggled with daily. Let alone understand how when you have nothing, you have nothing left to lose.
A room full of conservative-minded money managers set around a television watching the near anarchy in the streets and the true anarchy in the marketplace. All their technical models and analysts weren’t worth a damn in a market controlled by headlines. How do you short Armageddon?
Still, confusing as things were, you didn’t rise to manage billions in assets by being the type that just reacts to events. That they would do something was a foregone conclusion. The only question was what. They’d already poured hundreds of millions into various Political Action Committees (PACs). Those traditional investments to fund friendly politicians just weren’t panning out. They were paid, and paid obscenely well, to think three steps ahead of the news and one ahead of the competition. It was their job to identify future trends when they existed as mere rumors and isolated events.
Of course, you didn’t have to be Warren Buffett to realize that the politicians were losing control of the situation. The trick was trying to determine who would be controlling events when the dust settled and how best to influence them.
With the politicians riding the waves of popular opinion, the highest court being ignored and even the military impotent, there was an obvious power vacuum. The only thing clear was that the next president would be chosen by force, and not the ballot box. Even if the current president went through with his promise of holding new elections, the opposing party and millions on the streets promised to “stop him.” There was only one way to accomplish that…and it wasn’t in the courts or chambers of Congress.
One of the men stopped reading the proposal and cleared his throat. “I don’t know. I have serious doubts about the effectiveness of this investment. Come on, I trade derivatives. Frankly, I don’t know the first damn thing about running a militia. Maybe we should stick to the PR campaign? That’s definitely shaping public opinion our way.”
One of the most ruthless females shook her head at him. “How many votes does a million dollars’ worth of advertisements buy us? Who really knows? Now, how many votes does a million dollars’ worth of guns get us?” She paused long enough to assure everyone’s attention. “All we need.” Several heads reluctantly nodded.
A futures trader waved at the TV. “We can’t afford to be so naïve. The traditional political process died along with Terry Scott. This violence at the polls is going to happen regardless of what we do. Too much is at stake.” He added the magic words for this crowd. “I just want to make sure we get in on it during the startup phase. If we don’t, the competition will.” He tried to sound funny, but he was dead serious.
“This is an emerging market. We could be locked out pretty quick if the other guys dominate it. Let’s face it; the consequences of failure are a little bit more severe than missing our bonus targets.”
A famous bond manager spoke up. “The competition? Things are worse than that. The takers are trying to turn America into some type of socialist paradise. It’s everything Ayn Rand warned us about. Cynical as it sounds, we have to defend ourselves.”
There weren’t any further holdouts.
The great irony about using anonymous PAC money to recruit, train and arm a paramilitary force to “help ensure the constitutional transfer of presidential power,” was that it’s perfectly legal and even tax-free. Not that taxes would be much of a worry if they were successful. Simplifying the tax code, at least for job creators, would be a top priority in their New America.
In a 50th floor office across the street, their liberal counterparts met and reached similar conclusions. Major conglomerates around the world also independently accepted the realities of the new business environment. Most of them were apolitical and saw themselves merely responding to the threats around them in the most cost efficient way possible. Regardless of motivation, the results were the same.
Some would hire private security contractors to defend their interests and others would help fund existing, armed “constitutional protection” groups. A few founded their own private armies to have a chip in the new political game. Regardless of the method used, the nation would never be the same.
The random violence gripping the country was such a mild danger compared to the much greater threat entering the arena: corporate sponsorship.
Chapter 5
Washington, DC
“Mr. President, I must caution again that these are preliminary findings, at best. It’s only been a few days. So much can still change. Just because the serial number matches the Florida Guard’s armory records doesn’t mean the weapon wasn’t stolen recently. Perhaps in the chaos at Camp Blanding?” The head of the FBI looked more embarrassed than conciliatory.
“Between the so called ‘protective detentions’ of federal law enforcement personnel in Florida and the sealed borders, we’re finding it rather difficult to get cooperation with this investigation.”
“And fingerprints or any forensic evidence?” asked a junior aide, almost absentmindedly.
“Well, quite a few, as a matter of fact. All current members of the Florida Guard…” Several aides nodded and moved on to other matters. He ignored them and raised his voice. The president was already walking away.
“Again sir, you shouldn’t base any course of action on what’s really circumstantial evidence.”
Another aide rushed in with something Oh-So-Important and bumped the FBI chief out of the way. This wasn’t his first time in the situation room. He’d seen the Administration pissed at him and pleased with him, but he’d never seen them uninterested in what he had to say. He caught a glimpse of a draft speech on the table. There’d been a few memos generated by his office with the same subject, but this just wasn’t in the same league. He couldn’t suppress the chill in his bones at seeing that one magic word repeated multiple times:
Terrorism.
The director tried to catch the president’s eye, but he was deep in quiet conversation with someone from the CIA and several new generals. He didn’t recognize any of them. There’d been a hell of a lot of personnel shakeups, resignations and transfers out west or overseas, among the senior military staff since the Florida fiasco last week.