“Meaning they were simply one less thing for you to worry about, correct?”
“Yes. As long as they were minding their own business and not causing trouble, I left them alone. All of our efforts have been focused on getting the power back on and rebuilding the interstates, but The Silent Warriors stymie our progress at every turn. Butler will clear out a stretch of road and rebuild a bridge, and those cursed terrorists will come in behind him and undo everything. It’s making things impossible for us.”
“Mr. President, what can I do to help?”
“I’m here to discuss a matter that has been troubling me for months. Regional Governor Butler has become a problem.”
“Really? In what way?”
“I’m growing concerned that his loyalties no longer lie with the UAE. He’s becoming increasingly insolent and enjoys testing the limits of my patience. I put him in charge of the reconstruction efforts in The Pulse Zone because I thought he could get the job done.”
“You’re not satisfied with his progress?”
“Quite the contrary. He’s doing an exemplary job in spite of all the frustrating setbacks. What troubles me is his affinity for the spotlight. He’s arrogant and will do anything to gain popularity. The accusations you made recently about him stockpiling resources and manpower did not fall on deaf ears. I looked into the matter and discovered that you were correct.”
“To what end?”
“Isn’t it obvious? He’s planning to seize power and get rid of me.”
Roberto laughed. “By himself? He can’t possibly be that deluded. Just because he’s making strides in getting The Pulse Zone up and running doesn’t mean he’s in any position to start a civil war. That sort of egotistic idiocy is the last thing we need right now. Once Iran is finished with Europe, they’re coming for us. Butler has to know that.”
“I think he’s too blinded by power to even care. He must think he can get rid of me, slip quietly into the driver’s seat and just take the wheel without any bloodshed.”
“What do you want me to do, Mr. President?”
“If I know Jackson like I think I do, he’s going to reach out to some of the other regional governors for support.”
“You know the two of us don’t exactly get along. I’d be at the bottom of his list.”
“That’s why I came to you, Roberto. Of all the regional governors, you’re the only one in whom I have implicit trust. You were instrumental in helping me overthrow Malcolm Powers, and it’s a fortunate coincidence that you and Jackson despise each other.”
“That’s putting it lightly.”
“I need you to be mindful of the rest of the group. Use the attack on the Golden Gate Bridge as your cover. Tell them I’m furious with you, furious enough to force you into retirement. A few juicy rumors should get their tongues wagging.”
“I wish you’d force me into retirement; I could use a break. What are you planning to do about Butler?”
“Nothing for the time being. I’m curious to know if he can recruit anyone to his cause.”
“And if he does?”
“I think you already know the answer to that.”
CHAPTER TEN
Benjamin Black had never felt such fervent hatred toward anything or anyone in his life. Yes, he faced the customary loathing for mundane annoyances— he hated getting stuck in traffic, he detested his shitty bosses, and he despised the Dallas Cowboys with a vengeance – but nothing came close to the unmitigated, raw hatred Benjamin harbored for the Unified American Empire.
Like so many Americans, Ben felt he’d been deceived by President Simon Sterling. In the wake of the collapse, Sterling seemed like the perfect answer to the country’s desperate prayers, both a revolutionary and a true patriot. The guy was smart and ready to cut through a mountain of bullshit to do things right and get them done fast. The fact that Sterling’s initial move was to bring the country’s troops home, leaving the rest of the world to fend for itself, made him the most beloved president of all time. And just when Ben thought the man couldn’t possibly top that, President Sterling made it clear to all that his style of dogged isolationism not only referred to military intervention, but to financial relief as well. Even while the country was mired in The Second Great Depression, the bleeding-heart liberals still wanted to send billions and billions of dollars to feed the starving children of the world. President Sterling proclaimed that Americans had their own starving children to feed, thank you very much. No more handouts, no more sticking our noses into foreign matters where they didn’t belong in the first place. America had enough problems to deal with; the rest of the world was on its own. Benjamin Black believed in Simon Sterling. If anyone could pull the country out of The Second Great Depression and rebuild The Pulse Zone, he could do it.
At first, Sterling’s measures seemed strict and imposing, but Ben and the other terrified citizens sat in quiet acquiescence. Someone needed to bring the hammer down on the degenerate thugs who were in the way of progress. Curfews weren’t really a bad thing either. Ben was smart enough to know that darkness is the coziest blanket for evil. Ben became a bit wary when more and more of the country became compartmentalized. President Sterling declared that crossing state lines required a passport. If you were caught in Tennessee with a Florida driver’s license and no passport, you had some serious explaining to do. Ben questioned the restriction, but drastic situations called for drastic measures…right?
Like most people, Ben harbored an underlying hatred and mistrust of anyone with olive-colored skin. He kept these feelings buried beneath a façade of indifference and certainly never acted on them. A decade of progressively deadlier attacks by The Silent Warriors had fostered his racism and kept the perpetual internal flame burning just beneath his skin. During The Thanksgiving Day Massacre, Ben was at his parents’ house watching the Cowboys game with his siblings and their families. Like every year, his dad kept stalling the start of the meal so they could sit in front of the TV just a little longer. With less than two minutes to go in the first quarter, breaking news of the sniper attacks interrupted the game and had Ben screaming at the TV. Once Ben and his family truly grasped the severity of what they were witnessing, Thanksgiving would never be the same. When the Super Bowl Massacre of 2023 brought about the demise of the National Football League, Ben joined millions of enraged fans and didn’t object in the slightest when the Middle Eastern internment camps were erected.
Benjamin’s aversion for the UAE deepened as rumors of mass executions ran rampant. The massacre of thousands of internees, including innocent women and children, generated an alarming, caustic side effect—the eradication of free speech. Sterling was far too cunning to provoke the Empire while they were busy conquering Europe. Censorship reared its menacing head, and the ugly truth withered, its silent death unreported. Once Sterling had an iron grip on the media, he could unleash his madness free from accountability.
New flocks of refugees arrived at Disney World each day, offering passionate firsthand accounts of Sterling’s lunacy. Everyone knew the president’s first measure of “social reform” would be to clean up the Obama Camps. Benjamin Black had been earning his keep since he was sixteen years old and had made an honest living ever since, so he viewed the Obama Camps with disgust. They were filled with lazy bums who expected hard working people to take care of them. Ben hoped President Sterling would kick these indolent losers square in the ass and force them to find employment, however menial. Sterling had a simple, quite efficient solution: The Unified National Guard marched in with flamethrowers and burned the camps to the ground, no eviction notice or other advance warning provided.