The Final Battle III

Luke pulled onto the island just as Ben and Tom were making the final adjustments. They had both EMP’s set to within one-quarter degree. Perfect. The control cables had been ran from the “Western Whitehouse” control center and attached. All systems were powered, triple checked and ready.

Ben thought about what his Uncle had said earlier at the cave. The sale of Harley. Riots and looting. He wondered how the government had become so disrespectful of it’s own citizens. The two boys walked over to where the bikes were parked. Luke was sitting on a log watching them finish the EMP’s. They sat across from him and asked: “Can you tell us what happened after you and our Dad formed the ACF”? “What was wrong with the government”? “How could they be so stupid”?

Luke reached into his rucksack and produced a pint of Jim Beam bourbon. The boys sat patiently waiting for him to speak. Breaking the seal on the fresh bottle, he held it up and looked at the full moon through the amber liquid. After a moment of collecting his thoughts he took a long swig. Feeling the warmth in his stomach, Luke let out a sigh and sat the bottle on the ground between them. “Now remember to sip that boys, it’s worth its weight in gold”. Ben picked up the bottle and took a healthy “sip”, then passed it to his brother. “Hold up there son” Luke said. “ The “law” says you have to be twenty-one to drink that. If my brain’s still working, you’re only eighteen”. Tom saw the smirk on Luke’s face, politely gave him a one-finger salute and took a big gulp. Luke fell off the log laughing. “Damn son”, Luke said, “You’re just as cocky as your old-man was”. Silence suddenly pierced the moon lit night. Luke felt the tears welling in his eyes. Damn he missed his brother.

After several rounds of “pass the bottle”, Luke spoke up. “ Things really started to get bad in 2012 when Schwarzenegger won the Presidential Election. Every one said that he couldn’t run, but the U.S.S.A. Senate said that all of the States had voted to change the Constitution. Although no paperwork was ever seen”. “And since all voting was now done on the Internet, there was no paper trail”. Luke paused to light his pipe and take a sip of bourbon. “News of what was going on wasn’t reaching the masses. In 2009, when the government forced a change to “Digital TV”, people thought they were getting a better picture. In reality, it turned out to be a government controlled system”. “Soon they began editing everything put out on cable. They already had control of the satellites, so that part was easy”. “In late 2010, when the landline phone system was dismantled, disguised as a infrastructure upgrade, they had control of the Internet. As the whole system was now wireless or cable”.

Luke stood up to stretch his legs. He walked to the edge of the island and looked out over DC. He felt the rage and anger building inside him. It was hard for him to understand how so few men could harbor so much greed and power lust. Looking at his watch he saw in was now ten thirty. “Soon” he thought. “Soon, you bastards. I’ll shove that greed right up your…”