A silent Prayer
Danny James was only 17 and a junior in high school. He was on the varsity football team and fairly well liked. His brown hair and eyes and average looks made him almost forgettable. He was young and was filled with passion for the things he considered important, just like all the teenagers before and all the ones to come after him. What was a wholesome kid like this doing crawling across the roof of an apartment building, pulling a high-tech devise designed to rapidly transport several pounds of high explosives to a new location in a very rapid manner? Danny had met with some friends of his best friends brother who was home from college.
They stayed up late drinking beer and talking about what was going on. In the capitol it was near chaos. What had started as a polite difference in political ideology, had over years become hatred, prejudice, bigotry and outright hate. Once the two parties could at least agree to disagree, but the level of abhorrence of the other side’s ideas had lead to personal attacks in the forms of investigative reporting. The Bread and Circus of old had been replaced with beer and scandals. One side would do it’s best to point out the flaws of the other. Partisan lines were drawn and the media, ever interested in ratings had been more than interested in covering each scandal and each verbal attack. Without ever admitting it they were the hammer driving the political wedge into the very core of the country.
Elections became closer as fewer people voted outside of ideology and this lead to the infamous 80/20 election where the popular vote was overwhelmingly cast but the Electoral College voted against public opinion and the conservatives were swept out of power. After the new administration has taken office, it came to light that there was massive organized fraud, blackmail and intimidation concerning the members of the EC. Just as articles of impeachment were about to be introduced, the attacks happened.
On one humid, hot, oppressive summer morning, people went about their daily lives only to have them shattered. In twenty-eight locations across the nation, gunmen, suicide bombers and demolitions experts, all trained terrorists struck within 10 minutes of each other. The main targets of the gunmen were elementary schools where the focus of their evil act was the cafeterias. They were devastatingly efficient, managing to waste few bullets and claiming hundreds of lives before the police were able to respond in force. The gunmen, to a man, fought to the death.
The ten suicide bombers were more efficient, targeting populated areas such as crowded super markets, malls and theaters. The remaining eight were perhaps the scariest. They were educated enough to have carried out concise demolition operations on large freeway overpasses, bridges and in one case a national monument. The heinous bombers work had been scary but the really frightening fact was that all eight of them had managed to slip across the southern boarder where the trail grew cold. All in all the death toll from that day was more than five thousand.
The investigative arms of law enforcement sprung into life with a vengeance, running down every lead they could find while the nation mourned in stunned silence. Officers and Detectives followed the trail back from the dead men to the south where the enemies of peace slip into the country across the largely unwatched border. One group had even been given water, food and directions to their destination by a group of migrant’s rights workers. It was determined that the terrorists were part of the same group that nation had been at war with for years.
The President ordered martial law citing evidence of more attacks that were only moments away form being launched. A very hastily drafted emergency war powers act was sent to the congress where it was quickly got a vote that followed party lines. Not having enough time to read the entire bill, the conservatives voted no and wanting to be seen supporting their party the liberals voted yes. The War Powers Act gave the president the authority to call martial law and to have the federal government arrest anyone that was deemed a threat to the safety and welfare of the country. When these details came to light there were massive protests.
Conservatives hated the legislation because it violated basic rights and it defied the constitution that has served so faithfully for so long. A march on the capitol was planned. When the protestors showed up, the president ordered them all arrested on the grounds of sedition. While the Vice President and his other, advisors were talking him out of that plan the police, backed up by the military, tried to contain the protest to the mall area. Know one knows who fired that fateful shot. The liberal’s claim it was the conservative, gun-toting protestors, and the conservative’s of course claim it was one of the federal officers. Some point to this as the first official shot in the second civil war.
The ironic part is that there were gun-toting conservatives in the crowd and they fired, drawing both sides into a battle. When the shooting stopped, the only sound was the cries of the three hundred wounded protestors and twenty-three wounded Federals. The official death toll was never released; however scholars place it around seventy. The Minority leader called an emergency session to discuss the incident. Several of the more vocal media commentators demanded that the articles of impeachment be amended to include the indecent. They were promptly arrested for sedition under the EWPA and the right was astounded at the audacity of the administration. The promised to shut the government down until the EWPA was repealed. When the first conservative stood up to begin the recently vaunted filibuster, he was handcuffed and carried off of the senate floor. One by one all of the party was led off to fates still unknown.
Thousands descended on the capitol, but all were met with violence, overwhelming, cold and final violence. The attacks on the seat of the nation were continuing, but it was becoming more of a guerilla war back east where the majority of the population favored the federal. In the South and the Midwestern portion of the country, many folks were conservative in nature. It stood to reason that the country split along the vote maps of the last election cycle.
When several states declared that since the government abandoned the constitution, they were in fact no longer obliged to be part of the nation. The Federalists, were none too happy and were seeking to bring them back into line. There were many changes enacted under the EWPA including the Press Corps becoming an official branch of the government, under the Department of Defense.
As Danny listened to the college students talk about the recent history and of the intent of the founding fathers, he became mad at the federals for taking away his right to elect who he wanted to. After all, he didn’t want some blue-blood country club snob telling him what to do, what to think. Freedom of the press was his to enjoy not the Feds to take away. So Danny volunteered.
At first Danny just did small things like keep an eye on the rail lines seeing what kind of goods were being transported. He also was letting his brothers friends know when the Federal Troops went on patrol. Once Danny had heard about the Quickie mart he knew he had to do more. His mission today was to attack the lead transport in the morning patrol. They had explained the procedure over and over to him, though he had never fired weapon in his life until last week. His cell leader had him practice over and over with a rifle then made him shoot a cow in order to desensitize him to killing, or so he said. He was to destroy the lead APC, then run across the roof to the construction debris slide on the far side. He was to use that to get to the ground floor, then blend into the street.
Danny reached his spot and slowly peered over the side down to the street below, he could hear the engines and the rumbling as they came through the city. Extending the tub and taking off the end caps he said a silent prayer that he would be able to do this, he wanted to do it right, it was his overwhelming thought.
They stayed up late drinking beer and talking about what was going on. In the capitol it was near chaos. What had started as a polite difference in political ideology, had over years become hatred, prejudice, bigotry and outright hate. Once the two parties could at least agree to disagree, but the level of abhorrence of the other side’s ideas had lead to personal attacks in the forms of investigative reporting. The Bread and Circus of old had been replaced with beer and scandals. One side would do it’s best to point out the flaws of the other. Partisan lines were drawn and the media, ever interested in ratings had been more than interested in covering each scandal and each verbal attack. Without ever admitting it they were the hammer driving the political wedge into the very core of the country.
Elections became closer as fewer people voted outside of ideology and this lead to the infamous 80/20 election where the popular vote was overwhelmingly cast but the Electoral College voted against public opinion and the conservatives were swept out of power. After the new administration has taken office, it came to light that there was massive organized fraud, blackmail and intimidation concerning the members of the EC. Just as articles of impeachment were about to be introduced, the attacks happened.
On one humid, hot, oppressive summer morning, people went about their daily lives only to have them shattered. In twenty-eight locations across the nation, gunmen, suicide bombers and demolitions experts, all trained terrorists struck within 10 minutes of each other. The main targets of the gunmen were elementary schools where the focus of their evil act was the cafeterias. They were devastatingly efficient, managing to waste few bullets and claiming hundreds of lives before the police were able to respond in force. The gunmen, to a man, fought to the death.
The ten suicide bombers were more efficient, targeting populated areas such as crowded super markets, malls and theaters. The remaining eight were perhaps the scariest. They were educated enough to have carried out concise demolition operations on large freeway overpasses, bridges and in one case a national monument. The heinous bombers work had been scary but the really frightening fact was that all eight of them had managed to slip across the southern boarder where the trail grew cold. All in all the death toll from that day was more than five thousand.
The investigative arms of law enforcement sprung into life with a vengeance, running down every lead they could find while the nation mourned in stunned silence. Officers and Detectives followed the trail back from the dead men to the south where the enemies of peace slip into the country across the largely unwatched border. One group had even been given water, food and directions to their destination by a group of migrant’s rights workers. It was determined that the terrorists were part of the same group that nation had been at war with for years.
The President ordered martial law citing evidence of more attacks that were only moments away form being launched. A very hastily drafted emergency war powers act was sent to the congress where it was quickly got a vote that followed party lines. Not having enough time to read the entire bill, the conservatives voted no and wanting to be seen supporting their party the liberals voted yes. The War Powers Act gave the president the authority to call martial law and to have the federal government arrest anyone that was deemed a threat to the safety and welfare of the country. When these details came to light there were massive protests.
Conservatives hated the legislation because it violated basic rights and it defied the constitution that has served so faithfully for so long. A march on the capitol was planned. When the protestors showed up, the president ordered them all arrested on the grounds of sedition. While the Vice President and his other, advisors were talking him out of that plan the police, backed up by the military, tried to contain the protest to the mall area. Know one knows who fired that fateful shot. The liberal’s claim it was the conservative, gun-toting protestors, and the conservative’s of course claim it was one of the federal officers. Some point to this as the first official shot in the second civil war.
The ironic part is that there were gun-toting conservatives in the crowd and they fired, drawing both sides into a battle. When the shooting stopped, the only sound was the cries of the three hundred wounded protestors and twenty-three wounded Federals. The official death toll was never released; however scholars place it around seventy. The Minority leader called an emergency session to discuss the incident. Several of the more vocal media commentators demanded that the articles of impeachment be amended to include the indecent. They were promptly arrested for sedition under the EWPA and the right was astounded at the audacity of the administration. The promised to shut the government down until the EWPA was repealed. When the first conservative stood up to begin the recently vaunted filibuster, he was handcuffed and carried off of the senate floor. One by one all of the party was led off to fates still unknown.
Thousands descended on the capitol, but all were met with violence, overwhelming, cold and final violence. The attacks on the seat of the nation were continuing, but it was becoming more of a guerilla war back east where the majority of the population favored the federal. In the South and the Midwestern portion of the country, many folks were conservative in nature. It stood to reason that the country split along the vote maps of the last election cycle.
When several states declared that since the government abandoned the constitution, they were in fact no longer obliged to be part of the nation. The Federalists, were none too happy and were seeking to bring them back into line. There were many changes enacted under the EWPA including the Press Corps becoming an official branch of the government, under the Department of Defense.
As Danny listened to the college students talk about the recent history and of the intent of the founding fathers, he became mad at the federals for taking away his right to elect who he wanted to. After all, he didn’t want some blue-blood country club snob telling him what to do, what to think. Freedom of the press was his to enjoy not the Feds to take away. So Danny volunteered.
At first Danny just did small things like keep an eye on the rail lines seeing what kind of goods were being transported. He also was letting his brothers friends know when the Federal Troops went on patrol. Once Danny had heard about the Quickie mart he knew he had to do more. His mission today was to attack the lead transport in the morning patrol. They had explained the procedure over and over to him, though he had never fired weapon in his life until last week. His cell leader had him practice over and over with a rifle then made him shoot a cow in order to desensitize him to killing, or so he said. He was to destroy the lead APC, then run across the roof to the construction debris slide on the far side. He was to use that to get to the ground floor, then blend into the street.
Danny reached his spot and slowly peered over the side down to the street below, he could hear the engines and the rumbling as they came through the city. Extending the tub and taking off the end caps he said a silent prayer that he would be able to do this, he wanted to do it right, it was his overwhelming thought.
posted by Vulture 6 | 5:27 PM
1 Comments:
You have an amazing writing style. I was hooked into the story and want to know all about these people. Very nice post.
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