This week: Treason in its many forms.
'48 STATES.' Chapters 20 & 21
TWENTY
COOPER WATCHED his boss from afar as he sat inside one of Universal’s secure conference rooms. The Red he knew was an exacting leader with an almost fanatical personal grooming habit, but that was not the man he saw behind the bulletproof glass. The person occupying the chair this morning was unshaven, a fugitive’s length of stubble casting a shadow across his face. It also seemed that Red’s skin had taken on a sickly color, a sallow tinge. There were faint reddish rings around his eyes at the socket. Just for one moment, from Cooper’s angle, Red seemed ghoulish, like poor Gollum of Middle Earth who was poisoned by the evil of the all-encompassing ring, but then the light changed, or Cooper blinked, and the illusion passed.
Red was sitting at a large conference table inside one of two “clean” rooms they used; both were swept twice a day for listening devices. Cooper walked in and took the chair next to his boss.
“I assume Finn is still missing, or I would’ve heard from you already,” Red said as Cooper turned off the ringer on his phone.
“We’ve got all available security personnel looking for them both," he said.
“It doesn’t matter,” Red said. “They’re meaningless to me now.”
“I haven’t slept for days and have men scouring the country, and all of a sudden, you’re saying it doesn’t matter?” Cooper said. “What does that mean exactly?”
“It means you should shut up and listen closely,” Red said. “I’m about to make my intentions crystal clear.”
Red was feeling buoyant. After days of depressing news from his pathetic security chief, not to mention being marginalized and ignored by the Chief Witch of the White House, he was finally ready to break free and work on his own terms. The idea for a private army had come to him in a recent dream. In it, he was sitting with the founding fathers, lamenting the fate of the country. James Madison was at his side listening sympathetically, and just before the vision ended, he urged Red to read the Bill of Rights. Red awakened ecstatic, grateful his ancestors had given him a sign of how to move forward. A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State! It was his destiny to save the United States.
After all, he’d created the plan that brought the country this far. Now was the time to take it a step further. There were others like him, who knew the government was weak and could not be counted on in times of crisis. All he had to do was reach out and a new order would be formed.
Red got up, walked over to an intercom by the door, and pressed a button to speak.“You can send them in now,” he said. A minute later, two dozen men and women walked into the room and took seats around the table. Red, who’d remained standing, walked over to the windows of the conference room and closed the blinds. Then he turned to face his audience, smirking at Cooper as he began to speak.
“You’re in this room because you’re the best of the best, recruited away from the FBI, CIA, and NSA,” Red said. “But more importantly, you’re here today because you’ve shown unwavering loyalty to me. In recognition, you’re being rewarded with the opportunity of a lifetime– a chance to save this country from its savage future.
“Immediately following this meeting, you will be divided into teams,” Red continued, taking his seat. “Team one will draft an evacuation plan for the great state of Pennsylvania. I want to know if it’s possible to remove every man, woman, and child from the state in one hundred and twenty days and…”
“Has the White House granted us permission?” one of the analysts interrupted.
Cooper watched Red scrutinize the young man, certain he would be fired before the day was done.
“Given the national interest, it may be that Universal acts out of necessity and seeks consensus later,” Red said.
“How would we do that?” the same young man asked.
Outraged by his impertinence, Red signaled for Cooper to have him removed. “I’m afraid that is no longer your concern,” he said.
Cooper obliged, using the intercom to alert two guards, who escorted the overeager young aide out of the building.
“Now, is there anyone else who’d like to interrupt me?” Red asked.
Twenty-three faces stared back with not so much as a blink of an eye.
“That’s better,” Red said. “The simple fact of the matter is that the United States is due for a change in leadership. Until that happens, we’re going to have to take matters into our own hands. I need both teams to get busy. As I started to explain, team one will be responsible for developing an evacuation plan. Team two will create a blueprint for building a private army. We can approach our existing security personnel inside the Territories, but we’ll need a psychological screen to determine who’s up to the task. I assume some kind of basic training will be necessary, so include the development of a secure instruction facility as part of your analysis.”
“Screen for what?” a young woman asked.
“What we’re doing will be considered treason,” Red answered. “We know, of course, that it’s quite the opposite, but we have to be certain the folks we choose will be up to the task.”
“How many militia members are we talking about?” another team member asked.
“Enough to repel local law enforcement and the military in an initial battle and then guard the Territory. Assume the necessary infrastructure, equipment, and supplies will be available, but I need an army prepared to use those weapons when the time comes. You have two weeks to develop preliminary plans for my review. Now, go home and pack a bag. Given the nature of your work, you’ll be restricted to our staff quarters for the next fourteen days.”
Red watched the group file out, hopeful they were up to the task. He was on the verge of making history. All he had to do was build his army.
“Do you see now?” Red asked. “Do you see our path?”
“I do,” Cooper said. “Red, it’s one thing to guard the Territories, but to assemble an army to overtake the government? Are you prepared for the cost if you fail?”
“I won’t fail. When have I ever failed?” Red asked.
“No, Red. This is something altogether different,” Cooper said. “This is changing the course of history. This is tearing a hole in the fabric of our country.”
“What choice do I have?” Red asked. “You know that bitch will never agree to any of this. She’s old and tired. This whole thing has worn her out, what with her husband walking out on her. I bet he found himself a girlfriend in one of the refugee cities. All those young women stuck in those shitholes with no place to go. I bet he slid right in.”
Cooper looked closely again at Red, noticing the yellow tinge was back. All the bile was bubbling up to the surface.
“I think you’re underestimating her,” Cooper said. “She’s not a lightweight and she won’t hesitate to put up a fight.”
“You’re wrong,” Red said. “It’s up to me to fix things. Luckily, I have a great group of people, and they’re going to execute this plan, and we’ll begin evacuations and establish a new Territory.”
“Let’s at least be on the record as having asked the President one more time to consider another Territory,” Cooper said. “It costs you nothing, and you can use it to your advantage.”
“It costs me time I need to complete my plans and build my army,” Red said.
“You just told me these whiz kids will have it all locked down for you,” Cooper said. “Given your advantage, surely you can spare a little more time to see if she’ll listen to your idea.”
“Very well,” Red said. “Set up the meeting.”
Cooper nodded, but his head was spinning. He’d seen acts of insubordination in his day, antics that skirted protocol but generally kept to the spirit of the idea, which was to win the war. But this was something else entirely. This was all-out treason. Cooper knew great military leaders were, by necessity, audacious, but they executed their plans with enough skill or vision to succeed. Overthrow the US government? That was the provenance of the foolhardy and they were always the ones who got you killed. Cooper was not sure how this would all end, but he knew for certain he wanted to be on the right side of history.
TWENTY ONE
FOR THE REMAINDER of the day, Cooper’s phone was a whirling dervish in his pocket, Red calling frequently. The man’s impatience was excruciating, but Cooper was a good soldier, responding to his queries with his usual attentiveness. So, when the phone rang yet again, flashing an unlisted number, Cooper assumed it was his boss with another request.
“This is Cooper,” he said.
“This is Elizabeth Cunningham,” the President replied.
“Interesting,” he said. “How do I know this is not some kind of joke?”
“Because I am the only one who can tell you my son is alive and well,” she said. “And no thanks to you.”
“Are we on a secure line?” he asked.
“What do you think?”
“Listen, I had a plan to get him out of the Territory safely,” Cooper said. “I didn’t expect him to make a friend so quickly. Once I realized what had happened, I arranged for the checkpoints to be empty when they passed through.”
“I don’t remember having to stage my son’s murder as a condition of his entry into the Territory,” she said. “What the hell is going on?”
Dead silence filled the air while Cooper deliberated whether this moment signified the end, the instant when the last threads that held him to Red were torn away. He decided it did. “Red’s lost his mind,” Cooper said. “He’s convinced that more Territories are the country’s destiny.”
“That’s not news,” Elizabeth said.
“True, but this is,” Cooper said. “You’re just weeks away from a succession movement that will make the Oklahoma City bombing look like child’s play.”
“I see,” the President said. “This is all because I wouldn’t agree to Pennsylvania?”
“This is not a temper tantrum, Madam President. This is treason,” Cooper said. “Red is forming his own militia in an attempt to start a movement. He must be stopped before his plans reach critical mass.”
“Isn’t that your job?” the President asked.
“There is only so much I can do at this point,” Cooper said. “He already suspects I helped your son escape. Red is building his own garrison. A separate team has been assigned to evaluate and plan the evacuation of Pennsylvania in one hundred and twenty days, with oil production coming online three months later.”
“That’s crazy,” she said. “We’ve got military bases strategically placed near every major city across the country. He won’t get more than a hundred feet into the state.”
“He’s building a private army he believes will be able to hold off US troops long enough for him to bring the crude to the market,” Cooper said. “Once the government sees the value of the product, he believes you’ll come around.”
“As someone sworn to uphold the Constitution, I can tell you with certainty that I will not come around,” the President said. “Are you aware that we’re about to restart elections? I’m embarking on a national train trip to reassure the American public that the worst is over and they can get back to living their lives. Meanwhile, there is an out-of-control CEO hell-bent on revolution. How do you think that is going to go over with American voters?”
“With all due respect, that is why I stay out of politics,” Cooper said. “I’m just here to deliver the message.”
“Are you helping him?” she asked.
“We wouldn’t be having this conversation if I were,” Cooper said.
“Is he getting any help from inside the White House?” she asked. “No,” he said. “None that I know of.”
“One more question,” she said. “Is he going to try to kill me?”
“Not if I can help it,” Cooper said.
“Well, that is reassuring,” she said. “Just like you protected my son?”
“Just hear me out. I think I have a way to end all of this, but I have to be able to keep Red’s confidence, or things will get ugly,” he said. “Understand, though, that nothing can be guaranteed. If I were you, I’d buckle up for a bumpy ride. And while you’re at it, have the FBI review the entire security plan for your trip.”
Cooper ended the call, hoping the President would take his advice seriously. Although he felt better for having told someone of Red’s plans, he was also terrified. He knew better than anyone that Red only got more obstinate in the face of opposition. He didn’t back down and never apologized, even when he knew things would end badly. That meant Cooper would have to either outsmart him or be more brutal.
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