Later, that night despite protests from Jerrick’s top leadership, Jerrick would meet this stranger alone. He knew a strange woman wasn’t trying to hook up with him. Women usually sprayed perfume on the letter and planted a luscious, red, lipstick kiss on the envelope, imbuing a mysterious aura of future hot passion.
Jerrick arrived early and walked into the bar, scanning for agents. He saw six patrons drinking beer.
Jerrick sat at a booth in the back, far corner.
Waitress came by, “What can I get you?”
“I’ll take a beer, on the tap, please.”
Waitress asked suspiciously, “How do you plan to pay?”
Jerrick reached in his pocket and pulled out a thick wad of bills that had at least six zeros on them.”
“Hon, that money won’t do you any good in here. What kind of commodities do you have?”
Jerrick reached in his other pocket and pulled out a new box of cigarettes, Winston’s to be exact.”
“That pack will buy you two beers.”
“Okay, please bring them.”
Jerrick didn’t smoke. After the hyperinflation, nobody accepted money anymore. Almighty U.S. dollar became fancy toilet tissue. Small valuable objects like cigarettes became their weight in gold. Gasoline also became precious, but Jerrick rarely carried it with him because of the pungent smell.
Waitress brought two brews and sat one brew in front of Jerrick and the other one at the empty seat directly across from him.
Several minutes later, a guy with a grizzly beard popped down quickly into the empty seat across from Jerrick.
A homeless man sat down to snatch that unattended beer.
However, Jerrick noticed the guy’s physique and strong eyes. He knew this guy was athletic with firm lean muscles beneath those rags of clothes.
Then Jerrick looked into the guy’s eyes that were strong and commanded respect. Jerrick knew this guy gave orders; he didn’t receive them.
Guy asked, “Are you expecting company?”
“Yes, I was waiting for you?”
“I take it this beer is for me?”
“Help yourself.”
Guy gulp half of his tasty beer. Although the army still fed him, he hadn’t drunk a beer in months.
Guy drank another swig before returning the beer to the table and said, “We have a mutual friend, Richard. He recommended that I should speak with you. So, Jerrick, how do you plan to save America?”
Jerrick spoke for 15 minutes, laying out his plans about rebuilding America and creating an Empire.
Guy listened intently.
Occasionally, Jerrick paused and glanced around, ensuring no one eavesdropped. Jerrick stayed away from particulars but outlined a generic version of this plan.
“Very interesting, but how do you actually plan to seize the government?”
Jerrick sat back and stared at the guy, searching his intuition. Sometimes, when something bad would happen, he would get a funny sensation. Today, his mental radar remained silent.
Jerrick knew if he spilled his plans in front of the secret police, they would arrest and execute him for treason. Of course, this person knew the first name of one of his secret contacts in the federal government.
Jerrick knew Richard Woodland was very careful, and he was sending an important person from the military to speak with Jerrick.
“Waitress,” Jerrick hollered, “Please bring us another round.”
Jerrick fished in his pocket for the other pack of cigarettes.
Then Jerrick faced the guy and replied, “Operation Troyka.”
Guy asked, “Operation Troyka?”
“Operation Troyka has three parts, Power, Communication, and Seizure,” Jerrick began.
Jerrick explained every detail about Troyka, taking over 20 minutes to explain everything.
Guy listened with his full concentration.
Finally, the guy spoke, “Your plan could work. However, I can only guarantee five Army bases and about 200,000 soldiers, but if your plan fails, then we would plunge our country into a bloody civil war.”
“I know, but I’m willing to risk that chance. If we don’t do something now, those bastards in Washington will turn our nation into a third-world country. "
Guy asked, “I agree. Those bastards in Washington put us into a bad spot. How do we plan to communicate?”
Jerrick reached into his coat and pulled out two satellite cell phones and added, “One cell phone is mine, and I’ll give you the other one.”
Then Jerrick slid the cell phone across the table to the guy.
Jerrick continued, “I have a computer specialist, who put a special chip in these phones. She told me it was impossible to decrypt any phone conversation without those chips.”
Guy took the phone, slipped it into his pocket, and muttered, “I see you found some military encryption-decryption chips.” He knew the military and CIA can decrypt their conversation, but a supercomputer needed a week or two to decrypt.
“Do you have a date in mind to begin Operation Troyka?”
“Yes, Thursday, July 27, 2017.”
“Why that particular date?”
“Scientists are forecasting an extremely hot day for that day.”
“It will be a very hot day indeed.”
Guy finished his second beer and said, “Thanks for the beer.”
He stood up and turned to leave.
“See you later,” Jerrick said.
Jerrick’s plans were coming to fruition. He had set a date for his power acquisition, July 27, 2017. Meteorologists had no idea how hot that day would be.
Next night, Jerrick delivered his speech in East Point, Georgia, attracting a crowd of fifty thousand people.
Homeless people in the area meandered to the auditorium.
Temperature hovered above the freezing mark while skies remained cloudy.
Driving to the back entrance of the auditorium, Jerrick saw large crowds of people, waiting to get inside.
Some people dressed well while others were covered in dirt and grime. Jerrick’s message appealed to all the people, not just one social class.
Jerrick’s security helped direct the crowd, clearing the road for Jerrick and his political party.
One homeless man wore a dark-brown hat and a dirty green flannel jacket. Years of homelessness and decades of beard growth blackened his face. Although impossible to determine his race, the white of his eyes showed through all those years of misery. Man’s eyes brightened as Jerrick’s car drove by.
Homeless man shouted, “Jerrick! Jerrick! Jerrick! …”
Rest of the crowd picked up the cue and joined the chorus.
Crowd began shouting Jerrick’s name, and he had not spoken yet.
Driving by the homeless man, Jerrick saw the homeless man’s face brightened up as hope glinted in his eyes.
If this homeless guy had showered, wore new clothes, and started a job, he would become a hardworking, tax-paying citizen again. Unfortunately, the U.S. legal system tossed this guy to the side as if he were garbage.
Jerrick stood on the auditorium stage behind the curtain, hearing the raucous sounds of thousands in the audience.
As he poked his head through the tall, golden drapes and walked to the stage’s center, the crowd started cheering.
Jerrick waited for the crowd to become silent. Then he started his speech,
Information economy was a scam.
Politicians knew we were losing our good-paying factory jobs.
They dreamt up this idea that high-paying jobs would become plentiful.
These jobs dealt with information and high technology.
Let’s analyze that!
Name a high-tech industry?
Hmmmmm, the internet.
Where are our computers made?
In Asia like China, Malaysia, and Taiwan.
Where are the computer parts made like memory and processors?
In Asia too!
>
Who writes the programs that run on these computers?
American corporations outsource these jobs to people in India, China, and Russia.
If you have trouble with your computer or trouble with your internet connection, whom do you call?
American corporations route your phone calls and emails to call centers in India.
You get broken Hindi English as a response.
When you pay for your computer and internet services, where does your money go?
Money goes to the American Corporations.
The CEOs and high-ranking corporate officials pay themselves high salaries and extravagant benefits.
They pat themselves on the back for a job well done.
Some of the money flows to Asia.
They pay the workers slave wages in the corporate prison camps.
Then they pay the corrupt politicians their cut.
Corrupt politicians are the key to the process.
They could have changed the laws at any time to stop this insanity.
Crowd began roaring as they shouted in unison with their voices rising in a crescendo, “Jerrick! Jerrick! Jerrick! …”
Jerrick stretched his hands out as the shouting crowd became silent. He became the master orator, seducing the crowd, commanding them to follow him.
Jerrick continued his speech.
Politicians and CEOs tell you that outsourcing and international trade are good for our economy.
They can offer their services for cheap prices.
That is all true.
But how can people pay for these services if they have no jobs?
Crowd began shouting Jerrick’s name again, even louder.
Jerrick paused until the shouting had stopped.
You are unemployed with no job.
You sleep on a park bench and dig through the garbage for your next meal.
Then you beg and scrounge up a couple of dollars.
And pay those bastards at the corporations to surf the internet.
At least, the service is cheap!
Crowd’s shouting intensified, “Jerrick! Jerrick! Jerrick! …” Then it quickly died down as Jerrick continued his speech.
Information economy is a ruse.
Economies throughout any civilization are all the same.
First, people and businesses produce, then they consume the fruits of their labor.
Production creates incomes that consumers can buy their own production.
Somewhere down the line, businesses earned massive profits to outsource.
To relocate our factories in developing countries.
Our political and business leaders transformed our economy into a nation of consumers.
Problem is where do people earn incomes to sustain consumer spending?
Government and the public solved the problem by accumulating a mountain of debt.
Now, we had hit our debt limit.
That is why our economy is in shambles.
Only a radical change to our legal system can we get production going again.
All those bastards in government need to be demoted and tossed out into streets as yesterday’s garbage.
Crowd exploded into another uproar. They shouted Jerrick’s name so loudly, people heard the shouting from miles away.
Jerrick continued his speech for another 15 minutes. Unknown to Jerrick, the U.S. government placed him on the watch list. Several agents stood in the crowd, disguising themselves as protesters. They joined the chorus of chants, but they recorded everything for the government.
***
President Charles Gibson sat behind his desk in the Oval Office in the Whitehouse. He became lost into deep thought because he knew he had problems with Ben Gitlow and Jerrick Davis as their popularity grew fast.
President Gibson pondered his choices. He could have an agent assassinate them, but the public would know better. This would add gasoline to a campfire as riots erupted in the cities while people struck back at their government. Besides, democracies shouldn’t be murdering their citizens because of their political views.
Other alternatives included arresting them and placing them in interment camps for inciting a riot, or trumping up criminal charges against them, and tossing them into a cold, prison cell, cutting them off from the world.
President Gibson pressed a button on his desk phone, “Please send in Agent Richard Woodland.”
A few minutes later, the door to the Oval Office opened, and Richard walked through.
“Please give us a couple of minutes,” the President said to his staff.
Staff collected their things and dashed out of the office.
“Please have a seat,” the President said, gesturing with his hand for Richard to sit on a chair near the fireplace.
President Gibson sat in the opposite seat. He pressed a button on a remote control, turning off the surveillance camera and tape recorder.
“This Jerrick Davis is worrying me,” the President began.
“I know; the people really like him,” Richard said coldly, devoid of emotion.
“What do you think is a good course of action?”
“We could neutralize him, but we may experience complications!”
“Complications; what do you mean?
“The CIA and FBI investigated Jerrick for several years, but he possesses a sixth sense. We believe he uses a team of computer hackers to hack into our computer systems, but he never contacts them directly. Jerrick always knows where we are. Plus, we think Jerrick has doubles.”
“Doubles? This guy thinks he’s a dictator already.”
“It gets better”
The President’s interest intensified as he said, “Better?”
“We think some of our agents have been compromised. Many agents and government workers believe our government is doomed, and Jerrick is the only one who can save us. These agents and government workers secretly send Jerrick information. We intercepted several e-mails, but we have never identified the sources. An agent walks into a coffee shop, uses the free Wi-Fi, sends an email using his netbook, and leaves, slipping the netbook inside his jacket. Agents use untraceable email accounts once. Two months ago, we almost caught an agent because he kept using the same email account. We traced the account access to a large mall. By the time we had arrived, the agent blended and disappeared into the crowd.”
The President asked, “What would happen if we arrested Jerrick?”
“We could. Jerrick is violating hundreds of federal statutes. We can use a federal prosecutor to charge Jerrick with wire fraud, tax evasion, inciting a riot, and so on. Then Jerrick would fight these allegations for years, but his supporters would know. His supporters could riot.”
The President leaned forward, tucking his thumbs under his chin and cupping his hands like a prayer. The President didn’t pray, but he was thinking deeply. This Jerrick guy had turned into a pain in the ass. The President thought he could squash Jerrick like a bug, but now, he felt he would catch a bullet with his teeth.
The President leaned back and asked, “What if we brought Jerrick on board and gave him a high position in government?”
“I don’t think Jerrick would want it. Jerrick wants your job, Sir, I believe he’s honest about reforming the government and creating an empire. People would have given Jerrick all the power to reform our government, but that empire stuff scares them. When people think of empires, they think of Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin.”
“I see. Find a federal prosecutor and have him trump up several charges against Jerrick. Make sure some of the crimes are tax related. That way, Jerrick doesn’t get a jury trial. Then we can put him in prison for a while. We can shut him up and dismantle his political party, member by member.”
Richard stirred a little, ready to stand and start his new mission.
The President continued, “Richard, please stay. I have another mission for you.”
Richard relaxed again in t
he chair.
“What do you know about Benjamin Gitlow?”
“Benjamin Gitlow’s real name is Frank Gitlow, the great-grandson of Benjamin Gitlow, the famous socialist whom New York state arrested in the 1920s. Frank legally changed his name to Benjamin and became the leader of the Communist Party. He was a college professor before he had lost his job. He is a loud mouth, and not a bad public speaker.”
“Do you think he poses a threat?”
“It is a long shot but yes. If something happened to Jerrick Davis, then the people would turn to Gitlow, but it’s hard to say. People don’t like the idea that the government would own all the property. Americans owning property is embedded into their psyche. Owning property is as American as apple pie.”
“Okay. Then it’s settled. Make sure Gitlow is neutralized.”
Both men stood up.
“Thank you Mr. President,” Richard said, and he turned to leave the Oval Office.
The President clicked a button on the remote, turning on both the camera and tape recorder again. Then he returned to his desk, sitting down.
The President was happy that Richard Woodland had left because those cold blue eyes gave him the creeps, but Richard was useful, expendable. He proved himself thousands of times since his days as an army sniper and as an agent in Homeland Security.
***
A couple of days later, Jerrick returned to the safe house in Michigan, sitting at his desk.
He sat behind his notebook computer and typed his next speech.
Jerrick improved his style and deliverance. Occasionally, he paused and opened video clips of his previous speeches. He studied his gestures, the way he articulated his words, and how he developed a rapport with his audience.
Jerrick didn’t want to be good. He wanted to be the best. He wanted history to record him as one of the most powerful men who walked the earth, standing proudly with the other giants of humanity.
Jerrick placed a small TV on the bookshelf and set the station to CNN News. He turned the volume down low but just enough to hear it.
If an interesting story came on, Jerrick quickly turned up the volume using the remote on his desk.
Several words caught Jerrick’s attention.
“…was shot today…”
Jerrick quickly grabbed the remote, turning the volume up.
A news reporter continued with her story, “Benjamin Gitlow was fatally shot today in an apparent carjacking.”
Screen then veered towards the crime scene, where Gitlow’s blue Nissan Altima stalled at an intersection. A dozen police cars had surrounded it. Driver’s car door was wide open, and viewers saw the blood splotches on the seat and head rest.