Another reported asked, “Do the police know who did it?”
“No, they believe he was involved a failed carjacking. Mr. Gitlow tried to fight his attackers.”
“Is this the same Benjamin Gitlow, who is president of the American Communist Party?”
“Yes, the police do believe it is the same person, but this shooting is not politically motivated.”
Jerrick was enthralled while his mouth hung wide open.
Then Jerrick mumbled, “Bullshit!” under his tongue, “Not politically motivated.”
His special satellite phone started ringing. His cell phone encrypts and decrypts any voices and text messages. If eavesdroppers intercepted his transmission, they would hear garbled static.
Jerrick gave only a handful of these phones to several important people.
Jerrick quickly snatched the phone, answered it, “Hello.”
“Mr. Davis, I’ll be brief. Government plans to arrest you. Protect yourself and go into hiding.”
Then Jerrick heard a click as the caller hung up.
Jerrick knew the caller wasn’t joking because he recognized the caller’s voice, a high-ranking agent, named Richard Woodland, or should he say a double agent.
Jerrick shook his head back and forth, marveling over his stupidity. Government had murdered Benjamin Gitlow, and Jerrick definitely would be next.
Jerrick saved his speech and turned his laptop off, packing it away into his briefcase.
Jerrick would go underground and would confer with his top party members to boost security and his protection. Jerrick had waited for a lifetime for his revolution, and he would not miss it.
The Coup
It started as any normal day on Thursday, July 27, 2017 as the United States experienced a heat wave.
Jerrick Ray Davis awakened at 5 o’clock AM. He hadn’t slept well during the night as he kept tossing and turning. This was his day of reckoning. Today would determine if he stepped into the history books as a revolutionary leader or faced a firing squad for treason. This day could become the new national holiday for his Empire.
Jerrick headed downstairs and made a pot of coffee.
After the coffee had percolated, he poured himself a cup and headed outside to the porch.
Jerrick knew it would be a hot day. Even at five in the morning, the humidity suffocated him. He felt he opened an oven door as he walked outside as his armpits dampened, and a growing spot of wetness appeared on the back of his dress shirt.
Jerrick rocked back and forth on a rocking chair, admiring the countryside at his safe house. Farmers’ fields spread out in all directions. Sky transformed into bands of red, orange, and yellow as the sun peeked over the horizon. In the distance, roosters crowed while the farm animals stirred.
About 6:30, Jerrick saw the door open, and Jennifer came outside too.
Jennifer carried a cup of coffee.
Sitting on the swinging bench next to him, drinking a cup of coffee, Jennifer asked, “How are you Jerrick?”
“To be honest, I didn’t sleep well last night.”
“Are you nervous about today?”
“Am I nervous? I waited my whole life for this day. I feel like a prisoner on death row, and I’m waiting for the governor’s last minute phone call to halt my execution.”
“Luckily, you’re not in the State of Texas. Otherwise, you would never get the phone call.”
Jerrick and Jennifer exchanged nervous laughter. Then they quieted down.
Jennifer continued, “What if your plan doesn’t work?”
“Well, I’m a dead man, and I’ll be marked for the rest of my life. It would be better for the government to execute me.”
“What will happen to us?”
“I packed provisions for you, Dan, and the others. Before the hyperinflation, I cashed my money in and bought gold, and I buried it on this farm. It’s not much, but if it ends badly today, you guys take the gold, head to Canada, and start a new life.”
“You’ll actually allow the government to execute you?”
“What choice do I have? I’m about ready to poke a hornet’s nest with a short stick. If anything goes badly, where could I go? My mug shot will be posted everywhere in the world. Government will find the money to put a bounty on my head. I will be a wanted man.”
Jennifer put her coffee cup down and reached for Jerrick’s hands. She embraced his hands and added, “Jerrick; we have faith in you. We’re also putting our lives at stake too. By the end of the day, everyone will be bowing down to you, calling you Emperor.”
“Jen, you know I don’t like that title,” said Jerrick. Honestly, he liked that title, but somewhere deep in his heart, Jerrick thought he could live with the title, Mr. President.
Jennifer and Jerrick sat quietly on the porch, thinking.
At 8:30, Jennifer and Jerrick returned inside. Coolness of the air conditioning made their sweat cold, and they smelled the fresh aroma of hash browns, scrambled eggs, and toasts with dollops of butter and strawberry jam.
Jennifer and Jerrick headed into the kitchen, where Dan and Chad made breakfast for everyone. One cannot start a revolution on an empty stomach.
At 8:50, Jerrick and his team went into the family room, where they established their command center.
Jennifer sat behind the computer screen and logged on.
Jerrick sat behind a desk with two satellite phones lying on it. Phones had the special military encrypt-decrypt chips.
Jerrick reached for the first phone and picked it up. He thought it would be ironic if he picked up the phone, and it didn’t work. Day his revolution started, the cell phone company’s service was down.
Jerrick flipped the satellite phone open with his left hand and dialed a number. Satellite phones were working today.
After two rings, General Edwards picked up.
“Sir; are the troops ready?”
“Yes sir, we’re waiting for your command.”
Jerrick picked up the other satellite phone in his right hand and dialed a number to a small contingent of soldiers.
“Sir, are you ready?”
“Yes sir; just say the word.”
Jerrick stared at Jennifer and asked, “Jennifer are you ready?”
“Yes, sir; I hacked into the military’s communication center. I’m waiting for your command.”
Jerrick thought for a moment.
Jerrick carefully placed the phones down on the desk, picked up his coffee mug, and sipped it. Then he returned the mug to the desk.
Tension was high in the room as Dan and his top leadership sat in the room. The Second American Revolution was imminent, and everyone was silent. They heard a breeze rustle through the cornfields outside.
Jerrick mumbled a famous quote from Vladimir Lenin, “Sometimes – history needs a push.”
After a minute of silence, Jerrick gave the command, “Go Jen!”
Jennifer sent a command through the military communication center. 'Police are expecting riots and terroristic activities in Fort Knox, Tennessee, New York City, and Washington, D.C. Fort Knox will dispatch troops to Fort Knox, and Fort McPherson will dispatch troops to New York City and Washington, D.C. President Gibson authorized and approved this order.'
Jennifer turned to Jerrick, “I sent the command and confirmed it.”
Jerrick picked up both phones in each hand. He held one phone against his ear and asked the general, “Sir; do you have your orders.”
“Yes sir, the orders just came through the FORSCOM command center. President Gibson dispatched our troops to Fort Knox, Washington, D.C. and New York City, ASAP.”
“Good, please have a helicopter pick me up. Then we’ll meet in Washington at 11:00 o’clock this morning.”
“Yes sir,” and the phone went dead.
Jerrick turned to Jennifer and said, “Okay, release it.”
After several key strokes, Jennifer turned to Jerrick, “It’s done.”
“How long d
o we have?”
“Worm should infect all computer systems within two hours. Worm will grind all systems to a halt. Then Mikey’s nasty little cell phone virus will take out the whole phone system. Within two hours, email and cell phones will not work in the United States and the world for a day or two.”
Jerrick sat there as the room remained silent. Is this all a revolution needed, a computer virus and a couple of phone calls? Something this simple can topple the world’s largest and greatest country in the world. It also helped to have the country’s troops demoralized from two wars that stretch 15 years. Unfortunately, the President and Congress ignored one of Sun Tzu’s important rules On the Art of War. A long extended siege drains both the government’s treasury, and the moral and energy of the soldiers. If only our political leaders read some of the great books of humanity and made rational decisions.
After five minutes, Jerrick brought the other satellite phone near his ear and uttered, “Blow it.”
Then Jerrick flipped the phone closed and turned it off.
***
That last command went to a small platoon of 10 soldiers stationed on the outskirts of New York City. Platoon surrounded a small electric substation, placing explosive devices around the transformers that they packed with finely ground carbon.
Lieutenant shouted, “Men, stand back. I have orders from the President to blow these transformers.”
Men retreated to the surrounding countryside.
One soldier pulled out a radio control, “On your command sir.”
“Blow those transformers corporal!”
Then the soldier pressed the button.
Team saw the devices explode, engulfing the whole substation with a large dark carbon cloud.
ZZZZZZHhhhhhhh as explosive lightning struck the station. The 100,000 volts zapped through the carbon cloud and grounded all the transformers’ connections. Then, all the breakers clicked off. The station became dead, and the humming transformers became silent.
Many people, who still lived in homes had their air conditioners on. It was another hot, July day, and the power grid operated at full capacity. Power grid connected all cities and electric utility companies to the grid on the Eastern side of the United States.
Taking down one substation, the soldiers overloaded the system, creating a cascading blackout. Once one substation blew, then another would go, and then another.
Companies generated all that power, but they can’t deliver that power to anyone. Then the power companies did emergency shutdowns, keeping their boilers from blowing. Consequently, the blackout plunged all the cities on the east coast into darkness.
Power companies would need a day to restart the system, but it would be too late.
In addition, that nasty computer virus hit everyone else who still had electricity.
***
The President of the United States, via hacked orders, dispatched the troops to Fort Knox, Tennessee, Washington, DC, and New York City.
Army utilized all their resources. They filled cargo trucks with troops; helicopters flew through the air, and large trucks carried the tanks. Army would unload the tanks after they had arrived to the cities.
Two battalions surrounded Fort Knox that contained 150 million troy ounces of gold bullion.
Ten battalions headed to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York that held 175 million troy ounces of gold. After the army had surrounded the Federal Reserve, three battalions headed to Albany, New York to capture the state capitol.
Remaining 140,000 troops headed to Washington, D.C.
Jerrick Ray Davis planned to capture the head of government and cut the head off the snake. Then with the gold, he would have the resources to build his empire and more importantly, to pay his troops for their services. Jerrick did not expect anyone to work for free.
Congress was in full session as they devised ways of dealing with the financial crisis. Their foolish expansion of the money supply sent a destructive wave of hyperinflation throughout the economy. Then riots erupted in the cities.
As the Congressmen were working, the lights flickered, and then went dead. Many Congressmen fished in their pockets for their cell phones, but their cell phones didn’t receive any signals.
The Congressmen remained sitting. They must deal with this financial crisis, even without electricity. Besides, they had read intelligence reports that several electric utility companies teetered on bankruptcy. Power failures were imminent.
A couple of hours later, the Congressmen felt the ground shaking, like a small earthquake, but the shaking didn’t subside.
Several guards ran into the congressional chambers, shouting, “Tanks are surrounding the building.”
Our political leaders didn’t know that tanks and soldiers surrounded all the major government buildings in Washington, D.C. Regiments of soldiers surrounded Congress, the Supreme Court, and headquarters for all the federal agencies.
The political leaders became petrified as they realized their worst fear. They lost their power in one swoop as one man grabbed all the power. They suspected Jerrick Ray Davis, but no one knew. The U.S. government neglected and mistreated the military for decades, so it could be anyone.
Then the Congressmen heard someone scream over a large bullhorn, “We have the buildings surrounded. Walk out single file. If you do not start leaving, then we will blow up the building.” Jerrick Ray Davis stood on top of a truck with the bullhorn in his hand, taking command.
The Congressmen and their staff didn’t know what to think. They dropped their things and quietly formed lines. Their faces became blank as soldiers led cattle to the slaughterhouse. The Congressmen knew their lives would end shortly, but they wanted to see the sky and sun one last time.
As the Congressmen and staff walked out the main entrance, soldiers and tanks completely surrounded the buildings everywhere.
As Margaret Hayworth, the corrupt Senator from Arkansas, left the Capitol building, she saw a large cargo truck parked at the bottom of the steps.
As her line approached the cargo truck, several soldiers shoved her staff to the side while one soldier screamed, “Get the hell out of there!”
As Margaret approached the truck, the soldiers forced her up a ramp into the back of the truck. She felt claustrophobic as she squeezed in with her colleagues, standing room only.
After the soldiers filled a truck, ten soldiers with M16s climbed in the back. One yelled, “We have orders to shoot anyone if they escape or cause problems.”
Many Congressmen were sobbing with tears in their eyes while others would stare blankly into space as if in a trance. Then the truck pulled away.
Margaret didn’t know it, but the soldiers rounded up the top leadership of the U.S. government. As one cargo truck filled up, a driver would pull away, and another empty truck would take its place. The soldiers utilized 25 trucks to round up the top echelon of the federal government, taking less than two hours.
Cargo trucks drove to the foothills in the countryside of Virginia.
Soldiers forced the Congressmen and top government officials to exit the trucks and form lines again.
Then Jerrick Ray Davis began speaking on the bullhorn.
You pieces of shit did this to yourself.
You ran our beautiful legal system into the ground.
We fought 16 goddamn years in two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
You sent our soldiers to fight and die in wars that we could never win.
You starved these fine young men and women who stand behind me here in full uniform.
Now look in the position you have gotten yourselves into.
Soldiers would help and reform our corrupt political system.
Exiting one of the vehicles, Margaret Hayworth saw soldiers everywhere. Then she saw the line pass through a tent with a blonde woman sitting there with a laptop computer.
Then the line divided into two. In one line, people quickly ran through the clover fields a
s fast as possible.
Soldiers directed the other line up and over the hill, where sounds of large machinery came from the other side.
Jerrick Davis continued his speech:
Not all of you are corrupt.
Half of you became trapped in a corrupt system.
You did the best you could do, given your surroundings.
I cannot fault you for that.
You will be free to leave.
You can flee the country and take your families with you.
However, the other half I will not excuse.
You stole, bribed, and extorted money from every one.
You evaded taxes and violated your own rules and regulations.
You perpetuated this corrupt system for the last 50 years.
At any time, you could have changed and avoided this.
Now, I must come along and clean up all your shit.
Now I will punish you for your misdeeds.
Soldiers will lead you up and over the hill, and you will finally get to meet your creator.
Some of the government officials began sobbing again. They knew what Jerrick Ray Davis meant.
Margaret came within 30 feet of Jerrick. She glanced at him but then quickly looked down. She spent a lifetime, looking down upon people. Now, someone bigger and stronger came along and put her in her place.
Margaret meandered slowly to the tent. A woman with long blonde hair wearing thick glasses sat at a table. Margaret did not know the woman's name, but it was Jennifer. She was typing on a laptop, and she said only one word when she looked at Margaret, “Left.”
Then the soldiers directed Margaret up the hill, where she heard the sounds of heavy machinery became louder.
Margaret thought this could be a beautiful day. Although it was hot, the sky was clear and blue while the sun shone brightly in the sky. If it were not for Jerrick and his coup, she could have sat down, right over there on the tall luscious grass.
Reaching the hilltop, Margaret’s heart skipped a beat. Actually, her heart almost fell out her chest as she spotted the source of sounds.
Down on the other side of the hill, several bulldozers excavated a large, deep pit.
Soldiers lined up the government officials along one edge.