Pedestals of Ash (29 page)

For almost 30 minutes
, Bishop
sat in silence as the
politician
read the reports. Ever curious, he studied the displays around the room. The Colonel had described his mission as involving the mid-section of the country – specifically the Mississippi Delta. It was clear from the various computer graphics that something important was going on around Shreveport
,
Louisiana
.
The largest monitor, mounted at the end of the room, was constantly being refreshed. Bishop suddenly realized something had gone terribly wrong. At one corner of the huge map a counter was ticking. The label read “KIA,” or killed in action. The number was in the thousands.

The chief executive
looked up from his reading and noticed where Bishop’s attention was focused. He made no sound and showed no expression. Bishop waited for the man to say something, but after blinking a few times, his head lowered
,
a
nd the older man
returned to his reading.

The president flipped to the last page and came to the final paragraph. It read:

Mr. President, since you are reading this, I believe it is a safe assumption that it was delivered by a very rare breed of young man. My advice, sir, is that you embrace
his counsel
. He has no agenda except that of the common citizen. He is, however, anything but common. I have seen him repeatedly wade through the deepest, most vile cesspools of evil that men have to offer, and yet still give freely of himself to others. My old friend, you would be wise to keep him close and use his ear.

The leader of the free world
looked up at Bishop. He was a master at the game of international politics and knew how to deadpan his expression. Bishop didn’t want to be rude and stare, but he also didn’t want to appear uninterested. After a few minutes of scrutiny, the older man finally spoke. “The Colonel speaks highly of you
,
son. That is quite a compliment
,
given the source. Unfortunately, his report comes too late. We are painfully aware of the Independents. They caught us flatfooted in Louisiana, but now the genie is out of the bottle and won’t be easily corralled.”  

Bishop nodded and replied, “Sir, I’m sorry it took me so long to get here. It’s not easy to travel these days.”

The president
waved off the apology.
“Don’t worry about it young man. I wouldn’t have reacted
,
nor
done anything differently
,
even if I had known the details in this report a week ago. I wouldn’t have believed it possible then, and quite frankly I’m still struggling to believe it now.”

Bishop’s brows knotted,
his speech slow and
deliberate
,
“Believe what
,
sir?”

“I can’t believe my fellow countrymen would stoop to such traitorous acts. I can’t believe so many military officers would violate their oath
s
. I can’t believe so many of the people support these…these…Benedict Arnolds.”

Bishop didn’t know what to say. He found it easy to believe people had flocked to an alternative. The population had been suffering for years during the depression. The government wasn’t functional and had completely lost any perspective of its purpose. He decided what the man across from him needed was a big dose of reality. “Mr. President, I lived in Houston with my wife. When everything went to hell, we tried to stay in our home, but there wasn’t enough food. We took off on a desperate journey across Texas. During this trip, I saw people eating bugs to survive. We witnessed dogs being butchered for meat. I saw entire forests completely destroyed just so people could build fires. A kind, wonderful man died in my arms because he couldn’t get prescription medications. I watched women exchanging their bodies for food. I
can
understand why so many decide to go with the Independents – they are different and have a message. Why wouldn’t people at least hear them out? Why would you e
xpect any reaction other than, ‘W
hat do we have to lose?’”

Bishop’s words didn’t have any visual effect
,
but his instincts
told him they had hit a nerve.
The chief executive
finally pushed back his chair and slowly stood. He walked around the table and pointed at the KIA number in the corner. “It’s too late you know. It’s already started. There were battles yesterday
,
and thousands are dead. Right now, both sides are licking their wounds and regrouping, but blood has been spilled - a lot of blood.”

Bishop wanted to see the man’s eyes, so he joined his host at the map. When a glance acknowledged his presence, he spoke. “Sir, it’s too late for what?”

The older man’s reaction startled Bishop. The president took a deep breath and exploded in anger. “They are traitors! Subversive conspirators
,
hiding in the shadows! Turncoats! They weren’t elected by the people! No one in authority appointed them!
They
, whoever
they
are, crawl through the sewers and stink of the very worst humans can offer. I will hang each and every one of
the
backstabbing scum. I owe it to the good people who abide by the rule of law. I swore an oath to do so.”

Bishop recovered quickly from the outburst and remained silent, waiting on the man to continue. After assuring himself no more was to follow, Bishop
spoke in a calm, metered monotone
. “Sir, you don’t know what it’s like out there. The good people of this land are living one rung above being animals and barely hanging on to that. No one gives a shit about elections, transfer of power
,
or who should be in charge.”

The president’s head snapped in Bishop’s direction
,
and he spoke with passion. “We’ve done everything we can do. I’ve sent in the military, we have sent in food and what medical supplies we have. Every effort has been made to restore electricity and other basic services. I don’t think anyone else could do more. What do people expect? What more can we possibly do?”

Bishop shook his head in disgust and responded harshly. “I’m not qualified to debate the role of government with you
, sir
. I’m by no means an expert. What I do know is what men are made of on the inside. Your actions took away people’s freedom. The military killed initiative when it moved into the cities. That’s why we left Houston rather than trying to stay and help rebuild. The only thing a lot of us had left was our freedom. The federal government didn’t come in to help – they rolled in and took control. The message was clear – we are in charge
,
even though we don’t have the ways or means to fix the problem. It was unreal
istic to believe American
s would exchange their freedom for a life of depending on a government that couldn’t deliver before the problem, let alone even the basics after it had all fallen apart. I didn’t hear or see one single piece of advice from the army.”

Bishop’s
statements changed the
C
ommander
-
in
-
C
hief
’s attitude. His response was more scholarly than political. “What were we supposed to do? Let the people who couldn’t care for themselves starve? Let the wolves run rampant among the sheep? You are a big, strong young man and can no doubt fend for yourself. What about the people who can’t? One reason why the government exists is to help those in need. Your point-of-view is to
o narrow and ego-centric to be practical
.”

Bishop wasn’t going to debate social sciences with anyone. “Sir, why didn’t the military use its resources to educate the people? Why didn’t someone round up farme
rs and have them show folks
how to grow a garden? The local governments would know best how to care for those needing a hand. The federal government has no choice but to implement a one size fits all solution.” Bishop pointed to a map on the opposite wall where the growing territory controlled by the Independents was depicted. “They are doing something right. While you and I sit here and rehash old debates about centralized versus local authority, those so-called sewer rats are winning. I suggest you work with them
, instead of fighting them.”

The statesman
started to respond, but Bishop interrupted him. “Sir, I can take you to a town nearby here that will prove what I’m saying. Since the collapse, it has become self-reliant. There is an economy, security, government and most importantly – free people improving their lives daily. Rather than you and I pretending we are the framers and arguing the extent of federal powers, why don’t you go have a look and see for yourself?”

The president started to respond when there was a
sharp rap
on the door
,
and General Wilson entered the room. “Sir, our forces are in place around Shreveport. I need your confirmation to commence the operation.”

Bishop looked at the exhausted man standing next to him. Clearly, the burdens of his office had taken their toll, but he hoped his message had gotten through.
The
C
ommander in
C
hief
’s response made it clear
Bishop’s message had fallen on deaf ears
. “General, I need to review the final stages of the order
,
and then you’ll have my approval to proceed.” Before Bishop could say anything, the
president continued, “Oh, and g
eneral, please get this young man anything he needs
,
and let him be on his way back to his family.” The president’s expression made it clear that their meeting was
concluded
. He stuck out his hand
and said, “God help us all, son…. G
od help us all.”

Bishop was perceptive
enough to know when a conversation was over. He started to protest, but shrugged his shoulders
,
and sh
ook the man’s hand. After he followed
the general
from
the roo
m, Bishop was escorted to a staging area
where all of his gear was laid out on a large table. General Wilson tasked a nearby major with securing
anything Bishop needed before
escorting
him off
the base. Bishop asked to refill his water and inquired if any spare ammunition might be available. He asked for a few gallons of gas to refill his hidden ATV
,
and at the last minute, decided to
fill his pack with as many MRE
s as he could carry.
I wonder if they would loan me a tank? That would be cool. Or, I know…I know…a helicopter! Could they gi
ve me a lift home in an Apache g
unship? That would impress the hell out of everyone in Meraton.

While the major left to retrieve Bishop’s wish list, Agent Powell entered the room and offered his hand. Bishop and Powell made small talk for a few minutes until the major returned with two enlisted men in tow. Each had an armful of MREs, ammunition and water bottles. The major was carrying a
five-gallon
plas
tic gas can. Powell exited the space, as
did everyone else, leaving Bishop alone to finish his packing.

When
he was organizing his kit, Bishop felt a sense of failure. The Colonel had trusted him to deliver the message and to try and convince the man to work with the Independen
ts, not fight them. Of course, t
he Colonel had no way of knowing that a war had already started. No, he wasn’t going to feel bad at all. He had done his best and didn’t think anyone could have co
nvinced the man to back away. The
POTUS clearly
felt betrayed and was spoiling for a fight.

While Bishop was filling his camelback from the bottled water, his kept replaying the meeting in his head. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. That guy is all worried about everyone in the country kissing his high and mighty ass than helping the folks. He is so wrapped up in
destroying
the other side, he’s not even thinking about the suffering going on out there. I should go back and try again. Surely
,
that Secret Service dude understands what’s at
stake;
maybe he can get me a second time at bat. 

He was just about finished
,
when he thought to ask permission to see a doctor. He was curious if there might be anything he could carry back with him to help Terri’s pregnancy, like vitamins or something. It was also a great excuse to delay leaving the base and perhaps
get a second meeting with the
p
resident
.

Bishop started to open the door and stopped cold. He heard the unmistakable sound of weapons being charged – a lot of weapons. As quietly as possible, he twisted the
doorknob
and cracked it open ever so slightly. There were several
,
heavily armed men lined up along the hallway wall
,
and someone was issuing orders. “There are only two
Secret S
ervice agents with the president right now. There are four more that will react within seconds. We need to get in there, kill the
p
resident,
and get this over
. I just saw the orders to attack at Shreveport
,
and this needs to be stopped right here and now. Remember – we are doing this for the
people. We are doing this for t
he Independents.”