Anatomy of a Rebellion

Chapter 34

Game Changers

Conroy was a confident man; he knew that he was a good looking, intelligent, athletic, all-around great guy. Death would never touch him in the skies because he was just that damn talented; few people would fight with him on the ground because his reputation was just that damn powerful. Yet when he sat without his comrades near Percy's squad leaders, he felt a little inadequate. There was no particular reason why he felt that way. He straddled a chair in the back and kept to himself, content with watching the others. They seemed like a normal group of people to him, despite all they had been through or what lay ahead. He could easily respect that.

At that moment, all of Percy's squad leaders were leaned way over as they peered inside the window to his office. It was the second day of the New Year and the first meeting they had since Doyle's attack. Chen was the third of the squad leaders to enter and had immediately exploded about something. No one was really positive exactly what. Percy had walked into the office mid-rant and did not appreciate whatever it was Chen said. He pointed at the Staff Sergeant and said, "Into my office. Now." Chen slammed his mouth shut and followed the Major into his office.

Not a single peep came out of any other leader. Normally, when someone got in trouble everyone would hoot and holler. The look Percy had on his face told them that probably wasn't a good idea. So instead they nonchalantly watched the scene unfold in Percy's office. The Major did not sit; he leaned his back against his desk and crossed his arms over his chest. A straight faced expression did not move no matter how loudly or how furiously Chen spoke. They couldn't quite see the Staff Sergeant, but they could faintly hear the screech of his voice as he continued his rant.

Then Percy moved out of their sight. Everyone leaned even further to see if they could catch a glimpse of what was happening, but the door to his office flew open. Instantly everyone tried to appear natural, with an end result of at least two men falling out of their chairs. Neither Chen nor Percy seemed to notice. The Staff Sergeant stormed out without making eye contact, the palm of his hand placed on his upper arm. Behind him the Major slinked out; the door to the building closed the same time as Percy's office door.

As his squad leaders repositioned themselves, Percy made his way to the front of the room. He held something up and waved it around. His men froze when they realized it was their Company's patch. It had been cut right off out of Chen's uniform, and if the slight purple stain on the end of it was any indication, the Staff Sergeant lost part of his skin, too. There was still a tint of red on Percy's ears, proof that he was much angrier than he displayed.

"If any of you…" he let it trail off. The patch was discarded onto a desk nearby. "The next time... I will not tolerate any more of this bullshit. I don't give a damn if you don't feel like following orders. You've all been put into a leadership position because I believe you can make the decisions that are best for the men you lead. Better than I can. But do not think I will allow anyone to ever distrust anyone in this Company. Do not ever say or do anything that…"

He grabbed a chair, sat down, and spun around to face the wall. Everyone sat in silent disbelief. Even Mackenzie did nothing other than stare straight forward and remain quiet. Chen was a well-respected member of their team. Sure, he could be a bit loud at times and had yet to shake that "better-than-you" attitude he developed in the USMC, but he had fought hard alongside them and have proven himself to be a good friend. So where did he stray; when did all of that change? Sometimes, it was impossible to know. Sometimes there was no warning signs or red flags.

After at least one minute of silence, McGill spoke. "So are we actually going to do it this time?" she asked. Everyone gazed at her curiously, so she explained, "Well, we haven't made a real move yet. You were too afraid of taking and causing casualties. You had grand plans in your head, but your recent failures scared you."

It was bold to insult the Major like that, but he kept his body still. Barton was the next to open his mouth, when he said, "Yeah, I agree! But this time, we shouldn't attack, we should –"

"Secede from the Union!"

"Yeah!"

They erupted like excited children. Ideas were shouted through their laughs and smiles. It was hard to tell if they took anything they said seriously, as they tossed around nation names, flag colors and symbols for this fantasy country they wanted to form. Conroy watched this display of childish ambition with an amused smile on his face. He could not count the amount of times he and his comrades had discussed such nonsense before; mere dreams and illusions created by arrogance and the mental exhaustion of war. They were the words of disenchanted soldiers, fed up with the status quo and wanting more than medals for all they did. They wanted it all.

Their loud proclamations were silenced when a rather hurried Jordan with a stoic expression on his face interrupted them. He went straight to the large screen attached near Percy's head; still the Major did not move. Jordan fiddled around with contraption until he got frustrated and yelled, "How the hell do you turn this on?!" His fist connected with the front of it and nearly cracked the screen. Mackenzie was sick of all the noise, so she turned the TV on for him in hopes everyone would stay quiet. Jordan demanded, "Turn on the news! Any news!"

She had the mind to send him a glare before she did what he asked. Everyone was transfixed on the broadcast that illuminated the room. It was silent at first, but Mackenzie turned the volume up so it could be heard. It was useless, because within five seconds of turning the TV on, Wakeman said, "Hey, that guy looks like –"

"Shut up!" Jordan interrupted. He caught himself after he committed the outburst. He recovered, "This isn't about the guy talking into the microphone, alright? It's about who he's talking about."

Percy craned his neck up to the TV. Written in bold text under the man who spoke were the words: Solicitor General William Edmund Attaway V. He looked sharp in his perfect suit, dark hair parted neatly, and expressionless face free of blemishes. There was something that glistened in the man's eyes; a hunger, a drive for more than what he already had. Only Percy caught this. Everyone else was too busy wondering just how the dark haired gentleman on the TV could have possibly been related to the flaxen haired ruffian with them. When William spoke, they were captivated by the mere tone of his voice, like a melody from a refreshing song. "He's a game changer," Barton said.

It was a reference to Prince Brunhart. When he first rose to power as a mere man in the European Union, a representative from another country had said, "That young man is a game changer. He'll do something with this world." Ever since then, it had been used as an insulting term spat in disgust at purebred politicians. It meant he was dangerous; he would destroy the entire world if it meant he could get more power. This caught Percy's interest and his focus on the TV intensified.

The remarks that William spoke were not prepared, as he was in the process of fielding a question. He said, "This is normally not something the DOJ would find themselves bothered with, especially considering recent events that have taken place throughout the world. However, as it stands, we are the only authority with the power to make this an official, legal proceeding. It will be an open door investigation and all questioning of the Senator will take place on the Senate floor…"

"Wait, a Congressional hearing?" Wakeman asked.

"No, this is more serious," Jordan said. "This is an inquisition. A public interrogation. They plan to humiliate the guy in front of the entire world. They haven't announced who they're arresting to the public yet, but my brother already told me. And I know exactly why they're doing it."

Percy's short attention span forced him to give up staring at the sneaking devil on the screen. His eyes drifted back to the wall directly in front of him; it was a live map of Union, the little red dots the transponders attached to everyone's dog tags. He rubbed his chin absentmindedly. I wonder if I should grow a beard, he thought when his fingertips grazed over fresh stubble. Commotion near his head caused him to briefly look over and catch a furious Mackenzie stomp out; the secret of who was being arrested had probably slipped out, and no doubt it was Ethan. To Percy, this wasn't a surprise and William's motives were obvious enough.

Yet he couldn't dwell on the politics or who was unfortunate enough to get caught up in the consequences. Sitting just outside Union, about two miles past the canal that outlined the town, was twenty five or more red dots. There was little doubt in Percy's mind that those dots were Michael Doyle's men. The young Lieutenant was probably frustrated he failed in his attack on Union, so he waited patiently in the shadows for an opportune time to charge in. He had probably also been ordered by General Ellis to keep an eye on Percy. On the other hand, he could have been stationed there to monitor the growing militia threat. However, the snow had yet to let up, so the ill-equipped soldiers were stranded. To not factor in sudden weather changes was a rookie mistake.

There was only one main road into Union since the canal had been constructed. This meant the Lieutenant couldn't get vehicles in easily. It became clear to Percy that it would be easier to lure Doyle and his men into Union, one by one, and pick them off. The snow level made it much too dangerous to venture outside of the comfort zone, but leaving Michael Doyle out there was just as dangerous.

"Hey," Percy finally spoke, although it was quiet and barely heard. The sound of the Major's voice silenced everyone once more. He placed his index finger on the canal and inquired, "How deep is this? Like, four feet?"

"It's five feet," Wallace answered. "And the useless thing has been dry for a year, at least. It's just a giant, dangerous pit that circles around us. I bet with the amount of snow out there, you could hardly even tell it's there. They like to use it as a dumping ground for the snow that collects on the roads."

"So we could… tunnel under it. Put mines within a ten foot stretch. Send out a single squad, maybe two, and push the platoon toward that spot. Even if some miss the mines, they would be trapped under a lot of snow. They would be completely trapped," Percy rambled to himself.

"Ah, damn, Major! That's the kind of strategies I like!" Wakeman grinned.

"So we'll do it then?" he asked. It was met with an enthusiastic callback.

Jordan physically winced at the sound. All he could do was scratch his head and he said, "Well, if you guys need any… reporting… done, I'll be in town." It sounded lame but he wasn't sure how else to bid adieu at that moment. Everyone granted him a wave as he stepped out of the room. For some reason, he held his breath until he was outside in the icy air; he let out a sigh and began to breathe once more. He realized he had hurried out, but it was probably due to a strange combination of feelings that had welled up inside of him. Maybe he had hoped that it would be a long time before they saw war again, yet with Doyle merely waiting for the snow to clear it was evident battle would have to happen soon. He just couldn't escape it.

As he turned to leave he nearly ran smack into Mackenzie. She had been standing outside, her arms over her chest and a scowl on her face. "Your brother is up to some interesting tricks," she said to him.

Jordan didn't hide his frown. "I know," he said. His voice was soft, as though he was secretly apologizing for his family's actions. "My brother is young, but he's not some stupid career attorney in bed with the politicians."

"I'll give him that. The pundits will see this as a move against the Hughes and Ross family and their political allies. He's really doing it to bait Major Raymond, isn't he? Since he seems to tell you quite a bit, is he trying to help us or screw us?"

"Will's dangerous. Don't ever think for a moment he's prosecuting Ethan in order to help aid Kenning's political goals, or anyone else's for that matter. He may only hold the title of Solicitor General, but his power and reach is much greater than that. Bait Major Raymond? Yeah, that's probably his goal, but not to get Percy in any sort of trouble. He probably thinks Percy will win."

Mackenzie mulled the thought in her head while Jordan silently kept her company. They were content with the peace and quiet while it lasted.