Cascade

2|MERRY CHRISTMAS

Fredrick winces as a continuous flow of blood begins to dribble from the corner of his mouth.

“I need some more morphine, stat!” Sarah demands.

“Doc, Doc, don’t bother.” Fredrick replies.

“What? No, I’m not giving up on you.” She says.

“I’m too far gone. I can feel it. Have someone tell my kids I love them. I want their Uncle Ray to look after them.” Fredrick pleads, coughing blood all over himself.

“I’ll see to it myself.” Omilio assures him.

“I fucking love you man. Thank you for everything.” Eli says, choking back tears as he clasps Fredrick’s hand.

“You guys get that Meyers bastard?” Fredrick asks.

“He’s just a message in a bottle now.” Omilio answers.

“We launched him out in a hollow torpedo.” Eli details.

“Bon Voyage, mother fucker!” Fredrick says, laughing through the pain.

“We’ll make you proud Fredrick. I promise.” Eli says.

“I know.” Fredrick replies.

“You are a great man. It’s been an honor to fight by your side.” Omilio says.

“Whatever happens, don’t let the world go back to the way it was.” Fredrick begs.

“We won’t.” Eli says.

“I’ll see you on the other side.” Fredrick says, gasping for air.

Eli and Omilio hold Fredrick’s hands as he chokes to death on his own blood and softly fades away.

“Christ!” Eli yells as he releases Fredrick’s limp hand and punches a cupboard through tear-filled eyes.

“Eli, we gotta focus.” Omilio says trying to calm him down.

“How many more people have to die, Omilio?” Eli asks emotionally.

“As many of us as we have to for us to achieve our mission.” Omilio replies frankly.

“What if we can’t pull this off? What if we go through all this and the world just goes back to the same old bullshit?” Eli asks vehemently.

“Eli! We are not going to let that happen!” Omilio exclaims.

“We gotta beat the reserve and the bankers, the corporations, the deep state, the politicians, the rogue players and the everyday citizens that just don’t get it. Shit, the very fabric of our society has to get shredded in order to weed the sick fucks out. We have to erase thousands of years of establishment and start over.” Eli says, exhausted.

“Whatever it takes. We are going to do it. There is no going back now.” Omilio says firmly.

“You know, I used to dream of taking a time machine back to 1776 and pulling George Washington aside and giving him some ideas to throw into the constitution. How a few little changes could have radically improved our modern world.” Eli says.

“You and him have a lot in common. You both got tired of the shit and put your foot down. Can you imagine what the world would look like if he and the others in the revolution hadn’t stood up to England and started fresh?” Omilio asks rhetorically.

“I imagine it would be quite a bit worse.” Eli says, smiling.

“You’re fucking right it would be worse! Did you know he didn’t even want to be President? He didn’t believe there should be a single position of great power. You know what George Washington would do if he was living in this day and age? He would do the same damn thing you’re doing. He would think the current state of affairs was complete bullshit and he’d do everything he could to wipe that slate clean and start fresh.” Omilio says with conviction.

“You’re right.” Eli replies.

“Of course, I’m right. Everything has changed. Technology is deployed without any testing or thought to the consequence of its existence. We need to slow down and make more deliberate choices as a society and really do what’s best for mankind. From Government structure to Economics, we can’t just wing it anymore. We can’t let the current systems of our society run their course like they’re the only options we have. It will destroy us entirely if we continue on the same course. We can do better and we will do better.”

“Absolutely.” Eli agrees.

“So, let’s focus on what we can do. Let’s make Fredrick proud. Let’s make Jon Paul proud. Jessica, Victor, Rodger, your family, the world. Let’s make them all proud.” Omilio says.

“Thanks brother.” Eli replies.

A knock on the outside of the room breaks a moment of silence.

“Gentlemen, the President has requested your presence. Jesus, what happened in here?” Harris asks as he catches a glimpse of Fredrick in the back.

“Fredrick!” Inuksuk yells as he enters the room behind Harris.

“He’s dead. Wells tried to kill Jessica but Fredrick stopped him. He paid the ultimate price though.” Omilio explains.

“Fuck, I’m sorry boys.” Harris says solemnly.

“No.” Inuksuk weeps.

“We stayed with him while he went.” Omilio says, patting Inuksuk on the back.

“What does Rodger want?” Eli asks Harris.

“He wants to discuss the next steps.” Harris details.

“Let’s get to it then. Inuksuk, I’m so sorry. We’ll let you have a minute with him.”

“Thanks Eli.” Inuksuk manages to sputter.

“You okay Sarah?” Omilio asks, rubbing her on the back.

“I could have saved him.”

“You did everything you could, don’t blame yourself. We’ll be back soon, and I’ll help you take care of his body.” Omilio says, comforting her.

“Please look after Jessica.” Eli adds.

“Of course.” Sarah replies.

Eli and Omilio wait outside the room with Harris until Inuksuk emerges a few minutes later. They follow Harris to the war room where Rodger is waiting patiently. The tempo of chaos much slower than previous visits, Eli looks around concernedly. Omilio takes a deep breath and closes his eyes before letting out an equally deep exhale. Inuksuk grits his teeth in pain and Harris balls his fist in anger.

“Welcome boys. Have a seat. I apologize for the timing here but we have to keep looking at the horizon.” Rodger says.

The four men take seats at the table where Victor, Manjit, Rodger and Margaret are already sitting.

“Thanks for coming. Everyone did an excellent job in taking care of the Meyers and Wells situation. I am extremely saddened to hear about Fredrick. He was a true patriot, who died performing his duty to the country and to his friends. Let’s take a moment to bow our heads in silence for him.” Rodger says solemnly.

The group doesn’t so much as flinch for a full minute in the moment of remembrance and appreciation.

“I’ve gathered everyone to let you know we have ironed out some of the details for our plan moving forwards. We have decided that I will remain aboard the USS Pennsylvania. It will be the safest place for me and my staff and allow us to keep our strategic nuclear option on the table at all times.” Rodger explains.

“That’s smart. What better place to hide than here?” Harris agrees.

“Precisely. We won’t be able to run the full team’s operations from here as communications are limited to avoid exposing our position, but strictly to keep me out of the way and useful, this tin can will work well.” Rodger adds.

“I’d like to take a moment to update everyone on what’s happening with Canada. I have personally spoken with our Prime Minister, Jon Oram and we have officially ended the war with the United States. Our troops are standing by to assist the President, US armed forces and the citizens with any resources they require to capture the rouge agents responsible for the coup attempt. We have also launched an extensive investigation into the breach of security we had on our own base when Eli and Jessica were attacked in Chilliwack. We have some promising leads and we plan to follow those back to find a source of origin for their orders.” Manjit explains.

“I also spoke with Prime Minister Oram personally to address the issues that have arisen, and we have reached an understanding and peace. The Russian President is still much less understanding but at the moment does not appear to be planning any further offensive. With these details figured out, we have to look at what options are best for moving the rest of the plan forwards for us all. We have to get boots on the ground and take our country back one step at a time. Most of the military and its commanders remain loyal and we certainly have the majority of the population in our favor as well. With that being said, we have decided to set up our primary operations unit for the reclamation and restoration of the United States at the Raven Rock installation, also known as Site R, in Pennsylvania.” Rodger details.

“I’ve heard things about that place.” Manjit chimes in.

“Like what?” Eli asks.

“Lots of top-secret programs have been conducted there.” Manjit explains.

“Those are just conspiracy theories.” Rodger says, laughing.

“So, there aren’t any aliens?” Omilio asks. Rodger looks to him and smirks.

“Originally constructed in the 1950’s, the installation boasts a sprawling underground complex of tunnels and facilities. It’s a continuation of government nuclear bunker with a full operational capability for upwards of three years for two hundred people while in containment. I think it’s a great place to be.” Manjit adds.

“How do you know so much about it?” Rodger asks.

“Well, I am the Defense Minister of Canada. You didn’t think we just overlooked the U.S. Military’s assets, did you?”

“Apparently, we’ve overlooked Canada’s.” Rodger replies with a laugh.

“How...