The Suns of Liberty (Book 2): Revolution Read Online Free PDF Page B

night...
     
     
    CHAPTER
5
     
     
    BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS
    NIGHT
     
    T he
engines on the Apache whined from the descent. A steep, diving descent. The
black of the starry heavens spread out around the helicopter. Its lateral jet
engines fired it across the sky in a burst of power. Its angular design was
more aerodynamic, more menacing, than models of Apaches that had come before
it. Inside, a single pilot maneuvered the craft into a line of other identical
choppers. Their V formation glided to life perfectly.
    A dozen choppers dove toward a
large unruly mob in the middle of a city square.
    ThisBoston, this world,
was run-down. The once proud buildings were cracked and dilapidated.
Shadows of their past glory. The Depression had taken its toll. Left
behind in its wake were the scars. Some of them were bizarre. Mobile media
and Internet were everywhere, yet basic sanitation, heating, or unspoiled food
could be scarce. State Street, where the large crowd had gathered, had
once been the heart of Boston's bustling financial district and a historical
marker. Now it crumbled like the rest of the city.
    Like the financial centers of most
cities in the US, State Street went through a period of change. Growing
inequality fueled this change. It all started in the twentieth century and
had not stopped. Inner cities grew, and grew less safe. The financial districts
of most cities lived near the inner city. Crime here became intolerable to the
wealthy who had to travel in and out of them.
    So, in Boston, as in the other
major cities, they walled off the financial district. State Street had
been a major thoroughfare through the city. But about twenty-five years
ago, it was made into State Street Square. Like a cul-de-sac neighborhood.
“If you don’t have business in State Street, you have no business being there,”
went the saying.
    And then the insurgency happened.
And it happened in Boston. Boston became ground zero for insurgent activity,
and State Street became ground zero for protests, just like the one tonight.
So, for the past ten years, the financial district had been moving. Most of it
was miles away now. But enough of it remained on State Street to make this
protest meaningful. Most importantly, the local office of the Freedom Council
itself stood just below the mass of protestors gathered on this night to
“celebrate” its birthday.
    An ocean of flags and protest
banners spread across the square. Signs in the crowd displayed statements like:
“END SHAM DEMOCRACY!”  or  “FREE US FROM THE FREEDOM COUNCIL!” 
Several featured stylized images of the Revolution. In the center of the square
a podium had been set up for speakers. The crowd began to quiet in anticipation
as a tall man with bright-red hair approached the microphone. His last name was
Roosevelt, and he counted two American presidents in his familial lineage. He
had a round face, though he was not an overly heavy man. His chin was long, but
his cheeks puffed out, making it seem short. His eyes were large, round, and
captivating. The appeal of his otherwise unremarkable face was in his eyes. He
was someone you wanted to follow. The crowd fell nearly silent as he started to
speak.
    “My friends.” Roosevelt was
excited, confident. “Welcome to the first night of the last days of the Freedom
Council!”
    The crowd cheered.
    “Ten years ago tonight,” he
continued, looking up at the brightly lit offices of the local Council, “in the
midst of the Second Great Depression, the twenty-five largest corporations in
America convinced Congress and the president to violate the Constitution and
put themselves in charge of overseeing all three branches of government.” 
    The crowd's jeers soared into the
electric night air.
    Standing beneath the once proud
towers of concrete and steel, Roosevelt connected with the crowd
immediately. ”For most of us, time has simply stopped or gone
backwards.” He peered up at the high-rise office of the Freedom