Chapter 4

The new regime in town still had yet to fully consolidate their power, including over the flow of information and technology. It was, by now, the morning after the coup, and there was still some fierce resistance in key areas, at least from the erstwhile authorities. They were on the losing end of things, but they hadn’t been completely mopped up yet.

“They’re still new to this ... and this is a new kind of revolution, being launched in real time in the Information Age. Controlling the flow isn’t as simple as it sounds ... as these wackos are learning in a hurry ... the hard way! That’s good for us, of course!” I smirked.

So far, we’d holed up and eaten some breakfast: scrambled eggs, toast, and applesauce. We didn’t even know if Taslima had a job anymore, but that was a problem for later. At least it was a Sunday morning, so Becca and I were both off work for the day. Also, maybe the rebels would be at church instead of on the streets, or at least some of them would take a break from killing to praise their bloodthirsty god?

Right now, we had to survive and keep our heads down. Hell, we might even have to skip town or something. If necessary, we might still have to organize resistance. I was loath to risk the ladies’ lives yet, even if I might have fought back on my own. It was still early enough and we hoped that either the Governor would send the Army and/or Air National Guard ... or the President would. This was a serious armed insurrection and needed to be put down before its leaders were able to consolidate their power or spread it beyond the city limits.

“What are the President and Governor Northam waiting for, anyway? How hard is it to mobilize units of the Virginia National Guard? Or even the Virginia State Police, the ATF, the FBI, the U.S. Marshals, somebody higher than the fucking Sheriff’s Department! This is insane!” I ranted, just as a news bulletin popped up again.

“This just in. Other units of the so-called ‘Dominion Party’ militia have clashed with state and local authorities in several different counties and independent cities throughout southern and eastern Virginia. As many as six or seven different sheriff’s departments and city police forces have reported being outgunned by these insurgents, each of them using considerable and lethal force before the authorities could resort to that. It’s estimated that local cops might have lost at least half their manpower in just the past twenty-four hours of this armed uprising.

“Okay, another news update. Governor Northam has officially declared a state of emergency in the affected areas and ordered the Virginia State Police to ‘restore order in the Commonwealth of Virginia,’ though he hasn’t called up the National Guard yet. An eighth county has confirmed that it is under siege and assault by the rebels, who are apparently intent on actually toppling the legitimate governments at all levels, federal, state, and local. That they began in Virginia is probably due to their being based in the Commonwealth.

“What is clear is this: we are witnessing a full-scale, highly illegal, heavily armed insurgency against the lawful authorities in this state. Whether it spreads outside of Virginia remains to be seen, but unlike the Confederacy, this rebellion makes no attempt to even pretend that it has a constitutional basis. This is a revolutionary, or arguably, a reactionary, movement, committed to the notion of destroying democracy in America. They are in open revolt against the duly elected President, Congress, Governor, and other lawful public servants in this country. They seek to overthrow the Republic and create some kind of theocratic regime in its place... , “ the anchor declared, just seconds before there was a knock at my door.

I rushed to the door with my shotgun in hand, a pump-action gun to be precise. I handed my .357 magnum Smith and Wesson revolver to Taslima and my 9 mm Glock to Becca, just in case. It would help to have some extra firepower behind me if things got nasty. I was in no mood to surrender, even if I wasn’t actively resisting the insurrection just yet. If they came onto my turf, I was ready to shoot to kill.

Sure enough, it was the baddies. I could see that well enough through the peephole in the front door. I stood just inside, waiting to see if they would back off. They didn’t. Instead, certain of them kicked the door in and I immediately opened fire on them. Taslima fired next, a loud, even deafening sound as the recoil sent her back for a moment. The kick wasn’t as strong for Becca, of course, though I didn’t have time to check on either of them. I had to keep firing at the rebels.