“Hello?”
“Good afternoon President Lebedev,” Morgan tried to sound as cheerful and upbeat as possible as she finally was put through to the man in charge after nearly thirty minutes of waiting on hold. The Ukrainians seemed to take extreme pleasure in making her wait for things, President Morgan unable to forget a time when her car had been delayed by over an hour on one democratic visit to their capital. “I hope I reach you at a good time.”
“President Morgan,” the man replied. “Good time for me yes, not so much for your country though I see.”
“Yes well, I’m sure you’re aware of what has happened to the United States, Mr. Lebedev; so I won’t mince my words. We’re struggling to keep our heads above water and I’m coming to you with a plea for aid. Please, is there anything you can spare to help our country in this time of need? We will of course be forever indebted to you as a result.”
President Lebedev laughed on the other end of the line, a carefree sound that made Morgan scowl in frustration. “You already are, no?” He asked, making reference to the millions of dollars the United States owed to Ukraine after their naval fleet ran aground off the coast of the Black Sea. “We cannot afford to spare anymore ships.”
“I beg of you Mr. Lebedev, if there is anything, any sort of humanitarian aid that you can –”
“I am sorry President Morgan, but Ukraine has nothing we can give you at this time. We are going through hard times ourselves as a result of this failure and we need to focus our efforts in our own garden.”
“We have gold,” President Morgan started to sound desperate, her tone of voice giving away just how vulnerable her country was. “And oil reserves that we can trade with you.”
“Trade? Oh no. The Ukraine does not trade with America anymore. We cannot do it. Good day, Madam President.”
“Please –” President Morgan tried to keep the man on the end of the line, but it went dead before she could even say his name. Holding the receiver in her hand, Morgan chewed on her bottom lip and tried to keep a straight face. She couldn’t let this affect her. It had been a long shot to begin with, it couldn’t feel like a failure.
But that had been her last chance. Without aid from another country, the United States would be left to fight this battle on their own; something that was becoming increasingly difficult with every new man or woman that deserted their post. She understood that people were in shock and were reacting to this badly; half of her own mind was telling her to run off and go wild for a few days as well. But they had to see the bigger picture; she had to see the bigger picture. Eventually the people of the United States would need to reunite again, and they would need someone to lead them through the recession and destitution and hopefully out to a better life on the other side. She would be there waiting for when that day came, but it wasn’t something she could do alone. In order for America to survive, it needed to rely on the strength of the American people.
Chapter 23
KW couldn’t believe the news they had just received. She sat in the server room of their tiny bunker, reading and re-reading the note that FM had first brought to her. It didn’t make sense. There was no way this could be happening to them after everything her group had gone through already; after everything that they had done for their leader. But it was. The note which had been sent down with their next week’s supply of food – a supply none of them had been expecting to receive – told them clear as day that they weren’t getting out of the bunker anytime soon. Despite their success with the hack, they would be required to continue surveillance on the United States, in order for the government to carry out the next stage of their plan.
“This isn’t fair,” KW muttered angrily, “they can’t do this to us. Have they no honor?”
AC scoffed, shaking his head and breathing deeply. He had a daughter waiting for him on the outside that would be nearly thirteen years old now. He had already missed most of her childhood because of this hack and he couldn’t believe he wasn’t going to be reunited with her now as promised. “They can’t be trusted,” he whispered, fully aware that the entire bunker was bugged and yet another team would be listening to them from somewhere. “They promised us our freedom. They promised.”
“But what can we do?” FM argued back, standing closely to DM and seeking comfort from his body heat. “We have no leverage.”
“We can refuse,” AC suggested. “We can say we won’t do it?”
“And then what? We get thrown into a mainstream jail and left to rot like the millions of others trapped there. Come on,” KW cracked her knuckles in her hands, her knowledge of how this worked coming together faster than anyone else in her group. “We know the drill. We get it done and then we leave. We don’t have a choice.”
Angry and frustrated murmurs carried around the bunker, AC flinging his hands up and storming out of the server room muttering swear words under his breath. No one else knew what to say. They were trapped without an option. Their government listened to and watched every move they made, holding their lives in their hands as they delivered food and water when required. They had tried to refuse before and all it had resulted in was that source of sustenance being cut off until they gave in. KW herself had
