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“Happy holidays!” John said to Jack.

“I can’t wait until the winter solstice!” Jack replied.

“Did you bring the eggs?” John asked Jack.

“Yeah. They’re on ice in my car. I’ll give them to you when we leave,” Jack replied.

“Come in and take a seat everybody. We need to get started now,” Terry said over the microphone speakers from the front of the classroom.

“Thanks for returning for another training session. This is the third session and there will be two more. We just ask that you come to at least two of them before the big day,” Terry explained.

“Would you like me to turn off the lights?” Sheila asked.

“Yes. Please turn off the lights, so everybody can see my slides. Are there any questions before we get started?” Terry asked.

“How should we act around the Capitol police?” Felipe asked.

“Around the Capitol police you want to be disrespectful, loud and obnoxious just don’t hurt them. Yelling is fine. Tell them Trump won,” Terry replied.

“What should we do if we see others committing crimes like breaking glass and stealing things?” Monique asked.

“Cheer them on. Act like they just hit a home run in the last game of the World Series. We want to incite all the violence and destruction we can,” Terry said.

“What if we see somebody pooping on Nancy Pelosi’s desk?” Charlie asked and the anti-Trump recruits laughed.

“Pooping on Nancy’s desk!? Well, that’s a federal crime, so it will be one expensive bm,” Terry said and they laughed again.

“Do you wanna see a pic of my outfit?” Michael asked.

“Yes. Let’s do that before we get started. If you have a picture of your egg-on day outfit let me see it. Just hold it up and I will walk around real fast and check them out,” Terry said.

The anti-Trump recruits were told to dress like patriotic Trump supporters. They showed pictures of themselves in red hats, Trump garb, holding the flag, etc. They avoided wearing blue or looking like Democrats, so nobody would know what they were actually doing.

The meeting continued and Terry taught them everything they could and couldn’t do. Their purpose was to incite President Trump’s supporters to break the law on January 6, 2021. They knew they would be angry and protesting the election results and it wouldn’t be too hard. Nonetheless, they wanted Trump and his supporters to be arrested and serve time in federal prison without any of them getting caught. It took time, but they eventually got most of what they wished for.

“What did that email say?” the grieving mother asked.

“Nothing,” the stepfather replied.

“Really?” she said and looked at him defiantly. She was still mourning the death of her young daughter.

“It just asks if I want to buy more ads,” he replied.

“Ads for what?” she asked.

“I bought ads for Gabby’s vlog to get her more website traffic and viewers,” he said. Gabby’s corpse was found in Wyoming earlier in the month.

“So she had an artificial following?” her mom asked.

“No. She had real followers. I just juiced it up, so she could be happy and make money,” he said. She was paid by the number of views because they watched ads on her page.

Gabby’s boyfriend was a suspect in her death and he was missing. He did not like her job and felt threatened by it because he could tell that the numbers were strangely large and he thought they were artificially inflated and it was just a matter of time before they disappeared. It was something they argued about too.

“I wish you would have told me. I thought she was making an honest living,” she replied.

“It’s how all the kids do it these days, but I’m sorry. I should have told you,” he said and embraced her as she wept. Meanwhile the search continued for her boyfriend because he hired an attorney and disappeared to avoid questioning.

About two years ago the Trump administration threatened to impose more tariffs on China and wouldn’t back down until they agreed to buy $50 billion in American farm products. The tariffs were good leverage, but to some Chinese people they were the last straw.

“Are you sure we’re immune to it?” Thomas Chong asked.

“Yes. Our people have been exposed to very similar viruses for a long time. The vast majority of us will be just fine. Only the sickest and most unhealthy people may die,” Hong Li replied.

“Because after it spreads to America and everywhere else we don’t want to see 100,000 dead people here too,” Chong said.

“Less than 10,000 people will die in China and probably less than 5,000 people. America won’t be so lucky,” Li said.

“Tariffs are harming our businesses and our people and we cannot be manipulated in a trade war. Although this seems risky I’ll trust your judgment,” Chong said.

“Yes trust my judgment. We will be safe and they will suffer greatly for many months just like they have made us suffer,” Li said.

“As long as we do not stop air travel the virus will be everywhere very quickly,” Chong said and Li agreed.

Unbeknownst to them China was going to use American tourists to bring the deadly virus back to America and they intended on it quickly spreading in December, so it would correlate with the new tariffs as if it was a judgment from God. They figured Americans would make the connection and come to their senses without being able to prove China planned it.

Two months later Chinese and American leaders met in Washington. The old tariffs combined with planned new tariffs strongarmed the Chinese government into kowtowing to the Trump administration. Now they were on their hands and knees and the Trump administration cut the tariffs in half, but would not remove them and China began buying lots of agriculatural goods.

Americans felt like they won and it played well in the media, but little did they know a deadly virus would kill hundreds of thousands of Americans across the country, devastate the economy and change the face of society soon.

“I have a beautiful wife, kids and grandkids. I gotta do something,” the star actor said noticeably disturbed.

“Do you seriously think she’ll tell them about your affair?” Rick the prop specialist asked.

“She already told at least two people, so anything is possible. I can’t take risk it getting back to my family,” the star replied.

“Well, we just lost a lot of people. Will that help keep it on the down-low?” Rick asked. Union workers left because they thought it was an unsafe environment.

“Sure. That will help. I just know I am going to get caught if she keeps taking pictures and videos of me because I wear it on my face whenever I see her,” the star said.

“What would you like me to do?” Rick asked because he was out of ideas.

“I don’t know. I will think about it. Let’s talk about the movie for a minute,” the star said.

“Sure. What do you want to talk about?” Rick asked.

“I am tired of using cold weapons. For now on make sure they at least have a blank in them,” the star said.

“I can give you one with a live round if you want. Just be careful,” Rick said.

“Very good,” the star replied.

“Anything else?” Rick asked.

“No that’s it. I need to go to my trailer. I will see you on set,” the star said and walked to his trailer. They shot hours from his home, so he spent a lot of time in his trailer.

Later that day the star emerged and returned to the set. He was ready for his big scene.

“Here ya go,” Jack said and handed him a weapon.

“Thank you Jack,” the star said and began aiming it everywhere and entertaining on-lookers by making shooting sounds with his mouth.

“Hey there. Are you ready for your big scene?” the cinematographer who was also his love interest asked with a big smile.

“You know I am,” the star said and smirked, then he cocked the gun and shot her and she died. The star burst into tears because his lover was dead and he worried about the ramifications of his apparent accident. However, he was relieved that his affair was going to remain a secret.

Attention Attorneys,

Your client sexually abused me when I was a child. She is guilty and I will not have much trouble proving it. Also, I have suffered extraordinary damages because of the abuse. However, I would like to offer her a settlement.

The nature of this settlement offer is not financial. I agree to drop my lawsuit against the defendant under one condition. In lieu of paying damages for her behavior, she will testify to the validity of my claims in a lawsuit against my father. He did not report the defendant’s behavior to the authorities when I was a child or an adult. In fact, he lied to a detective about it. If the defendant consents to the offer I will concede that my damages are actually because of him and not because of the defendant.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
Mo Rocca

“I don’t understand. So Jesus is God?” the young, Asian immigrant asked his father.

“No, but they think he is, so we must act like he is,” Paul replied. Paul wasn’t his real name, but it was the name the missionaries gave him because his real name sounded Chinese.

“People here believe it and if we want to fit in we must believe it too or they’ll think we’re Communist spies,” the young child’s mother said.

“I understand. Everybody else believes it,” the young boy said.

“What if we don’t wanna believe it?” the boy’s older sister asked.

“Don’t tell anybody. Just don’t talk about it, but if they ask nod and say you believe like the Wests told us,” her mom replied. The Wests were a Christian missionary couple that converted them and sponsored them, so they could come to America.

They left such a horrible situation in Asia that they would say and do almost anything to fit in and stay in America. They didn’t have faith like people that had been indoctrinated in the U.S., but it was close enough if they kept their mouths shut.

Iliza’s ankles were swollen as she stepped inside the Houston Greyhound bus station. She needed to buy a ticket to Louisiana.

“One round-trip ticket to Shreveport please. I need to leave today and return on Saturday,” Iliza said. The employee heard her and punched some keys on a keyboard.

“Ok. You will be leaving today at 2:15 and arriving in Shreveport at 8 p.m. and you will return on Saturday. The bus leaves Shreveport at 11 a.m. and returns at 4:45 p.m.,” the employee said.

“Ok. How much is it?” Iliza asked and the employee punched some keys again.

“The outgoing leg is $40 and the return is $55. The total round-trip ticket after the service fee is $100.98,” the employee said.

“Ok. Just a second,” Iliza said. She was only 19 years old, so she didn’t have any credit cards. She only had $40.14 in her bank account, so she couldn’t use her debit card. However, she had been saving money from her restaurant server job and had $140 in cash, so she handed the employee $101.

“Your bus will leave in an hour from Gate 3. When you see people lining up you should get in line to board. Here are your tickets. Have a nice trip,” the employee said and handed her two tickets, an itinerary and a receipt.

“Thank you,” Iliza said and entered the seating area.

Homeless people were in the bus station because it was cold outside and they had nowhere to go. Others were waiting for their bus. Iliza found three empty seats in a row and sat in the middle one.

Iliza was very pretty and people noticed her. Shortly after she sat a handsome man in his 40s sat next to her.

“How’s it going?” the handsome man asked.

“Ok. I’m tired,” Iliza said.

“Where are you headed?” the handsome man asked.

“I’m going to Shreveport,” Iliza said.

“Shreveport is nice this time of year. What’s that about 240 miles?” the handsome man asked.

“I think so. It’s about six hours away,” Iliza said.

“Are you going for business or pleasure?” the handsome man asked.

“I’m getting an abortion. I just found out that I’m pregnant and I can’t get one here,” Iliza said. Texas’ government recently prevented women from getting an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. She had been pregnant for eight weeks.

“Wow. Good luck,” the handsome man said.

”Thanks. I’m really nervous. I don’t want to tell my parents or ask my friends to go with me,” Iliza said. In addition to the new restrictions on abortion Texas also implemented a $10,000 bounty on anybody that helps a woman get an abortion after six weeks.

“How long will you be there?” the handsome man asked.

“Just a few days. I’m coming back on Saturday,” Iliza said.

“Here. Take this in case you need it,” the handsome man said and handed her $100.

“Thanks! This is the nicest thing anybody has ever done for me!” Iliza said fighting back the tears.

“Don’t worry about it. Get yourself a hotel for a couple of days and stay safe and warm,” the handsome man said and Iliza gave him a big hug.

An old, ultra-conservative, religious woman was sitting nearby and heard everything, so she called the police. She told them what she witnessed and they quickly arrived at the bus station and made a police report.

Iliza’s bus arrived and she thanked the handsome man again, gave him another hug and got in line. He was happy to help even though it ended up costing him $10,000.

“What’s that terrible noise?” Grandpa asked. He was highly respected and a decorated veteran with a short temper, but he loved his granddaughter.

“Oh that’s the neighbor’s dog,” his granddaughter replied.

“Wow. It is loud. Does it keep you awake at night?” Grandpa asked.

“Sometimes. I wear earplugs or stay up late. The barking gets loud sometimes like when she’s gone during the day,” his granddaughter replied.

“I don’t know how you can think and study with all that noise,” Grandpa replied.

“I just try not to think about it or I go to the library and study,” his granddaughter said.

The next week her neighbor came down with the 2019 Novel Coronavirus, so she was quarantined in a hotel while authorities sanitized her home. When she returned the dog was gone and they told her that the animal had the coronavirus and had to be euthanized, but the dog was not sick and they beat it to death with a club and disposed of the body. Actually the employee pretended to dispose of the dog, but she took it home and ate it. Unfortunately for them the neighbor had a nanny cam hidden on a shelf and it recorded what happened. After she contacted the government they fired the employee and apologized.

If you thought the Grandpa called in a favor to the government you’d be wrong. They were spying on his phone call and killed the dog to honor him. Now he could speak in peace and quiet to his granddaughter. Also, they wouldn’t have to remove barking from their recordings anymore.

“Can I get another beer?” Ari asked the bartender and he filled a mug with foamy amber liquid and slid it down the bar to him.

“So what did you want to tell me?” Leah asked.

“Do you want a drink? It’s on me,” Ari said and she got a rum and coke. They were old friends.

“Did I ever tell you about our drone program?” Ari said and sipped his beer.

“Not really. You said you had drones and flew them, but that’s about it,” Leah replied.

“Well, I used to fly them in the daytime thousands of feet in the air, so nobody could see them and shoot lasers at people,” Ari confessed.

“Lasers? At who?” Leah asked.

“We had lists of people and we’d be notified of their coordinates if they were lingering outside. The drones are equipped with a laser that can penetrate the body and if I moved it around a little it wouldn’t even leave a mark,” Ari said

“Wouldn’t it burn their hair?” Leah asked.

“Yeah it could. It could turn their hair white, but they don’t notice until it grows because the laser kills the follicle. Usually they don’t realize what’s happening until their optic nerve is gone and they see a bright. Even then they might not realize it yet,” Ari said.

“Why did they want you to do this?” Leah asked.

“To mark people. When I shot them in the head it would weaken the veins to their eyes and eventually destroy the optic nerve. Some people got dark circles around their eyes and some people lost their vision,” Ari said.

“How did they lose their vision?” Leah asked.

“After the nerve damage it usually happened in one eye when they blew their nose. A blood vessel to their eyeball bursts and they suffer from vision impairment or blindness,” Ari said.

“Why are you telling me this?” Leah asked. They were old friends and Ari was a little drunk, but it was unusual for him to reveal military secrets especially in public.

“I took some time off today. I am on leave for two weeks. They told us the list of people are terrorists, but I know they’re not. They’re rich people, reporters, socialites, activists, liberals and actors,” Ari said.

“So what are you going to do?” Leah asked.

“I don’t know. I might not be able to leave without a dishonorable discharge. I might have to see a psychiatrist and tell him that I am having a mental breakdown, then they might discharge me without a penalty. I’ll figure it out,” Ari said.

“So those pictures of spaceships we see online. Are they just drones?” Leah asked.

“They’re just drones,” Ari said and they laughed and changed the subject.

During Ari’s time off work he saw a psychiatrist about attacking people with lasers. When it was time to return to his job he was able to obtain a medical discharge due to his mental health, so he didn’t have to shoot people with a laser anymore.

The next time Ari went to the beach a drone shot him in the head with a laser and he didn’t realize it until he lost some of the vision in one eye while blowing his nose. The laser damaged his optic nerve just like he had done to others many times. He wondered who did it and if it was friendly fire or enemy fire.

“Let’s just say they’re very enterprising. Even more than we are and that’s saying something!” Bob Vance said and they laughed.

“I know. They’re the size of Texas, but they have more territorial waters than any country on earth,” David Smith replied.

“That’s right, so with the quiet ones you can get closer to the action when one of their allies drops a bomb and causes a devastating earthquake,” Bob replied.

“I like the quiet subs. They are smooth,” David replied. He already took a ride inside a nuclear submarine to test it.

“I knew you’d like it. Well, I’ll place the order and get you a delivery date,” Bob replied.

Instead of buying diesel-powered submarines from France, Australia changed their mind, scrapped their tentative deal with France and inked a new deal to buy nuclear submarines from America.