Edge of Valor: A Post-Apocalyptic EMP Survival Thriller(81)

“The federal government has never held much faith in its people. The less real information you know, the easier it is to control you. If you tell three hundred and fifty million people their way of life is over, what will they do? How will they respond? Panic. Rioting and looting. Mass casualties. The response will be worse than the event itself.

“You have to string them along, give them hope; only parcel out information in small, palatable pieces. It keeps the populace obedient and subdued while the government deals with the enemies at the gate.

“The world is intricately interconnected,” the General continued. “The U.S. received the brunt of the blast, but the aftershocks wreaked a different devastation. When the EMP took out our grid, our economy collapsed instantaneously. The stock market was obliterated. World markets were crippled with no way to recover.

“It has destabilized the global economy. The UK is in crisis. Even with their electric grid still intact, most developed countries are in a tailspin. Riots and looting. Massive food shortages. Money markets imploding. Inflation rising by twenty percent a month. Banks freezing accounts.”

Liam thought of the repercussions of a crippled America rippling ever outward. The aftershocks unsettling the foundation of the civilized world, causing even more damage.

It was an overwhelming and utterly depressing thought.

“When the lights come back on in America, the entire planet will have realigned itself. What superpower will emerge to dominate the world? China and Russia are both vying for that position. The U.S. is determined to keep that from happening.

“The world has cracked open. Opportunity is everywhere—diamonds lying abandoned in the streets. Anyone with two brain cells to rub together is vying for their piece of the pie. It’s a fascinating time to be alive, isn’t it?”

Liam didn’t answer. The General could be lying through his teeth. Or he could be speaking the absolute truth. It didn’t change their situation.

Fury thrummed through every cell of his body. He imagined all the ways he could kill this man.

He only needed his hands free. He only needed a few precious seconds.

The General steepled his fingers beneath his chin. “All that aside, it doesn’t matter what happens here in this inconsequential little town in this insignificant corner of a trivial state. No one cares. I should say, no one cares right now. In the future, they will. We tear down to rebuild something better and stronger. No one will remember what came before.”

Liam shook his head. Agony spiked through his skull. He tasted coppery blood on his tongue. “This place matters. What happens here matters.”

“When I report tomorrow to the Secretary of Defense that Michigan is in hand and under control, he won’t ask questions. He doesn’t have the time. I could murder all of you, and it wouldn’t matter one little iota.”

The General’s eye twitched. A tightness to his mouth. It was a lie—or a partial lie.

There was still a government operating, however dysfunctional and crippled. There were still rules of operation and lines that a government official could not cross without consequences.

“I doubt that.”

The General sat back with a satisfied smirk. “I’ve just received word that Alexander Poe and his Syndicate army have breached Michigan’s border. They’re swarming across the state line now.”

Liam’s heart stopped. “No.”

“At first, I admit I was quite vexed. However, I’ve reconsidered my position. The Syndicate will attack from the south. We will come from the north and kill two birds with one stone. In the end, who’s to say who killed who?”

His smile took on a ghastly tinge. “What a tragedy it will be. Don’t worry. We will avenge your deaths. We will retaliate with the full might of the Michigan National Guard. Maybe we’ll even immortalize you as tragic victims. That’s the wonderful thing about history. It can be revised with a simple swipe of a pen.”

“You will be held accountable for every evil that you’ve committed.” Liam thought of Bishop. “In this world or the next.”

“Ah, the archaic concept of justice. Of honor, truth, right and wrong.” The General shook his head with an air of annoyance. “It’s tedious. It’s asinine. What matters is power. What matters is who sits on the throne, and who tells the best story. What people believe. Not the truth, but what they’re told. That’s it.”

“You’re wrong.”

The General leaned forward again, elbows on his knees, his head tilted, a hard curious look in his eyes. “Why do you keep fighting? Why do you struggle against impossible odds? It’s pointless.”

“We fight because we have to.”

The General’s gaze hardened. “I’ve known men like you. You have a hard-on for glory, is that it? You believe valor matters. That an honorable death means something. Let me tell you something, soldier to soldier. It doesn’t. It never has.”

Liam squared his shoulders. “I say it does.”

A small man scurried into the room, squeezing between the huge bodyguards. “Um, sir? A quick word.”

His eyes were red-rimmed and wet. His head bobbed, his nervous gaze skimming Liam’s battered form and skittering away.

The General gave an irritated grunt. “As always, your timing is impeccable.”

“General, Lauren Eubanks is on the line, sir.”