April 2044
Savannah, Georgia
SarahPOV
I read the note again, though I knew I hadn't missed anything the first time. It was short, to the point. Very Ciara Jackson. Nothing like the long sappy letter she'd hidden for the rest of her family. This was just for me.
"Sarah, if you're reading this, I'm dead." The second time through, the words still made my breath catch in my throat. "I've heard whispers of a coup for months. I gathered what I could, but I don't have enough concrete proof to expose anyone." I flipped open the folder with my other hand, thumbing over the pages. "It's up to you to figure out what I couldn't. If you don't, you'll all be in danger. They're not just going to stop with me."
I sat the letter down. For a moment I just looked at the folder, without really seeing anything. Then I dove in. I wasn't sure how long I sat there, digging through Ciara's notes. Half the stuff was way over my head. The other half I didn't have clearance to see. I was just an aid, but she had been the President of the Federation of America.
I recognized the names of Governors and other aids. Ciara certainly had a lot of enemies. She was beloved by her people; she'd won two wars and united a country, for heaven's sake. But, within the government, opinions were polarized. Sure the majority approved of her policies, at least enough to vote her into office in the first place. But, there were others who would do anything to tear her down. Some of them had disapproved of her father's administration. He'd been President when the Federation of America was only the Georgia Federation. Others only disapproved after Ciara brought home the world's most wanted war criminal, Sebastian Monroe. Not only did she pardon his crimes, she married him.
The door to the study flew open and I let out a squeak of terror. "Whoa, sorry!" Connor Bennett stood in the doorway, looking almost as scared as I had just been. Connor was Monroe's son from a previous relationship. Now, he was President of the Federation until elections could be held. Standing here in Ciara's study, with disheveled hair and a five o'clock shadow, he didn't look much like a President. "How'd you get in here?"
"I picked the lock," I said simply. I shrugged. "I just wanted to be alone with her, you know? Feels like she's still in here. I would've asked Bass for the key, but I didn't want to bother him."
Connor nodded. He nodded at the folder I was holding. I closed it quickly. "What's that?"
"It was Ciara's."
"I figured as much, what's in it?"
I shook my head. "She left it for me. I don't want to get anyone involved."
"That's what the mysterious note was at the bottom of her letter?" I remembered yesterday. We'd all sat around the living room, reading Ciara's last words. The only thing she'd written me was a scrawled note in a different colored pen. "Tell Sarah I left her something, she'll know where to look."
"I know Ciara's handwriting, she was a perfectionist," Connor noted. "If she wrote something that sloppily, it was in a hurry. Why would she do that?"
I sighed. "Close the door." He did as I said, and then sat down across the desk from me. I pushed him the folder. He read her note. Anyone who didn't know him would think he wasn't fazed by it. But, I knew better.
"She knew she was going to die," he said quietly.
"Maybe not one hundred percent, but yeah, enough to sink this in the fountain at Forsyth Park."
"You waded into the fountain?"
"Yeah, before sunrise. It was cold as hell." I shook my head. "I've been going through the folder. It's a mess. I know Ciara pretty damn well, but even I can't make sense of what she was thinking. It looks like she suspected half her government, honestly."
"Dad's paranoia rubbing off on her?" Connor suggested.
I shrugged. "That, or I'm missing something major here."
"So what do we do, work our way through every one of these people?" He asked. "The Summit ends tomorrow, everyone's going to be gone."
"Extend the Summit," I suggested. "Another week. Say you need it to prepare yourself for Presidency. Everyone will think you're just trying to campaign before the vote is organized in a few months."
"They're going to expect me at meetings all week, how am I supposed to investigate?"
"You're not," I told him. "You just be the President, and I'll take care of it. But keep your eyes peeled. This is coup, and Ciara's right, we're all in danger just by being her allies."
"Okay."
"Yeah?"
He nodded finally. "You know, you're a lot like her. No wonder she wanted you to be President one day."
I smiled sadly. "Yeah, watch your back, I'm coming for that chair."
"I think I'm safe for now, you have to be a Governor to get elected President." He shook his head and started toward the door. "Sarah, don't tell Bass about this. Not yet. He's not the person that he used to be, but a piece of him died with her. I don't want him to do anything he'll regret later."
I nodded. "Of course. Now get out of here. Don't you have Presidential duties or something?"
He raised an eyebrow. "You know you don't live here right?"
"Neither do you, Mr. California." He shook his head, but left me alone anyway. I picked up the folder again. "We're going to find them," I whispered. "It won't be for nothing."
ConnorPOV
I envied the other people on the ferry. For them, nothing had changed. They were the same as they'd always been. Meanwhile, my world was slowly falling apart. Hands gripped my arm. I jumped. "Sorry!" Charlie whispered. She pulled me out of the cabin, and onto the deck.
Even though Charlie looked frantic, I couldn't help but smile. She'd always had that effect on me. We'd barely seen each other since I moved to California and she went back to Wisconsin. The Summit had been a good excuse to see each other, if only it hadn't turned out the way it did. "Are you okay?" She asked.
"Me? You're the one who looks like they've seen a ghost." I tilted my head. "Ciara always said Savannah was haunted."
Her eyes grew wide. "How are you even joking after all this?"
"If you can't laugh, you'll go crazy."
She shook her head. "Listen, I've got a lead."
"Yeah?"
"Patriot cell down on Ossabaw Island. Rumor is, they're even running a camp down there. I'm going to check it out tonight. I'm on my way to get Miles now."
"You can't, Miles has to stay for the Summit," I reminded her. Her dad was the General of the Federation's military. Ciara had been a good fighter, but she was no strategic mastermind. So, she'd picked one of her closest friends for the job.
"Today's the last day."
I shook my head. "I'm extending it. Sarah asked me to, and she's right, we need to keep all our suspects in one place."
"Except our suspects aren't here!" Charlie protested. "They're on Ossabaw Island."
"Charlie, it isn't the Patriots," I said, exasperated. Fifteen years ago, before the Federation of America, we'd fought a war against the Patriots. They that claimed to be the US government; rising from the ashes, to return the post-blackout world to stability. But, they had been frauds. Texas and the former Georgia Federation had joined forces to crush them.
"How can you be so sure?" She asked.
"Because Ciara knew there was a coup," I admitted, with a sigh. "She left Sarah tons of crap, half the stuff makes no sense, but I pretty much gathered it wasn't the Patriots. It's someone on the inside, I promise. You know some of her Governors have had it out for her since day one." I put my hand on her arm, and she jerked away.
"Not that I don't trust you, but you don't know the Patriots the way I do. You didn't fight in the war. You ran. I know what they can do, and this is right up their alley." She shook her head. "I'm going to check out Ossabaw Island tonight, with or without backup. Ciara was my friend, I owe her that much."
8 Years Ago
Savannah, Georgia
The door to Ciara's office burst opened. She looked up to see Charlie Matheson standing in the doorway. "Yes, Charlie, you can come in," Ciara muttered. "Wasn't like I was in the middle of anything important."
"Whatever it is, it's not as important as this," Charlie said. She produced an American flag from her bag and dropped on Ciara's desk.
Ciara looked at the flag for a moment, then her eyes flicked up to Charlie. "You came all the way from Wisconsin to show me a flag?"
"I took this off a body," Charlie explained. "A Patriot cadet body."
"You're sure it was a cadet?" Ciara asked.
"He had the tattoo," Charlie said, as if Ciara thought she was stupid. At the height of the Patriot occupation, they had set up training camps across the country. They called them reeducation camps. They tortured innocent teenagers and turned them into killing machines. Each of the cadets was given a number, tattooed on their waterline.
"Charlie, everyone knew about the camps," Ciara reminded her. "Word spread pretty fast after the war. Granting immunity to the cadets was one of my most controversial pieces of legislation. Most likely, someone found out your victim was a former cadet, and killed him."
"And the flag?" Charlie pressed. "How do you explain that?"
Ciara sighed. "Maybe it was a former Republic rebel, or maybe it was just someone trying to be poetic. Even if there are Patriots left out there, they don't stand a chance. Texas signed a treaty to join the Federation and the Californian war is almost over. Our country sweeps from sea to shinning sea and all that crap. We're unbeatable."
Charlie didn't say anything. "Listen, Charlie, I know how much you hate them. Believe me, I do too. But they can't hurt us anymore. They can't take the people we love again. I miss Jason too, not a day goes by that I don't think about him. But we won the war, we avenged him."
"You're not the one who pulled the trigger."
Ciara reached out for Charlie's hand. Charlie let her take it, reluctantly. "Maybe not, but I might as well have done it." She shook her head. "Let this go, Charlie, please."
2044
Savannah, Georgia
SPOV
I walked into the convention center. I'd always loved the Summit as a kid, and not much had changed. There were people from every walk of life. Every state sent a delegation. Politicians debated policies in front of crowds of civilians. Scientists and engineers presented the newest technology. It was here, ten years ago, that two of the nation's leading researches presented a devastating fact: the power would never come back on.
At least, it should have been devastating. In reality, we'd been living in a world without electricity for decades. Many of us, like myself, had been born after the blackout and had never known any different. We had grown used to this world. Steam power flourished again and gas lanterns lit homes. It was all very Industrial Revolution, but it was our world.
I passed a display on the benefits of installing steam-powered public transportation systems. I spotted my dad. He waved me over. "What do you think about this idea?" He asked.
"I don't think it's worth Charleston's time. If we had the pre-blackout subway tunnels like Chicago, then maybe. But, as it stands it would cost entirely too much."
He nodded. "I think you're right. Good to know I'm putting South Carolina in capable hands." I tried to smile, but I knew it fell flat. He steered me down the hall. People greeted him with "good to see you, Governor Braxton," and "how's it going, Charles?" My dad had always been popular. He was friendly, charismatic, the whole political package. I had always tried to be just like him.
He led me to South Carolina's private meeting rooms. He took a seat. I closed the doors behind us. When I turned back around, it was as if a spell had been broken. Charles looked weak. I brought him a glass of water, and watched as his arm shook as he raised it to his mouth. In front of people, he somehow kept it together.
He didn't like to talk about his condition. All I knew was my great-grandfather had been diagnosed with the same thing. There'd been no cure then, and there definitely wasn't a cure now. In this post-blackout world, there were doctors, but the progression of medicine had halted. His own body was slowly turning against him.
"It's getting worse," he said quietly. "It's time, Sarah."
I shook my head. "Dad, no. Not yet."
"Please, I want to die with dignity. It's getting harder to hide it." It had always been his plan to retire, and confine himself to our home until the disease ran its course. Charles was a proud man. He didn't want people to see him as weak. "I need to step down as Governor. It's time you take my place."
"Please, just give me the week. Connor's going to extend the Summit." I didn't want to argue with him, but I had no choice. "If you step down during the Summit, I'll have too many eyes on me. Everyone always wants to watch the new Governors flounder around, you know?" He smiled sadly. "The people who killed Ciara are here. I have to find them now, before they hurt someone else I care about."
My dad sighed. For a long minute he sat, considering. I held my breath. "Okay," he said finally. He nodded. "Okay, I'll resign at the end of the Summit. You have a week."
I leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you, dad. I promise I'll find them."
OoOoO
I ran straight into Connor. Literally, straight into him. We both let out small screams. Then we burst out laughing. Several people gave us curious looks. I linked my arm through his, and pulled him outside into the courtyard. The grassy space was lined with carts selling every food imaginable. I jumped into the line for fried chicken.
"I'm glad I ran into you," he said. "It's official, the Summit is continuing for another week. More food and fun for everyone." He looked around the packed courtyard.
"And hopefully some serious investigating," I added. "I haven't found anything so far, but I only got here a few hours ago. How about you?"
He shook his head. "I've been busy all morning. I tried to bring Charlie in, but she won't help."
"Charlie, as in, Ciara's best friend," I repeated. "Why won't she help?"
"She thinks it's the Patriots," he said quietly. He glanced around as if someone was going to attack him just for saying the name out loud.
I narrowed my eyes. "You told her about the folder, didn't you?"
"Yeah, but she's on a mission." He looked genuinely upset. "She was never the same after the Patriots, you know?"
"Well, you didn't really know her before the war, did you?" I pointed out.
"Fair point. But you didn't know her before Jason died, I did. I was there the day she killed him." I had never met Jason, but I knew the name well. He'd been Ciara's fiancé once, before she'd fallen in love with Bass. He'd also been a good friend of Charlie's.
"I saw how it haunted Ciara, and she wasn't even the one who pulled the trigger," I told him. "I can imagine what it did to Charlie." When the Patriots first came and brought their reeducation camps, Jason was one of the first to be taken. He'd been brainwashed and turned into a weapon. He'd attacked Charlie, and she had no choice but to kill him.
"She's hunting her own personal demons."
"I wish she'd hunt her own personal demons a little closer to the Summit," I mumbled. "We need all the help we can get."
We reached the front of the line and I ordered some fried chicken. I looked at Connor expectantly. "What?"
"Hey, your new gig pays way more than I made as an aid," I told him. "I think you can buy me some lunch." He rolled his eyes, but dumped a diamond in the vendor's hand. The vendor handed me my food, and Connor and I turned away.
"Sarah!" A familiar voice called. I turned to see Joanna, my best friend, practically running toward me.
"See you around, Connor," I said, walking toward Joanna.
"Hey, wait, you're not even gonna share the chicken!" Connor called. "Where's the respect?"
I ignored him and walked right into Joanna's waiting arms. She hugged me tightly. "I'm so sorry, Sarah. I know how close you were with Ciara."
"I miss her."
"I know, I know," she said. "Come on, let's go inside. Mississippi meeting room should be empty." She led me back into the building.
We settled down in the room and I pushed my plate toward her. She smiled as she pulled off a piece. "I'm sorry I missed the funeral. My dad…" she shook her head. "Well, you know my dad."
I nodded. I did, unfortunately, know her father very well. Norman Claymore, Governor of Mississippi, and perhaps the most infuriating man I had ever met. Governor Claymore hated the Jackson family, and he'd been quite vocal about it. It hadn't started with Ciara. He hadn't liked her father, the late President of the Georgia Federation, either.
Joanna was nothing like her father. "I'm glad Connor extended the Summit, I was going to miss you," she said.
I smiled. "That was at my request." I paused. "Not so we could spend more time together, but I mean…" I blushed. She laughed. "I think Ciara was assassinated."
Her face froze. "What?"
I nodded solemnly. "Yeah, and actually I don't just think it, I know it." I took a deep breath. "Someone assassinated the President."
"Have you-" She broke off, looking for words. "Told the police? Told Miles?"
"Miles, yes, well sort of," I said. "But I can't go to the police until I know something for sure. I need proof. I don't know who it was, or why, but I think someone's planning a coup. I think it's going to happen soon."
"That's why you extended the Summit. You're going all Nancy Drew." I nodded, appreciating the joke. "Are you sure it's safe? If someone finds out-"
"Jo, I don't have a choice," I told her. "Ciara was my family. I can't let these people get away with murder. And, if anything happened to her family…"
"You have to do this, I get it." She nodded. "Just be careful, alright?"
I smiled. "I always am."
