Chapter 4-Social Media Sleuth
oOo
Ames slept after what felt like an eternity, even though his workday was a pretty light one compared to what he had done before. It seemed like he had stumbled into a prestigious and cushy job, though he felt more disturbed than anything.
Restless, he got up early, around 4:00 AM. He decided to watch some TV, figuring he could also get some insight into contemporary culture this way. He flipped on the TV, and the first thing he heard was "The Masturbation Network. Keepin America Batin' for 100 years." The screen showed a man with one arm far more muscular than the other.
"Well that's terrifying", Ames said with a tepid tone. "Anyone can watch this...?" The TV show, "Tits, Boobs and Chicks" wasn't too appealing, so Ames decided to see what was on the other channels.
"Extreme Baseball" didn't resemble the sport that Ames remembered. The "players" just fought with the bats and then wrestled while a metal band played. There may have been a ball involved, though Ames didn't see one.
"Dancing with the Stars" was softcore porn with indiscriminate bumping and grinding, with no actual dancing talent involved.
"The Bachelor" was like the above, but far worse. Slightly worse than its 2022 version anyway, which wasn't that great to begin with.
"How I Boinked your Mother" was a purported "comedy show" packed with innuendo and an obnoxious laugh track. The "jokes" fell flat with Ames. One such gem, "So she asked me for BUTTER!" (cue the laugh track, identical with the last joke). "Is that innuendo from the future...? I don't get it.", Ames thought.
"Hell's Kitchen: The New Generation" was the most... creative... of these new offerings. The unlucky contestants were locked in a cage with a hungry, angry tiger. Each contestant was partitioned off by a set of bars. It was Elimination Time, and the task was to prepare fish. The worst dish would see that chef's partition move away, and the tiger would do the eliminating.
"This can't be real-oh damn, I guess it is! How is that legal...?" Ames watched in disbelief, thinking it must be special effects. Other Eliminations resembled an unholy hybrid of the "Hell's Kitchen" he remembered and a Saw movie.
On the History Channel, "Aliens in the Bible" asked the necessary and thought-provoking question of whether Judas was an alien sent to destroy religion. Ames could feel his brain cells crying out in horror.
Lastly, Ames watched a music video. At least it wasn't that awful "Selfie Boobwa", but it didn't sound much better. The signer's "outfit" had a top that probably covered her nipples, as far as Ames could tell, and a bottom which looked like dental floss covering the naughty bits. Her "singing" sounded like an alien trying to rap.
"That'll do for now, probably forever.", Ames decided. It was time to head in and take his new assignment.
Arriving at the director's office, Ames received his assignment. From the director's tone, it sounded more serious than the previous day.
"Hello gentlemen, and lady." The director blew a kiss at Palin. "Great that we're all here. But today is a big day." He turned to Ames, and handed him a folder. "Ames, we've got a serious issue happening. For awhile now, McConnell's been following social media posts by Democrats pushing for Socialist issues. But now we need to find these people and take them into custody, and put a stop to their... trouble, and plotting."
"Chicanery.", Cruz said. The others, aside from Ames, nodded and were impressed.
"I guess law school's no joke. Not everyone can do it.", the director said. He continued briefing Ames: "We're expecting a flurry of activity because the governor of Florida, Rod 'The Poundtrain' Johnson, will be giving a speech on jobs or schools, or whatever. The Democrats will be sure to watch and post to social media in real-time."
"'Poundtrain'?", Ames asked.
"Yes, due to his prior career. He was still the most qualified. He had a catchy election slogan, 'Every Floridian Loves a Good Pounding'. But anyway, while McConnell is monitoring and seizing web addresses as necessary, your job-". The director prompted him to guess.
Ames finished for him. "...is to read these posts, reply and possibly get information as to where these people are."
"Exactly. You're pretty fast with this."
Ames was reading the print-outs of some of the posts. "What kind of criminal activity are we looking at? All these posts are about the minimum wage or protecting the environment."
"That's the crime-socialism. They actually want a minimum wage which will cost jobs, and rob the American worker of the pride of working. They also want to push the myth of 'climate change' by telling people to recycle and only drive European, 'fuel-efficient' cars."
Copeland chimed in, "That last part is also offensive to our church. It implies that God did not create a perfect Earth. It is blasphemy, and they must be punished!"
Ames was tempted to bring up the separation of church and state, though he had a sinking feeling that this no longer existed. He would have to play along, though he might make a judgment call of his own accord if he actually met these Democrats.
"You and McConnell will be flying to Miami-" he looked at the time, "right now, actually. You'll be watching the speech as members of the general public. If Democrats are in attendance, since they sometimes graffiti or leave leaflets at these things, you can tail them. Befriend them if you can. It's the best way to find them in person."
Ames and McConnell boarded the FBI plane, which taxied and took off toward sunny, beautiful Miami. Ames was excited. "You know, it's pretty cool to also go on vacation while on duty. I've never been to Miami, but I've seen it in movies and TV shows. Go to the beach and stuff."
This confused McConnell. "You want to go to that shithole? This is probably the worst assignment I've had."
Ames didn't know what to make of this, but he'd see for himself soon enough. He decided to bring up the TV he had seen. He asked McConnell, "So, I was watching some TV this morning, and I was confused by some of the shows. Maybe you can fill me in. I saw this music video, but it wasn't like the music I've been used to. Do you know anyone who likes classical music?"
"Classical music?", McConnell asked, not sure of the term.
"Yeah you know, like Mozart's Queen of the Night. Or maybe other artists, like Jesper Kyd? He did a lot of videogame soundtracks."
McConnell stared ahead for a moment, then said, "Can't say I have."
"What's your favorite song?"
McConnell lit up, "Oh yeah. It's this one where the woman's dancing on stage, and you can see everything! She sings alright, but it's the most boobalicious song out there."
"...What's it called?" Ames suspected this was the same one that he had seen that morning.
"Fucked if I know. I think it's 'Hump my Leg' or something."
Ames decided to ask about the other shows. "I saw some dancing shows, but they weren't dancing. 'Dancing with the Stars' isn't what I thought it would be."
"I like that show myself. Not sure what kind of 'dancing' you like, but they dance better than I can. Hell, when I went to Prom, I bruised my balls. I didn't get the deposit back for my tux, but most guys didn't. Not if your night went well, anyway."
Ames was confused. Was... THAT... considered "dancing" in 2305? Talking about the other shows he'd seen probably wouldn't get anywhere, so he changed the subject. "What's your favorite book?"
"You also like to read? I'm somewhat cultured myself. It's a book called 'Caveman Marv gets Revenge'. He rides a t-rex and kills everyone who stole his wife. Based on a true story. It's quite a long novel-17 pages-but you know how some authors get paid on how many words they have."
Ames made a mental note of further issues he'd have to bring to the CIA's attention when he arrived back. "No cultural emphasis on talent or creativity".
Ames wanted to ask about the apparent conflict between the emphasis on religion and the hyper-sexualization in media. So he asked McConnell, "I know the government wants to run things morally, but why would they allow TV shows like, this one I saw, 'Tits, Boobs and Chicks'?"
"They've been fundraising to get rid of those shows, and maybe they'll be lucky this time. Hell, Governor Johnson is running for a fifth term, and is busy fundraising. Maybe this time he'll get lucky and ban them in Florida. Same thing with the Pastor at my church. He just bought a third private jet to spread the word of God, so who knows."
A part of Ames wasn't surprised. This seemed eerily similar to how things had been in 2022, though it appeared to have worsened. "It's almost as if... a foolish man may assume they purposely let these 'problems' remain, so they have something to fundraise off of."
"I know it's hard for them, best we can do is wish them luck", McConnell replied, completely missing what Ames was getting at.
"By the way", Ames said, "on the subject of Governor Johnson, you said he wanted to ban these shows. I'm assuming because he's religious. But he used to be a pornstar, right?"
"Sure was. But he got redeemed. By a miracle, two days before he decided to run, he found Jesus. He told him to run for Governor."
"Just happened to find him, eh?", Ames thought to himself. He then asked McConnell, "But do you like those types of shows? What'll you do if they get banned?"
"I'll just have to deal with it, or watch a bootleg. I have the moral compass to handle them responsibly, but most of society doesn't. So it won't corrupt me if I see them. Other people though need to be instructed. And if you slip up, you just need to ask for forgiveness and move on."
Ames was wondering if this Pastor had ever "slipped up". "Did your Pastor make a mistake and need to ask for forgiveness?"
"Oh sure", McConnell recalled a particular episode. "One day the maid apparently walked in on him having an affair with the mailman. But as soon as she saw them, God spoke to the Pastor and he renounced his mistake."
Ames wondered if this same "Pastor" would be so forgiving to a member of his congregation had they made this same mistake. It was also convenient that "God" just happened to intervene when he was caught.
"Well, there's your precious Miami." McConnell gestured toward the window. The nearly three-hour flight was ending. However, when Ames looked out the window, he only saw smog. There was no "beach", but only industrial buildings on the water. The water itself was badly discolored from industrial run-off, and thick with red and green slime.
Tourism, Florida's old industry, simply wasn't as profitable as heavy metals processing, and chemical manufacturing. The miles of shoreline also provided a convenient run-off for industrial waste. Gone were the "regulations" requiring this waste to be disposed of in any particular manner.
"What happened?!", Ames said. "I remember, from pictures and TV, how this place looked. How did this happen?"
"Your home schooling must have been out-of-date. Florida's been leading our chemical industry for over 200 years now."
Ames did his best to get it together. If he met these Democrats, he could warn them. However, if a time machine was actually available, he could avoid this nightmare altogether.
After landing at the government-restricted area of Miami International Airport, the pair stepped off the plane for a government vehicle. "Here Ames, grab one of these bags.", McConnell said. "This is our gear for the job: costumes, and hardened phones and laptops which can't be traced or hacked."
The government vehicle went to a hotel room where they set up. "The speech goes down tomorrow morning. It's about 1:00 right now, so we have time to browse the social media and get an idea of how many Democrats will be watching, and if they plan to be there. Then, while I'm doing my part tomorrow, you try to arrange a meeting, find their safehouse, and we'll move."
"Ok", Ames said. "I may as well catch up since I'm rusty with the social media. What are the main ones?"
"Instasplat and Truth Social, followed by 12chan and FrankSpeech", McConnell replied. "Democrats sometimes try to post there. On your laptop, you can look for their posts and respond to them."
Ames was curious about the main social media of his day. "Growing up I heard of the first major ones. Twitter, and Reddit. I haven't seen or used them myself. I wonder what happened to them."
McConnell liked to show off his knowledge on the subject. "Twitter was bought out by some creepy tech guy. It's still around but it's mainly a platform for bots to shill crypto to each other. As for Reddit... it's a bit of a story. Back in 2107, President Lindstrom got pissed off after they banned his accounts for no definable reason. There was also no Appeal function for a ban, even though other accounts were permitted which were far worse, and toxic. You could appeal, but a bot just said the ban remained in place with no human oversight."
"So he just banned Reddit itself."
"That was his genius; he didn't. Not right away at least, or directly. One thing the politicians could agree on to combat mass shootings was to pass the 'Anti-Incel Echo-Chamber Act', or AIECA. Banning guns was never going to work, so they went after social media that looked toxic. President Lindstrom used this Act, which he authored, and seized direct control of Reddit and all assets."
"Holy shit", Ames said.
"You bet. He turned the headquarters into a sewage treatment plant. Some of the Moderators he didn't like were tasked with cleaning the intake hoses and polishing the tanks."
Ames was glad he wasn't in their shoes. McConnell showed him the outfits.
"Alright Mr. Ames, that's our history lesson for the day. We're going to blend into the Floridian crowd tomorrow." Ames looked over his outfit, which included:
1 pair of sweatpants, orange
1 pair of socks, FJB embossed
1 pair of crocks, woodland-camo
1 sleeveless gray "Who Farted?" tanktop
1 trucker hat with bald eagle on front and "45" embossed on side
"Jesus", Ames said to himself. "I guess this will do."
"Let's get to work", McConnell said. The pair switched on their laptops and Ames began trying to find posts to connect with on these social media sites. He posed as sypmathetic to their causes, which he truly was, and expressed a desire to meet them. He mentioned being at the speech the next day, and that he had to dress a certain way to avoid the "crazies and fascists". He talked with a handful, and said he'd try to meet them the next day.
The agents wound things down around 10:00 PM, and despite it being Miami Ames didn't hear any of the tropical birds he thought would be here. He didn't even hear the ocean over the industrial sounds. Would the governor address any of this tomorrow? Was he proud of THIS?
Just after 9:00 the next morning, after last-minute reviews of social media posts and replies, the pair suited up and began walking over to the Greene Convention Center. Accompanying them were armed FBI field agents, which conducted the street law enforcement at such events. These men wore FBI jackets and stayed outside the arena, with a few occasionally walking among the attendees inside.
"Keep your eyes open", McConnell said. "These Democrats will be blending in, but they won't be that into the speech. They'll likely be placing leaflets, or on their phones posting to social media. They may be hard to spot with our guys around though, but that shouldn't be a problem for you. Mr. Genius and all."
Ames took note of the plan. "The field agents are providing security, but they're also more conspicuous. The Democrats will be more nervous around them? So we'll watch for people acting nervous, and see how they act when the field agents leave; if they commit these crimes then."
"...yes, exactly. That's my plan", McConnell said, "except there's no 'we'. Seeing as how you are the 'best scoring agent in FBI history', you can be in charge of reading body language. I'll be sticking to what I do best; freezing accounts and seizing web addresses as needed."
"Ok, it's a plan." Ames was getting nervous about this guy also spotting possible Democrats and getting to them first, but it appeared McConnell would be fully immersed. This was a relief.
The pair entered the arena and took their seats among the baying crowd. Posters of Governor Johnson, who appeared to be an orange, sweaty man with a receding harline, covered the inner walls.
McConnell leaned over to Ames, cupping his hand between his mouth and Ames' ear to overcome the ambient noise. "Did you wear a wire?"
"No."
"Why the hell not?"
"Because if I follow one of them and get ambushed, they'd find it."
"...good thinking. Our field guys will also be nearby if you need help."
In reality, Ames didn't want anyone else in the FBI listening in if he met a Democrat and started talking to them. Plus, if these Democrats had grown ruthless and dangerous in response to their suppressed role, they would likely shoot him if they felt cornered.
The governor entered the stage to cheers and standing ovation. "Good morning, great people of Florida!" After the cheering died down, over a few moments, he continued. "It's an honor to be in this beautiful state! We're still combatting the evils of Critical Race Theory and socialism, but we'll be sure to keep ourselves free!"
Ames internally groaned at the canned intro. He scanned the crowd. FBI field agents moved up and down the aisles, and Ames took note of some participants seeming to "force" their enthusiasm. These people also looked around themselves and along the aisles, as if they were waiting for someone.
The governor continued, "We will stop our schools from telling our kids that the United States is an evil place, and instead that God has always been our true king."
"Amen", a few from the crowd said.
The Governor then said, "Those who are trying to stop mandatory prayer in our schools will be punished to the fullest extent of the law!"
More cheering from the crowd. Ames checked on the posts he had replied to, with some saying, "Here now, watching the fat asshole speak. Federal pigs also here."
"Ok, those are probably some of them", Ames thought. One of them was young woman, appearing to be in her late 20s, early 30s. "She doesn't look too bad", Ames thought.
This train of thought was interrupted by the governor. "And those trying to force our great employers out of business by unionizing or demanding higher wages will be THROWN OUT of society! These socialists-slash-communists want us to be like Venezuela, or some other shithole country. Not on my watch!"
Ames wondered what the state of wages was in the future. However, by the cheering and waving of American flags in the audience, it seems these people had been brainwashed over the generations to view exploitation as "patriotic". They worked increasingly long hours with no benefits or social security. Social security in particular had long been abolished, even though their taxes remained the same. They had lower pay than previous generations. This was seen as "manly", and something one should do without complaining. Otherwise, they were a socialist, and on the same social rung as a pedophile.
Ames kept an eye on the potential Democrats, and saw the woman quickly duck down, and then get up and head toward the exit. Curious, he rose to head toward her seat.
McConnell looked up from his phone. "You got something?"
"I'm just heading to the bathroom."
The governor wrapped up his speech, not touching on any of the major issues that Ames thought were important. Instead, he touted the importance of the 2nd Amendment, because of course he did, and began "speaking in tongues", otherwise known as brain-damaged babbling, to give the impression that he was seized by the Holy Spirit. The audience ate it up in typical fanatic fashion.
Ames got to the seat just as the governor began taking questions, and noticed a flyer left on the floor. It was a picture of the American flag, images of former Democrat presidents, and the slogan:
"REMEMBER WHO WE WERE! DON'T BELIEVE THE LIES!
YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO MINIMUM WAGE, HEALTHCARE!
OUR NATION OWNED SLAVES, BUT GETTING BETTER MADE US AMERICA!"
Ames assumed, correctly, that being caught leaving these around would be a death sentence, figuratively and literally. He folded it, stuck it in his pocket, and briskly went to the exit looking for the woman. He spotted her milling around just outside the exit, on her phone. Presumably, she was texting the others.
This prompted Ames to write to those he had been communicating with. "Hey guys, putting out flyers? Watching the fat asshole still?"
One responded, "Yes, now leaving. God, the fat fuck didn't even touch on the beaches or water."
"So that's her.", Ames deduced. He began tailing her, feeling awkward. "Just look disinterested, act natural."
After roughly thirty minutes, they eventually got to an apartment building and she approached the entrance. Ames was trying not to walk in a straight line, and was glancing at his phone to avoid sticking out. When he saw her approach the entrance, and not may others were around, he made his move to approach and express interest in being a Democrat. He had been agonizing how he would word it and not seem either creepy, like a cop, or both.
Ames was unaware, despite being the "Spy Master", that other Democrats were walking this same path and were also keeping wary of tails.
He sped up to her, feeling nervous, trying not to be threatening. "HEY, uh, I think I saw you, in the arena back there. And I agree that the guy is a scumbag. Governor, I mean."
She looked blankly at him for a moment, and then said, "What makes you think I didn't like our governor?"
"I... just noticed that you didn't like his garbage." Ames dipped into what he sincerely felt, which helped. "He didn't touch on the damn environment at all! I remember, well, I saw on TV, that Miami here used to be a great place to live. Maybe expensive and full of assholes, but it looked nice back in the day."
After a pause, Ames noticed that two men, a taller and older-looking man around 40, and a mid-20s man, had come to a stop behind him. He moved to the side gesturing them to pass, but they stayed put. "No thank you, I'm fine where I am", the taller man said. The taller man then looked behind them, seeming to scan the crowd for someone.
Ames felt a little nervous that he had been found out, but decided this was unlikely. He continued, "I mean, people should have a right to higher wages, and we should have a separation of church and state." His voice cracked somewhat.
"You seem nervous", the woman said.
"Well yeah, around here. A lot of nuts will put you in jail just for saying that. But I'm relieved to find someone I can trust about it... and guns! We shouldn't just have those everywhere. They haven't actually protected any freedoms."
The three Democrats awkwardly stood there for a moment, unsure of what to make of this stranger. Typically, prospects were vetted after months of social media discussion, "dead drops" of intel that they delivered to the Democrats, and finally an in-person meeting where armed Democrats could oversee the meet.
Finally, Ames said, "If you're holding a meeting of any sort, I'd like to participate. It's great to meet you."
"Let's get off the street", the woman said. She nodded toward the taller man, who knew what to do once inside. If he was a Fed, they'd dispose of him and exit from a hidden passage in this safehouse. They would need to "go to ground", or cease all activity for the time being. If he was trustworthy, he could help with their activities. While brining him inside involved risk, she knew they needed new prospects.
They entered one of the apartments inside, after ensuring no one else was following them. Despite also dressing to fit in, just like Ames, they could never be too careful. A few of their number had protested too openly in the week leading up to the speech, and they were not seen again.
This apartment was otherwise unoccupied. It had a stillness; not much furniture, and the windows were all covered. Ames saw stacks of what he assumed were more flyers. He also saw firearms and ammo. "So, are you all roommates here? Or just meet here?", Ames asked. "I guess it's a great place to talk about the problems we're having-"
The older man cut him off. "Alright, up there." He gestured toward a wall. "Put your hands up, and put your feet a foot apart." Ames did so. The older man clarified, "Put your hands ON the wall." He then took a wand, which resembled a metal detecting wand Ames was familiar with. The man scanned Ames, with the wand emitting a crackling but no high-pitched squeal.
"At least that wasn't a future cavity search tool", Ames mused to himself. He figured this was a typical check to make sure he had no guns. "Just play it cool, you're doing fine so far."
"No wire", the older man said. "Or gun either. Looks clean to me so far."
Ames was surprised. "Your tool can find a wire? Like, a police wire?"
"Yes. And it's a good thing you don't seem to be one."
The woman added, "The last Federal agent who tried coming to a meeting of ours while wearing a wire got what he had coming. On the news, he had to be ID'd with dental records."
Ames showed shock, and also felt profoundly relieved he took the risk of going in without a wire. "Dental records?"
"There're alot of swamps in Florida. Rots a body real fast", the woman explained.
The younger man, in the background til now, chimed in. "I don't think we got your name?"
Ames had to think fast. He assumed they could verify records, such as recent address history, if he lied to them. His first, common name would be fine; he would just have to fudge a bit on the last, and the lack of a record history.
"I'm... Robert. Robert Hanssen. Nice to meet you. I know how dangerous it is to think the way I do, so I've been off the grid for a few years; maybe longer. I haven't renewed my driver's license either. You could say I've been taken out of the world." His first name was common enough, and he wouldn't have to remember a fake later on.
"What kind of work do you do? How do you support yourself?", the woman asked.
"Odd jobs, cash jobs. There are plenty of those." Ames didn't look like much of a mechanic or laborer. "Accounting, spending reports, things like that. It's off the books, so they save money by just doing cash. A lot of businesses just prefer to do that."
"Any way for them to get profit. And it gets you by", the woman said.
"Yes, but it shouldn't be that way", Ames said, again dipping into what he truly felt, or would feel if his story were true. "I should have a 401K, social security, medical care. I'm a professional!", gesturing toward his chest indignantly. "I'm also just a dork who likes classical music, plays, any of the creative arts."
"Creative arts?"
"I remember-I read about how movies, TV and music used to be. It's an atrocious boneyard out there now. That 'Selfie Boobwa'-what about something by Benny Goodman? Or a TV show that doesn't use crude sex jokes or cruelty as the punch line? Granted, we had-our society had shows like 'Dancing With The Stars' so many years ago. But you had to... DANCE, damnit! Not act like you're having sex standing up." Ames took a breath after this rant. It was a relief to finally have a human to relate to.
This struck a chord with the woman. Granted, cultural elements took a backseat to restoring education, environmental concerns and basic human dignities, but she had family history in this regard. Her parents and grand-parents had done their best to teach the next generation of how the culture used to be, before it became super-commercialized and repetitive. She told Ames a story that her compatriots only knew too-well.
"My father-when I was 6. It was the last time I ever saw him. I remember the day." She lived through it again, stepping back and pacing around. Her friends knew what was coming, and were pensive. "There was this 'movie' he had gone to protest, called 'Freshman Overboard'. It was about a college threesome on a cruise ship getting out of hand, and the titular freshman being thrown overboard naked. One of those dumb movies." Her disgust was apparent. "It was PACKED with product placement, on top of the nudity and unfunny jokes and gags."
Ames added, "Basically everything wrong with movies today."
"'Today'? That piece of shit was Shakespearean compared to a lot of movies today. But anyway, my dad protested how a movie could be nothing but product placement and gratuitous nudity. However, removing the ads would have hurt corporate profits, and removing the nudity would have required actual creativity in making a movie." She took another breath. "That was the worst thing he could have done. They had to 'silence' him. They accused him of domestic terrorism and insurrection. After he left our house, I never saw him again."
Ames responded to this tale. "I'm... sorry to hear that. I would like to, now, help any way I can. I have to go home in the morning though, I just came here to see the speech and hopefully connect with someone like you. I assumed a speech like this would be the best time to meet someone. But I can help and connect with others back home. Do you have a chapter in DC?"
"DC? You live there? Well, we have contacts in a number of cities. How about you email us from DC, or anywhere else you find yourself, with any info or questions you have?" She gave him an innocuous email address, not obviously linked to the Democrats. "We can also put you in touch with Democrats there. We always need new people."
"Much thanks. Are you the leader of the Miami chapter?"
"You could say so."
"Do you have a main headquarters in DC?"
"We'll tell you later on, when you're there and there's something to do. And my name's Kyrie. Big guy here is Witt. And the younger fellow is Roald."
Ames nodded to them. "I have an idea for something I can do now. Can I have some of those flyers?"
Kyrie handed him a stack of them. "So you're going to go leafletting? Be careful out there."
"I'll be fine. I'm thinking some of these chemical plants along the beach will be a good place to leave these. It's insane how people look up to the leaders we have now, but if those same leaders had to actually justify what they're doing or explain their logic, they couldn't do it." Ames decided to show off. "That therefore only are reputed wise for saying nothing, when, I am very sure, if they should speak, would almost damn those ears which, upon hearing them, would call their brothers fools."
The three Democrats looked confused.
"Shakespeare. The Merchant of Venice. You said 'Shakespearean' earlier, which reminded me of it. Basically, if our leaders or the corrupt business people had to actually speak outside of controlled times, we would see just how stupid and corrupt they really are."
Kyrie recognized the line. She was glad to meet someone else who was familiar. "...ok. I suppose that makes sense. We covered the area around the arena, but it's still high traffic in that other part of town."
Ames bid his farewell for now, took down the email address to contact this Resistance at, and went back toward the arena. He would have to use the flyers for a ruse instead of leaving them, and he was planning on addressing these chemical plants in a pitch to Director Bannon upon returning.
Halfway to the arena, he saw McConnell. " Ames, Ames! Where did you go? You said you'd be back, but you were gone for awhile. I didn't know where you were."
Ames had a response. "Yes, and I thought I saw one of those Democrats. I couldn't corner one of them, but I followed them. I found these." He pulled out the flyers, as apparent evidence that he had thwarted the Democrats. "I think we scared them off. Did you find any flyers or find protestors around the arena?"
"Oh, good work. We only found a few flyers. We were hoping that there would be more, and we could find where they're hiding out. That's why the director wanted you down here."
"Yeah, great idea but the Democrats down here must have stayed home for the most part." He remembered what Kyrie had told him, about a few Democrats being arrested the prior week. "Did the agency arrest some Democrats before the speech? Maybe that scared them off."
"Sure did, two of them. They've been held at a nearby facility for 'debriefing'."
"I have an idea", Ames said. He was fearful of what would happen to them, and wanted to spring them. "I would like to interview them myself. Preferably back in DC, away from any support network they have around here. Then I can decide what to do. They may crack and tell us who their friends are."
McConnell leaned in and lowered his voice. "That's goddamn genius. We'll do so immediately. We may as well head back early, if you think there's nothing else to find, and you can see them first-thing in the morning."
"Let's head back now", Ames said. "We may as well pull out so we don't waste resources." McConnell agreed. The armed field agents were also recalled from around the arena, and Ames and McConnell went back to the hotel room to pack things back up. Ames was relieved to change out of the preposterous outfit.
After boarding the plane, Ames emailed Kyrie from a new email address he created: "Boarding my plane now. All FBI assholes are leaving. I'll let you know when I have something or want to meet."
Ames arrived back in DC for a quick debrief with the director. "Ames, great to see you. I heard about what went down. So you didn't catch them, eh?"
"No sir, unfortunately. But by the sound of things, we actually arrested the main guys before the day of the speech. And I guess none of them actually showed up to the speech itself. We found some flyers, and if there are Democrats, we've pushed them underground."
"Yes, and I understand you wanted to interview the two who were arrested. They're being brought up here. You'll have access and you can dispose of them how you wish."
This tone was unnerving, but Ames kept it together. "Yes sir. I also had a few other questions."
"Alright."
"This may sound like an odd question, but have we, or NASA or someone else, developed a time machine? I think the technology has been in the works for some time."
The director was confused. "I've never heard of such a thing. You mean to go back in time? If we had that, we would have used it by now. Stop the wars, arrest the Democrats sooner. That's quite a strange question from you."
Ames was crestfallen, but replied, "'Well yes, I was thinking the same thing." He could still try to contact CERN, he thought.
"Well that would be nice. You had another question?"
"Um, the next assignment, sir."
"If you have a taste for fieldwork, I suppose you would benefit. You struck me more as a fan of deskwork, of which there is plenty, but this could still be useful for you." The director pointed out another file on his desk. "On Monday, Palin is going out to Austin, Texas, to monitor possible voter fraud for a special election."
"Sounds like a plan. It's been a long day, I'm sure for you as well. I'll see you in the morning, and also our prisoners."
"Sure thing."
Ames went back to his apartment, with many thoughts in his head. He would keep looking for a time machine, though in the meantime, he had his own plans to pursue. First-thing in the morning.
