"-from today on, Second South will be it's own nation, one where each day is a struggle! The struggle that gives life meaning!"
The cameras clicked off, and the news crew beat a hasty retreat away from the the new ruler of Second South and his set of guards. No one followed them. The small group that remained - the mayor of Second South, Kain R. Heinlein, and two large men with guns - stayed in contemplative silence.
"Well. You really did it." The mayor spoke up after a few minutes. He kept still, caught between Kain's two men, but his posture noticeably relaxed with the particular slump of someone who has been hyper-alert for the duration of a crisis that finally ended, for good or for ill.
"Of course," Kain replied, his eyes entirely on the map of the city he had laid out over the mayor's desk. "The charges on the bridges went off successfully in the middle of my speech. The police are locked down because of the hurricane. By the time the weather clears, we'll be ready and waiting for them - they don't know about the spies I have throughout the department. I've planned it out perfectly."
"Sounds like it." The mayor nodded. "So, where's tomorrow's dinner coming from?"
"Hm?" Kain looked up, confused. "Well, mine's coming from the pantry. As for yours...you'll have to see what you can take." He grinned, savage and superior. "That's the world we live in now."
"What about next week?"
"What do you mean?"
The mayor tilted his head to the side, as if considering a tricky problem. "Weeeeell... Second South is an island city. That means we don't have any farms. Not that it would matter, given it's late summer so we missed the planting season anyway. Do you know how much farmland we need to sustain our population, Kain?"
Kain blinked, narrowed his eyes, and looked away without answering.
"Between 50,000 and 150,000 acres, depending on the number of vegetarians. That's more than the size of the entire island." The men with guns started to give each other looks as the mayor continued. "Now, most of our food comes in along the train tracks...which you just bombed, and a solid chunk comes through the highways...which you also just bombed. So I'm wondering where next week's dinner is going to come from. Sure, we have some stored, but after your big speech I think you're going to have a hard time enforcing strict rationing across the entire city."
The man on the mayor's left, the one with dark hair and a nose flattened from being broken too many times, grinned. "The ocean, right? We fish!"
"In the territorial waters of the United States of America?" the mayor asked innocently.
There was a long silence as everyone in the room considered the problem.
"The US claims 12 miles of ocean off its land borders, plus an additional 200 miles as an exclusive economic zone - or in other words, no one gets to fish there but the United States of America. We're about a quarter of a mile off the mainland. If you take one step off the island the US Coast Guard can seize your ship for sailing through their waters without permission. Try to catch anything and it's considered poaching, which they can also seize. And if you get past them, well...we're less than a day from a major naval base and I'm sure they'd be very, very interested in a foreign nation existing in US territory, let alone attacking a branch of the military." The mayor suddenly smiled, very sharp. "Can your gang of street thugs in speedboats take on the USS Milwaukee, Kain?"
"The federal government has never cared about Southtown before-" Kain snapped before the mayor interrupted.
"I know that! God, I know that! They never even tried to go after Geese, and the support we got after we had to abandon Southtown proper..." He shook his head, throwing off bad memories. "But I can guarantee you one thing: They're sure as hell going to care about some madman trying to make his own little nation not even a mile off Florida!"
The men both looked at Kain with the expressions of followers that have felt doubt for the first time and are hoping for their leader to wipe it away. Kain looked away, looking shaken. "We...we're stronger than them. We're tougher than people that have floated through life being taken care of by society. All of us have skipped meals before."
"Kain, they have guns. And tanks. And planes. And they don't need to skip meals, they have the entire agricultural production of the United States behind them. You are picking a fight with the largest and most well-equipped militaries in the world on their own ground. The only reason they're going to hold back is because as far as anyone but you is concerned, Second South is still made up of US citizens and it would look very bad if any of them got hurt." The mayor sighed. "I mean...look, do you know where Barbaroi Power Plant is? The hint's in the name. And because we're mostly on hydroelectric power it's right by the reservoir where we get our water - which, by the way, is going to run out even faster than food. Where are both of those places?"
"They're by Barbaroi Falls, duh," the man to the mayor's right, with sandy hair and tattoos on his arms, said, then realised what that meant. "Kain, sir, my mom's in the hospital! They got machines keeping her alive! If those bastards cut the power-"
"Don't worry, they probably won't." The mayor patted the sandy-haired man's arm. "Like I said, it would look very bad for them if someone like your mom got hurt in all this. But the longer this goes on, the harder it's going to be to keep the hospital going without support. Is anyone from your gang looking after it? It's full of the weak, after all..."
The sandy-haired man turned very pale, and his eyes kept flicking towards the door. Kain said, sounding very tired, "If someone wishes to protect the hospital they can, but I doubt anyone will. There's no point, and besides, those people are already struggling. That's not my philosophy."
"Tell that to some of the boys..." the dark-haired man muttered. He kept glancing towards the door too, as the sound of wind and rain rose outside.
"Well, that's good," the mayor said, ignoring the dark-haired man. "Though you should probably make that clear sooner rather than later. Oh, and while we're talking about it, what about technicians and other skilled labor? Because there're probably about five people that really understand the sewage system in the city right now, and it's going to be hell to work with after the hurricane rolls through. It would be a big problem if any of them got hurt. 'Pray sir, don't disturb my circles...' or something like that."
Kain clenched his teeth. The men looked confused at the quote, but shared between them the worried look of men who understand the subtle importance of working toilets. The dark-haired man took a half-step towards the door, then thought better of it and stayed where he was.
The mayor shrugged. "Of course, all of this is assuming you're going to face the United States instead of a street fighter coming by to topple you once the hurricane's over. Are you sure you're stronger than everyone in the city?" Kain noticeably flinched, and the mayor went on. "This city does love its heroes...how long has it been since Terry Bogard's had to buy his own drinks? And the man cutting the city off from food and safety makes for a very good villain."
"Second South's citizens are apathetic sheep who wouldn't lift a finger to change their lives!" Kain snarled. He pointed at the mayor, hand wreathed in blue flame. "You've seen it! They don't care! They live lives of comfort-"
"-that you're taking away," the mayor calmly finished for him. The gleam of flames reflected in his eyes. "After two or three days everyone's going to know that all they need to do to go back to their comfortable lives filled with food and booze is to take you out, and afterwards they'll be rewarded with fame and fortune. The man who kills you will get a medal from the governor - maybe even the president - he'll be a media darling, surrounded by pretty girls, never have to buy his own drinks again... Hell, at that point, how much do you trust your own men?"
"I have absolute faith in those who have put their faith in me," Kain said without a hint of hesitation. He looked at the dark and sandy-haired men in turn, his hand still covered in flame. They met his eyes willingly then, but when they looked away the mayor could see dreams of glory starting to unfurl in the back of their minds.
Kain saw the same thing, and his face twisted as he dropped his hand. "I'm no coward. I'll face whoever challenges me in single combat...and we'll see who's stronger." There was a slight but noticeable emphasis on the last words that made the men with guns glance at each other nervously.
"If they challenge you in single combat. A knife in the back works just as well, and it's a lot safer." The mayor smiled, slow and wide. "Even you have to sleep sometime, Kain. This is a hell of a path you've chosen...how long do you think you can walk it?"
I'm sorry, but sometimes you have to hijack a story to tell a villain his plan is completely, absolutely moronic for 1500 words.
Kain is actually a very interesting character but his foresight suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucks.