Chapter 5: The Battle of Yorktown
To say that John was nervous would be the understatement of the century. There was a large chance that everyone involved would get in major trouble. He could get arrested! Well, it was too late to back out anyway. His team, Hercules and his team, and Peggy and her team all worked so hard to get this set up and he wasn't going to let them down. Still, being the instigator for something this huge was kind of intimidating.
He was standing outside the Ed Sullivan Theater; you know, that place where The Late Show is filmed; waiting for exactly eleven thirty, the kick off time. A camera team was with him, waiting to start shooting. He watched the bustling metropolis of New York City scuttle around him, occasionally glancing at his phone. He had minutes to spare before it was time. The freckled comedian leaned back against the wall of the theater, trying to settle his nerves. His phone buzzed in his hand and he was glad to see that Hercules had opened a group chat.
The Bear: Yo! Is everyone ready? 2 mins until crunch time!
Schuyler Sisters Part Three: all set over here!
Dear Dosi: Likewise.
Jonah J John Jamison Jammy Jay: Same
Learn How to Write Smaller: All set!
Freckled Turtle: Just waiting for 11
The Bear: Nervous John?
Freckled Turtle: A little...
Jonah J John Jamison Jammy Jay: You'll do fine Laurens.
Freckled Turtle: SAYS YOU!
Dear Dosi: I have faith in you, John. You'll do great.
Schuyler Sisters Part Three: Hell yeah! Knock em dead Johnny!
Learn How to Write Smaller: you worry too much. Relax. It'll all work out.
Freckled Turtle: or we all go to jail...
The Bear: I'll be fine in jail.
Schuyler Sisters Part Three: Same
Dear Dosi: Ditto.
Freckled Turtle: GUYS!
Jonah J John Jamison Jammy Jay: Laurens, relax. We need to do this. The country needs a sign that we can be united again and it needs it now. We have to show them all that it is possible to live in a country that won't treat them like they aren't people. That they aren't outcasts because of the color of their skin or their religion or their gender. They need this sign and we need you to pull it off, Laurens.
The Bear: Nice paragraph Jay.
Jonah J John Jamison Jammy Jay: Thanks
Dear Dosi: Jay's right John. The country needs this and we need you.
Schuyler Sisters Part Three: We're with you all the way!
Learn How to Write Smaller: 1 minute left guys!
Schuyler Sisters Part Three: Places everyone!
The Bear: Good luck John.
Freckled Turtle: You too Herc.
John put his phone away at exactly at eleven thirty and started walking towards Times Square. The camera team followed close behind, having turned on at the same time, and filmed his steps. They were giving a live view of what he was doing to a mass audience watching online from multiple websites. It was technically the biggest audience he'd ever had and he was trying really hard not to trip and fall. He reached Times Square slower than normal, given the constant traffic that surrounded the area is worse today. He walked to the center of the square and looked up at the thing he was here to do.
Halfway through his second year as President, George King had fifty-one statues of himself made and put up in the capital of each state and Washington DC. A sign of his influence and power. Everyone who was against him hated those statues and all they stood for, but couldn't do anything about them. The President put them there, after all. They couldn't be legally removed, we just had to live with them. Well, that's what everyone thought.
Four months ago, Jonah J John Jamison Jammy Jay and Learn How to Write Smaller; also known as John Jay and John Hancock; reporters for The New York Times and The Huffington Post, respectfully; and good friends of Peggy's found something interesting. As it turns out, the statues were, not only illegal but unowned. Well, until John, Hercules, Theodosia, and Peggy bought all of them.
Now, here he was, preparing to use this symbol of oppression and hate to bring a country together. Man, he was crazy, wasn't he?
He walked up to the statue and scowled at it. George King wasn't the most handsome of men and the statue showed it. It was about five feet from the ground to it's feet and another five or so from it's feet to its head. The statue itself wasn't connected its base, which made John's job much easier.
He turned away from the hideous statue and took a bullhorn from one of the cameramen. He cleared his throat and clicked it on.
"... ... ... ROCHAMBEAU!"
A lot of people stopped at the sound of some guy yelling into a bullhorn at it's loudest setting. He went quiet for a full minute before pulling up the bullhorn again.
"... .. ROCHAMBEAU!"
People were looking at him like he was crazy, but in the distance, he heard something. He raised his bullhorn again.
"ROCHAMBEAU!"
The people around him started to hear it too. He smirked as, from seemingly out if nowhere, hundreds of people surrounded the statue, all chanting the same word.
"ROCHAMBEAU! ROCHAMBEAU! ROCHAMBEAU! ROCHAMBEAU! ROCHAMBEAU!"
He grabbed a thick, coarse rope from a cameraman and threw it over the statue, hooking it around the head. Several more ropes joined his and started pulling. He tossed his rope to some people behind him and pulled as hard as he could. The statue didn't stand a chance and fell to the ground with a smash. The mob went wild and so did some of the bystanders. John pushed towards the base and hauled himself onto it. He looked over the chaos and raised his bullhorn again.
"Yo yo yo yo yo yo! What time is it?!"
"Showtime!"
"What time is it?!"
"Showtime!"
The crowd had quieted down considerably, waiting for him to speak. He drew a breath and pointed to the remains of the statue.
"People of New York City, do you see this statue? This statue has been standing here for six years. A symbol for everything that set us apart. Everything that made us different. The mark of all the hate that President King instilled in the American people. But now is no longer those times and this is no longer that country! Right now, every statue in every capital of every state is being taken down! From Washington DC, to Sacramento, California. From Austin, Texas to whatever the capital of Montana is! People like you and like me and people that aren't like you and aren't like me are tearing down these statues. We are not a divided nation. We are not a people of hate and anger and fear. We are Americans and we are UNITED!"
To say the crowd went wild would be an understatement. John leaped off the base and joined his fellow Americans in their celebration. He vaguely heard the sound of police sirens going off in the distance, but he couldn't care at the moment, he had a reunion to celebrate.
Three days later...
Alexander Hamilton would deny it for the rest of his life, but watching what John Laurens, Hercules Mulligan, Peggy Schuyler, and Theodosia Barlow had done made him literally squeal. He had hated that statue since first laying eyes on it when he arrived in America and seeing it destroyed made him unbelievably giddy. He was able to watch the event three days after it had happened because he was finally able to take off from work. The Cabinet was coming together at breakneck speed and he was able to take his first day off in months. The first thing he did upon getting home was get comfortable and check for any new episodes of The Late Show. Because he thought it was really funny. That's it. The only reason, he swears it is. There were three episodes, of course, and he ended up watching the statue breaking last. Seeing the look on his own face after hearing the speech John Laurens gave, he decided to never watch The Late Show in front of other people.
His computer chimed and he didn't bother to suppress an annoyed groan. He told the team not to email him with any more problems. The constant emails about the National Bank crisis were hard enough to deal with. Upon opening his inbox, the young politician was surprised to see an email from Lafayette.
Hamilton,
Mon Dieu! Avez-vous vu ce qui s'est passé dans les capitales? J'ai entendu Hercules Mulligan impliqué et puis j'ai vu une vidéo de lui poussant cette horrible statue de ce Pedistal et Hercules est tout simplement incroyable, non?
Mais à la vraie raison de ce message. Le chef de la Banque Nationale est près d'avoir une pause émotionnelle. Pouvez-vous lui parler, lui dire de se détendre? Je sais que c'est votre journée de congé, mais je sais ce que vous ressentiriez si quelqu'un d'autre l'a dit pour vous.
Bonne chance,
Marquis de Lafayette
Alexander chuckled at the email, Lafayette always wrote in French when he was excited. He wrote a quick email back saying he did see what happened with the statues, yes; Hercules was awesome, and he'd call the National Bank later. He may have also typed something similar to, "stop telling me about your celebrity crush. We all know already," but that was between him and the Frenchman.
He clicked send and switched back to The Late Show's home page. He chuckled at the pictures of various noteworthy members of the staff, though most had John Laurens in them. He took a minute to actually look at the young host. His curly brown hair was always tied into a tight ponytail, but some loose strands framed the sides of his face in every photo like he has a hard time taming his hair before every show. His numerous dark brown freckles stood out against his light brown skin and Alexander wondered if they only covered his face or if they were all over the comedian. John's freckles coupled with the constant lopsided smile he had made his sea green eyes practically sparkle.
Huh. He's pretty cute, isn't he?
Immediately shaking the thought from his head, Alexander quickly started typing an email to the National Bank and he swears to God he isn't blushing!