Lando's new gig may not be working out after all. In fact, he may be on a slow boat out of the country soon. Here are episodes 51-54.
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Previous Episodes
- Episodes 1-3 of The Coup Conspiracy
- Episodes 4-5 of The Coup Conspiracy
- Episodes 6-8 of The Coup Conspiracy
- Episodes 9-20 of The Coup Conspiracy
- Episodes 21-24 of The Coup Conspiracy
- Episodes 25-28 of The Coup Conspiracy
- Episodes 29-38 of The Coup Conspiracy
- Episodes 39-50 of The Coup Conspiracy
The United States is in slow-motion economic collapse. The Three Strikes Act funnels the unemployed masses into a national network of work camps for the most trivial of infractions.
Lando Cruz is a scrappy rebel who risks his final strike on the streets of Philadelphia by trading illegal currencies under cover of a burrito stand. He spends his days bribing dirty cops, fending off undercover federal agents and shepherding his little sister through adolescence.
Lando is getting by until beat cops seize his savings and kidnap his sister for ransom. He has thirty days to raise the hard cash he needs to free her before she is sold into sex slavery. His only chance is a lucrative job offer from the black market rebellion's paramilitary startup, the Core. He risks both his life and his principles to get his sister back before time runs out.
Episode 51: Hero
“Thanks, man,” said Lando. “I came out of there totally disoriented. I never would have found my way back.” Lando sat down in the van next to Takoda.
Takoda flashed him a thin smile. “Glad I could help.”
“Are you okay?” asked Lando.
Takoda turned to the window and waved Lando off.
The door slid shut and the van peeled away from the sidewalk. The deep growl of the engine made Lando feel safe. He relaxed into the plush bench and remembered his fall.
A hand landed on his shoulder. “Did you get the flag up?” asked Jerry.
Lando started. He turned and looked back. “You bet. It was a crappy job though. I don’t know how long it will stay up there.”
Behind Jerry was another bench. Alexis and Logan huddled and talked. Lando clenched his teeth. I want her. I deserve her. He remembered her smile, her disheveled hair and the soft touch of her lips.
She looked up at him and smiled before looking down again. Lando fixed his eyes on hers and permitted a small grin to creep out over his face.
She looked up again. A wide smile rose on her face. She covered it. Lando opened his mouth.
“So, Lando! The man of the hour!”
Lando whipped around. Ryan sat diagonal from him, his shotgun captain’s chair rotated two hundred and forty degrees to the rear. The van swerved to make a left turn and everyone leaned to the right.
“Whoa,” said Jerry. “Take it easy now.”
Ryan narrowed his eyes and studied Lando. “Impressive. You went from naysayer to hero pretty fast there.”
Lando crossed his arms and shrugged.
“How many strikes do you have again?” asked Ryan.
Lando scowled and looked out the window. “What does it matter to you?”
Ryan leered. “Strikes make a guy hungry. Are you hungry, Lando?”
He frowned to avoid smiling. “Yeah, I could go for a burger and fries right now!” He snickered.
Ryan flipped over his tablet and showed it to him. “This is a picture one of our men from another cell just took. You got the flag up there. It wasn’t pretty. But you did it, and without even a rope to climb. You surprised all of us, Lando. So, we’re celebrating tonight and I’ll get you that burger.”
Lando nodded his head. “Nice.”
Ryan raised his voice. “But I’ve got another surprise for you folks. One of you has washed out.”
Episode 52: Contract
“Too late to go to bed. Too early to get up,” said Jerry.
“Oh, I’m definitely getting some sleep!” Lando walked into the safe house and threw himself onto the couch. His communicator read 4:11 AM.
Harold ran into the room. “Hand in the cloaks, boys.” He took them one by one and stuffed them into a black bag.
“How did you get those things?” asked Lando. “I didn’t even know they existed outside of a lab.”
“No questions, Cruz,” said Harold.
Logan fell into a chair next to Jerry. Alexis perched on the arm of the chair. “People are getting laid off from the corporate sector all the time. They bring their tech to the agora. We print it up on 3D printers.” Logan shrugged his shoulders. “Simple as that.”
Takoda entered the room. His knees gave out at every step. He took a seat on the floor against the wall.
“Guys, I’m sorry,” said Ryan. He sauntered into the room and leaned forward against a tall chair. “It’s too late to get those burgers. Everything is closed.” He turned towards the entry door. “David is going to fix you —“
“Man, let’s go out,” said Jerry. He twisted his neck and his hair flopped across his face. “There’s gotta be places to eat all night around here. It looks like we’re in South Philly. How about the Oregon diner?”
“Or the Melrose,” said Lando. “For some pancakes and scrapple.”
The recruits erupted into a cacophonous debate. Ryan’s face hardened. He whistled.
“No one is going out,” he said.
Jerry rolled his eyes. “Aw, come on. We just had a successful —“
“And that’s why,” said Ryan. “One of you will jabber on about it. Someone will hear it. Then the cops will have a lead on us and our bigger mission will be in jeopardy.”
He looked around at them.
“Or did you think that this was our big mission? To wallpaper City Hall with a piece of cloth? Really? That was just the first tryout, folks. And one of you is washing out.”
Takoda stood up. His chin trembled. “At least let me call my girls. I need to know if they’re okay or not.”
“No phone calls!” yelled Harold. “Ryan made himself crystal —“
“Just let me check the lock screen. Please!” said Takoda. “If something’s wrong, they’ve messaged me and —“
Ryan narrowed his eyes. He took a step towards Takoda. “What if there is something wrong? You can’t help them anyway. You agreed to commit to this operation. That’s a contract. You planning to go back on your word?”
“Of course not.” Takoda held his hands out at his sides. “It’s just that you’re going to wash me out and I might never see them again!”
Ryan and Harold doubled over in laughter.
Episode 53: Shock Bug
Lando opened his eyes. His stomach ached and his head hurt. He looked at the other bunks. Logan was already up but everyone else was still asleep. His communicator showed 11:43 AM. I don’t want to get up.
He rolled over and jumped down to the floor. David snored in a lower bunk. His thick bulk was notable under a thin sheet. Lando pushed his shoulder hard.
“Hey, did you go food shopping? That omelette last night was pathetic!” He pushed David again.
David scowled up at him. “What?”
“The food! I’m starving. Where is it?”
David waved a hand towards the entry door. “Kitchen. Next to office. That way.” He rolled over and snored again.
“I know where the kitchen is,” Lando mumbled. He walked through the big white room and into the office module. To his right, there was a tiny sink with a little fridge under it, a thin marble workspace and two electric burners. He opened the single cabinet above the sink. It held one egg and two pieces of stale bread.
“We have invisibility cloaks,” he muttered. “But some decent food? Nah.” He pulled at the bag of bread and threw it to the countertop.
Lando pulled out the bread and crunched a bite. The office was three cubicles arranged in a pyramid next to the living area door. The kitchen sat in a hidden area between it and a bathroom. Beyond it was the door outside.
Lando walked over and threw open the door to the outside. It was pitch black in there but he knew a stairwell ran up to the sidewalk through cellar doors. He sighed. Poor Takoda. What a mess he is in. Not so different from me. Not my first choice but no other option.
He closed the door and ran to the cubicles. He rifled through the desk drawers. They must be in here somewhere. He opened a bottom drawer and it crackled as tablets bounced around its metal surfaces. Bingo.
He pulled his tablet out, unfolded it and dialed the camp. “Damnit,” he whispered. “No coverage.” He looked up at the ceiling and frowned. Dad must be freaking out.
The cellar doors screeched open in the next room. Lando stuffed the tablet into his back pocket. He closed the desk drawer with his foot and ran into the living area. He closed the door behind him and the door on the other side of the office opened. That was close.
He ran to the couch, turned on the TV and slouched down with the bread in his mouth. The news came on.
The yellow and black agorist flag flapped around next to William Penn on the screen. Lando sat up straight and jerked his fist down. “Yes!”
Harold walked into the living area.
“Did you see this?” Lando asked him.
Harold furrowed his brow. “Were you in the office complex, Cruz?”
“Yeah, I was hungry.” He turned back to the news.
Below the flag, it said, “Agorist Vandals Break Into City Hall, Damage Billy Penn.”
“What the …?” started Lando.
“You’re not allowed to be in there. Only David, Ryan and I have access.”
Lando glared at him. “I was hungry. Where’s the food, anyway? Two pieces of stale bread and an egg? To feed six people?”
“Five,” said Harold.
“If you can’t provide food —“
“I just went food shopping,” said Harold. “And I’m ordering in some lunch for you guys.”
“Five? There are — Did you wash somebody out?” asked Lando. He stood up.
“Logan escaped. We had to hunt him down,” said Harold.
Lando cocked his head and lifted an eyebrow. “You hunted him down?”
“Get everybody — Never mind,” said Harold. He walked into the sleeping area and flicked the lights on and off. “Everybody up. Everybody up. Now! I want all of you at the couch in thirty seconds. Everybody up now!” he yelled.
Jerry came out first, in his boxers and nothing else. Then Takoda smiled through half-closed eyes. His pot belly showed between his pajama bottoms and a white t-shirt turned gray. Alexis ran out in small steps. Her shoulders hunched in front of her.
“I said now, fat-ass!” yelled Harold. There was a crash. David ran out in gray shorts and a wife-beater t-shirt. The layers of flab at his midsection hung out.
“What the hell, man?” said David.
Harold strode to the TV. He pushed a button on his wrist communicator. His hands clenched and unclenched at his sides. He took heavy breaths in and then out. A new image appeared on the TV.
“Wait, guys. Wait!” It was Logan. He was running in place it seemed. Things moved around him but the camera did not move relative to him. He turned his head to look at the camera. “Guys, just let me go. I won’t —”
Something clicked and there was a buzzing sound. Logan hit the ground and his body convulsed. The camera stopped on a dime.
Jerry massaged his temples. “No way.”
“Fast forward,” said Harold. His nostrils flared.
The image did not change. Logan lay on a pockmarked sidewalk.
“Stop,” said Harold.
It was Harold. He walked into the frame, zip-tied Logan’s hands and sat him up. He slapped him until he came to.
“What, “ said Logan. He looked around. “Harold, my man, I was just — Hey, get this —“
“Save it, kid. You washed out. You know it. That’s why you’re out here,” said Harold.
Alexis sobbed. She got up from the chair she was in and threw herself onto the couch between Jerry and Lando. She laid her head on Lando’s chest.
Lando reached into his pocket and turned on his tablet. He hit the airdrop button and searched for Harold’s tablet. He looked for a video file timestamped today and initiated the download to his tablet.
“You playing with yourself, Cruz?” said Harold.
Lando jumped. “Just scratching myself, if that’s alright.” He looked back to the screen.
“Stop,” said Harold. The video turned off and the TV came back on in time to show their flag floating down to the street. He turned the TV off.
Harold cleared his throat and everyone looked at him. “Now, you little bitches may not get it, but this is serious shit!” He swallowed and motioned to David. “Get me a cold one from the kitchen, man. It’s in the paper bag.”
“Logan is a solid guy. Was it really necessary to send a drone?” said Jerry. “And tase him? For real?”
Harold dragged his palm down over his mouth and took air in sharply through his nose. “Look —“ He pulled his silver pistol out of his waistband and waved it at the ceiling.
“Not this shit again,” said Jerry.
David returned. He handed Harold a fat red bottle. It said, “40 oz. King Cobra” on it and had dueling pistols and a green snake. He twisted the top off and threw it behind him. The bottle changed to a black and white color scheme.
“David, what are you thinking?” said Lando.
Jerry stood up. “You are not going to get drunk and wave a gun at us again!”
Harold tipped the bottle up and craned his neck back. Amber liquid poured into his throat.
Jerry tapped Lando on the knee and stood up. “This might be our only chance.” He ran at Harold and tackled him. The bottle went flying against the far wall and bounced off it near the shooting range. Liquid flowed out into the thin carpet.
Harold choked and punched at Jerry. Jerry grabbed the pistol arm but Harold was strong. The muzzle of the pistol swept all of them at the couch and they ran away. Jerry wrapped his legs around Harold’s upper torso and lay on his back perpendicular to Harold. He twisted the gun arm.
“You little punk!” yelled Harold.
“Uh, little help!” said Jerry. He shot Lando a panicked look.
Lando walked over to them and put a knee on Harold’s chest. “Harold. Harold! Just calm down.”
“I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you all!” yelled Harold. His eyes got big and his head rolled around. Jerry sat up on Harold’s shoulder and pushed the gun arm down but Harold mustered the strength to point it back at him.
“Shit!” yelled Jerry. He fell to one side and the gun discharged. The TV exploded and shards of plastic scattered across the floor.
“What the fuck is going on here!” yelled Ryan.
Episode 54: Slow Boat
Everyone yelled at once.
“Enough!” said Ryan. He held his palms out in front of him. “Stop!”
Harold pushed Jerry off of him, stood up and took a position next to Ryan. He bobbed his head forwards and backwards. He still held the gun. The smell of cheap beer and gunpowder hung in the enclosed space.
“Takoda.” Ryan turned to him. He was cowering against the wall in the far corner near the office. “What happened?”
“I just didn’t see it that well,” he said. He looked at Harold.
Ryan pressed his lips together. “Who saw it?” He looked at Alexis and then at David.
“They were just fighting,” mumbled David.
Alexis cleared her throat. “Jerry and Lando —“
“Harold was waving his gun at us again and then he started drinking,” said Lando. He gestured at Harold. “Where did you dig this —“
Harold waved his gun hand at Lando and took a step towards him. “I tell you what, Cr—“
Lando cracked him across the cheek with his fist. Harold went down. Lando grabbed the pistol, ejected the magazine and opened the action. A round popped out. Lando picked it up off the floor and looked at Ryan.
Jerry slow-clapped. “About time somebody shut him up.”
“I came here,” said Lando, “to fight for freedom. To do something good. To tear down the assholes who have us under their thumbs, the ones who control the media and the official economy. And to build up the agora. Not to screw around with armed drunks!”
He handed the pieces of the gun to Ryan and took a seat in a chair across from him. He rubbed his chin and looked at the floor.
Ryan handed the gun to Harold. He reassembled and holstered it at the small of his back. Ryan shifted his stance and narrowed his eyes. “There may be something you people have overlooked. You’re not the only cell we have. Harold and I, we can wash you all out.” He pointed to each of them. “And we can do it right now, if we want.” He pointed to Lando. “Boom, you’re on a slow boat to Somalia.”
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