The Almighty Dominance

General Mark sat in the temporary command room overlooking Los Angeles, certain the night would end without trouble.

He had a thousand soldiers under his command. The rebels? Maybe two or three hundred.

Their target was eight thousand ragged, starving people scattered across the streets-bodies thin, hungry, and unarmed.

To Mark, they were nothing. A thousand rifles would erase them easily.

"Hey—what's happening? Our link's gone!" one of the comms men suddenly shouted.

Another soldier raised his head, pale. "Same here, sir. We're dead on this side too."

"Is the L.A. communications team taking our connection down too?" Mark's voice cut through the room.

"Get someone over there now. Tell them to bring the feed back online."

As the soldier hurried out, Mark waved his hand. "We still have military landlines and radios. Bring them up for now."

The man on radio duty worked the controls. "Sir, the frequencies are jammed— we're getting nothing."

General Mark yawned, "Don't worry. Our soldiers won't lose to the homeless just because we lost communications. They need to learn responsibility too."

He straightened his uniform, more for show than comfort. "I'm going out for some air. Call me if the lines return."

"Yes, General." The salute snapped, nervous.

"Come with me," Mark said, gripping the secretary at his elbow in a public, possessive gesture as he walked out.

"After this is over, I want to enjoy myself. You ready with what I asked for?"

The secretary smiled, "Yes, sir. I selected twenty young women, all ready. I'll have them at your mansion by tomorrow."

"Perfect. Since Alfred Kingston is Governor, life's become heaven," Mark laughed, a bitter, greedy sound.

Outside the base, a sniper watched the compound from a shadowed rooftop. His scope tracked General Mark's movements.

"Report," he whispered into his throat mic. "I have a clear view of General Mark as he walks out. Request permission to engage."

At the command console, one of Bella's secretaries leaned forward. "Miss Governor, we have visual. Do you authorize a take-down of General Mark?"

"Do it," Bella said without hesitation.

"Permission granted," the secretary confirmed into the sniper's net.

A single breath. A single pull.

The round sliced through the night wind and smashed into General Mark's skull.

He dropped at once-like a puppet with its strings severed.

The secretary shrieked, stumbling beside his body. She tried to lift him, but his head was half destroyed, blood pouring in rivers, soaking her hands, her dress, the floor.

Her scream tore upward, raw and wild, echoing into the dark sky.

Before death, all were the same. Power, rank, wealth-all of it was nothing but illusion.

"Command, this is Shadow One. Target neutralized. Mission successful. Over." "Copy that, Shadow One. Excellent work. Stand by for next tasking. We want eyes on the remaining military leadership. You are cleared to proceed at your discretion. Over."

Command. Shadow One moving to secondary objective.

to soldiers to slaughter the poor, yet

armed. The shock struck the soldiers like a

death was closer than they

just to find food now have guns and bullets

captain screamed, his voice snapping commands

him: a round from a concealed barrel punched through his

folded, eyes

Eleven to Command: Captain neutralized. Casualty

locate and identify any additional captains or personnel attempting to assume command. You are cleared to engage leadership targets. Maintain

Command: Roger. Commencing search for remaining leaders and preparing to

the city like a

comms dead, no one could shout a

facing the homeless-weak, worthless—and that arrogance made

themselves

hen-easy targets, their arrogance making it

massive

crowd, Vermont's elite soldiers in disguise moved seamlessly with the

bank doors, cracking open the vault and passing out cash and papers like

Angeles turned inside

homes, stealing whatever

buried us in his courtroom. Tonight we take it back." Judge Carl had been living lavishly, sleeping with two Los Angeles models and enjoying his

him head judge, money and power had

at the sound of a

saw hundreds of faces forcing their way through the

stammered, backing into the

he is." Ten hungry men rushed

after the judge locked his door, people kicked at it

hair matted and face hollow from years behind bars, stepped through the splintered door,

for twenty years for a crime I didn't

burned my life

please don't kill me," Carl begged,

sound cracked through marble and chandeliers. It

the city, the pattern

stacked their laughter like armor-fell silent under the weight of the

long scorned by the

their

with

from the

are human, so are

looking for happiness-so are

then our numbers and our

different too.

death? So

let's kill each other, since there has never been any

another.

We fear each other.

the law of fear always says: kill first to

us, or we kill you—until nothing is

humans are

protect their wives, they killed another

their children, they