America Stranded in a Fantasy World

Chapter 31 "Line In The Sand"

CHAPTER 31

"Line In The Sand"

September 4th, 2040: The White House, Undisclosed Location

Inside one of the many non-disclosed hallways, President Dresden felt sick to his stomach and even that was a vast understatement. The beginning of this whole ordeal had hit him like a freight train, now it felt like reality itself was coming apart at the seams. The weight of leadership grew heavier by the day and he was more exhausted than ever. Dresden leaned against the smooth wall for a short rest, a few feet away from the conference room door but close enough to hear a heated argument between his inner circle.

"--and you don't quit when you're down, you flip the fucking table! These technological backwaters are nothing to the army--let alone the airforce!" Edwards barked.

"Don't you get it? We literally don't have the money! The economy is only going down, unemployment is skyrocketing, the stock market is recreating the great depression--need I go on?" Harold fired back, equally loud. "With hindsight, the war with The Plusieurs Kingdom was a grave mistake. We lost far too much financially in that conflict. We've been hemorrhaging money for months! If we don't get control over-inflating prices, the stock market is going to render the dollar worthless!"

Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, Dresden tried to move his right leg forwards--only for it to refuse to move. Feeling like his body was shutting down, he threw his head back with enough force to cause a slight *thud* on the wall, as an antagonizing voice filled his mind.

"Just give up already. You lost this fight the moment you arrived. America has no place here, and you know it." Isimov's voice echoed.

"I'm not... finished...... yet." Talking to his invisible rival through gritted teeth, Dresden shook his head before forcing himself to enter the conference room. The room was silent until he slammed a file down on the table.

"That's not all the bad news. United Security Armaments just pulled their contract, along with International Security Alliance, Mobile Borders, Emerald Dynamic, and Clearwater Intelligence."

"What? Why?" Edwards' jaw dropped as his mind failed to understand why the multi-billion dollar contracts would be turned down.

"Congressman Reed. He and thirteen others threatened United Security with an investigation into their activities in Africa. Seems they were more than spooked by this, and completely pulled out. Anyone even remotely connected to them also shredded their contracts." Rubbing his forehead, Dresden stared in defeat at the file.

"Don't tell me, Bangui?" Harold shook his head, taking a deep breath he looked at Dresden with bitterness.

"We--I, didn't have much of a choice then. I would have lost an entire battalion of soldiers if I didn't let United Security off its leash."

"You gave them VX! A nerve agent!" Harold's face started to turn red in rage. "When I was VP for former-president Hopkins, he wanted to rip your head off after what you pulled! You're lucky we had enough shovels to go around to help bury this!"

Taken aback by Harold's sudden outburst, Dresden blinked a few times before looking back at his file, not having nearly enough energy to give a damn about arguing.

"This... actually leads us to a topic I wish to discuss. With Operation Citadel still in effect, and us needing a cheap and effective way to... neutralize our potential adversaries. The nerve agents, Agent 1-8 and Agent 1-10 will become available." Hearing that bombshell, Harold scoffed before standing up.

"Oh, of course, give the army access to those agents. I'm sure Congress won't use Article Two to throw us out!" Looking back at Harold, Dresden returned an agitated shrug.