Free New America 02 - Resistance by Richard Stephenson Page A

had plenty today, Mr. President. I doubt a little more will faze me.”
    “I’m su re everything you’ve been dealing with today has kept you quite preoccupied.  My earlier attempts to contact you were not just to inquire about the attack. I regret to inform you that Regional Governor Weygandt was killed this morning.”
    Roberto was speechless. Jim Weygandt had been his friend for over twenty years.  When Roberto was the director of the CIA, he relied on Jim to provide him with the resources to carry out covert ops around the globe. “How?”
    “He was rear-ended by another vehicle , and his car was sent over a bridge.  Everyone is in complete shock over this terrible tragedy.  I’ll be forever grateful for his role in building the Unified American Empire. He will be missed.”
    “When’s the funeral?”
    “Soon. I’ll send you the details.  I’m truly sorry for your loss, Roberto.  I know the two of you were very close.”
    “Thank you, Mr. President. I s there anything else?”
    “No, Roberto, I’ll see you at the funeral.”
     
     
     
     

CHAPTER SEVEN
     
    Benjamin Black sat in his office overlooking Disney World’s Main Street USA.  He enjoyed the quiet solitude of his office because he could deliberate over the day-to- day operations of his territory.  The theme parks and resorts under his control covered forty-seven square miles with a population closing in on six thousand.  Ben controlled a paradise in the middle of the Florida wasteland.  Eighteen months prior, Hurricane Luther had destroyed much of Florida during the most powerful hurricane the world had ever seen.  The category five storm came ashore not once, but four times, each time a little stronger than the last.  With the collapse of the American government, the state of Florida found itself in the same shape it had been following Luther’s brutal punishment.  
    Walt Disney World, with all h er theme parks and resorts, was not spared by Luther.  Most of the rides were destroyed, and the majority of the buildings were uninhabitable.  Ben wasn’t worried about any of that; what drew Ben to the Magic Kingdom was the security it offered.  The theme parks had a perimeter fence around them and Ben saw the advantage.  His oasis in the wasteland attracted the hungry and the frightened.  The stability Ben offered brought fierce loyalty.  He was considered a savior; his people loved him like a father figure. He was doing a fine job running his community, and the UAE saw fit to leave him to it.  They sent a weekly patrol to his front gate to trade intelligence and inform Ben of new laws enacted by President Sterling.  These so-called laws were nothing more than President Sterling stripping away civil rights.
    While the citizens of Walt Disney World deifie d Benjamin Black, they had no idea that his primary mission in life had nothing to do with their care, but rather with the destruction of the Unified American Empire—piece by piece if necessary.  When the UAE showed up on his doorstep looking for persons of interest, he ushered them in and gave the appearance of cooperation while his trusted freedom fighters subverted the UAE’s tyrannical efforts.  Ben sent out guerrilla units to raid small UAE camps and ambush convoys.  He even managed to nurture a network of spies that fed him valuable intelligence.
    Ben had spent all morning dealing with the incident involving the slave traders.  Their bodies had been buried and their weapons and ammo found a proper home in the armory.  The eighteen-wheeler was a welcome addition to the motor pool.  The former slaves were still undergoing thorough examinations in the infirmary. None of them had serious injuries, though a few were severely malnourished and a handful had dysentery.  Ben’s most challenging problem, however, involved one of the children.  The girl’s name was Chrissy Dupree, and she had no one to care for her.  An elderly woman with dementia thought the girl was