Democracy vs Corporatocracy

Chapter Six: Operation Brick Run

March 4th 2041

Marcus, Ryan, Samuel and Eivor were headed to the construction site in the van. Eivor and Marcus were in the front of the van, Eivor drove, while Marcus was in the passenger seat. In the back were Ryan Armis and Samuel Religio. Around them were dilapidated houses and overgrown front lawns. Buildings long since abandoned were falling apart and signposts covered in dust. Marcus turned around and asked Samuel "I never got to ask, but why did you run away?" Samuel looked at Marcus with his Brown eyes and said "My parents were Atheist Corpos, they hated the very idea of religion, but then one day I found an abandoned copy of the Quran in the garbage can and went all in". Marcus then asked "When was that?" "Last year" said Samuel. Samuel concluded with "My parents went nuts when they found out and branded my back". Samuel then lifted up the back of his shirt to reveal the brand marks. Marcus gasped and angrily said "I'll give them what four!" Ryan responded with "So would I". Samuel finished with "I then tried telling the police, but they didn't believe me, so I ran away". Marcus then guessed "Let me guess, you found one of Eivor's signs and made your way here?" Samuel answered with "Yes". Marcus looked at Ryan, the African American southerner of the group and asked "What about you?" Ryan was slightly younger than Marcus, but a bit more physically fit. Marcus could tell he was from the south due to his heavy southern accent. Ryan, responded with "My ma was in an abusive relationship with my dad, so she ran away from that Corpo while she was eating for two". Marcus was a bit confused and asked "Eating for two?" Ryan chuckled and said "While I was the bun in her oven". Marcus realised he meant pregnant and asked "What next?" Ryan replied with "She became convinced that the world would fall apart because o the Corpos, so she became a doomsday prepper and started building a bunker". Marcus remembered Rachel saying that Ryan had run away from his "Corpo of a father" and asked "What happened?" Ryan paused for a second and said "My so called 'pa' tracked us down and framed my ma for murder, now she's in the slammer". Marcus then said "Sorry about your mom". Ryan smiled and said "Thanks". Ryan then continued with "Now my Pa was the worst man in the entire state of Alabama, he didn't look nothing like me and I don't even know why my Ma loved him. He treated me in a similar way your Step-Pa treated you, last year I ran away. I went back to my Ma's place, got into the bunker and got some provisions; those gas masks and the air tester among them." Marcus then asked "How did you get here?" Ryan answered with "I went to a bus station and asked for a ticket to the Big Apple". Marcus then said "Let me guess, you then found one of Eivor's signs and made your way here?" Ryan nodded and said "Darn right I did and here I am".

After the backstories were finished, Eivor said "Fellas, we're coming up on the construction site". They all looked and saw the old abandoned construction site. It was fenced of and had signs that said "Danger: gas leak". Before the city was closed it had been partially demolished and left like a rotting open wound. Marcus looked and saw a crater twice the size of the church. Marcus said "Must be where the explosion happened". They all then exited the van and Ryan handed out a gas mask each to Marcus and Samuel. Marcus then said to everyone "Ok, Eivor, you wait here with the van, me Ryan and Sam will head in and get what we need to fix the Freedom Nest". Eivor replied with "Ok, here's the air tester by the way". "Thanks" said Marcus, as Eivor handed him the air tester. The three runaway boys placed their gas masks on and headed over. Samuel had to temporarily remove his Turban, due to this, Marcus was able to learn that Samuel had black hair. Marcus had not yet seen what Samuels hair looked like. Ryan bought out a pair of wire cutters and cut the lock on the gate to the site. Ryan and Marcus then pushed open the gate and the three went inside with the wheelbarrow to collect the bricks and brick fillings. As they headed inside, they saw the rusted old equipment and materials. Some tools had also been left behind by the construction crews and been left to rot. Marcus picked one up and said "Could be useful". Ryan then checked the air tester and gasped with shock. "What is it?" Samuel asked with confusion. Ryan then suddenly pulled his mask of and sniffed the air, saying "There aint nothing, the airs fine!" Ryan showed them the air tester results and it said that the air was safe to breathe. Marcus and Samuel removed their gas masks and Marcus said with shock "This doesn't make any sense, there's supposed to be gas but there's nothing".

The three looked at each other and Marcus said "To the crater". They ran over to the crater as fast as they could. Ryan dashed around a pole and Marcus leaped over some wooden planks. When they got to the crater, there were some broken iron planks around it and badly damaged steel boards. Marcus looked into the ten feet deep crater and saw the pipe. He saw that the pipe had a blue line on it and said "My father once showed me how gas pipes work and showed me the different colours certain pipes have". Samuel looked away from the crater and at Marcus. Samuel then asked "What kind of pipe is that then?" Marcus determinedly said "That's a water pipe! Gas doesn't go through that kind of pipe!" Ryan scratched his head and said "Now there's something fishy going on round ere". Marcus told both boys "Once we get the bricks and brick fillings, have a look around for answers". Ryan and Samuel agreed and got to work. They found a pile of bricks, about five times as many as they needed to fix the bricks at the Freedom Nest. "We can keep coming here for bricks whenever we need the Freedom Nest fixed" Marcus said with confidence. They then started loading up a bunch of bricks onto the wheelbarrow and another that was at the construction site. There were ten containers of brick fillings inside an open crate next to the bricks. Marcus placed his bag on the ground, unzipped it and started putting the brick fillings in his bag. When they were done, they took it all back to the van. Eivor was shocked to see them without gas masks and asked "Why aren't you wearing your gas masks?" Marcus stepped forward and said "There's no gas, the airs perfectly fine and the pipe in the crater is a water pipe". Eivor was shocked and said "We're looking into this later". Ryan and Samuel then loaded the wheelbarrows into the van and Marcus said "I'm headed back in to solve this mystery". Marcus then said to Samuel and Ryan "Stay here and keep a look out, me and Eivor are gonna head to the foreman's office and solve this mystery".

Marcus and Eivor headed back into the construction site and had a look around. Marcus saw a small building that said "Forman's office" on the door. The two runaways headed to the small building and found the door was locked with a hand scanner. Marcus grunted and said "How are we gonna get in". Eivor then picked up a shovel and broke the hand scanner, causing the door to open. Marcus said with wide eyes "I guess that'll work". The two headed inside and found empty filing cabinets and an old wooden desk with a broken leg. It was very different from the metallic desks one would find in Corpo offices. Eivor walked over and found a note on the desk that said "I have to write this quickly, MegaCorp grunts are right outside trying to get in. Inside the drawer is evidence of their crimes here in Boston, please avenge my home town". Marcus walked over to the drawer and opened it. Inside was a file that had the words "Operation explosive Insurance" written in red on the front. He picked it up, wiped the dust off the desk and placed the file there. Marcus and Eivor coughed a bit but they were fine. Marcus opened the file and the papers inside shocked them. Inside was evidence of MegaCorp's misdeeds, which they had done to overtake ArmTech, their rival Corporation who supplied weapons to the Army. After seeing what was inside, Eivor closed the file, picked it up and said with determination "We have to show the others, come on". The two then raced out of the foreman's office, determined to reveal the truth to not just their friends, but the world.