Alexandra Hamilton

Right Hand Man

Alexandra's POV

British Admiral Howe's got troops on the water. Thirty two thousand troops in New York harbor. I repeat, THIRTY TWO THOUSAND TROOPS IN NEW YORK HARBOR! That's a lot of troops! They surround our troops.

As a kid in the Caribbean, I wished for a war. I knew that I was poor. I knew it was the only way to rise up. Now I'm finally here! If they tell my story, I am either gonna die on the battlefield in glory or rise up.

I will fight for this land, but there's only one man who can give us a command so we can rise up. Understand, it's the only way to rise up.

Here the comes.

Washington's POV

"Here comes the general! Ladies and gentlemen, here comes the general! The moment you've been waiting for... here comes the general! The pride of Mt. Vernon, George Washington!"

Welp, here we are. I'm not gonna sugarcoat it.

"We are outgunned," I begin.

"What!?"

"outmanned..."

"What!?" Did they not hear me the first time? We're basically screwed!

"...outnumbered, outplanned! We've gotta make an all out stand. And I'm gonna need a right hand man!"

Can I be real a second? For just a millisecond? Let down my guard and tell the people how I feel a second?

Now, I'm the model of a modern major general. The venerated Virginian veteran whose men are all lining up to put me up on a pedestal, writing letters to relatives, embellishing my elegance and eloquence. But the elephant is in the room. The truth is in your face when you hear the British cannons go "BOOM!"

Any hope of success is fleeting. How can I keep leading when the people I'm leading keep retreating? We put a stop to the bleeding as the British take Brooklyn. Knight takes rook, but look!

I see a field of redcoats across from us.
"We are outgunned! Outmanned! Outnumbered, outplanned!" We've gotta make an all out stand. And I'm gonna need a right hand man.

I hear shots being fired. "INCOMING!"

I lift my head and notice a small soldier marching forward. "They're battering down the battery! Check the damages!" A larger soldier grunts in compliance. "We've gotta stop 'em and rob 'em of their advantages!" And then I realized that I was looking at a woman. I thought the governor was kidding when he said that a few female soldiers were being drafted.

She barks more orders at her colleague. "Let's take a stand with the stamina God has granted us! Hamilton won't abandon ship! Yo! Let's steal their cannons!" She and a few other soldiers dash off to steal from the opponent.

"SHABOOM!" goes the cannon. Watch the blood and the shit spray. And "BOOM!" goes the cannon. We're abandoning Kip's Bay. And "BOOM!" There's another ship and "BOOM!" We just lost the southern tip and "BOOM!" My men are dropping like flies. "We've gotta run to Harlem, quick! We can't afford another slip!" I shout.

Guns and horses giddyup! I decide to divvy up. My forces, they're skittish as the British cut the city up. I'm this close to giving up, facing mass scrutiny. I scream in the face of this mad mutiny.

Are these the men with which I am to defend America!? We ride at midnight, Manhattan in the distance. I cannot be everywhere at once, people! I'm in dire need of assistance. But then I remember the soldier on the battlefield today. I think I have a solution.

"Your Excellency, sir." I look up from my papers to see a soldier standing at attention.

"Who are you?"

"Aaron Burr, sir." God, I really don't have time for this. "Permission to state my case?"

"As you were." I sigh. I might as well hear him out.

"Sir, I was a captain under General Montgomery... until he caught a bullet in the neck in Quebec. And well... in summary, I think that I can be of some assistance. I admire how you keep firing at the British from a distance."

I still don't care. All I want right now is to take a nap.

"I have some questions, a couple of suggestions on how to fight instead of fleeing west."

"Yes?" For a second I consider listening to this guy. But then another voice cuts in.

"Your Excellency, you wanted to see me?" It's Alexandra Hamilton, the young soldier who stole cannons from the British.

"Hamilton, come in." Burr seems agitated by her presence. "Have you met Burr?" I ask.

"Yes sir." Great! They're friends! "We keep meeting." The two say in unison.

"As I was saying sir, I look forward to seeing your strategy play out." Burr continues, but I've heard enough.

"Burr,"

"Sir."

"Close the door on your way out."

He leaves quietly, but not before giving Alex an ice cold glare. Whatever. Now for the task at hand.

"Have I done something wrong, sir?" She says softly.

"On the contrary," I stand and pace towards her. "I called you here because our odds are beyond scary. Your reputation precedes you, but I have to laugh."

"Sir?"

"Hamilton, how come no one can get you on their staff?"

"Sir!" She's appalled at the idea. I understand. No one joins the army because they want to write.

"Don't get me wrong," I reassure her. "you're a young woman of great renown. I know you stole British cannons when we were still downtown." She blushes. "Nathanael Greene and Henry Knox wanted to hire you."

"To be their secretary. I don't think so." She spits.

"Now why are you upset?"

"I'm not." She mumbles as she crosses her arms.

"It's alright you wanna fight. You've got a hunger. I was just like you when I was younger. Head full of fantasies of dying like a martyr?"

"Yes." So brave, so passionate, so naïve.

"Dying is easy, young one...." I tell her gently. "Living is harder."

Her voice shakes. "Why are you telling me this?"

"I'm being honest. I'm working with a third of what our Congress has promised. We are a powder keg about to explode. I need someone like you to lighten the load." I take a quill off of my desk and hold it out to her. "So?"

I am not throwing away my shot. I am not throwing away my shot. Ay yo I'm just like my country. I'm young, scrappy and hungry...

"I am not throwing away my shot!" She says with pride and excitement.

"We are outgunned, outmanned." I remind her.

Her mind is already at work. "You'll need all the help you can get. I have some friends. Laurens, Mulligan, Marquis De Lafayette. Okay, what else?"

"Outnumbered, outplanned."

"We'll need some spies on the inside. Some kingsmen who might let some things slide." She moves quickly, that's for sure. "I'll write to Congress and tell them we need supplies. You rally the guys, master the element of surprise." And she's a strong leader too.

"I'll rise above my station, organize your information 'til we rise to the occasion of our new nation, sir!"

"Here comes the general!" I hear the soldiers chant outside.

By my side is Alexandra. "Rise up." She says to herself.

"Here comes the general!"

"Rise up." I see her exchange a look with another female soldier.

"Here comes the general!"

"Rise up!"

"Here comes the general!"

"And his right hand woman!" I announce.