Chapter 6: Interlude: The Lawyers #2. Austin Texas.
Greg sat in a coffee shop, inside the lobby of a federal building in downtown Austin. He was waiting for Teddy. Greg had a pretentious coffee in his hand. A daytime talk show played on the TV. The TV hostess had long, curly blonde hair that couldn't possibly be her own. Her guest was a middle-aged woman who looked insufferable. The guest began her practiced pitch.
"As we all know Windy, the PVD are out there daily, fighting for the rights of all persons. Nobody has done more to advance freedom and true democracy than the PVD. And that's what makes these mega-extremist attacks on the PVD so hurtful and so triggering. Whether we are talking about what happened in Oklahoma, or what happened in Raleigh-Durham, these ultra-vigilante attacks are a real threat to our democracy."
The host interrupted. "Well, I don't think the Raleigh-Durham executioners will be causing trouble again any time soon."
"You're right about that, Windy," the guest said. Then she and the hostess had a good laugh over the people who were burned alive, shackled to a bus outside the courthouse. Even Greg thought that was funny enough to warrant a sensible chuckle between sips. The guest continued.
"What the PVD needs now more than ever are allies. These heroes need allies who say, 'We see you, we stand with you, and we will support everything and anything you do.'"
"And you brought something today to show our audience how they can do that?"
"Yes Windy, I did." The hostess held up a plastic yard sign, like the ones politicians use when running for office. It was painted in the colors of the PVD. A list of affirmative statements ran down its length. Windy, the hostess, made gushing sounds like she was looking at a cute baby or a puppy.
"By putting these signs up in your home or business, you show the PVD you are an ally. You show the PVD you are aligned, that you are a friend, and that you can be trusted. You show the PVD that you are an advocate for Progress."
"That is such a great idea, and so important, especially in these times of mega-extreme veteran-vigilantes. I feel like, if somebody has this sign in their yard it will really resonate with the PVD. This is a way to really make yourself seen in the appropriate social and cultural spaces that we all occupy."
"It sure is, Windy. And our non-profit has so much more for your viewers than just yard signs. We have stickers you can put on your car. We have wristbands you can wear when you are at work or out shopping. But most importantly, we have these cute little buttons your children can wear to school because nobody is too young to prove they are a political ally."
"Oh, those are so cute. And that is such a great idea. You are right, children are never too young to advocate for the correct political and social causes."
"Absolutely Windy. I want all the viewers to think about their children. Their children are seen in the cultural and social spaces we all share. They are seen by their teachers. They are seen by school administrators. They are seen by coaches and librarians and other children. They could even be seen by the PVD. The space children occupy is just so important and that's why every parent should buy these buttons for their children."
"Now, let's talk about these signs again for our TV audience. How do our viewers buy them and how much do they cost?"
The guest named the non-profit's website and then named the price. Greg choked and almost spit out his coffee when he heard the figure. "Oh my," he said.
"Well, that's a small price for families to pay to let the PVD know just how much they are appreciated for the hard work they do."
Teddy came into the coffee shop. He looked left, looked right, saw Greg, and then headed straight for Greg's table. Greg was smiling, still high off the extortion campaign taking place on national TV. Teddy didn't smile. Even when a handsome barista passed, arms full of intricate coffees, Teddy didn't smile. His eyes tracked the young man, but he didn't smile. When he sat down at the table, he heaved out a sigh.
Greg motioned towards the TV. "That's a brilliant shakedown they've got going. They're selling those signs for probably a few hundred times what it costs to print them. They're going to make a mint. Who even knows what the stickers and buttons will bring in."
Teddy looked from Greg to the TV and back again. He still wasn't smiling.
"We got a problem," Teddy said.
"What?"
"That crap that's all over the TV."
Greg pointed at the TV. Teddy raised a hand and swept it horizontally through the air, dismissing the TV protection racket with a wave. "No. Not those shakedown artists and their signs. I'm talking about the governors and the reparations. The UPPARE."
"What's wrong with the UPPARE," Greg said. "Those marginalized communities deserve big taxpayer dollars. It's only fair. We've been talking about that since law school."
"It's the right thing to do but the wrong time to do it. Not now, not with the election months away." Greg looked puzzled. Teddy explained.
"We've got too many people moving within the United States. For years it's been manageable. Unreliable voters moved to unreliable states. That was fine. It made the voting bases in our reliable states more ideologically pure. We could get more done in those states. In the swing states and the unreliable states, we still had our urban enclaves. Our reliable voters there weren't leaving, and we had ways to dilute the power of the unreliable voting blocs: immigration, vote by mail, online voting, and the like.
"But with this UPPARE, all those reliable voters are leaving unreliable states. They're leaving the mega states, but more importantly, they are fleeing the swing states. We're losing all our footholds. When the election comes around all our reliable voters will be living in California and just a handful of other states."
"C'mon," Greg said. "That won't happen. Those people are too poor and too lazy to move."
"They're too lazy not to move. You can move to California today, show up at a reparation's office in Sacramento, claim you suffer from drug addiction, and you'll get paid the same amount that a working couple in Tennessee or some rustbelt dump-town makes. All just to sit at home on a couch and be an addict."
"Never happen. Those people never have the money to move."
"Greg, it is already happening. We are seeing it. People that can't come up with the money are getting it through non-profits. Same thing as with the immigrants."
"Okay, Teddy. But how many people could that be?"
"Enough Greg. More than enough. It's a numbers game. We're wargaming it out and we don't have the numbers. That damned electoral college. I knew we should have just declared this election was going to be a straight popular vote and ran with it. It would have been a decade before the case got to the Supreme Court, if they even chose to hear it."
Greg shook his head, disbelieving. He said, "What about the PVD? Teddy, we've done some…" he stopped, thought, then continued. "We've done things the opposition party does not like. If they get into power…?"
"They won't get into power. As I said, if it comes down to it, there is a plan B we can execute. We'd rather not do that. It is a bit extreme. But we will if we must. We're not turning over power. Not to them. That is not going to happen." Teddy looked at the TV. His face twisted with disgust. "Damn. That stupid California Governor. He got way out ahead of himself."
"He thinks he's preordained to be president."
"He is preordained to be president. But that doesn't mean he's allowed to make any decisions. The guy is nothing more than nice hair and a good body to hang the right clothes from. He needs to stick with that."
"What about the election?" Greg asked. "If we don't want to resort to plan b, what do we do about that?"
"For now, stay the course Greg," Teddy answered. "The PVD will get active here in Texas soon. Hopefully, some vigilante-veteran will show up and we can get you a high-profile prosecution case you can work with. Get what you can out of anybody you arrest early on and don't worry about any courtrooms. None of these cases will ever go to trial. Raleigh-Durham is the model for how things are going to go."
Greg leaned forward. He whispered to Teddy. "Did we do that?"
"Don't ask questions you don't want me to answer. And no, we didn't do that. Ultra-Extremists did that. Just like the media said."
Greg sat back in his chair. His face sank.
"Don't look so dejected," Teddy said. "This is what we need to do to protect our democracy. True democracy. What we're doing now is necessary, and it is nothing compared to what our political opponents might do if they get into power."
"That isn't it," Greg said. "I'm comfortable with the morality of what we are doing. It is for the greater good. A higher moral cause. What I'm worried about is somebody striking back."
"That's the whole idea, Greg. Get some mega-vigilante type to attack the PVD."
"I don't mean strike back against the PVD. I mean, strike back against us. And I don't mean in a courtroom either. What if somebody finds out what we're doing? Or what if they find out about everything that happened in Raleigh? What if somebody comes after us? And I'm not talking about some stinky Walmart type or somebody in their parents' basement. I'm talking about somebody who knows what they are doing. What then?"
Teddy sliced horizontally through the air again, dismissing the idea. "That's never happened before. That didn't happen last time, not even with everything we did."
"Yeah. But what if it happens this time?"
"It won't," Teddy said, and he made one last dismissive horizontal wave through the air. "Those people, they never fight back. The few that do stand up, we always knock them back down."
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