Chapter 6: Chapter 5: They Ain’t Loyal

June 22nd, 2038/ Cheektowaga, NY 

"As the closed emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council continues, our sources say that the United States is answering questions from member states about their Quantum Entanglement Induction technology that some have described as magic-like. They tell us that member states are concerned about whether the United States government will deploy this relatively unknown technology in its military. These nations are also concern about the still unapprehended perpetrator of the Buffalo terror attack that took place just a few days ago. That individual's use of an "earthquake weapon" has nations worried about the source of that equally terrifying technology. 

As I close the HUD Terrance turns to me. 

"Judging by your face, I'm guessing you're about to infodump about how bad things are with our occupation situation," he says. 

"Yup basically, the UN isn't happy about this new tech which might be a good thing for us but then again it's the UN. America isn't accountable to any of them which has been the case since its inception." My annoyed face holds steady as I recount in my head all the time the UN upheld America's bullshit over the last century. 

"Well until someone else takes action we should to stick to our plan," Terrance says. "Do you think that your little activist crew will be down for our little heist?" 

I ponder the question for a minute. The Left Alliance is our local hub for socialists, anarchists, Pan-Africanists, communists, and others to organize together and share resources. When folks are considering direct action, specifically straight up illegal stuff we'll hold an informal meeting with some of the org leaders and figure out if the action is worth bringing up to the rest of our members. It's a system that protects us from police infiltration. I don't like that it's not democratic but after the DHIS purges of Leftist orgs in the late 2020s its only logical. 

"To be honest I don't know if the white majority orgs are going to be with it. It's not their communities being occupied by cops. But I think that they might pressed enough by these Operators and what DHIS will do next that they'll buy in. I just wish I had a ready-made plan to show them. I also still don't know how we're going to get our actual hands on that tech." 

"Well them anarchist bros love a good fight so I'd make sure they are in front of whatever is suggested. Keep our Black asses in the back haha." Terrance laughs at his own quip. I'm too preoccupied with plotting out what I'm going to say at the meeting to laugh at the joke. 

"Don't worry it'll be alright," Terrance says. "Anyways, I'm walking with you to the bus stop. Some of the niggas I used to run with sell over here. If your people aren't down, I know some niggas who will be."  

"If you say so T," I reply. I try and not judge people for doing what they have to do to eat or whatever, but I don't know if selling drugs makes you qualified for this kind of thing. 

As we walk down the street Terrance and I approach an abandoned house with a bunch of guys who are sitting on the worn stairs. When they see us, the guy sitting on the lower stairs jumps up, his dark purple locs bouncing around in front of his freckled brown face. He rushes the few short feet between the porch and where we're standing at the end of the driveway to greet us. The two others present stay on the porch smiling at Terrance, one guy with red locs leaning on the chest a taller guy who has a fresh fade. 

"Big bro! What's up man! Haven't see you on the block for a min," Purple Locs says as he walks up to Terrance and fist bumps him. 

Terrance laughs, "It's only been like a week. Anyways! Y'all been staying out of trouble?" Terrance says squinting at Purple Locs. 

"What you mean T?" Purple Locs asks with an awkward smirk on his face. 

"Well I hear about someone robbing them Walden boys of a brick a few days ago, and now I see y'all over here looking like y'all eating," Terrance squints harder at them. 

"How you know our supply just ain't been up lately though?" the red loced guy interjects while sitting up. 

"Really Rome? You do remember that I used to run this whole block right? I know y'all ain't got the connects, but I know y'all love tiefing," Terrance tilts his head waiting for their reply. To be honest I sometimes forget that he used to run the streets, let alone run a whole gang. 

"Aight T, you got us but why you blowing smoke up out asses about it?" Rome says as he stands up to walk towards us. 

"I don't need y'all getting got cause you out here antagonizing motherfuckers over some shit that isn't worth THAT much," Terrance tilts his head back and glares at the trio. 

"And you, Bear." Terrance turns his head towards Purple Locs. "Don't lie to me like that again." Terrance's voice lingers in the air with authority. 

"Uhhh yea man. We got you." Bear replies, voice dropping in deference. I don't know that much about what Terrance was really up to when he was in the streets cause we met after but damn, I wish I could bottle up some of that charisma. 

"Y'all already know bout the occupation so I'ma need y'all to keep a low profile for now, including... no robberies of rival gangs aight?" 

"We hear you fam. You know the block could still use you, you know." The tall one says as he stands and puts his hand around Rome's waist.  

"Nah Flip, I'm out man. I already did my years. Time for my ass to chill but y'all got this shit as long as y'all stay careful. Anyways I came over here cause I'm going to need a favor of y'all. It's so we can help my homegirl Amina here deal with the occupation. Y'all already seen what they did over at Ferry. Motherfuckers ain't playing." I jump a bit at him finally mentioning me in the conversation. I was content with not being noticed to be honest. Its too much thinking to get my words right with new folks most of the time unless we're talking history. 

All three quickly nod with Bear adding in, "Bro you already know we got you and if that's ya girl of course we got her too. Just let us know when and where." 

"Thanks guys," I quickly add as Terrance throws up a peace sign. I quickly follow Terrance after they all give me a nod. 

Walking back to the street I turn to Terrance. 

"So how did you know about that whole Walden thing?" 

"I don't hustle anymore but these little Cootas are the cousins, brothers, and kids of the niggas and OGs I used to run with so I try and keep up with what's happening and look out where I can." 

 "Why don't you try and get them out?" 

"You have to get yourself out. Nobody realizes that the streets aren't for them till they bout to lose something that's worth more than that. Until then Cootas will make up any excuse to keep chasing money, or getting revenge on folks who stop them from making money. I'm just trying to make sure they don't lose too much before they decide to get out." 

"What did you...or was about to lose?" 

 "For me it's not what I lost, but what I took."  

Terrance face drops as he goes silent. Damn girl, asking too many questions again. I should have known he was avoiding talking about himself. 

"Sorry I asked too many questions," I say in a quiet voice hoping that the conversation moves on. 

"No worries sis. That's what I appreciate about your noggin. Don't even worry about it," Terrance says as he shakes his head real quick, immediately looking like his normal self again. 

As we approach the bus stop to give Terrance a quick wave goodbye. "I'll call you and Onyeka when I finish up with the meeting. Wish me luck."  

Terrance nods at me while turning around to go back up the block. "You don't need no luck. Just flex that big ass head of yours." We both chuckled hard as he leaves up the block. 

*** 

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As I walk into the cafe I remember how unsettling this place is for me sometimes. The walls are covered with Vietnam War and Iraq War era protest posters. The tables are all repurposed pieces that would look at home in a thrift store. Along the counter I see a bunch of anti-Donald Trump posters, most of them depicting him as either a grotesque baby or a giant orange Cheeto with a Hitler moustache. I still trip at how the Right still venerates that fucker after I learned more about his presidency, but then again his narcissism did eventually give rise to the Patriotic Resolve movement that's been in government nationwide for the last 18 years. 

As I walk through to the back of the cafe I notice that many of the patrons, who are mostly White, staring at me. Its like they never seen a Black woman before. Probably the big Red, Black, and Green wood carved necklace my mom made for me. The RGB Turtle is a symbol of the Pan-african movement in our area, a symbol of our identity as Africans and our allegiance to this land and it's Indigenous peoples. Alot of the settlers in our area are sympathetic to the PR movement and even in a liberal establishment like this there's still plenty of people who are very anti Pan-Africanists. Well fuck them, I'm not the one who's here illegally on someone else's land.  

"Mina! Over here!" two people simultaneously call to me. I look and it's two of the members of the back channel group, Kenneth and Lilly. Kenneth is a redhead Irish guy who's part of the local Black Bloc group and Lilly is a hipster type blonde white woman who liaises with the Democratic Socialists of America chapter here. I walk over and sit down at the long table the group has commandeered at the back of the coffee shop. As I sit down my purse I feel by blood pressure rising. I'm so not sure if they are going to go for this, or worse, say yes and turn snitch. I really hate uncertainty...and talking to people. 

"So Amina what's going on" Lilly says to me. "You sounded especially um....grave on audio when you called us." 

"Yeah you said it was about the new DHIS agents, the ones that can do 'magic'" Kenneth adds as he does air quotes. The Operators haven't used their powers since they killed that guy in the projects. I think people think that the reports and the government is kind of playing around especially since there is no video....EXCEPT FOR MINES! 

"Kenneth, y'all, folks weren't joking when they described it as magic." I blurt out, desperate for them to understand the unbridled fear that's been bubbling underneath my skin since Juneteenth. I start to fidget my fingers as I get ready to show them everything.  

"Darcy do you have your computer with you? Can you turn on your casting?" I ask one of the other attendees, a staffer at the Peace Center who's a regular attendee of these meetings.   

"Yea here you go Mina," Darcy responds, pulling out her laptop, opening it flat and turning both halves into one big display. 

I pull up my saved feeds on my HUD and pull the one from when I was on the bridge back at Ferry. 

"HUD, project video to nearby screen" I command. 

As the video of me seeing that still unnamed man fall plays, I look away. I don't need to see what I keep having nightmares about in 8K. I look up to see how everyone else is reacting and every single face is frozen in abject horror and disbelief. They now know just like I do that our world has changed forever. 

As the video closes itself, I turn off my HUD and wait for their reactions. We sit in silence for maybe 10 seconds until Darcy speaks up.  

"Mina....what are we supposed to do with this? Like...if this is the tech the cops and feds have, we're thru." 

"Yea this is some shit" Kenneth adds in. The others around the table worryingly nod along with Kenneth. I guess this is the part where I offer a solution. 

"We need that tech." I flatly blurt out. 

"Wait what!?" Lilly immediately asks. "Why do we NEED it? What you trying to do with it? We're not killing cops. Nope."  

Welp, that just pisses me right off. I try and hold it together, but I can't keep up the mask for this one. 

"Lilly, why would you make the assumption that I was suggesting we kill cops? I specifically said that 'we need that tech', that was all. You know as well as I do that this escalation by the government is a point of no return in terms of escalation of violence. You just watched someone burn a hole in a man's chest with the wave of their hand. There is a whole group of them and presumably they have the ability to make more devices and train more operators. What do you think they could do to a car? Or a tank? Or a plane if they can aim their fireballs well enough? Now what you think they'll do to us the next time the Black Bloc shows up to bust up a bank window? Instead of pre-policing the 'Angry Black Woman' please consider the actual issue at hand." My heart is racing as I do everything in my power to not jump across the table as I'm saying this. 

"Ooooooook y'all! Ok...Mina you made your point. Lilly you jumped the gun a bit." Darcy interjects as Lilly stares at me scared while I look back with my unmasked deadpan resting face. 

"But Lilly um kinda has a point. What are we gonna do with this tech if we get our hands on it Mina? While this group is here to consider all proposal we all know where this ends. Are you really trying to go there?" Kenneth asks me. The table sits in silence as they look to me to answer.   

"Well..." I stamper out. I'm suddenly feeling very unsure of telling the rest cause there's alot of if's and maybe's involved.   

"Ok. So at Juneteenth, I was near the front when the terrorist attacked the cops. He had the same type of device on his arm. I think it was a false flag operation to justify the deployment of this tech. I want to get my hands on it and somehow prove that it can also do the earthquake thing. We can expose them, and maybe someone will do something about it." I take a big breath as I finish. 

The other look at each other as if they're trying to predict what the others want to do. Most of the time these meetings end when we come to a consensus about the issue. It's gonna depend on them believing me and wanting to risk it all on exposing a government plot, as they say in the movies, at the highest levels. 

"Mina..." Kenneth starts. I know what he's about it say. As a historian I believe deeply in humans being creatures of habit and White Leftists habits have changed little in more than a century. 

"We can't do this. It'll put too many people in danger and escalate the violence in ways we can't control. Not to mention you're asking us to do this based on something you think you saw during a terrorist attack." Kenneth stops talking for a minute, studying my face for a reaction. 

"You mean put too many White people in danger since the trouble isn't currently happening in your community," Darcy interjects. Wow I wouldn't have taken Darcy for the person to call them out. I thought I was going to have to do it myself. 

Kenneth stutters a bit, "No that's not what I was saying. I was thinking about the Black folks too."  

"First of all, we're Cootas, not Black. Second of all Cootas are already getting killed, harassed, and detained by DHIS agents. We don't have the option to avoid escalating things. And third, I'm sure about what I saw." I notice out of the corner of my eye that my raised voice is getting the attention of a few people sitting nearby. 

"Yea I have to agree with Amina about all of this. If we're supposedly about the struggle we can't ignore this or ignore her community. Clearly y'all not gonna take this to your organizations so-" Darcy is suddenly cut off by Kenneth.   

"Listen, nobody is saying to abandon Cootas to the DHIS. What I am saying is that this is too risky, especially with so many unknowns. Honestly Amina, maybe you got sensory overload during the attack and misremembered." Kenneth turns his chair towards me, likely to add another wallop of ableism onto the cake. "I think you are being driven by your emotions, not what's best for everyone. We gotta be mature and measured about these things." 

Instantly I jump up from my chair, knocking it over, and stand right in front of Kenneth. 

"I came to y'all in good faith hoping y'all would see what is about to happen, and for once, try and get in front of it instead of watching the fascists accumulate enough power to snuff the Left out, AGAIN! But no y'all rather hide to not have them come for you, and leave us to struggle against this on our own. And you think I would risk all this if I wasn't sure about what I saw. How fucking dare you use my autism as an excuse to be a coward. Whatever, I'm done. I'll find a way to protect my people and expose this lie on my own." I turn to storm out of the place only to see the rest of the coffee shop staring at me. Hope they enjoyed the show. 

"Amina, wait." Lilly says. "Do what you feel you need to do, we won't snitch. Be safe." 

I stop my walk and barely turn my head back trying to suppress the boiling rage in my chest.  

"I don't need you permission and the only reason you're actually gonna keep quiet is so you don't get implicated yourselves. Also Darcy, while I appreciate your support earlier, if you really wanna help go tell your people anyways." I know as progressive as she is, she won't run into the fight with me without the others onboard. But maybe she'll surprise me. I storm out of the coffee shop. 

Standing outside in downtown Buffalo, I look around at the polished sidewalks, business people talking on their luxury HUDs, modern street lights, and high end restaurants. They're living in the future, with a future to look forward to. Our people in Cheektowaga and every other hood only has boots on our face to look forward to, like it's always been. The thought sends my already overwhelmed self over the edge. I slump down on the ground against the side of the building and just stare up at the passing clouds as I put my earbuds in. 

Before I zone out so I can recollect myself, let me take care of one thing. 

"HUD, text Terrance" 

Call your boys. We're doing this on our own. 

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