Homefront: A Story of the Future Collapse Read online

  Homefront

  By: Matthew Gilman

  Copyright © 2016 Matthew Gilman

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN: 1533175691

  ISBN-13: 978-1533175694

  For those that are serving and have served,

  at home and abroad.

  Acknowledgements

  This book was made possible by a short list of people who were invaluable to the process. First I would like to thank Benjamin Peterson for his technical support on the military aspect of this novel. Being able to point out things that “just wouldn’t happen” helped with the realistic aspect of this piece of fiction. Next I would like to thank Sarah Pagels for general editing and taking the photo of the cover when my phone was dead. Finally, I would like to thank Kevin Tibbs of Tibbs Brewing Company for providing a place to work and the release party. For anybody that was left out, I apologize. Don’t think you were forgotten.

  Year 1

  Chapter 1

  Beijing was not the city he thought it was going to be. Vice President Miller waited in his hotel room for the meeting to start with the President of China. The curtains remained closed in fear of snipers. The secret service constantly reminded Miller of the dangers he never thought of. The smog outside wasn’t a concern since the five-star hotel installed filters in the air conditioners feeding fresh air to their obscenely rich patrons.

  Miller went over the papers he had brought and tried to find the best way of convincing the Chinese not to dump their U.S. bonds. They already had sold most of them back to the federal reserve at a loss of their initial value. The move was putting pressure on the Federal government to find a way to fight back the inflation it was creating. Without the interest being paid back on that money the Federal Reserve was printing more in order to make up the difference and not go bankrupt. Many of the major corporations that had enjoyed the tax breaks created since the 1980’s had left the United States before their days of a federally run corporate welfare system was over. The only people left were the former middle class and the poor that were being forgotten about. Miller contemplated his task and felt it was a lost cause. The poor choices that were made by previous administrations were now seeing their full effects taking place and their consequences were not good. A select few profited and left before the party was over.

  A knock came from the door and one of the Secret Service men walked in.

  “Sir, the president says that he is ready to see you now.” The Secret Serviceman said.

  “Alright,” Miller said, placing his papers in a briefcase and locking it shut.

  Miller made his way down the hall surrounded by his guards. They took the private elevator down to the ground floor and left the hotel through the back entrance straight to the limo waiting for him. The convoy drove through Beijing to a convention center where he would meet with the President. The financial future of his country was at stake and things were not looking good.

  Miller was rushed into the building where they were greeted by armed guards. Chinese soldiers with AK-47s slung over their shoulders opened the doors and stared at the Secret Service men as they went into the building.

  A middle aged Chinese man with jet black hair combed to the side greeted Miller with a hand shake.

  “Welcome Vice President, President Jinping will see you now. Follow me please,” the middle aged man said.

  Miller’s cell phone vibrated in his pocket and he pressed the button on the side to silence it. He followed the man with his guards close behind. Tall wooden French doors revealed a very western decorated office with an oak desk and the President of China standing behind it.

  Next to the desk was a translator, a Chinese woman, very young and attractive. Miller suspected she was handpicked by the President for her looks.

  “Greetings Vice President Miller,” the translator said. She lowered her hand pointing it at the chair for him to sit in. Miller bowed to the President showing his respect for the leader of this land. The Secret Service men stayed in the hall while the doors closed behind him. Miller’s cell phone buzzed again and he pressed the button to silence it so he could focus on the task at hand.

  Jinping appeared to be very relaxed, if not cheery considering the subject of their meeting. It could be from the obvious advantage he held over the Vice President.

  “Mr. President thank you for seeing me.” Miller started out.

  The translator spoke in Mandarin to the President and he nodded his head in response.

  “As you know we value our relationship with your country. We have been allies since before World War II and we hope to continue our relationship into the foreseeable future with our economic policies.”

  “We understand that your country desires to become one of the leading world powers on the globe and we would like to be an ally in that endeavor. With our two countries working together we can be at the forefront of the world policies and change the structure of things into a new world order.”

  The President didn’t appear to be listening. Miller waited to see if he had a reply to what was said. The fact that the President was playing with a pen and tapping it against his leg told Miller that the man didn’t really care about what was being said. The translator finished talking and the President tossed his pen on the desk. He started to laugh. The translator started to laugh as well. Miller couldn’t tell if she was simply doing her job too well or if they really thought what he had said was a joke.

  Then the President spoke, followed by his translator.

  “Mr. Vice President,” Miller knew the President didn’t say this since he took a few courses in Mandarin and Jinping never spoke the words. “Our country has no use for helping the western cause. We have sat back and watched your capitalism create your own road to self-destruction. We have built your factories, polluted our lands and enslaved our people for your cause. Our own people have lost our values and lowered themselves to be like you. Our true allies who realize this same truth have been helping us to ensure that the destruction of your land happens sooner than later. What we didn’t suspect was that you would implode on yourselves as you did an hour ago.”

  The President picked up his remote control on the desk and pointed it at the flat screen television on the wall. A Chinese broadcaster spoke in Mandarin to the camera but a few words still held meaning to Miller. “Washington” and “Nuclear” were still spoken in English. Miller didn’t know if this was some kind of ploy, but then noticed that his phone was buzzing again. He finally pulled it out and looked at the screen. It was a message for him to abandon the meeting and that the country was under attack. His eyes widened.

  “We had the radio band for your Secret Service blocked from incoming calls. The only one we could not block was your cell phone that has a unique system to keep us from hacking it. Very impressive,” the translator said.

  “What do you want?” Miller said.

  Shots rang out in the halls. Miller stood up as he heard the rifle fire of AK-47s and the return fire from the pistols of his men that fell silent in seconds.

  “It is simple what we want. The last century should have been a Chinese century. Instead you forced your way of life on others and in the process destroyed resources, life styles, and the future of the planet on this quest.”

  “The next hundred years will be a Chinese century. One that makes a model for the civilizations of the future. Your dominance of the planet is over. From now on you will suffer the consequences of your actions and see how the rest of the world has survived while you raped and pillaged through your policies and lawyers.”

  Miller remained standing. His arms resting to their sides, unsure what to do.


  “You nuked Washington?” Miller asked.

  “No, from what we can tell, you did,” the translator replied.

  Miller didn’t know what to say. He thought about Isis and Al Qaeda. The Iranians were something that he had ignored the previous years. Then thought about some of the anti-government militia groups that hadn’t posed a threat since the Oklahoma City bombing. At the moment he had no clue who bombed Washington. In his mind the Chinese were still on the list since he had no reason to trust them.

  “At the moment, our intelligence indicates that your President, the majority of Congress, the Senate, and 90 percent of the population of Washington D.C. are dead,” the translator said. Miller remembered the budget meeting that was to take place. The time zone had him confused on when it was to take place.

  “You are the next in line for President and since you are now the leader of the free world it is the responsibility of the Chinese government to make sure you are protected and taken care of you until your country recovers from this tragedy.”

  “You’re locking me away?” Miller asked.

  “It is for your own protection.”

  Miller thought about the Chinese appointed Dali Lama and how he worked as a pawn for the state.

  “I’m an American. We don’t negotiate,” Miller said.

  “What you were doing here today wasn’t negotiation? You came here trying to make a deal with me to bail out your bankrupt country. Now you sit here and say you don’t negotiate. You are going to be the President of the United States. In exile, but still the President of the largest former world power in the world. No election, no catering to corporations, and rich people with their own interest at heart. You are now the President of the United States until you return home with the help of your Chinese allies.”

  “I want to return home now,” Miller demanded.

  “You will stay, as our guest. Do what we say or we will broadcast on world television that you have committed suicide in distress over what had happened in your country.”

  “You would kill me?” Miller asked.

  “No, you would kill yourself. There is a difference.”

  Miller leaned over looking Jinping in the eyes.

  “You don’t have a soul.” Miller stated.

  Jinping responded in English.

  “Now we understand each other.”

  Miller was taken out of Jinping’s office and taken to his secure apartment for his “visit.” In the hallway the bodies of his dead body guards still lay in pools of their blood. The Kevlar vest did little to stop the rifle rounds that punched through, or the rounds that hit the head and lower abdomen.

  Military officials flooded into President Jinping’s office awaiting the next order. They had been briefed on the capture of the American capitalist vice president. Smiles were hidden behind stoic faces.

  “Sir, what is our next move?” one of the generals asked.

  “What plans do we have on the table? We have waited for this day since Chairman Mao came into power. The last century should have been ours. How can we guarantee that the next thousand years is a Chinese world?” Jinping looked around the room and waited to see what options he would be presented with.

  “Nuke them,” an older general stated. “Hit the west and east coast. Eliminate the population and make sure they are unable to retaliate.”

  Jingpin remained silent.

  “Send troops,” a thinner man with a mustache said. “Take the ports, drop paratroopers into the military bases, and secure the land. Use the population as slave labor to build our country.”

  Jinping shook his head.

  “Destroy them from the inside out.” The man speaking wasn’t dressed in a uniform. The pin striped suit set him apart from the rest of the room. The military officials didn’t recognize him. The fact he was there told them he held a position of power, however outside of the military.

  “Go on,” Jinping said relaxing back in his seat.

  The man in the suit stepped forward and had the group’s attention.

  “Back in the 70’s we put together several plans in case something like this happened. When Kissinger came here and negotiated open trade, a door was opened for us to take advantage of their greed. Operation Sleeping Dragon was created then and set into motion a few years ago…” the man in the suit was interrupted.

  “Why have we never heard of this?” the older general asked with a frustrated voice.

  “On the east coast of the United States is a city built, owned, and populated by loyal Chinese. It is isolated in the Catskill mountains and completely self-sufficient. We have plans for other sites around the country. However, the country imploded on itself before we could do that. What we have to do now is move to the next step of Operation Sleeping Dragon before the country is able to pull itself back together.”

  “What is the next step?” the thinner general asked.

  “Wipe out the power grid. We will start with hackers to make it appear it’s part of the social collapse. Then use an EMP over the main land to wipe out all electronics.”

  “Then we go in?” the older general asked eager to start moving troops.

  “No, we wait. Without electricity the population will drop at a fast rate. No food or water will be moved in the cities. Medical facilities won’t run. Crops cannot be harvested. Houses are not heated during the winter. The entire country fails to operate. All we have to do is wait.”

  “How long?” Jinping asked.

  “Our studies estimate 3 years for a population drop of 90% or more. Instead of 300 million people to fight there will be less than 30 million spread around the country. We have over a billion here.”

  The room was silent for a few seconds before Jinping leaned forward and set his hands on the desk.

  “Here is what we are going to do. As of right now we are fully invested in Operation Sleeping Dragon.”

  “We should move now!” the older general said.

  “Patience is our greatest asset. We will have the hackers start working on the power grid. Get a missile ready for the EMP attack and make it look like we are putting another satellite into orbit. I want it ready in a week. Start training troops for occupation and building boats for transport over the pacific. You know what your jobs are, get to work.” Jinping looked at the men around him.

  The men saluted him and started to exit the room.

  “And if anyone here diverts from the plan thinking they know better, I will have them dragged out into the street and shot. Their property will be confiscated and their family will be forced into labor camps or whore houses. Are we clear?” That message was for one man in the group. The message had been heard.

  For the next three years Miller would be a public figure working for the Chinese state as part of their propaganda program. He publicly pleaded for help on providing aid to the United States. Behind the scenes, China told other countries through unofficial channels to not aid the Americans in any way. China was now the supreme world power with nuclear weapons, the largest stockpile of wealth on the planet, and millions in their standing army.

  On world television, Miller read from the scripts that were handed to him and told not to divert from the message written. He had his own personal staff to groom him and pamper him while he was under the “protection” of the Chinese government. He would arrive in front of cameras, clean shaven, a little thinner than he was before. His suit was up to date with the latest fashions. As a reward he would be sent the best food in China. He had limited restricted access to the internet, a full gym, a cook, a massage therapist, and when he did exceptionally well on television the highest paid call girls in Beijing. The only exception was that he was not allowed to leave the penthouse of the hotel or try to escape.

  Telling himself that things weren’t all bad was a game he played in his mind. He wanted to be home, to see his family in Cape Cod and know they were alive. The footage that he was shown of what was happening back in the states was faked and filmed in China. He knew the di
fference. For some reason the fact that many of the actors in the footage were Asian men and women wearing wigs and makeup didn’t catch the attention of the public. Images of cannibalism, massacres and starvation spread over social media. While the world watched the propaganda, Miller was left wondering what was really going on back at home. Were things really that bad? Washington was nuked, but how could things descend so fast? There were back up plans in place. The power should still be up. There were state and local governments. What had happened that the United States was no longer able to contact the outside world?

  Three years after the Day, Miller finished his massage from the short and beautiful Ming. He didn’t think that was her real name and didn’t care. She laid on the massage table while he gripped her thighs in his hands. This was the first time he had taken advantage of her willingness to serve. She had pleasured him with her tiny hands before, but he felt guilty about it afterwards. Miller was also afraid that he was being watched at all times and recorded as a part of later blackmail. He didn’t care tonight. He pounded into the petite Chinese girl until he released inside her. She hollered out in pleasure trying to make him feel satisfied.

  Walking away from her, he told her she could leave when she wanted and that he was going to take a shower. She gave him praises for using her body how he pleased and entered the bathroom wondering if she received a bonus for him screwing her. She had received extra money before when she pleasured him in the past.

  Closing the door Miller looked at all the items he purposely planted in the room beforehand. His clothes rest on the cabinet. A chair next to the door that he planted out of range from the camera. In the bathroom, he started the shower and let the fog grow. He brushed his teeth and shaved as the fog filled the room and covered the lens of the camera he knew was there. From outside the room he heard the girl leave and shut the door. He was alone. He finished shaving and cleaned the sink. The steam was heavy and he turned off the hot water. He knew he had enough time to finish his task. He removed the belt from his pants and looped it through the buckle. The opposite end he tied to the shower head and looked at the noose dangling. He walked to the door of the room and brought the chair in. Closing the door, he propped the back of the chair against the door knob securing it from the outside. It wouldn’t last forever, but long enough.