Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 122609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 613(@200wpm)___ 490(@250wpm)___ 409(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 613(@200wpm)___ 490(@250wpm)___ 409(@300wpm)
“Bannon has cost us men! Had them killed. He has cost us money. He has cost us time. You say you care about the company, but actions speak louder than words. You made an alliance with a maniac whose doctor’s license should have been revoked, but he always manages to slip and slide away from prosecution. He is congenial with far too many politicians. He has his grubby hands in all sorts of cookie jars, all to make a buck from the suffering of others. He’s not a smuggler because he believes in it, like you and me… thinking we’re being overtaxed, and people are bleeding financially due to this greedy ass government of ours. He’s doing it because it’s a big money maker, and he wants in. He was born rich, unlike me and you, and he wants the power and prestige of always havin’ more cash than his neighbor. You and I were supposed to be fightin’ for the workin’ man. The guy that the elite in this country shit on. The one that keeps the lights on, the wars fought, the toilets flushing, the trucks driven, the warehouses up and running, the cement mixed, the cars fixed, the children taught to read and write, the computers blinking, the clothes sewn, the nursing homes clean, the theaters bright, the dinners served—the poor, lower and middle-class, blue-collar man and woman just tryna fucking make it!
“Like my dad!” His voice trembled as he fell apart, his heart breaking. “That’s why these damn politicians are now on a campaign to dumb down society, and keep a large poor base to work for them. Keep forcin’ people to be born into poverty, keep that labor market booming, ignorant, full of hate, and blind to the truth – that we’re all being played. The more education someone has, the more money they can make, the more shit they don’t have to take from folks, and they’ll start to question authority!
“They’ll start at the bottom, but won’t stay there. They’ll want more for themselves. This country will fall to fucking pieces if there are too many people asking legitimate questions and demanding answers. Too many poor people making too much new money. Workin’ for themselves, instead of others. Too many people no longer accepting shit that we know deep down doesn’t sound or feel right. Doesn’t make any sense. Keep people asleep, right? Keep them fightin’ for knowledge… keep them fightin’ each other over skin color, religion, gender, politics, sexual orientations… A bunch of bullshit to encourage us to slice the throats of people that would fight on the frontline with us, side by side. The plan is to keep the sheep distracted, while they gleefully fuck up their entire lives! Tell the sheep to beware of the wolf, when the wolf is right there amongst them, pretending to be the shepherd! Play in their gotdamn faces! You and me talked about this shit for years. We wanted it to stop. We donated to the less fortunate. Libraries. Prisons. Hospitals. We tried to make a difference. You and me. I thought we were on the same page, Billy.”
“We were. We are.”
“No, we’re not, Billy. Far from it, and here’s something you may want to know, motherfucker. After you gave Bannon that sample of the routes, which I already explained were wrong, he was going to have you killed after he squeezed you dry for all the information he could get from you. But since you’ve become a liability, he was going to make sure that I knew he was behind it. That’s the sick fucker you’ve been playin’ footsy with. I have it all on record. He doesn’t trust you, you sniveling, silly bastard. I’ve been your one and only true friend for years. I might not be worth a damn, Billy, but a friend? I’m really good at that shit. You’ve lost me. Forever.” Billy’s eyes glossed over. “In Bannon’s world, if a man’s right hand turns on him, then that right hand can’t be trusted by him, either. That’s the one thing Bannon and I agree on.”
“Archer… I’m sorry, man! I can make this right.”
“Irish!”
Billy’s head jerked to the right upon hearing footsteps coming up the first-floor hallway. Out of the darkness appeared Archer’s sister. Dressed in overalls with a bralette beneath it. Her black hair was parted down the middle and braided in two long pigtails.
“Hi, Billy!” She giggled and waved. “Long time no see. I just got my new veneers. Aren’t they nice? Or do you think they make me look like a Teenage Ninja turtle? Kinda big, huh? Just like this arrow I’m gonna put in your ass. You tried to sell my brother to the devil. I’m giving you a one way ticket to hell.”
The color drained from the asshole’s face. He dropped his cigarette as Irish ran her hand along the bow and arrow strapped along her shoulder.