think I’ve spotted the suspect. He’s north of the fountain about ten feet away from my position. I need confirmation.” The soldier paused. “Affirmative. Suspect confirmed. How should I proceed?”
The soldier walked over to his counterpart. “I’ve spotted the suspect, two o’clock. They don’t want us to do anything with all these people present. For now, they just want us to keep an eye on him. If he causes any disruptions, we’ll take him into custody, and if he leaves the premises, you need to tail him. Once you’re clear of the crowd, you should grab him.”
Thomas stared at the ground, struggling to hear every word. Were they talking about the homeless man? He wasn’t sure. What could the military possibly suspect him of doing?
Finally, the village president walked out of the building and onto the stage. He put his hands up to silence the applause even though there was none. A group of people—several men, two women, and a teenage girl with pink hair—trailed behind him.
The village president stepped up to the microphone and began to speak. “I would like to thank all of you for coming out today. We appreciate your cooperation and hope to have all of our residents tagged and accounted for within the next several days, so we can return to the business of living.”
“What about the missing?” yelled a random voice.
The village president ignored the question and continued, “I’m sure all of you have heard the president’s speech by now. If not, you can still catch it on any TV network or radio station. It will run continuously for the next 48 hours. In his speech, the president explained our current situation and what he expects all of us to do to help facilitate our recovery. Our government believes that the Tagging Mandate will be the answer to our troubles, and the Village of LaGrange agrees.
“Today, we are lucky to have the architect of the Tagging Mandate in attendance. He will further explain this process, and hopefully, put your minds at ease. Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome the Secretary of Homeland Security, Mr. Daniel Grimshaw, and his lovely wife, Lilith.”
The village president began to clap and backed away from the microphone to make room for Mr. and Mrs. Grimshaw. The audience remained silent.
As the secretary of homeland security stepped forward, Thomas had a strange sense of deja vu. Was Mr. Grimshaw the man from his dream? Thomas had to laugh to himself. He didn’t realize that he even knew who the secretary of homeland security was. He must have read an article about this guy or saw him on TV and filed it away without knowing it.
The microphone squealed as Grimshaw began to speak. “You are probably wondering why the secretary of homeland security would come to a little town like LaGrange. Why not Chicago or Springfield? Well, my wife has the pleasure of calling LaGrange her hometown. She was born and raised here and still has family and friends here. I’ve been listening to stories about LaGrange since the day we first met. So I thought that this would be the perfect town to kick-off the tagging process.
“As you just heard, I am the architect of the Tagging Mandate. As the secretary of homeland security, I must predict future national-security issues and find possible remedies for those issues before the need arises. The Tagging Mandate has been in my files for several years, and although it is unfortunate to be in a situation requiring such a mandate, I am pleased that we are prepared.
“My lovely wife, Lilith, is the first American to receive her tag. Hold your hand up, Lil.”
A petite woman with short red hair pulled her sleeve back and held her right hand up above her head. Rotating her hand from left to right, she proudly displayed her tag. Although Thomas found the woman attractive, she looked much older than her husband looked.
Mr. Grimshaw continued, “As you can see, it is nothing more than a two-inch barcode. We will take your Social
The soldier walked over to his counterpart. “I’ve spotted the suspect, two o’clock. They don’t want us to do anything with all these people present. For now, they just want us to keep an eye on him. If he causes any disruptions, we’ll take him into custody, and if he leaves the premises, you need to tail him. Once you’re clear of the crowd, you should grab him.”
Thomas stared at the ground, struggling to hear every word. Were they talking about the homeless man? He wasn’t sure. What could the military possibly suspect him of doing?
Finally, the village president walked out of the building and onto the stage. He put his hands up to silence the applause even though there was none. A group of people—several men, two women, and a teenage girl with pink hair—trailed behind him.
The village president stepped up to the microphone and began to speak. “I would like to thank all of you for coming out today. We appreciate your cooperation and hope to have all of our residents tagged and accounted for within the next several days, so we can return to the business of living.”
“What about the missing?” yelled a random voice.
The village president ignored the question and continued, “I’m sure all of you have heard the president’s speech by now. If not, you can still catch it on any TV network or radio station. It will run continuously for the next 48 hours. In his speech, the president explained our current situation and what he expects all of us to do to help facilitate our recovery. Our government believes that the Tagging Mandate will be the answer to our troubles, and the Village of LaGrange agrees.
“Today, we are lucky to have the architect of the Tagging Mandate in attendance. He will further explain this process, and hopefully, put your minds at ease. Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome the Secretary of Homeland Security, Mr. Daniel Grimshaw, and his lovely wife, Lilith.”
The village president began to clap and backed away from the microphone to make room for Mr. and Mrs. Grimshaw. The audience remained silent.
As the secretary of homeland security stepped forward, Thomas had a strange sense of deja vu. Was Mr. Grimshaw the man from his dream? Thomas had to laugh to himself. He didn’t realize that he even knew who the secretary of homeland security was. He must have read an article about this guy or saw him on TV and filed it away without knowing it.
The microphone squealed as Grimshaw began to speak. “You are probably wondering why the secretary of homeland security would come to a little town like LaGrange. Why not Chicago or Springfield? Well, my wife has the pleasure of calling LaGrange her hometown. She was born and raised here and still has family and friends here. I’ve been listening to stories about LaGrange since the day we first met. So I thought that this would be the perfect town to kick-off the tagging process.
“As you just heard, I am the architect of the Tagging Mandate. As the secretary of homeland security, I must predict future national-security issues and find possible remedies for those issues before the need arises. The Tagging Mandate has been in my files for several years, and although it is unfortunate to be in a situation requiring such a mandate, I am pleased that we are prepared.
“My lovely wife, Lilith, is the first American to receive her tag. Hold your hand up, Lil.”
A petite woman with short red hair pulled her sleeve back and held her right hand up above her head. Rotating her hand from left to right, she proudly displayed her tag. Although Thomas found the woman attractive, she looked much older than her husband looked.
Mr. Grimshaw continued, “As you can see, it is nothing more than a two-inch barcode. We will take your Social
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