Chapter 15: Oval Office Confrontation

Continuation of Chapter 14.

"Well that was easy," Second said matter-of-factly.

However, all of us were taken by surprise as a shot rang out, echoing throughout the conference room. Second quickly recoiled with a scream of agony as held his profusely-bleeding abdomen. He collapsed onto the floor as the rest of us quickly rushed over to him.

"Second! What happened?!" I asked worriedly.

"There must have been a part of his armor that was slightly weaker than the rest!" Xavier replied. "Quick, Second! Just hold on!"

It was then that we heard a sinister chuckle from behind us. Looking back, I immediately spotted GG holding his rifle as he lay on the floor with his head slightly craned up. A weak grin was plastered across his face, which was slightly bruised from my attack. I didn't hesitate to kick the gun out of his reach before kicking him harshly in the face. Not even that could wipe the smug look off his face.

"Guys, guys, please!" Second said, panting. "Just... g-go on without me!"

"He has a point. We'd better get a move on, lest our target tries to escape his fate," Xavier replied.

With that, we all headed for the exit. I was the second to last one to leave, looking back at the two incapacitated men behind us. Tequila started to come out after me, before she was taken by surprise.

"Y'know, Tequila?" Garbanzo asked weakly. "You... you've got a... really nice... a*s... you always have- Oof!"

With that, she harshly stomped on his face, knocking him unconscious, causing even more blood to gush onto the floor, and likely breaking his skull in multiple places as well. The three of us continued onwards without Second, until we finally arrived in the curved hallway that surrounded the Oval Office, which was curiously empty.

"Are you guys ready for this?" I asked my two remaining comrades.

"If that scumbag thinks he can just ignore us, then he's got another thing coming," Tequila replied with determination.

"Quite right." Xavier nodded.

Following the confirmation, I didn't hesitate to kick open the door and ready my rifle, only to be met with the sight of four guards aiming their guns directly at me. President Gonzalez was standing behind his desk with his arms behind his back. He maintained a calm facial expression, almost as though he expected our arrival.

"Hmmm, well if it isn't Jasper Collins. The critically acclaimed leader of the 'Looks Don't Matter' movement, a movement which is led by four idiots from the Tide Pod generation," he greeted me condescendingly. "I take it you're here to make Mommy proud? Well I'm afraid it's too late for that. She is dead after all. And why might that be, huh?"

I simply glared back at him, fearing that reacting any more strongly would result in me getting shot.

"And I see you made it here alone too. I must commend you on your persistence," Gonzalez continued.

At that, I looked around to find that none of my friends were at my side.

Where'd they go? I asked myself.

"That's not important, Mr. President. Step down now, and there'll be no trouble," I said sternly.

"Heh, you really want me, the best president in American history, to resign so soon? In spite of all the good I have done for this country?" Gonzalez asked condescendingly, strutting out from behind his desk. "Most presidents simply try to cater to their own party, giving them that they want. But Istrove to cater to everyone, even all the little snowflakes out there!"

"Well yeah, that's true, but-" I chimed in.

"Silence! Poverty and unemployment are down to zero. The economy and stock market are the highest they've ever been. Both men and women receive equal treatment and income, and the latter can do what they want with their bodies," Gonzalez cut me off. "The LGBTQ+ community has the full rights it deserves. I've brought mass shootings down to zero, and I did it without even touching the Second Amendment."

As he moved around his office, his gaze remained locked on me, as did the gazes of his guards. Even so, I couldn't help but notice the side doors behind all of them slowly and silently open. Tequila and Xavier each entered through a door and began to sneak along the edges of the room.

"Obesity rates and opioid usage are down to almost nothing. Marijuana and prostitution have been legalized. Racially-charged police shootings? Thing of the past. Terrorism is almost non-existent. I've raised wages and lowered taxes. We've got universal healthcare, as well as paid maternity and paternity leave. We're not involved in any wars with other countries. Our fuel emissions are down, and we're taking steps to better the environment," Gonzalez continued. "Illegal immigration is down to zero, and I made that happen without building a single wall. Tell me it's not refreshing to be able to see over that border for the first time in so many years!"

I watched my friends use chloroform on each guard they came across, before they quietly stood on either side of me. I wanted to smile now that I knew they were with me, but I restrained myself.

"I may not be the president that the people wanted, but I'm the one they need! I haven't just made America great again. I've actually made it the best it's ever been," Gonzalez concluded.

"Well... yeah, you have. But at what cost?" I countered.

"I'll tell you what cost!" Tequila chimed in. "Every single person in this country is forced into pre-chosen industries and social classes with arbitrary limits on their salaries, and it's all dictated by the way they look! That doesn't sound like a 'great' America to me!"

"Well hey, at least it ensures that everyone gets a job. You should just be grateful that I'm not discriminating by skin color. And now that I've got the government at my command and changed this country for the better, I plan to set out and make the whole world great again!" Gonzalez cackled sinisterly.

"You are so full of s**t, you know that?" Xavier snarled. "Come to think of it, what compelled you to think up such an odd concept for laws anyway?"

"Well ever since I was a child, I've had this incredible fascination for those paint-by-number kits. Or maybe an obsession," Gonzalez explained, panning his hands in the direction of the walls.

Only now did I notice the numerous paintings all over his office, depicting various people and landscapes, and even a self-portrait.

"I was just so mesmerized by the act of confining certain colors to certain areas. And so as I grew up, I wondered: what if I could make it so all of society functioned this way?" he continued. "But the only way to do that would be to run for president, and now here I am."

"Really? That's it?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What, were you expecting some deep, tragic backstory? Of course that's all," Gonzalez replied.

"Wow, that's... twisted, but... not as complicated as I thought," I replied.

"Regardless, these laws are awful. The people hate them, and the only reason the lawmakers supported them is because you forced them to," Tequila said. "So I suggest you step down so we can have the America we deserve."

"So are you telling me that you'd rather have the country regress to the way it was in the 2010s?!" Gonzalez asked in disbelief. "You want discrimination against gays and transgenders?! You want mass shootings on a near-monthly basis?! You want a majority of the country to be fat?!"

"Society may not have been perfect back then, but at least we were free to choose our own path in life, which is the complete opposite of the hell you've turned America into during your s**t-show of a presidency!" I countered.

Gonzalez simply chuckled and shrugged.

"Clearly you folks are utterly deluded by your own selfish values, even to the point of trying to undermine the commander in chief himself," he taunted, adopting a menacing grin as he pulled a revolver out of his sport-coat. "So how about I put you all out of your misery? I bet you're just...dying to see your mother again! What do you say, hmm?"

Thinking fast, I quickly rummaged through my pockets so I could reload my gun, with the first thing I found being one of the bloodied bullets I'd been given. With no time to keep digging, I fired it at the president, knocking the gun out of his hand, before lowering my free hand and snapping my fingers.

"Jasper, what are you doing?!" Tequila asked.

"The can!" I shouted. "Hurry!"

"O-Oh yeah, yeah. Hold on!" Tequila replied.

I kept staring at Gonzalez, who was still visibly stunned from having been disarmed. I heard the can shaking behind me, before I instinctively readied my arms to let it roll along them. As soon as it was launched forwards, I loaded the second bullet into my pistol and shot at the can while I still could. Those two bullets had been responsible for the death of my mother, and now they were about to be used against the very man who originally fired them.

As expected, it exploded, sending a mist of soda and several shards of aluminum flying outward. When the mist cleared, Gonzalez was revealed to have his face splattered in soda, while the bullet and several aluminum shards were embedded in his profusely bleeding torso. A mixture of blood and soda was spilling onto the carpet.

"Told you that move would come in handy!" I sneered at Tequila, before hurrying up to my victim.

I ran up to him and punched him hard enough to send him reeling back into the wall, before I grabbed him by the throat, maintaining the strongest grip I could muster. In spite of his immense pain, he kept laughing maniacally and hysterically, his eyes so wide they were almost bulging out of his face. I started to repeatedly punch said face, but no matter how many times I did so, he kept cackling. I allowed him to laugh for another thirty seconds or so, before I finally let my anger overcome me and jerked his head to the side, effectively breaking his neck.

That was enough to silence him. I harshly dropped him to the ground and examined his remains. I felt a brief pang of satisfaction as I watched more blood leak out of his mouth and his eyes glaze over as the life left them. I stood there panting for another minute, before another wave of rage washed over me. I took out my pistol and on pure impulse, I began to fire rapidly on his corpse. I emptied all my spare magazines into him, before following suit with my rifle.

By the time I'd fired the last bullet that was on my person, I could barely recognize the former president. Both Tequila and Xavier stepped up to hold me back from doing anything more, allowing me time to calm down. I limply dropped to my knees and panted.

"Jasper! Buddy! Control yourself!" Xavier said worriedly.

"Are you okay?" Tequila asked.

"We've done it..." I said breathlessly. "We're... saved!"