NOVEL WEB Chapter 218: Let's see.
"It's time." The secretary said as he opened the door, and everybody just looked at each other because all of them knew that the country's future is in their hands, and if it goes in the wrong direction, then they fucked up so much that the only remaining choice is to deploy the military, something that was not even on their mind for the last years.
"Good." William said as he stood up and just looked at the others. "I'm going to start the speech with the declaration of the national emergency, and after that, Linda, Benjamin, Thomas, and Stephen, this is how we're going to build up the system and show the people we care and we will finally fight back."
As he said it, Linda just got more frustrated and stressed about it because she is the second after the president himself, which means she needs to deliver her speech in a way to grab the people's attention even more. But it also meant that she is more powerful than people ever thought she would be.
Usually, it's not the Justice Minister nor the directors of the agencies who speak if a national emergency is declared, but in this situation and in this system, it was different and well, the corruption played a bigger role in it too. The president knew he could only choose them because he trusts them enough. They made a plan, after all, to work with a gangster, so in that way, people would see who are the real powerful and influential people in the government.
The Justice Minister, the IF, ISB, and NSBI directors and well, it made sense, they are the ones that are supposed to protect the country to the utmost, to fight against the corporations and inner workings, but well... they failed. Or moreover, they are now working on it because in the speeches were sections that were on another scale of corruption and, well, justice... they're going to silence a lot of people. Maybe too much.
"We need to go." The secretary said again, and William just steadied himself and grabbed his speech.
"Let's go and show them we are with them." He said, and with that, he stepped out of the door to the hallway that led to the back, where the park was, where the thousands were shouting still the same word, where the sniper and secret service were ready if something happens.
"It's bigger than we ever thought it would be, huh." Benjamin whispered to Linda, but she was still zoned out. "Linda, if you fuck this up, we're all fucked." Benjamin said again as he tapped her shoulder.
"Yeah…" She looked at him. "We're already fucked, Benjamin. Already." She said, and with that, they too stepped out to the hallway, going after the president with the weight on their shoulders that this is truly something big, something outrageous, and something that they never thought was going to happen.
Or maybe they did, because all of it was their fault to some extent. If they never connected with James and never tried to control him, to put him on a leash or the DTA, then it maybe would have happened. Maybe then Carter wouldn't die. Maybe the police never would have killed Rafael… yeah, if those things wouldn't have happened, they could still be living their calm life.
But that too would be a disaster, and all of them knew it. If nothing would have happened, the people maybe a year later would get fed up with all the bullshit, yeah, but now they just had a reason to crash out against them.
And it's only the capital right now… not even talking about the poorer regions. What happens if the people suddenly start to slowly march toward the capital from the most hidden towns and small cities?
If that happened, that would truly be a rebellion, not just a protest. That was the most important thing they feared and needed to stop.
Because those poor people have nothing to lose. They became martyrs with a smile on their faces, just how they die for James Bellini, yeah, for the Bellini family. They will side with them even more… and well, somebody was already working on something, or at least thinking of it.
"Isn't it the perfect moment?" Hector asked as he looked at James still staring at the TV.
"Perfect moment?" He asked back, and as he looked at Hector, he saw his eyes, he was thinking about something, something big.
"Yeah, like, even if they will control it, people are still going to riot a little, because if we think about it," he sat up, "almost five years in despair, the government did nothing, and now if they say pretty words that they stop corruption and maybe arrest some government members and politicians, it's not going to work like a magic spell… they fucked up the economy and everything. Yeah maybe it'll be a little better, but the mood of the people will stay how it is until something truly big happens."
"You speaking facts, Hector." Finn spoke now. "In short, whatever the president says, people will stay furious and will demand more, and the president will do exactly what they demand. So, in the meantime, during that, we can do our operation, start things, set up things, gather more people, especially now. The whole country will be looking at what the government does, while we can hide under the shadow, building our empire bigger."
"But to do something, we need the forest and the government to do the project." James said, because well, that was one of the best options. If something happens, the government will be the first one to get fucked, not them, and well, it will also be the government spending their own money.
"We can start it small to see what the plants prefer." Finn said again. "Like now we have Marco, Silas, and Isabelle's warehouses. Lucian had some too, and this is perfect, so we can set up a small production to see if the plants survive it or not."
"Even if the white magic plants don't survive the environment, we can still do the greenweed." Hector added, and well, it was true.
The market for it was low too, and not just that.
All of them were looking at the news at the cabinet meeting, and all of them knew, even James, what a national emergency is.
It means the borders will be closed, and it will be more secure than ever.
Which fucks up everybody, like everybody. The black market too, where they need to buy the plants. But most importantly, it fucks up the market even more, because the small-time sellers resources came through the border, and those dozens of sellers who grow their own will not be enough to cover the whole market.
They need to act fast, and they need to start it right now before the black market shuts down, before, in the criminal underworld economy and market crashes.
They were moments away from the great depression in the criminal underworld.
"Send people right now." James said as he looked at Hector. "Buy as many plants as they can, greenweed to… buy them all up."
"I will." Finn said as he got up.
"Also start building the system in the warehouse. Pick warehouses that are big enough and also hidden from sight." James added and well, there were several options for them, and hiding it was quite easy.
All of their warehouses were under the real estate company, which meant it was literally there but still hidden from the people.
"Only start with 10 warehouses to see if it actually works or not. If yes, then we will be building more and more. Do you have enough money for it?" James asked, and Finn just nodded.
He still had millions, and that was enough for the plants and the watering system too—especially since he had already looked into it and had the right people to build it.
"Then I will call when we start it." Finn said, and with that, he was on the way toward the black market or more importantly, toward the place where the plants were stored, where the seeds were.
"That was quick…" Sophia said as she looked at James.
"Decision upon decisions, that's why our family works well. We do it quickly and efficiently without bullshit meetings." Hector said as he chuckled, because it was true, it was fast as fuck, and well, it came with the panic that was the fucking president is going to say something that will fuck up everything even more.
Even if it didn't hurt them, it hurt the image of the gangsters, of the underworld and how can a gangster family operate if there is no black market, there is no market for drugs or anything else?
"Oh, look." Hector pointed to the TV. "They're coming."
And yeah, finally, it was time to hear what the lovely government or moreover, the President himself, had come up with.
What will the future be?
Jail? Death? Or maybe the country, its capital turning into the Bellini family's playground?