"Caroline is that you?."The deep voice crackled through the static of the dying phone. It was strong and steady. It did not sound like a man suffering in the freezing dark."Dad we are dying," Caroline wept into the cracked screen. "We are trapped in the Grand Hotel lobby.""Calm down and speak clearly," Richard Mercer commanded. "Who is with you?""Just Mom and Victor Hargrove," Caroline stammered. "Everyone else is dead or gone. My foot is rotting Dad. It hurts so much."Richard let out a short dark laugh that echoed through the small speaker."Of course your mother survived," Richard said. His voice dripped with old bitter resentment. "Only cockroaches survive a freeze like this.""Please Dad," Caroline begged. "You have to send a car. The temperature is dropping again.""I do not have a car Caroline," Richard replied. "I have a municipal transport fleet."Caroline stopped crying. She pressed the phone closer to her bleeding ear."What do you mean?," Caroline asked."I saw the wea

"Take your armed convoy and leave this city."Malcolm spoke into his desktop microphone. His flat voice blasted from the external security speakers mounted above the bunker.Richard Mercer stood alone in the howling night blizzard. Knee deep snow buried his polished winter boots. Richard smiled a warm paternal smile.He raised both of his hands into the freezing air. He showed his open palms to the primary security camera. He proved he carried no weapons."Stand down and fall back," Richard shouted over his shoulder.The dozen tactical guards hesitated. They held their loaded assault rifles tight against their chests."I said fall back," Richard commanded with sharp authority.The guards lowered their weapons. They retreated twenty yards back toward the idling snow crawlers. They left their leader exposed and vulnerable in the lethal negative eighty degree wind.Richard looked back up at the glowing camera lens. He raised his right hand and snapped his fingers.Two guards jogged forw

"I did not spend three billion dollars to become the warden of a frozen graveyard." A harsh laugh erupted from the external speakers of Malcolm's armored suit. The sound filled the heated cabin of the heavy snow crawler. Malcolm leaned back against the wall. He stared at the silver haired politician sitting across from him. "You want to rule a city of starving beggars Richard," Malcolm said. "Those people are not political assets. They are parasites." Richard frowned slightly. He lowered his glass of dark liquor. "They will consume your food and breed disease," Malcolm continued. "They offer zero value to a functioning society. When your logistics depot runs dry they will slit your throat in your sleep for a single canned ham." Malcolm pointed a heavy armored finger at the reinforced window. "Turn this machine around," Malcolm demanded. "Drive me back to my warehouse right now. The negotiation is over." Richard did not argue. He just looked at Malcolm with a quiet knowing expre

"You will not just survive this winter." Richard projected his deep voice over the roaring wind. He stood tall on the snow crawler. Hundreds of freezing citizens huddled in the frozen plaza. They stared up at the silver haired politician. They wore thin summer jackets and wrapped their feet in plastic garbage bags. Their faces were hollow from severe starvation. "I have secured the federal supply lines," Richard lied to the crowd. "I have food and heat. Under my guidance Brighthaven will rise from these ashes." The crowd erupted into weak cheers. The sound was a pathetic rasping noise. The armed guards stood a little taller. They held their assault rifles tight against their chests. They believed they were enforcing the laws of a righteous new government. Richard raised his thick gloved hands to quiet the starving masses. "Salvation requires sweat," Richard declared. "We must build a cold resisting camp right here in this plaza. We will show the terrorist hoarding our resources

"He is hoarding the crates in the trucks."A starving man in a torn business suit pointed a filthy finger at the municipal convoy. The hollow predatory eyes of the mob shifted away from the impenetrable titanium gates. They locked their hungry gaze onto Richard Mercer."He is holding out on us," a desperate mother screamed. "He is letting us starve while he stays warm."The crowd surged forward like a pack of starving wolves. They abandoned their shovels and steel beams in the snow. They rushed the snow crawlers with feral desperation."Get down," Victor hissed.Victor shoved Cynthia aside and dove face first into a deep snowdrift. Caroline screamed in terror and threw her battered body into the slush right behind him.Heavy boots trampled over their ruined designer coats. The rioting citizens charged the supply trucks with blind savage fury.Richard stood on the steel bed of his lead vehicle. "Get back," Richard shouted. He raised his hands to calm the surging mob. "We must maintai