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This story is part of a series describing the slow, silent, death of democracy. In response to the bitter turmoil over the national anthem I am showing that the founding of this country was done by those who wanted, needed, more freedom than where they have come from. Part of this freedom is the right to not stand if one does not agree with doing so. It is the right not to say the pledge of allegiance if one chooses not to. It is about the fundamental right to stand for what one believes in. I will personally support those who chose not to stand for the anthem and I served in the military for four years. If I had to i would have sacraficed my life to give others the freedom not to stand for the national anthem. It doesn't get simplier than that.
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Sieg Heil - The Silent Death of Democracy Part One
A David Sunrise Adventure
I dedicate this to my wonderful wife, Terri. To those who understand, and defend, what this country truly stands for.BookRix GmbH & Co. KG80331 MunichSieg Heil - The Silent Death of Democracy Part One
By Joseph P Hradisky Jr
It will be our destiny not to die violently fighting, to be free, but to fade away in a silence as deep as space.
The path of the silent majority
I dedicate this to my wife Terri
This is a work of fiction. The characters names do not represent persons living or dead. Some of the places are real, and can be found on a map, in or near Ithaca, Lansing, New York.
This is the property of Joseph P Hradisky Jr. All rights reserved. Any comments can be directed to [email protected].
Thank you for reading my book. I hope you enjoyed it.
1.
David Sunrise was just entering the gym as the national anthem was starting. Dressed in a plain black shirt, tan shorts, and bright green crocks David stopped just inside the gym doors, put his hands behind his back, and waited till the song was done. His dome was covered in solid gray hair, still dark brown brows over hazel eyes. Even the five o’clock shadow was a mix of colors. This was filled with mostly dark brown hairs, a few red strands, along with patches of gray matching the hair. A smile formed on his mouth as he thought of how great the basketball game was going to be. The summer league was used to keep the basketball team in shape for regular season. This had been going on since the year he had been a senior. Now Ian’s oldest son, Mark Sunrise, was a senior who happened to be the leading scorer on the team. Ian was David’s younger brother who was so proud of his son. If they won today they would be undefeated for the season. Unfortunately the smile didn't last for long as he heard the sound of angry voices. David looked around for the source to find several people, all he knew quite well, were harassing another man. He wanted to ignore the situation until Scott Pane grabbed the man as a Second man; Gerard Robinson punched him in the face several times. The man should have fallen from the blows but was held upright as another man, Nathan Samson, stepped up getting ready to hit the loner, who looked kinda familiar but couldn't be placed at the moment. The second man never got the chance as a soda can, unopened, hit him in the forehead. Nathan Samson fell hard to the court floor. Less than 24 hours back home and he was already finding trouble. Some things never change.
"I would back off if I were any of you guys." David walked over to the group as he spoke. "If you have an issue with him then you discuss it one at a time..."
"You need to keep your nose out of this. You don't know what is gong on." This came from Scott Pane. For some reason he didn't recognize David.
"Scott, you of all people should understand that you made it my business when you ganged up on him." David shook his head. "Can't remember how many times I beat your ass. So tell me what is going on here?"
"He didn’t stand for the anthem." This came from Gerard Robinson, a big burly man who was a football player for the school a long time ago.
"Yeah and?" No one could miss the challenge from David. "I'm telling you to let it go."
"I don't think so." Gerard moved to throw a punch at the captive man.
At least he tried as the punch was easily intercepted by David. He caught the fist in mid air. "Don't push me on this."
Gerard stared at David, a few seconds, before taking his hand back. "I will push you if I want. Besides, there is not a damn thing you can do about it..."
David was sure he had more to say but it was all stopped as he wrapped his right hand around Gerard’s throat. Or it could have been when he dragged him to the nearest wall to slam his back into it as hard as he could. David maintained his grip on the man’s throat as he did. David was about to say something when a cold barrel touched the back of his head followed by a click of a gun being cocked.
"I would let go of him if I were you." Scott tried to sound mean but didn't come close to pulling it off.
"Well you're not me. Besides you stole my thunder, I was going to tell you to un-cock the gun and go away if you knew what was good for you." David smiled to himself. "At least I can still tell you to go away if you know what is good for you, except, you never did. So here is a thought for you...before you can even think about pulling the trigger I will put a hurt on so badly you both will end up in the hospital. That goes for the other six behind you. When I get done not one of you will not have at least one broken bone. Some might have more. So what is it going to be?"
David waited a few seconds. "Nice shade of blue don't you think?"
"Let him..." Scott didn't sound concerned but scared. Nor did he get a chance to say more as David swung backward, open handed, hard into Scott’s jaw. As David brought his hand back he took the gun, un-cocked it, before emptying all the shells onto the gym floor. The gun, itself, landed with a loud bang in the nearby garbage can.
David pulled Gerard away from the wall, far enough, to slam him back with maximum impact. He heard the wind get knocked out of him as he slumped to the floor trying to breathe. David then turned to Scott, two quick jabs into the solar plexus sent him to the floor as well. He then looked at the other six men. "Is there anyone feeling Froggy?"
As a group they backed away from him yet David knew it wasn't because of him. A slow smile formed on his face. "Charlie Sampson, I hope you are here to talk about old times because I have video proof they attacked first. Last I knew self defense, within reason, was still allowed."
When no reply came he turned to look at an old friend. Well at least until graduation. Short red hair, black eyes, and a clean shaven face still made him look young. Being in great shape as well as a really good tan didn’t hurt. Nor how good he looked in the traditional Sheriff uniform he was wearing. After graduation David went into the military while Charlie became a cop. Funny how life happened at times, especially since they both ended up being cops. One through the ranks in the military, while the other one had rose through similar ranks as a civilian. "Cat got the tongue?"
Charlie looked at the mess in front of him. The 911 call said it was a brutal fight and people were getting hurt. As far as he could see most of the call was a lie. He knew all the participants, knew their reputations, could easily see how it occurred, especially the idea David was involved. Never could allow someone to get bullied without stepping in. He did it all through school since grade 7 once he got tired of being bullied himself. Ended up spending more time with the principal, for helping someone, than he ever did for anything he did. Right now he could tell David had held back so he wouldn’t hurt anyone despite the fact he could have easily killed them all at the same time. His problem now was he had ignored David being back in town. For the simple reason he would have laid low till he figured out where he was going next. Twenty years in the service does that to some, leave them very lost.
"What happened?" Charlie asked.
"He started it." Scott said while still trying to catch his breath.
"Nothing much, just a small misunderstanding is all." David looked over to the bleachers and saw the man he was looking for. David pointed at the man then signaled him to come on over. The man, really very non-descriptive, came slowly over.
"Should have known," Charlie said before David could say a word. "Thought it was made clear what you needed to do?"
"What was made clear? And what was he supposed to do?" The challenge was clear in David's voice.
Charlie looked from David to the man. "Want to tell him Raymond?"
A shocked look ran across David's face. "Raymond Jones?"
Raymond smiled at David. He really was the definition of nondescript. Bland colored clothing, short un-styled hair, and a clean shaven face. Nothing about him would make him stand out in a crowd. "Yes, seems you are always trying to save my ass. I'm supposed to stand for the national anthem even if I don't want to. Doing so keeps me from getting hurt."
David turned to Charlie. "That true?"
"It's not what you think," Charlie made a settle down motion with his hands. "I didn't want him to keep getting hurt and I, until now, didn't know who was hurting him."
"So now that you do what are you going to do about it?" David still held a note of anger.
"Not much, his dad is the chief of police. All I can do is warning him to let it go." Charlie didn't sound too happy at the moment. On the one hand he had his best friend who did his own thing always. On the other this was his boss' son which could make his life miserable for a while. "Besides you know his father quite well."
David smiled as a few memories popped into his head. "You can say that."
"You're going to jail as soon as my dad hears about this." Gerard had stood back up as he said that. "So what are you going to do about that?"
David backhanded him to the floor again. "Wrong question, I’m only asking the questions."
Charlie looked like he was going to say something when David handed him a business card. "This is how you can contact me when you need to. I'm giving this because you are my friend so don't show it to anyone unless I tell you to. And I mean no one. If pops wants to talk to me you can set up an appointment, otherwise I am quite busy."
Charlie looked at the card but didn't give any indication of what he was reading. David liked, as well as hated, how great a poker face his friend had. It was why they only played cards for fun. "So, out of curiosity, why did you come here tonight?"
"I was looking for someone." David looked around for a moment or two. "Don't see them, probably gone by now because of the commotion these assholes made. Sorry to cause problems but I need to get some sleep, have an early day tomorrow."
With that David left the gym heading for home. He was almost to the outer door when a soft voice stopped him. Of all things he dreaded it was this. Not now, not yet.
2.
"Gwen." David said as he turned around. And there she was more stunning than the last time he had seen her. A lot of time had passed since then. Then, again, last time he had seen her she was very angry with him. Maybe angry was being too mild for the way she had screamed at him in between tears. He did notice she had cut her hair short; it barely touched the back of her neck. He also could tell her body had matured better than one would have guessed. The auburn hair was balanced by the light blue, full length, dress she was wearing. David didn’t have to get closer to see her vibrant blue eyes. Below were an aquiline nose, full lips naked as always, and a strong chin. This lent a firmness to offset her feminine side. It also gave a solid structure to her body. So fuller would be a good word unlike what some might have said. "Like the hair."
She was about to say something, stopped, then said. "Thank you for noticing."
David watched several emotions flow across her face, none lasting long enough for him to identify, before going blank again. Since he had turned he had not moved again. This seemed to irritate her to the point where she moved to shorten the space between them. With her this close he could smell her aggravating sweet scent. It was a heady smell which could turn his mind to mush if he allowed it to. There were times when he allowed it to.
"So you were going to leave without saying hello or goodbye?" Gwen Danielson kept her voice neutral so he couldn't tell what direction she was heading in.
