The approval of McKong would go down even more after oil imports agreements signed in fall of 2030 with Brazilian and Venezuelan newborn military juntas, in exchange for American military and intelligence support in stabilizing their countries. That was still not enough to satiate the industry, and in the face of economic collapse, more drastic measures had to be taken. The next prey of the American thirst for black blood would be neighbouring Mexico, effectively ruled over by drug gangs and oligarchs.
Unlike the previous operations, however, the Mexican intervention would be a full military takeover of an independent nation, even if officially it was a "peacekeeping mission to protect the American interests and the Mexican population from corruption". Not to mention that the whole operation was sponsored by TernaWing to test its new Mobile Construction technology. These acts of “justified” abuse of authority and protests from the international community were gathering hate against McKong and against the federal administration as a whole. That hate bore the Jamestown Movement.
Ever since the foundation of the United States, many have been questioning the purpose and usefulness of the federal government - libertarians, anarchists, separatists, clearly different from each other and yet sharing one goal. For centuries, their numbers and resolve were not enough to challenge the status quo. However, each misstep of each subsequent president, each new law passed, each police and army boot trampling over freedom trickled down new supporters, disillusioned by crownless monarchs from Washington DC. By the 2030s, anti-federal organisations and manifestations were as common as daily milk, with the Jamestown Movement being the strongest and most determined of them all.
Named after the first colony in the New World - a free haven forgone, they were the first ones to actually show signs of disobedience. To some, they and many others were just political extremists, while others would see them as a real chance for a better, fair future. Dancing on the thin line between reaching out for long lost freedoms and outright domestic terrorism, they were a painful thorn in the governmnetal side, a thorn that could not be easily removed.
Jamestown also impressively waged a vendetta against TernaWing, hacking networks, raiding warehouses and clashing with the equally impressive (and bizarrely legal for its size) private military owned by now the biggest corporation on Earth. It was a real asymmetrical war, something that until now could only be seen in third world countries.
However, this was not the end of America’s Troubles. TernaWing's iron fist approach to workers' rights and American jingoism pushed some of the Liberals into an extreme as well. Believing that our times are a living proof that capitalism failed, the so-called "Syndicate" began to grow in numbers. Originally a niche Californian socialist group, this organization campaigned for a transition to a socialist system, pointing at the Eurasian Union of Socialist States as the prime example of a well functioning country.
EUSS returned the favour, treating Syndicate as their own fifth column in the US. Due to being located primarily on the west coast and having Liberal heritage, this organization so far hadn’t been as militant as the Jamestown Movement (which was composed of many anarchists or ex-Patriots who felt betrayed). Nevertheless, alongside the Jamestown Movement and Mexican rebels, Syndicate was "awarded" by the FBI the highest possible designation for a domestic threat - the Black Torch.
As time flew by, maintaining any semblance of unity would become impossible. In a controversial interview with Business Insider, visibly tired and resentful McKong would later admit “to have thrown many concerns out of the window“ upon realizing that he couldn’t get any bit of public support from the outside of his party’s iron sphere of influence in those unforgiving times. Nevertheless, thanks to the Patriots' hybrid approach to the media, fully dedicated and agitated supporters and stealth deals with TernaWing, McKong had just enough support to stay in power through peaceful means.
To the general public he was being shown as an American businessman of success, a man that was responsible for temporarily resolving the oil crisis (although in a very questionable manner) and as the face of the tasty and famous McBurger Kong fast food chain. Numerous experts, bought or genuine, were claiming that even after previous controversies, he would have had chances for a third term, had the law permitted.
To be continued...
