Ivan's Story: 6-10

Chapter 6: Short term liberation

"The day has come my friends, Novistrana is an independent state! No more oppression!" it was a boy was standing on a soap box selling newspapers who was yelling this. Many were glad for the fall of the Soviet Union and were eagerly awaiting their new freedoms as citizens of their own countries. It had been many years since the death of his parents but the memory of them still remained as strong as ever in Ivan's mind. He was sitting at an outdoor table of a local coffee house. He sat their sipping his plain black coffee while he awaited his friend Boris to join him. Peter drove up in his plain white car with a look of tiredness in his eyes. "Your late you know." said Ivan. "Yes, yes, I know." said Boris with a yawn. "Looks like our parents goal and our countries dream has finally been achieved eh' comrade?" asked Boris. "Yes that's quite true, if only it had happened sooner." "Hey listen, your parents died for what they believed in, you should be proud of that."

"Yes, but still, I am not going to let their deaths go unavenged." replied Ivan.

" Well its gonna be kinda hard considering Vasily Kasarov is still a major figure head around here, Soviet government or none he still is a powerful man and has a lot of supporters, and if you mess with him they'll kill you. So you best just staying out of this whole mess and enjoy your freedom."

A man was listening to a radio at the next table, "In other news Vasily Kasarov was voted to represent his party in the next elections, he said quote the people of Novistrana need a dedicated and strong leader, one that will bring his country happiness and prosperity…" "Would you turn that off? Everyone knows that's not true, the "public voice" radio station is just a propaganda tool for the Communist pigs." Boris told the man. He looked up at Boris, and continued to listen to his coffee.

"That idiot, I can't believe he'd support Vasily, he was such a ruthless killer."

On the walk home Ivan saw some people laughing and throwing toilet paper over the statue of Niko Brauntchev in the middle of the park, "No more dictators." thought Ivan happily, he continued on his way home.

Five weeks later, that all changed. "After gaining a lot of support from his political and fanatical ideas, Vasily Kasarov, leader of his self created political party, overran the Novistranian government by a political coup today, he was aided by 450 heavily armed followers. The surrender of the presidency occurred at 8:30 am Novistranian time. The surprise attack on the president's mansion and the capitol building left about 37 dead including the former president and his family, the UN has decided not to intervene in the revolution and so Novistrana has now become yet again ruled by a dictatorship. Back to you Tom and Linds-"Long live our president, Vasily Kasarov! He will fill the country with his glory and it will prosper!" The American news broadcast was cut off by the Government's propaganda. Ivan stared at the TV in shock, so did the rest of the people in the pub. "This can't be happening." thought Ivan, "Not again." He left and headed towards his house. Policemen with new types of uniforms roamed the streets with sub-machine guns. Ivan could see some of them on top of one building taking down the Democratic Republic of Novistrana flag and placing up their new one. A picture of the torch and olive branches in a black square in the upper left hand corner, and a deep red on the rest of it. It was the same exact flag as the one they had during the time of the USSR except without the hammer and sickle in the bottom right corner. He looked in dismay as posters of Vasily were going up everywhere, you could see the armed guards roaming the streets and Tank patrols on the main roads. The masks covered their whole face except for their eyes, making them look very much like robbers then police officers, and except for the usual pistol, they carried machine guns with large clips. Many of the people were scared of the police for if you made them a little angry they would be you to a pulp right there in plain sight. On the TV pictures of the capitol showed how things had changed, they placed stationary gunmen and anti personnel cannons at the gates of the presidential mansion, and sharpshooters on the roof, not to mention the guards armed to the teeth constantly patrolling the compound. The statue of freedom and democracy erected only a few weeks earlier was torn down and an even larger statue of Vasily Kasarov was placed there. Oppression had returned and it wouldn't leave easily.

Chapter 7: Resistance

Boris knocked on Ivan's door at 5 o clock the next morning. "What? Boris! It's night time you should be asleep like normal humans-" Shh. Just get in the car." "What's this all about anyway?" asked Boris. "Never mind that the nighttime patrol will be here any minute now we need to get going." He was holding a large briefcase. Ivan quickly got dressed and they got in the car. Ivan noticed that there were two other people in the car he had never seen before. Ivan meet Peter Grinko and David Bronchek, they are our new associates." "Associates?" asked Ivan. "Don't worry you will see soon enough." With that they drove off. During the ride Boris opened the briefcase; the contents included several AK's, silenced pistols, a whole lot of ammo, and about 13 grenades. "Where did you get all of this?" asked Ivan. "Peter used to own a gun store and shooting range, he hid these before the secret police could confiscate them, he has a lot more hidden at HQ." replied Boris. "HQ? What's going on here, what kind of organization are you trying to run?" asked Ivan, "A resistance, to fight back against the tyrant who runs this country." When they reached HQ it didn't look like a HQ at all. The outside looked crumbled and beaten down, but when he entered, Ivan was deeply surprised. Their was about 25 others inside talking to each other and observing weaponry, their was a large map of the town and men sitting down listening to radios with headphones on. "There listening to the police transmissions." said Boris. He then went to the front of the room and said in a loud voice, "My friends, we cannot let Vasidly Karasov rule our country any longer, the death rate in our nation's capitol has gone up and the average citizen will soon start slipping quickly into poverty. To fix this problem we must gain our influence in Berenzia, but it all starts here. Peter?" "Thank you Boris, you, all of you have decided to join the resistance because of one thing, you want your family, your people to be free from dictatorship, as you can see by this map and intelligence gathered by our operatives, the police presence in this town is lower then that of other towns, within a few weeks if we plan it right, we can gain full control of this town and influence the people to follow our cause." The meeting lasted for what felt like halve an hour to Ivan, Peter described the patrol routes and guard posts all throughout the town. He also talked about how they would recruit others to join the resistance. After the meeting Boris took Ivan home, "You interested?" he asked him. "Very." replied Ivan.

Ivan went to the meetings regularly and was eagerly awaiting the decision to make their big counterattack, they had been gaining growing support over the several weeks and the time would soon arrive. That night Ivan went to the meeting, and his hopes were fulfilled. "Gentlemen, tomorrow is the deadline, we will be heard and the people will support our cause." said Peter. The plan was to ambush the tank and supply convoy that was stopping at the town on the way to the capitol; this would slow down and badly injure the secret police. Each of them was given a role in the operation. When they left, Ivan had a deep sense of anxiousness, his time had come, he would strike back at his parents killers, and make a very bold statement that this country wouldn't come easy.

Chapter 8: Ambush

Ivan woke up early got dressed quickly and grabbed the large guitar case he was given a day earlier, it contained an RPG launcher and an automatic pistol. He met Boris at the end of Liberty Street and he was holding a large briefcase with him. Ivan already knew what it contained. When they got to the main street they could see about 45 other resistance members holding their own concealed gun containers. The convoy had already started and they were heading down the street. A large group of guards led it and as 3 members of the resistance passed them after saluting they immediately turned around and fired on them with their guns that were hidden in flower bouquets. The Police were caught by surprise, resistance snipers were firing from the roof tops and several others on the street opened fire. Boris and Peter took a back road and came around on the main street from the side, all of the guards were brought to the front to fight off the resistance, and so they couldn't defend the idle tanks and supply trucks. Peter and Boris pulled the pins on their grenades and hurled them at some of the trucks and began opening fire with their machine guns. Ivan pulled out his grenade launcher and loaded it. He began to shoot the tanks that were just in front of the supply trucks, since they weren't prepared for the attack, the tank squads didn't return fire. People looked outside through their windows in surprise. A large patrol of police saw what was going on and began firing upon the 3. But before they could react some members of the resistance came by and hit them with a drive by. They then signaled for them to get in the car. After getting in they sped off down the road.

Chapter 9: The death of Kombayan Valporska

"Our dear president is to make a speech about the hectic and traitorous events of yesterday." "The traitors who organized this attack will not go unpunished; you will be found and killed. You will pay for the 24 tanks and supply trucks you destroyed and the 54 policemen you wounded and or killed, your death will be an example for all those who wish to oppose their grand and powerful leader, for those of you not involved, keep your faith in the government and remember that the people responsible for the incident yesterday are traitors and will get what they deserve." Ivan turned off the television with a smile. It worked, they had grabbed the attention of the president and the people were going to learn that they were not alone in their hope for a free government. Because of the rise in threat level to the president, he sent a large group of policemen to the town. With constant patrols and guards around every corner security was at its highest ever. The resistance had a meeting that night. "Due to the recent upgrade in security, we will not be conducting as large operations for some time. What we do need to do, is do this little by little, we need to do small but effective attacks. We understand that the head of secret police will be arriving in a few days to oversee the short term maximum security measures. Our goal is to see that he is eliminated, David take it away." "Thank you Peter, information tells us that he will be arriving this Tuesday by helicopter, he will be staying at the mayor's house in the north side of town. We need to find out as much information on how he goes by day to day, what time he goes to work, what time he leaves, when he is in the least police protection, how long he stays in one location and the route his driver takes to reach the police station. Now, the way we plan to take him down is in a hit and run situation, drive by, car ambush, broad daylight shooting if we have to, but it is essential for him to be eliminated if we want to get anywhere with our efforts."

For several weeks, Ivan and some others followed the head of police every where from a distance, and they found one part of the day he is very near being alone. He goes out for a smoke every 2 hours at a quarter till, his security is 3 guards armed with shotguns, not to mention the security camera and the gate at the front of the compound, this was going to be more difficult then they had expected.

The next day Kombayan Valporska the head of secret police was being driven to work in his brand new limo. "Today me be the day Manfred, we are getting close to finding the convicts, oh I dearly await the day that I can see to it personally that they are punished for their actions." he said. "Yes sir, this town has had very little crime activity since you arrived, I am sure you will be able to find them." replied the driver. They pulled up to the gates of the police headquarters. "Good morning sir." The guard checked his identification. "You are clear, have a nice day sir." The gates opened and the car went through and parked at a place close to the entrance. Nearby in a hotel building sat Peter, his sniper rifle aimed at Kombayan, "Right on time." he said. Ivan was in a building on the other side of the large open area between him and the police station he also with a gun aimed at the head of police, Boris in a nearby closed shop, and David in the tall bell tower at the corner of the street. Kombayan came out of the building right away. "I forgot something in the car." He told someone inside. He took 3 steps and then all of a sudden was on the ground bleeding madly. "What the hell was that? Who fired?" Ivan yelled over the walkie talkie system. "It was a clear shot." replied David. "Their on maximum security when he arrives, we were supposed to wait for one of his smoke breaks when there was the least guards around!" replied Ivan. "Hey everyone calm down, there is nothing we can do now. He's dead that's the important thing, everyone meet at HQ as soon as possible. Peter out." With that there was radio silence and the four of them left for HQ. Ivan was driving by when he noticed that the ambulance had arrived rather quickly, by the limp figure of his body, Ivan new the shot had killed the man. Policemen were running around scanning the windows of nearby buildings and running frantically while shouting orders at each other. When Ivan arrived at HQ he noticed that one person was missing. "Where's Peter?" he asked. "I don't know we haven't seen him." said Boris. Many of the members looked worried. Suddenly the doors busted open. "They got Peter! He was searched when he left the hotel by the police. They found his weapon, I fear the worst. I was too quick for them, they opened fire on my car when I wouldn't stop, and then they began chasing me, they are bound to be here any second, everyone has to leave!" said David frantically. "You where chased? Why did you come here? You idiot! You now put the whole resistance at risk! What were you thinking?" asked Ivan. "I had no where to go, I acted on Peter's last orders, I didn't know what to do!" replied David. "Everyone, grab your things and leave immediately! Stay clear of the police, go now!" Everyone quickly grabbed their stuff and headed out the door Ivan was almost to his car when he heard a loud explosion behind him. He turned around and saw that a tank had blown a big whole in the wall of the Headquarters. All of you HALT! You are under arrest for the assassination of the head of police! I order you to-(gunfire erupts)" Several members of the resistance opened fire on the tank and the patrolmen. "Return Fire!" yelled the patrol captain. Several of those firing on the police dropped dead quickly but others remained to give their fellow members time to get out alive. Ivan drove down the road at top speed and turned the corner onto Liberty Street and headed towards his home as fast as possible. He knew that his comrade's never stood a chance, but there was nothing he could do, but hope and pray for the best.

Chapter 10: Football results and Political dreams

A week after the fall of the resistance, violence erupted in the capitol. A conflict was started between the political parties and the crime syndicates. Many innocent people died and all of the secret police forces in the nearby towns were recalled to the capitol to help protect the president from getting in the crossfire. Ivan's hometown was empty of Vasily's cronies and the regular police half heartedly kept justice throughout the town. Surprisingly the support of Vasily remained in the town but it wasn't as strong as before. As the president hid in his grand mansion with maximum security, the rest of the country fell into turmoil. New factions were created, bombings, riots, poverty, robberies, and murder's started occurring all throughout the country more then ever while the president pampered himself without a care, just love for money and power, but soon enough that would all slip away from him.

Ivan found himself eating lunch one day reading the newspaper. The headline read:

The Novistranian League Championships won by the St. Borisburg Football Club

After a hard played season, St. Borisburg rose to the top of the standings and made it to the playoffs. The match was an exciting one, they played against Berenzia United who also had an undefeated record. ( well, until recently of course) The final score was 4-2 and the championship trophy was presented by the president himself. The capacity of the stadium was record breaking and the majority of the supporters were from St. Borisburg, truly a very supportive fan base for the football club….

Ivan put down the newspaper and took a large drink out of his juice. He still wanted revenge, so badly he desired it, but he didn't know how after the resistance ended. He decided to go out for a walk and clear his mind. He walked to the middle of the park and sat down, then, out of the blue he remembered the boy on the day of the liberation speaking to the people from the soapbox, and he had an idea. He could gain his revenge through political means, become president by any means necessary. And he could begin right here in town, gaining support amongst the people and then moving on to bigger fish, like Berenzina. There would be many who would challenge him, but he was determined to do it.

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