An American Villain

“Otaza! Come give your sister a hug before she leaves!”
I locked myself in my room for the day because I didn’t want to cry anymore. My big sister was leaving for school and was moving across the state. My mother yelled upstairs to me again to come down and say goodbye.
“Fine!”
I got up from my messy desk and walked downstairs to see her. She was already packed and was waiting for me.
“Don’t give your mother a hard time, just listen to her and your life will be a lot easier, kid.”
I was taller than her so her attempt to rub her hand across the top of my head failed.
“Fine, but only if you let me know what you’re working on at school.”
She laughed and spoke over her shoulder as she walked out the door.
“You won’t understand what I am working on, remember, I am the smartest one in the family.”
My mom and I stepped out to see her off, she waved as she backed out of the driveway.
“Is she going to stop and see our brother on the way out?”
My mom pulled me close to her and I could hear her start to cry. It was her oldest child finally leaving home. She let go of me and then pushed me to walk back inside with her.
“Your sister and brother talked last night, she said she didn’t want to bother him at work. Now go do your chores before your father gets home. You need to be cleaned up for dinner and I need your help setting the table.”
I walked away to head back to my room and she spoke again.
“Excuse me, young man, I was speaking to you.”
I turned around to face her and give her the answer she wanted.
“Yes mom, I will get my chores done, clean up and help you finish dinner. I just need to finish this thing I’m working on first.”
She threw her hands up in the air and turned to head back into the kitchen. I glanced at the clock when I walked into my room and it was later than I realized. My dad was going to be off work in less than an hour and then home within twenty minutes. I sat back down to look at what I was working on.
“LEAFS: Large Effective Alternative Fuel Source”
I smiled as I read it one more time and looked over what I had already done for the design. I had a few more thoughts on the design but didn’t have the time to flesh them out on paper before dad got home. I wrote them down quickly on another notepad for the project and then closed my notebooks.
“Otaza you better get down here before your father gets home!”
My mother was yelling at me again, I say five minutes and in two minutes she’s yelling again.
“Stop yelling, I’m right here!”
She turned and waved the wooden spoon in her hand at me like I was a child still.
“Do you want me to smack you? Because I will.”
I grabbed the plates out of the cabinet and utensils to go with them.
“The last time you hit me with one it broke, then made me buy you a new one because you said I broke it.”
She mumbled something under her breath but I couldn’t catch what it was.

“Hello hello everyone!”
I heard my father come in from the garage next to the kitchen. He walked past me and straight to my mom.
“Dinner smells good honey, I’ll be ready to eat soon.”
He gave her a kiss and turned his attention toward me.
“You say goodbye to your sister?”
I nodded my head trying to hold back the tears.
“Good man, she will be back home and annoying you before you know it.”
He patted my shoulder and passed by me heading towards their room. I finished setting the table and bringing the food over so my mother could wash dishes while my father got changed.
“I think that’s everything mom, come sit down, I’ll wash those after.”
I heard what sounded like a pot drop from her hands as she snapped back.
“What!? You do the dishes? Since when?!”
My father came back out of their room and joined the conversation.
“As you tell me, honey, don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. Just appreciate that he’s willing to do them.”
She hung the dishtowel in front of the stove on its handle and shut the water off. My father and I were already seated and waited for her. When she finally sat down my father looked at the both of us with joy on his face.
“I have great news and it is going to change some things for all of us.”
My mother put her utensils back down and just glared at him. The seconds felt like hours until he finally spoke again.
“My project was accepted by the corporation. They want to begin immediately.”
My mother began to cry as I could see the weight lift off of her shoulders.
“So dad, what does this mean for us?”
He reached for my mother’s hand.
“Everything is going to be fine now, we have nothing to worry about. We will be taken care of for the rest of our lives.”
He turned his head towards me and looked at me like he could see my mind.
“This was the project you helped me on. I informed them that some of the key components were of your design. They said as soon as you graduate high school you will be employed and work on the project with me.”
I felt my heart jump into my throat as my stomach turned upside down.
“Wait, so does this mean it actually worked!?”
He smiled and a tear fell from his eyes.
“You are smarter than anyone gives you credit for Otaza.”
My father reached for his utensils and dropped his napkin on his lap.
“Enough of that for now, let’s eat!”
I had a year and a half left of school to get through before I could get my hands on that project. My father wasn’t allowed to talk about it outside of the corporation, not even to my mother or I. I couldn’t wait to see the finished project when I graduate and gain access to the labs. As I ate, tears of joy fell down my face.

A year and a half later.
“Graduation is an important time in every young person’s life. It symbolizes a transition from one point of life that has come to an end and the beginning of another one. Many of your classmates already have their lives lined up for what they will be doing. Some of you are making your own way and others have yet to figure it out. All of these are acceptable paths out of graduation. Just make sure that whatever you do, do it with passion and persistence. Now go out there and change the world. Congratulations class of 2047!”

The principal chose to do the speech for this year’s graduation due to the rowdy nature of my graduating class. She called each student to the stage to receive their diploma and shake their hand. Once this Friday night was over and this ceremony ended, I had the weekend to figure out my life before starting work on Monday. My father had already lined up a lab for me to work in across the property he is currently working at. My mother and father decided it would be best for me to finally have my own car to go to and from work in encase I was working late on a project. I sat patiently until my name was called by the principal, both of my parents were in the crowd but my brother and sister couldn’t be here to see this.
“Otaza Raiger”
I stood up and everyone around me started to clap. I like to think that many of my peers looked at me as a friend and a good person. I tried really hard to not make any enemies and to stay friends with as many people as possible. I took a look around at everyone and then began walking toward the stage. When I got up to the stage, Principal Kingsly reached out to shake my hand and then pulled me closer for a hug.
“The corporation is excited to see you.”
She let go and pushed the diploma into my hands, we smiled for the cameras and I walked off the stage. I wasn’t sure what she meant by that or how she even knew what I was going to be doing after graduation. I searched for my father’s face in the crowd but he had left, leaving my mother alone. I sat back in my seat and felt my phone buzz in my pocket, it was a text message from my father.
“Sorry bud, work called and I had to leave. I will see you Monday morning at work. The directions will be left on your desk at home.”
I looked up again at my mother and she had a concerned look on her face. I wonder what was so important that he had to leave in such a rush. Principal Kingsly handed out the last diploma and was ushered off stage as well.
“Hey, Taz, what’s going on man? Isn’t she supposed to give another speech at the end?”
I looked around the crowd and everyone seemed in a state of confusion. The vice-principal stepped up to the podium to give the closing speech this time.
“Principal Kingsly had to leave the stage but that does not stop the celebration! This concludes the graduation ceremony for the class of 2047. May you all seek your dreams and attain them in the future to come. Thank you everyone for coming out tonight.”
We all stood up and almost everyone threw their caps into the air, I kept mine in my hands so that I could keep it. We all started to exit the football field that our graduation was in, it was slow but everyone was excited to finally be done with school. A few of my friends waved at me and some others gave me dirty looks. I felt like everyone knew something and I was the one that was left out.

I met my mother in the parking lot by my car once I got through the crowds of people.
“I told your father I would catch a ride home with you.”
I walked around to the passenger side and opened the door for her to help her in.
“Why did he have to leave?”
She pulled the door closed and I walked around to the other side and climbed into the driver’s seat.
“He said it was an emergency, he feels really bad that he couldn’t stay for the entire ceremony. He told me that he had no choice in the matter. Something he was working on had a problem.”
I turned the car on and proceeded to head home with her. I felt like something was going on in the world and it just hadn’t made it to the news yet. When we got home my sister was waiting in the driveway for us.
“Did you know she was coming home mom?”
I looked at my mom’s face for some form of expression but she was shocked like I was. We climbed out of the car and she sat on her trunk waiting for us.
“Congratulations kid, now you’re an adult like the rest of us.”
She hopped down to give me a hug and then hugged our mom. She walked in behind us and made her way to the table with her bag she brought.
“I wanted to stop in and see you all before I head off to my first field test for school.”
She looked around the house and then back at our mom.
“Where is dad at? Didn’t he go to your graduation?”
I pulled out my phone and opened the text message he sent me. I slid it across the table to her so she could read it. Her happy demeanor changed and she looked up at me.
“So, you’re going to work for the corporation as well then? I guess that means I can be honest with you.”
She looked at our mom, letting her know she needed to walk out of the room.
“What’s going on Hellen?”
She reached into her bag and pulled out a large file, sliding it across the table to me.
“These transcripts were intercepted this morning. We aren’t sure when it will happen. Our satellites can’t pick up their movements and our assets on the ground haven’t checked in.”
What I had in front of me was life changing.
“Hold on, does the public know about this? They need to start evacuating, like, right now.”
She stood up and walked around to me and grabbed the file.
“The public doesn’t know and they won’t until it’s too late. The corporation has seen fit to allow this to play out. With the economy at what it is, they say it’ll be good for business.”
She was brainwashed by the corporation and their agenda already.
“Fuck the economy, your talking about millions of lives here Hellen!”
I could see the confliction in her face as she scratched at her left arm.
“There is more going on that you realize Taz, we can’t just let the public know. The corporation has counter measures so that this doesn’t go farther than needed.”

She continued to scratch at her arm until her facial expression changed back.
“What’s wrong with your arm, why do you keep scratching at it?”
My mother walked in from the other room with a piece of paper in her hands.
“She is scratching because she has the same chip in her arm as your father does. He has just gotten good at ignoring the itch when he diverts from their objective.”
I took the piece of paper from her and looked over it.
“PC-129K: Issued and implanted; Mitchell Raiger”
It listed possible side effects and ways to combat its programming with various breathing and physical practice.
“Your father had to get it when everything changed and the corporation took over. We all know the story, the government failed the people so “The Corporation” was put in place to run things. With it, they wanted to know at all times where their people are at and what they are doing.”
I never knew my father was chipped by them, I was under the impression that it was for field operatives only to monitor vitals and tactical positioning. She took the paper back from me and then pulled my head down to her.
“Monday morning when you drive to the site your father works at, they are going to ambush and take you.”
I looked over at my sister as she nodded her head to what our mom was saying.
“So what do I do? How will I know when they are going to do it?”

She walked away to put the paper back and then returned to the table.
“You won’t, but your father trained you and you are much larger than them. You make them regret every step they take. Show The Corporation that you are not one of their pawns. You are going to do things we will never understand for reasons we can never see ourselves.”
She reminded me of something my uncle told me once when he took me shooting.
“If you ever find yourself in a lose lose situation, be a landmine. They step on you, explode with rage and kill as many as you can.”
I looked to my sister for advice but was met with silence. My mother hugged me and then walked into the kitchen to make tea for the two of them. I was in shock at the situation and what I just learned. I headed to my room and started to gather my things. I needed to have all my affairs in order before Monday came. I pulled the top drawer of my desk open and lifted the false bottom. I pulled out a pistol my uncle gave me after that day of shooting. I pulled the magazine out to make sure it was loaded and then slapped it back in. If they were going to take me, I was going to be the worst landmine they have ever stepped on.