Behind the Scenes: 2016–2024 Short Story

Behind the Scenes: 2016

The government works in mysterious ways. One minute you’re talking about a certain celebrity and the next, something happens to them. But it’s more than a coincidence.

Mona was on the phone with her friend, Debby from high school. “Ya know, we should get together next weekend to see Michael Buble at the Palice Theatre.”

“We should, I used to listen to him when I was younger,” Debby replied.

“I’ll buy the tickets right now.” Mona hung up the phone.

She turned on the news and saw they were doing a story about Michael Buble’s wife, Luisana Lopilato’s second pregnancy.

Behind the Scenes: 2018

Jennifer was feeding her baby mashed carrots at the family dinner table when her husband and father to her child opened the door. He was home from work.

“Hi, honey. I’m in the dining room,” Jennifer said.

“I’m sick of the fat cats taking our money. I want to work for a small business or run my own business,” her husband, Harvey muttered.

“What, hun?”

“Oh, nothing. How was your day?” He asked as he walked into the dining room.

“Good, I–”

“What did you make for dinner?”

“Meatloaf, beef was on sale this week.”

Harvey entered the kitchen and pulled out the meatloaf from the oven. He took out a plate from the cabinet and cut himself a slice of the loaf. A ping came from his phone. It was a notification for a job offer. A small business in town was looking for a Sales Manager. He applied for the job and a week later, they wanted to set up an interview. They agreed on a week from that day, the 10th at 9 am.

Later that night, while they were in bed, they heard on the news that the prices of beef are rising.

A week later, he had the interview and they asked him the usual interview questions. He gave them over-qualified answers and a few days later, they called him back that he got the job. He would start on Monday.

Behind the Scenes: 2020

Gerald or Jerry was running from a mob goon in an alley. He hit a wall.

“Ya know, Jerry, if you don’t give the Boss his money, you’ll be in a world of hurt.”

The mob goon got a call. “Really? But Boss! — Fine.”

“You’ve got three days!” The goon released his grip on Jerry’s shirt.

“What?”

“You’ve got cotton in your ears? The Boss said you’ve got three more days.”

“What made him change his mind?”

“I don’t know. Get outta my face!”

Jerry ran off.

Later that night, Jerry talked to himself in bed. “How am I gonna get the money? I wish the Boss was dead.”

Three days later, Jerry was on Facenook and saw a post from a news outlet. “Alessandro ‘The Boss’ Guchiani murdered”

“He was murdered? By who? I hope the cops don’t suspect me.”

There was a knock at the door of his apartment. “Police! Open up!”

“I’m coming, I’m coming!”

Jerry answered the door.

“We need to talk to you about the murder of Alessandro Guchiani. We found your name in his files.”

“What? I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

“Don’t play dumb with us.”

“Oh, Alessandro Guchiani. I heard he was murdered.”

“You’re coming with us to the station!” They grabbed his arms and cuffed him.

“I didn’t do nothing.”

The bad cop turned around his metal chair. “We know it was you. So fess up. How did you know Alessandro Guchiani?” He slammed his hands onto the desk.

“I’m tellin’ ya. I didn’t know him personally. I just heard he was murdered.”

“How did you hear he was murdered?” the good cop asked.

“Like everyone else. It was all over social media and the news.”

“Where were you on the night of March nineteenth?” the good cop asked.

“I was in bed sleeping. I went to bed early, I have work in the morning.”

“Where do you work?”

“I’m a bartender at the QRS Bar.”

“We’ll be checking that.”

“Get outta here!” the bad cop shouted.

“You’re free to go,” the good cop said.

A month later, Jerry saw on the news that there was a break in the Alessandro ‘The Boss’ Guchiani murder case.

“Apparently, it was a hired assassin, but the police still don’t know who hired the assassin,” the newswoman said.

Jerry never heard about the case again.

Behind the Scenes: 2022

Sloane, Jennifer’s five-year-old daughter was playing with her dolls in the dining room. She threw a doll across the room and it hit a vase. The vase fell to the floor and shattered on impact. Dirt and glass were scattered everywhere. Sloane picked up a small listening device.

Jennifer heard the shattering sound and screaming and rushed to the dining room. “Sloane, how did this happen?”

“Sorry, mommy, it was an accident. I found this,” Sloane handed her mother the device.

“What is this?”Jennifer threw it on the floor and crushed it with her high heels. She grabbed a broom and dustpan and cleaned up the mess. “Your dad will be home soon, go wash up for supper.”

Harvey got home a few hours later. He was now the president of the company that he applied to six years ago. “Honey, sorry I’m home late. It was crazy busy at the office today.”

Jennifer greeted him in the kitchen. “It’s alright, honey. There’s leftover spaghetti in the fridge. I’m exhausted, I’m gonna turn in early.”

“Okay, hun. Goodnight.” He kissed her on the cheek.

After everyone went to bed, Jennifer took out a flashlight and looked around the house for more listening devices. She crushed every one of them.

She was so loud she woke up her husband. “Jenn, what are you doing?”

“Nothing, Harvey. Go back to bed.”

“Just come back to bed when you’re done.”

“Alright, love you.”

“Love you too.”

Jennifer removed her phone case and undid the screws. She found multiple listening devices inside her phone. She ripped them all out. I have to tell someone. But who would I tell? No one’s going to believe me. Who would be listening to my family’s conversations? The government? Some sort of secret society? Why are they listening to all of our conversations? What if it’s not just me, but everyone in America?

It was too late to call the local news station or her mom. She had the evidence from her phone.

She went to bed but she couldn’t sleep. What do they have on me? What conversations have they recorded? Why are they doing this? What if there are still recording devices in the house, in Harvey’s phone?

The next morning, she had to go grocery shopping, but she was afraid to. What if they’re still listening?

She walked outside with her car keys and looked up at a bluejay chirping in a tree. Are birds real or are they robots made by the government to record us? She picked up a rock and threw it at the bird. It flew away. Her neighbor watched from her window as the rock fell into her yard.

“Jenn, what are you doing?”

“Nothing, Barb. Go back to the window.” K

Barb walked back inside.

Jennifer opened her car door and got in. She sat in silence with the radio off as she drove to the grocery store. She thought the radio was listening to her.

She grabbed a carriage from the carriage corral and rushed into the store. She sped to the meat department and saw that beef prices had gone up again. People were on their phones, texting and calling. Are they listening to these people? I have to do something, I can’t sleep! Who am I gonna tell, the police? They’re probably in on it.

“I’ll take the next customer in line,” shouted the cashier.

Jennifer shook her head to get back to reality. She walked up to the register and put her groceries on the conveyor belt.

“How are you today?” the cashier asked.

“I’m–fine.”

The cashier rang in her order and Jennifer paid. She hurried out of the store.

She drove back home.

After she put her groceries away, she heard a knock at the door. She answered it.

“Can I help you?” she asked the strange man with a suitcase.

“I’m Jerry and I heard you’re looking for answers.”

“How can I trust you?”

He held out his closed hand and opened it, inside were small listening devices.

She let him in.

They sat down at the dining room table.

“Can I get you anything? Coffee? Tea? Water? Lies?”

“No, I’m good, but I have something for you.” He slid a manila envelope across the table.

“What is this?”

“It’s the truth.”

She pulled out the documents from inside the envelope and read them. They contained evidence of the real killer of Alessandro Guchiani, an assassin hired by the government.

“Where did you get these? Don’t worry, you can tell me. I’ve removed most of the listening devices from this house.”

“From a reliable source.”

“Why did the government kill this guy?”

“He was a mob boss.”

“Oh, but why didn’t the police just arrest him?”

“I don’t know, but what I do know is there’s a conspiracy going on here.”

Jennifer leaned in. “What kind of conspiracy?”

“I believe the government listens to our conversations and controls what happens to our society based on those topics.”

“That makes sense. What are we gonna do about it?”

“It’s going to take some time, but we’re going to expose the government.”

“How?”

Jerry took a small radio out of his suitcase. “They can hear you through the radio. The government and the radio stations can hear us. The radio stations send the conversations to the government. We’re gonna talk to the government.” He turned the radio on to the Classic Rock station.

“This is 105.3 Rock radio. Next is AC/DC, Thunderstruck.”

“We’ll wait until after this song,” Jerry whispered.

The song ended and Jerry said, “We know you’re listening to us and we’re coming for you.”

“And now for a commercial break,” said the radio host.

“Now what?” Jennifer asked.

“Now we wait,” Jerry replied.

Jennifer’s phone rang and it said: “No Caller ID”. She answered it.

“Hello?”

“Jennifer DeSantos, what do you want to keep you quiet?” the government agent asked.

“I want, to know why you killed the mob boss!”

“Which one-I mean, that’s classified information.”

“Okay, why are you listening to our conversations?”

The agent hung up.

“What do we do know?” Jennifer asked.

“Well, I have to go, but I’m sure you’ll get a visit from them in a few days,” Jerry replied.

Days passed and around 8 am, Jennifer was woken up by the doorbell. She put on her bathrobe and rushed downstairs.

She answered the door. “Can I help you?”

“Jennifer, you need to come with us,” one of the government agents said in a stern tone. They grabbed her by her arms.

“What? Can change first?”

“There’s no time.”

They put a burlap sack over her head and threw her into an unmarked van. They tied her up and drove for hours. The drive was so long, she fell asleep.

She woke up when the van came to a sudden stop.

“We’re here,” the driver said.

They carried her into the facility and dropped her off in a metal chair in a room.

The third agent, Agent Beckford removed the bag from her head. He sat back down and quickly turned the desk lamp toward her. “Alright, we know you know.” He held a mind-wiping device (similar to Men in Black technology) and wiped her memory of the last few days.

They drove her back to her house and dropped her off at the front door.

She woke up hours later when her husband came home.

“Jenn? Why aren’t you inside? Where have you been? I had to pick up Sloane from school. The school called me when you didn’t pick her up at three.”

“I don’t know. The last thing I remember was…”

Harvey unlocked the front door. “Let’s get you inside. Sloane, go up to your room, dinner will be ready soon.”

“Okay, daddy.”

With his arm over her, he led Jennifer into the kitchen. She sat down at the island.

Harvey started to make dinner. He turned the knob on the stove and pulled out the beef package.

Jennifer picked at her ripped clothing and tried to remember what happened. After a while, she developed a headache.

“Do you remember anything that happened to you today, Jenn?”

“No–all I remember is waking up this morning, taking a shower, and suddenly I woke up at the front door.”

“Is that all you remember?”

“Yes?”

“Were you day drinking again?”

“No, hun. I swear.”

“Alright, you go change and when you go back, the beef and taco fixings should be done.”

“Thanks.” Jennifer walked upstairs in a daze and threw her tattered clothes into the wastebasket. She put on her bathrobe and returned downstairs.

Salone was quickly behind her.

They were a little surprised by the spread on the table, but this was how it was every taco Tuesday. Jennifer would usually be making dinner.

“Mommy, what happened? Why were you lying on the porch?”

“I’m sure mommy had a long day and just needs some food and rest.”

“Okay, but–”

“No buts and keep your elbow off the table.”

“Sorry.” She removed her elbows from the table.

They continued to eat and put their taco fixings onto their tortillas.

“How was work today, hun?” Jennifer asked.

“Good, as you know I’m running the business now and we’re looking to hire some new people. Let me know if you know anybody.”

“I will.”

“I’m hiring manager, a secretary, and — ”

“I could be your secretary.”

“What? Do you have any experience?”

“Yes, I was a secretary a few years ago when Sloan was younger.”

“Give me your resume, we’ll set up an interview, and I think about it. I will be interviewing other candidates, so you’re not a shoo-in because you’re my wife.”

“Alright, I think I’m gonna turn in early. I’m exhausted. Harvey, can you clean up after you and Sloane are done?”

“Sure, anything for you.”

Jennifer slowly walked upstairs as she yawned.

She woke up the next morning and her husband and daughter were gone. Harvey left a note that he brought Sloane to school on his way to work. Jennifer stayed inside all day as she was lazy and tired.

She looked at her phone and saw had received a strange call from an unknown number a few days ago. She called them back, but they immediately hung up.

“That was odd,” she said to herself. She tried to call them back, but it went straight to voicemail.

She listened for a voice in the voicemail dial tone. Anyone she would recognize, but it just said, “Please leave your message for…” and it hung up. She was confused as to why this number would call and she was worried that this number would try to call again. She looked up the number online and found nothing. It must have been a scam.

She thought nothing of it but, the thoughts lingered in the back of her mind. Who was trying to call me? And why didn’t they leave me a voicemail?

She called the number again, they answered, “Hey” and then hung up. She heard some background noise, but she couldn’t quite make it out. It sounded like one or two people were with her the person.

She keep calling the number every day for the next week, but they didn’t answer with the response she wanted. She didn’t know why she kept calling the number, but she did know she had a burning desire to find out this person was.

She tried to remember what happened last week, but she got another headache. She suddenly saw flashes of memories, she remembered going to the grocery store, then getting her hair done, and returning home. Her headache worsened. She sat in bed as she tried to call the number again, but she passed out. She woke up a few hours later and looked at her phone, a text from her husband and a voicemail from a different number than the number she had been trying to call. “Stop calling. You have been warned.” What are they gonna do if I call again?

Her husband came home with their daughter. He had picked her up from her soccer game. Jennifer heard them as they came in.

“I can’t believe I scored that goal!” Sloane shouted in excitement.

“I can’t believe it either. You were amazing! You are amazing!” her dad replied with the same level of excitement.

Jennifer walked into the mudroom. “Sloan, you scored a goal! Great job. Sorry, I wasn’t there to see it, I’ve been a little off lately.”

“I was just about to ask, how have you been?”

“I’ve been–fine.”

“Good, did you make dinner?”

“No, sorry.”

“That’s okay, I saw some hotdogs in the fridge last night. I’ll make those.”

“I want mac and cheese!” Sloane shouted.

“And I’ll make mac and cheese.”

Harvey made dinner and they ate.

The next day, Jennifer drove past the police station on her way to the grocery store. She saw a man get out of his car and walk into the police station. She flashed back to when the same man knocked on her door. She remember what he said when she answered the door, “I heard you’re looking for answers.” Why did I need answers? What answers did I need?

She almost got into a car accident when she returned to reality. She decided to turn her around, she had to talk to that man.

She drove into the police station parking lot and parked. The lights above flickered as walked in. The man she saw tapped his foot as he waited for his turn.

“Do you I know you?” she asked the man.

He looked at her face. “Jennifer? You don’t remember me?”

“How do you know my name?”

“They got to you. We can’t talk here.”

“Who’s they and why can’t we talk here?”

“They–I’ll come by later.” He walked up to the receptionist’s desk.

“But you don’t know where I live.”

“Oh, I do.”

How can I trust this man? Maybe he can explain what happened to me a few weeks ago. I don’t usually wake up at the doorstep.

She picked up her groceries and drove back home.

She put away the groceries in the cabinets, fridge, and freezer. Then she heard a knock at the front door.

She answered the door and it was the man from the police station.

“Let me reintroduce myself. I’m Jerry and I have some answers for you.” He tapped his suitcase.

“Come in, come in. I’m Jennifer, but you already knew my name.”

Jerry walked in and they sat in the dining room.

“So, you don’t remember anything? They must’ve wiped your memory.”

“I only remember you knocking on my door and who’s they?”

“The government. They’ve been listening to our conversations and changing society based on them.”

“What? That’s crazy. Why would the government do that?”

“I don’t know, but what I do know is that they’re doing it and they have to be stopped.”

“How are we gonna stop them?”

“We tried to contact them through the radio. The radio personnel hear our conversations and send them to the government.”

“Why?”

“I told you, I don’t know.”

“So, what are we gonna do next?”

“Now we wait. I have to go, but I’ll see you soon.”

A few hours later, her husband came home with their daughter. He had picked her up from her piano lessons.

“Do you think mommy made dinner?” Sloane asked her father.

He shook his head. “Now you go start your homework upstairs and I’ll make dinner.”

Sloane nodded her head.

He walked into the kitchen and found dirty dishes in the sink and floors full of crumbs.

He was about to yell when he took a deep breath and said. “How are you, honey?”

“I’m fine. Sorry about the mess, I’ve been busy.”

“It’s okay, can you clean up while I make dinner?”

“Sure, already on it.” She said as she pulled out the broom from the closet.

She swept the floors and set the dishes in the dishwasher. Harvey waited for the water to boil in a pot on the stove.

Later, Sloane rushed downstairs and said, “I finished my homework. What’s for dinner?”

“Spaghetti and meatballs,” her father replied.

He made Sloane a plate and she sat down.

“I wanted to tell you that–you got the secretary job!” Harvey said in excitement.

“That’s great, what made you choose me?”

“Well, all the other candidates were entry-level or had little experience, so I chose you, with the most experience.”

“Thanks, hun. When do I start?”

“Monday.”

“I can’t wait.”

They finished eating.

Monday finally came, Jennifer dressed in her fanciest blue pantsuit, and drove to her new job. She had only been to his office for Christmas parties over the years, but she had never seen his office quiet or with fewer people.

She walked into the office building and found the office directory, Medium Business. It was on the third floor, room 301.

There wasn’t an elevator, so she had to walk up three flights of stairs.

She was out of breath once she climbed the step to the third floor.

She walked down the hall and looked for the number 301 plate next to the doors. She found it and turned the handle on the door.

As she walked in, she looked around and saw a man at the reception desk. She quickly realized it was her husband.

“Harvey?”

“Hey, honey. I was just waiting for you so I could show you how to use the phone and computer programs.”

“Aw, thanks. I didn’t hear you leave this morning. I must’ve been asleep.”

“You’re welcome. First, to answer the phone lines just press the button labeled “Line 1”, for line two press the “Line 2” button, and so forth. Remember right when you answer the phone say ‘Medium Business, how can I help you? Please hold.’ Then press the hold button to transfer them by pressing the transfer button and entering the extension number. You can also press the hold button if someone calls you while you’re on a line or if you have another call on another line.”

“Okay, got it.”

“Next, to use the scheduling program on the computer. Just log into the computer–you’ll get your own login soon, but I’ll use mine for now. Open the Calendary application on your dashboard or desktop and you can enter the appointments into the empty slots. Our last receptionist entered the appointments a few weeks before she quit, so I’ve had to enter my own appointments and meetings.”

“Alright, sounds easy enough.”

“Let me know if you have any questions, I’ll be in my office.” Her husband and now boss walked

over to his office across the hall.

Jennifer began answering the phones and entering appointments and meetings.

Behind the Scenes: 2024

Election season was upon the United States as the new year lingered on. The current president was on his way out or up for re-election and the government was listening to the media and its citizens.

Jennifer and Jerry had a plan to stop the assassination of President Brian Den, who was up for re-election. The FBI and CIA weren’t aware of it, but it was going to happen at a rally in Shoreview, Minnesota. He was trying to get the middle-class parents’ vote and Shoreview was a family town.

Jennifer had been listening to conspiracy theory podcasts and radio shows. And Jerry had previous connections with the mob, so he knew when someone was going to get killed.

Jennifer booked their flight to Minnesota and bought their tickets to the rally online. Jerry went behind Jennifer’s back and bought his mobster friend, Abe a ticket for the aisle seat next to them.

When the time had finally arrived, Jennifer took a cab to the airport.

She told her husband she was going to a knitting convention in Minnesota. It would have knitters from around the country and there would be knitting workshops.

She got out of the cab, walked through the airport until she found her terminal, and showed the ticket attendant her ticket. She got onto the plane and found her seat.

Jerry got onto the plane with Abe.

“And who is this? I thought it was just gonna be us.” Jennifer said as she furrowed her brow in confusion and anger.

“This is Abe, one of my good friends. He’s gonna help us.”

“How?”

Jerry sat in the middle seat and whispered to Jennifer, “We’ll talk about this later.”

Abe, a heavy-set man with slicked-back black hair sighed as he sat down.

“What’s wrong Abe? Aren’t you ready for this trip?”

“Yeah, that’s just the sound I make when I sit down and get up from pickin’ something up.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about Abe? I could’ve paid for his ticket and how is he gonna help us?” Jennifer whispered to Jerry.

“Hey, let’s talk about this later,” Jerry whispered back.

“Abe, have you met Jennifer?”

“Is she the one you were tellin’ me about?”

“Yes.”

The pilot interrupted them, “Hey folks, this is your pilot speaking. Before we take off, our flight attendants, Mindy and Josephine have something to show you about seatbelt safety and what to do in case of an emergency.”

“Do you want to go over the plan?” Jennifer whispered to Jerry as the flight attendants spoke.

“I told you not right now.”

“Sorry, I’m just nervous.”

“Just stay calm. This will all work out.”

“Alright, I’ll try.”

The flight attendants finished their demonstration.

A few hours later, they landed in St. Paul, Minnesota and they took another cab to the hotel in Shoreview. They had a few hours to kill until the rally so they decided to discuss the plan in the hotel room. Jennifer found and destroyed all the listening devices in the room.

“This plan is we take a cab to the rally, then Abe and I will disguise ourselves as security guards to get backstage.”

“What will I do?”

“You’ll be constantly asking Den questions to distract him.” Jerry handed Jennifer a stack of flashcards with questions written on them.

“Thanks. Then what?”

“Then Abe and I will save Den from the bullet.”

“And how will you two do that?”

“Abe will let me know when the snipper will strike and I’ll push the president out of the way.”

“Alright.” Jennifer turned on the TV.

“What are you doing? We have to get going if we want to make it to the rally.” Jerry opened the door.

“The rally’s not for another few hours. We have time.”

“We could get lunch.”

“Let’s just order room service. I’ll call right now.”

Jerry closed the door.

Jennifer called the kitchen downstairs and ordered three turkey clubs.

Twenty minutes later, there was a knock on the door.

“Who is it?”

“Room service, for room twenty-five.”

“Oh, yes, come in.”

The waiter entered the room, gave them the trays of food, and left. They ate their food and waited for 3 o’clock to come.

Abe and Jerry packed their briefcases and Jennifer finished her makeup in the bathroom mirror.

“Let’s go, Jennifer. We have a killer to stop,” Jerry said as he pulled open the door.

They split a cab three ways to Shoreview.

They got their thirty minutes early so Jennifer could get a good seat and Abe and Jerry could get in position.

Jerry looked around at the nearby buildings for the assassin.

Jerry told Abe through his earpiece, “I see him on the third floor of that building across the street. Be ready when he starts to shoot.”

“I see him and I’m ready.”

“Today is a great day for families and businesses in this town and every town in America. I am once again running for president.” President Den said and then continued to explain his economic platform. “I will now open the floor to questions from the audience.” He points to Jennifer.

“Yes, how is your economic plan different from candidate Ronald Lacuz?”

“My plan differs from my candidate Lacruz–”

Shots are fired, while everyone is distracted and hanging on Den’s words.

Jerry jumped onto President Den to save him from the bullets.

Abe shot the snipper from the stage, but he ran off.

The police arrested the attempted murderer and the two fake bodyguards. Abe and Jerry were driven to the police station and were questioned.

“What was your correlation with today’s incident?” the cop asked Jerry.

“We were only trying to save President Den.”

“Cut the crap, we know who you two are–”

“We do?” said the other cop, good cop.

“Yes, Detective Harton. We looked you two up. You’re Gerald Sandin, a former informant for the mob and you’re Abraham Lonk, a former mob goon.”

“We don’t know nothing, right Jerry?” Abe quickly shook his head.

Detective Muller, the bad cop narrowed his eyes. “But why would two former mobsters try to harm or save President Den? Tell us or we’ll keep you two in custody longer.”

“You won’t get anything out of me!” Jerry shouted.

“Oh yeah–”

Suddenly, a woman in a pantsuit threw open the door to the interrogation room.

“Hey, this is a private interrogation. Who are you?”

“I’m Sandra Bollocks and I’m their lawyer,” Sandra aka Jennifer slammed her briefcase onto the table.

“Really?” Detective Muller asked.

“Yes, now if we could finish this up. I’m a very busy woman.”

“Uh–” Jerry said in confusion and then realized it was his friend Jennifer.

“My clients will not say anything else unless I’m present.”

“Okay, can we continue?” Detective Muller asked.

“Yes,” Sandra replied sternly.

“What were you two doing in Shoreview?”

“Ah, don’t answer that boys. They were visiting a friend.”

“And you were meeting this friend at Den’s rally?”

“We have video evidence that proves you two were there.” Detective Harton pulled out the TV on the rolling cart and pressed play.

The video shows a man jumping onto the president and another man firing a gun into the distance.

“They could be anybody. You have no proof they are my clients. This interrogation is over.” Sandra slammed her suitcase shut.

“But we have more questions!” Detective Muller grabbed Jerry’s arm as he walked away.

“Let go of my client. We’re leaving.”

“We’ll see you court.”

Months later was the trial for the suspects of the assistance in the attempted murder of President Brian Den.

“All rise for the honorable Judge Bruden,” said the bailiff.

Everyone stood up as the judge walked into the courtroom.

“We’ve got this, just do as I say,” Sandra whispered to Jerry.

Jerry shook his head.

“Mr. Ettire, your opening statement,” the judge demanded.

Mr. Ettire, the attorney representing the people of Shoreview stood up and walked up to the witness stand. “On the day in question, President Den held a rally in Shoreview to discuss his platform on economics, but there was an attempt at murder by a sniper, who has been jailed. Two suspects or co-conspirators remain, who were involved in the saving of the president. I call my first witness to the stand.” He pointed at Jerry.

The crowd gasped in awe.

“Please state your name for the record, please,” the stenographer asked the witness.

“Gerald Sandin,” he said as he held his hand on the bible. “I swear–”

“Now, what were you doing at President Den’s rally?”

“I was–” He looked at Sandra.

Sandra shook her head.

“I was in the audience listening to his speech.”

“Remember Mr. Sandin, you’re under oath and I have the tape from the day. May I present the court with exhibit A?”

“Proceed, Mr. Ettire,” the judge allowed.

Mr. Ettire pressed play and showed everyone the tape. “You see, there’s Mr. Sandin walking on- stage right before the killer fired as if he knew the killer was about to shoot. Then you see him jump onto the president right as he shoots. Then Mr. Lonk shot at the gunman.”

“Uh-”

“Let me finish, it was as if you two were either in cahoots with the killer or you were trying to kill the president yourselves.”

Sandra nodded at Jerry to signal he can be honest as it would help his case.

“I was trying to save the president. I knew he was going to get shot.”

The crowd gasped in surprise.

“So you admit that you were trying to kill him?”

“No, I was trying to save him.”

“If you knew about the attempted assassination, why didn’t you tell the police?”

“I was afraid they’d pin the whole thing on me.”

Mr. Ettire gave a fake smile, rolled his eyes, and jutted his arms out in disbelief. “Really?”

“Yes.”

“I have no further question for my witness, but I do have another witness, Ms. Sandra Bollocks also known as Jennifer DeSantos.”

The court uproared since a lawyer couldn’t be a witness.

“Order, order in the court! Mr. Ettire, do you have any evidence that Ms. Bollocks and Ms. DeSantos are the same person?”

“Yes, this other video proves they are the same person.” He presses play on the TV and pauses it at the moment Jennifer is shown. “See right there, there she is in the front row. She was asking the president questions. She must have been working Jerry and Abe.”

“This is a huge accusation, can you prove this?”

“Yes, I’ve done some research and found that there is no Sandra Bollocks. When I searched her name, I found Jennifer DeSantos’ Facenook page. Her profile didn’t have anything suspicious or have any posts of the event in question, but it did have pictures of her husband and kids.”

“So?”

“So, the proves they are the same person. Sandra Bollocks is a fake name and they look similar.”

“Mr. Ettire, could you get back on track?”

“Ah, yes, Ms. DeSantos, what did you witness in the audience?”

“I saw–a man standing by the president and then suddenly there were gunshots and then president was down. Then more shots were fired from the stage.”

“Were you working with Jerry and Abe? Remember you’re under oath.”

“No, I wasn’t.”

“I have no more questions, your honor.” Mr. Ettire sat back down.

“Ms. DeSantos, a rebuttal?” the judge asked.

She slowly walked up to the judge’s stand and turned around. “I may have been at the rally, but Mr. Ettire still doesn’t have any evidence that Jerry and Abe were trying to kill the president.”

“We will take a short recess until further notice.”

A few weeks later, each party gathered more evidence and reconvened in the courtroom.

The judge sat down and said, “Mr. Ettire, have you collected the evidence you need?”

“Yes, your honor. I have solid evidence that these three were trying to kill the president. I’ve been talking to Mona Smith–”

Mona entered the courtroom.

“Your honor, Mona Smith is my third witness. She was at the rally,” Mr. Ettire announced.

“Objection, your honor. She is an informant, not a witness,” Jennifer corrected.

“I’ll allow it.”

Mona walked up to the witness stand and sat down.

“Ms. Smith, you were at the President Den’s Shoreview rally, correct?”

“Yes, I was there in the front row. I saw the whole catastrophe unfold.”

“What did you see?”

“I was trying to get a picture of the president when his bodyguard got in the shot. I waited for him to get out of the shot, but then I heard gunshots. I ran away and got a glimpse of the gunman in the window.”

“Can I see your phone to show the jury your photos from that day?”

“I don’t know, this is a new phone.”

“It’s for the case and to put these men and woman behind bars.”

“Fine.” Mona handed him the phone.

Mr. Ettire walked to the jury box and showed the jurors the photos. “This one is an uncropped photo of the bodyguard next to the president and this one is a photo of the gunman in the window.”

Jennifer stood up. “Your honor, may I interrupt?”

“Ms. DeSantos, Mr. Ettire is in the middle of questioning his witness. Can it wait until he is done?”

“I guess.”

“Mr. Ettire, please continue.”

“Thank you, your honor.”

“As you can see, this is clear-cut evidence that Jerry and Abraham were at the rally and involved with the attempted assassination.” Mr. Ettire walked up to the judge’s bench and showed him the phone.

“Objection, your honor. This is completely unprecedented and Abe is not in the photos. You still can’t prove they weren’t trying to save the president.”

“I can and will!”

“Prove it!”

“Order, order in the court!”

“Mr. Ettire send me those photos, we will–”

“Wait, what about my testimony?” Jennifer cried out.

“Ms. DeSantos, we have all the evidence, what else could you add?” the judge asked.

“I have audio evidence that proves that we are innocent.” She hooked up her phone to the speaker in the corner of the room. It played a conversation between Jennifer, Jerry, and Abe from a few weeks ago:

“We have to save the president, but how?” Jennifer asked.

Jerry responded, “Abe and I will disguise ourselves as security guards and get on stage. I will protect Den as Abe shoots the killer.”

Jennifer paused the previously recorded phone conversation.

“Your honor, this recording could be a complete fabrication. How are we to believe all of this is true?” Mr. Ettire shouted.

“We will let the jury decide and take a short recess until then,” the Judge declared.

Hours later, the jurors returned to the courtroom.

“Did the jury come to a decision?” the judge asked.

“Yes, your honor, the jury finds the conspirators–guilty,” the head juror claims.

“I sentence the conspirators to twenty years in prison for the crimes against President Den.”

Mr. Ettire closed his suitcase and walked out with a smile as he had won another case.

Jennifer, Jerry, and Abraham were handcuffed and sent to prison.

I guess as hard as you try, you can’t beat the government. Even if you know they're listening to your conversations and shaping society with them.