Enemy at the Gates (Mitch Rapp, #20)

by Kyle Mills

An even cursory survey of history suggested that the unparalleled equality and freedom the average person had enjoyed over the last seventy-five years was an aberration. Nothing more than a bubble created by a perfect storm of the postwar economic boom, industrial revolution, and rise of workers’ unions. Now, though, that bubble was bursting. An international ruling class was forming. Borders were becoming increasingly meaningless to that privileged group, as was citizenship and the rule of law. Going forward, alliances would no longer be forged between countries so much as individuals and private entities. Those shrewd, strong, and courageous enough to rule would be given that privilege. A privilege that would quickly become an unassailable right. Nationality, patriotism, and religion would go back to what they had been in centuries past—a convenient way to control the masses.

“I used to believe in God. And even the royalty. Now I see the first as delusional and the second as naïve. All that pomp and circumstance is just a weapon the strong use against the weak. And a strangely effective one. Have you ever thought about how these men gain power? We give it willingly to precisely the ones who shouldn’t have it. There’s something that attracts us to their insatiable hunger. Their ruthless, single-minded drive. We toil and die for them expecting nothing in return. Dreaming that one day they’ll bless us with a word or a casual wave of the hand. Knowing that eventually we’ll be discarded without a thought.”

“It’s your unwavering belief in America. In the glory of it. In its uniqueness. I realized it was all lies a long time ago and now I fear it’s your turn. Soon the curtain will be pulled back and you’ll see that your country is no different than any other. Democracy is an interesting idea but if you look at history, it’s an idea that burns bright but short. With the widening divisions in your country and the man you just elected to lead you, that flame is beginning to flicker. And soon you will find yourself in the dark.”