of any potential resistance that wasn’t willing to cooperate. This sort of activity quickly and brutally informed any remaining area residents in these two locations who was now in charge. Then Jake and Ava made a final show of force at the area’s local market. They rolled in with fangs bared, the Strykers leading the way. And there, in crystal-clear terms, they explained to the local businessmen – as well as any shoppers – how things were going to work.
“Either your with us or your dead,” as Jake concisely put it.
The people of these areas were still free to conduct their business, but they would supply Jake, Ava, and their crew with whatever supplies they needed, up to 15 percent of their weekly transactions.
After this was done, Jake and Ava left a skeleton crew of six or seven loyal and heavily-armed guys behind to keep the peace, get things organized, and recruit more manpower. One group was managed by the Fallback Man, a middle-aged, former career criminal who was great at organizing and planning. The other group was handled by Johnny Switchblade, their man who was deadly accurate with a knife when throwing at targets or in close quarters.
Then Jake and Ava picked up some new recruits to replace those left behind as their occupying force, plus a few more if possible, and moved on to the next stop on their list.
They took a little time after taking their first few locations – just 24 hours or so – to consolidate their new holdings, load up on guns and ammo, and regroup. But Ava didn’t want to pause so long that word about their move on these neighborhoods spread to other areas around Miami or that their men began to relax and start partying.
As they continued their march forward, moving from neighborhood to neighborhood, it quickly became apparent that Miami was in dire need of leadership. As Jake and Ava’s conquest for complete domination progressed, they rapidly gained momentum, picking up more weapons and recruits with each area they overran.
Each neighborhood appeared to be set up pretty much the same. There was a sort of central marketplace – most of which were open-air bazaars – where area vendors would set up to sell their wares or peddle their services and residents would come from the surrounding area to shop.
In Ava’s overarching plan, they moved from the north and west, Jake pushing south, and Ava driving east. They would eliminate any resistance, eventually meeting up and making a final push towards the sea, enveloping, trapping, and eventually destroying any retreating defenders in their path.
Jake wondered if Ava had been an army general in a previous life. He himself hadn’t made it past the 10 th grade, but he remembered learning about World War II and Dunkirk. The war portion of history class in particular had interested him. And Ava’s plan reminded him of Hitler’s generals trapping the British army on the coastline during their invasion of France. The only difference was that, unlike Hitler, Jake didn’t plan on giving his enemies the opportunity to escape. Jake’s war was a total one, and the only option in his mind was complete victory.
By the time word of their movements and territorial takeovers got out to any remaining neighborhoods, it was too late. Jake and Ava’s organization had become too large. They’d become a steamroller that was big enough and powerful enough to crush just about any and all opposition no matter how well prepared or organized. And this steamroller got bigger and carried more momentum with each area of Ava’s map it consumed.
Soon, Jake and Ava began promoting their generals, providing them with their own troops and areas to overrun and control simply because the operation was of a scale far too great for just the two of them to manage. Mad Dog, Rambo, Kill King, Switchblade, and Fallback all got a group of their own to command, each consisting of a platoon about 25 men that they could
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