“Today, in Chicago, yet another newspaper editor was killed. His name was Joseph Arnolds, and he works for the Daily Herald. This man has refused to publish a letter written by a reader that provided an opposing viewpoint to an article from the previous week. Although the government did nothing to Arnolds, who, by law, had the freedom to refuse to publish the letter, Arnold’s rejection angered the writer of the letter, who openly killed Arnold in a public square. This man was apprehended and brought before the court, but was quickly released after the court decided that he had the freedom to ‘express his anger’. Due to this, and many other similar cases, many are asking themselves if ‘freedom’ has gone too far. Here, we have one of these ‘freedom opposers’– Susan Hughes, live, right here in Chicago– now, Susan, we’ve all been hearing about a group known as the Triple A– that is, the ‘Anti-Anarchy Association’. Do you believe these men truly exist?” asked the Fox news reporter, handing the microphone over to Susan.
“Thanks, Janice,” said Susan. “Yes, I have strong reason to believe that the Triple A is, indeed, a real organization. Now, all we can hope for is that they will succeed in restoring order to this freedom-crazed nation–”
Suddenly, two gunshots were heard. Susan and Janice froze and fell face-first down to the floor, revealing a man holding a gun and a tumultuous crowd behind him.
All of this disappeared into darkness as Rodney Moore, the president of the AAA, turned off the TV. As Rodney turned to address the rest of the association, his expression was surprisingly calm, for a guy who planned to die within the next 24 hours.
“As you all know, tomorrow will be a big day,” he said.
A bit of an understatement, considering the fact that they planned to overthrow the U.S. government and restore peace to an entire nation the next day.
“After I die, I hope that you will all go according to the plan. If any of you get scared, just remember that the fate of the entire nation rests on your shoulders.”
Nice pep talk, thought Douglas. Douglas thought that he should probably be feeling sad for Rodney, who was sacrificing himself for the people of the U.S., but Rodney just wasn’t the kind of person to feel sad for. No one could deny the fact that he was a great leader, but he wasn’t much of a friend. To tell the truth, Douglas, along with a few other members of the Triple A, was even starting to suspect that Rodney had secretly been working with U.S. President Nancy Cunningham, the very person they were planning to kill. Then, the Triple A had paid a visit to the Oracle of Delphi, who promised them that if they wanted to succeed, then:

1. One person from the Triple A must die, and
2. Nancy Cunningham could only be killed by a girl. (Douglas found this funny. 20 years ago, after vigorously fighting for women’s rights, America had finally achieved gender equality, and now, the Oracle is starting to be prejudiced against men.)

The second condition was pretty easy, since there was only one woman in the Triple A (who Douglas was hopelessly in love with), but since no one wanted to die, Rodney Moore had volunteered to sacrifice himself to fulfill the first condition. That action completely wiped away everyone’s suspicions. After they went over their plans, the Triple A dispersed and each went to their respective homes. On the way out, Douglas walked up to Kathleen (the previously mentioned female member of Triple A).
“Hey,” he said. “Since we might not live to see each other after tomorrow, how do you feel about being my girlfriend for the day?”
Kathleen sighed. “I told you many times, Douglas, I can’t date you.”
“Why not?” asked Douglas.
“Do I really need to say it again?” Kathleen asked.
“Yes!” said Douglas.
“I only date Christian guys,” Kathleen explained.
Kathleen got into her car and drove off, leaving Douglas staring in her direction longingly.
Early the next morning, the Triple A assembled in an abandoned warehouse a few miles away from the White House. Everyone watched as Rodney solemnly took his a gun.
“After my sacrifice, the prophecy will already be half-fulfilled. I hope you all succeed in our valiant mission,” he said.
With that, Rodney pulled the trigger and collapsed to the floor. The rest of Triple A stared at him with respect, a few with tears in their eyes.
“Let’s go,” said Douglas softly, finally breaking the silence. “We’ve got a big task ahead of us.”
After the team had arrived at the White House, a few men used tranquilizer guns to take out the security guarding the main entrance. After the guards collapsed, the men bound their hands and feet, gagged them, and dragged them into an alley. Then, the hacking team started hacking into the White House security. After successfully opening the main gate, the rest of the Triple A split into groups of two and each went off to search for the president. Whichever group found President Cunningham first would alert Kathleen’s group (which consisted of Kathleen and Douglas), so Kathleen could perform the assassination. Kathleen and Douglas were in charge of searching northeast corner, which happened to be the most romantic place in the White House. As Douglas and Kathleen found their way to the rose garden, Douglas was thinking of asking Kathleen out again.
“You keep on going, and I’ll search over here,” said Douglas, pointing to some rose bushes.
“Okay, just be careful” said Kathleen.
She said be careful! That means she likes me! thought Douglas excitedly.
Douglas walked over to the rose bushes and picked the most beautiful one.
“Nope, no president over here,” he called.
As Douglas jogged over to catch up with Kathleen, he thought about what he would say to her. He hadn’t even reached her yet when he heard the c*** of a gun. He looked up and saw Kathleen pointing her gun at a middle-aged woman who looked very scared. Kathleen looked at Douglas and mouthed “it’s her”.
Wow, thought Douglas. Way to ruin the mood.
“Who are you, and what do you want?” said President Cunningham, her voice quivering.
“We are the Triple A. We don’t want much, just your miserable little life,” said Kathleen.
Darn, thought Douglas. That was my line.
“Didn’t think it would come to this, did you?” said Douglas.
The president made no reply.
“Ready to die?” said Kathleen.
“Not just yet,” replied Nancy Cunningham, looking over our shoulders.
Douglas looked back, and almost yelped out loud. A few yards behind him stood Rodney Moore, pointing his gun at Kathleen.
“I wouldn’t move if I were you,” he said, addressing Kathleen and Douglas.
“Rodney?” Kathleen and Douglas said together.
Rodney laughed. “You know how you all suspected me of working with the government? Well, you were right. I knew our mission would never work. Since I already knew all of our secret plans, I knew that if I backed out, you would kill me. Luckily, the visit to Delphi gave me an idea. I faked my death and secretly went to protect the president, who promised me a high-paying job in the White House. So now, not only will you two die, the others will too.”
Douglas was shocked. He looked around. There was no backup in sight. He knew it was too late to come up with a plan. He could tell that Rodney was just about to pull the trigger.
“No!” yelled Douglas, jumping in front of Kathleen.
The gun fired, and Douglas fell on the ground.
“Douglas!” shouted Kathleen.
She shot Rodney (who was pretty surprised that the bullet hadn’t hit her) and the president and ran over to Douglas. She called for backup with her walkie-talkie. A few moments later, the medical team arrived. They took away the bodies of Nancy Cunningham and Rodney Moore, and crouched around Douglas. Kathleen stared at the bullet in his gut with tears streaming down her face.
“Kathleen,” Douglas whispered.
“What is it?” Kathleen said, crying.
“Do you love me?” Douglas said.
“Y-yes,” whispered Kathleen.
Douglas smiled, took the last breath he’ll ever take, and closed his eyes.