Snow peacefully fell on the protestors, a stark contrast to how they felt at that moment. Anger was contagious, as the police continued to protect Coleson, promising that the investigation is ongoing. That did little to quell the crowd, as more gathered on the icy streets to protest his arrest. Roy was happy to see, as his little plan was working. All he needed was a little nudge. Jackie as UV hadn't been seen in weeks, the people wondered if he died. Regardless, the short legacy that the killer left behind was one of great importance to the movement. He sent Dante and now Rose to gather supplies for their final plans.
Roy was in front of the crowd wearing his beret loud and proud. He held a microphone, walking back and forth as the rowdy protestors were ready for a speech from Black Moses. "My people! How we feeling today?"
The crowd cheered in support.
"Amen. Now, I want y'all to look at each other. Take a good look. These are your brothers and sisters. These are your people. I want you to notice another thing. You are all not black! You are all different people of shapes and sizes. White, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, all of us. I know that criminals like Coleson of New York's finest love to paint me as some racist. 'Oh I hate whites, I want blacks to rule' or whatever that man wanna say about me. Remember, I say white folks, or the white man, but I do NOT mean all. I mean the puppet masters. The men up there who would rather see us torn than together. This patch says New Black Liberation Party. We scream black power. But we ALL want the same thing, right?"
"Yeah!" the protestors yell.
"When I say the white man, I am talking about the evils in Washington! In New York! In New York City! You had my people in chains! We fought our way to freedom, and what they do? Continue to have us hung!"
The crowd gets loud with anger. Such an anger that took centuries to bottle up.
"They told you the Irish weren't white. They wanna pick and choose who to hand their privilege over to. So you know what I ask for? I ask for you to relinquish that mark of evil and join me under one race. One army. The people!" He waited for the protesters to die down. "The American dream is fucking lie. The dream is for men like Coleson and Rossi to prosper while stepping on your neck! Do y'all want that?"
"NO!" The people cry.
"The system ain't broken. It's working as intended. And you know what? They scared of us! The minute we realize that is the minute we gon do something about it, do y'all hear me?"
"YES SIR!"
"We all want the criminals detained! And we ain't leaving until justice is served. I hope you have a great Christmas, Coleson!" Roy proudly raised his fist in the air. "Defend yourself!"
"BY ANY MEANS!"
Roy paused for a moment, mouth close to the speaker, the crowd roared for him to continue. "Black power!"
"FUCK THE PIGS!"
"Black power!"
"FUCK THE FEDS!"
"Black power!"
"FUCK THE SYSTEM!"
"Coleson! Face justice! Again, Black power!"
They repeated it, the crowd stepping closer. The sea of protestors next to the police, charging closer and closer. Some with riot shields stepped up, threatening to push the people back. The crowd still remained strong, repeating the chants as Roy smiled menacingly at the police. He held the power. All he needed was that spark. It was coming, real soon.
Meanwhile, Rose and Dante were in the church basement with some of the other NBLP members. The boys and girls of freedom under Black Moses followed his advice to get ready for the end times.
"The end times?!" Rose questioned.
Dante laughed. "Not like the apocalypse, but revolution. The big explosion of tension. We just call it that to code our words."
"Hm." She said, looking over a rifle, holding it. "Say, Dante. You sure you want to do this?"
Dante paused his cleaning and looked over to her. "My whole life I've been sitting on my ass. I've watched as my people fight injustice. I was selfish. I just wanted to play basketball and get rich. I still want to play ball, but my people come first, Rose."
Rose nodded in agreement. "Wow… Well said."
"Hah," Dante huffed. "I learned a lot helping here. I read about The Panthers, the BLP, the NOI. What could I do and not do."
"And what is that?"
"I learned to defend yourself. But do not let them change your story. Do not let them win, because the victors are the authors."
"You sure you were a jock?" Rose joked.
"Oh shut up, Roe."
"Roe?"
"Yeah, a nickname." Dante smiled as he went back to cleaning his rifle. "You like it?"
Rose's stomach felt like it was on fire. This was a friend. A man that she could trust. Something she thought was impossible. It felt like he wasn't real. She'd loathed this man in another life. But Dante was willing to learn. To listen. And it was something she needed. After everything. She ran to hug Dante, and with surprise, he laughed out. "Guess you really liked it."
She felt the embrace of a friend. Her best friend. Dante Florist. "Just don't die. Ok?"
Dante hummed. "I won't. Promise."