Read Online Freelancer by Jake Lingwall - Free Book Online Page A

Independence had felt more like a proposal, followed by a flurry of follow up plans. A number of states were breaking apart to be on either side of the proposed border, or breaking into smaller states. Northwest Florida wanted to join the Middle States while South Dakota broke into two separate states, East Dakota and West Dakota, with both of them siding with the Middle States. San Diego was a major point of contention, while Nevada was still trying to figure out which country it would be a part of.
    It had been a fascinating few days of political proposals but now that Congress had flat-out rejected the Middle States Declaration; the secession wasn’t just a concept anymore. People were going to die because of this argument. Maybe even lots of people. The new civil war had been brewing for such a long time that Kari was surprised she felt a reaction to the news at all. Decades of political defeats and the feeling of being targeted by the coasts had finally become too much for the Middle States to deal with. Like the kid who takes his ball and goes home from the park because he’s not winning the game. Pathetic.
    She had learned about the original Civil War in school a few times. That war had nearly destroyed the country, but that had been hundreds of years ago. From what she had read online, most people expected some sort of economic warfare instead of armed soldiers fighting it out on a battlefield. The coastal states would try to boycott the Middle States’ trade and charge them extra for raw materials. Almost everyone thought the Middle States would come crawling back if the secession ever happened. But then, a few months ago, most people didn’t think the Middle States would actually take it this far.
    What about me? I’ve done a lot of work for clients from the Middle States . . . but the government doesn’t know about that. But what if it did? She hadn’t taken any questionable client projects recently, nothing that could be used against the coastal states. But they might come calling anyway . . .
    Kari didn’t like this. Too many things could go wrong, and too many moving parts could crush her if they moved off path. This is between the states. I’m not big enough to even be on their radar. I need to stop thinking I’m more important than I am. Mom wouldn’t like that. There’s potential for a war, and I’m thinking about myself. How narcissistic of me. This war would have a heavier impact on others.
    Like David.
    Oh, now I’m worried about David? Once I apologize, he’ll be nothing but a pretty pair of eyes with a bad personality and disappointing political views. That’s it; I can’t waste any more time thinking about him.
    But it’s been a week, and I still haven’t found the guts to apologize to him. Kari tried to tell herself she had been too busy working on her project. So busy that I didn’t even pay close-enough attention to the news to know Congress wanted to start a war.
    It was time to take care of real-life business after spending an entire week in her mind chip. The first thing on her to-do list was to apologize. She put a jacket on and almost ordered an auto-auto to the house before looking in the mirror. She then decided to take a shower and get presentable before leaving. It would also give her a chance to check the news first and catch up on what was happening. The world changed this morning, and I’m going to need to figure out how I fit in it.

Chapter Eight
    Kari pulled on her freshly printed clothes. They were nearly identical to the clothes she had recycled a few minutes ago in order to print these. She had changed some of the quotes on the clothes as well as the colors, but they mostly remained the same.
    For one who prides herself in her innovation, I sure don’t do much with my clothes.
    By the time Kari had finished getting ready and had eaten some food, she’d managed to read most of the news sources she cared about. The Middle States had officially closed the