The Riot-Jack's Story

The roar of the crowd filled the streets; several hundred people had come to protest against yet another tax scam being thrown at the poor by the powers that be. Jack stood alone, his hood was up, shielding the rain from his face and the goggles and gas mask obscured him. For this protest he’d left his crossbow at home, last time he’d almost killed a police officer, while not a problem in his books the ones in power saw things differently, the police were their method of keeping the poor in their places, through mindless brutality, pointless laws and blatant provocation. In his hands Jack held what looked like a sign, on it he had sprayed a giant red anarchy symbol, underneath in flowing black lettering he had written “The End Is Nigh” a nice touch he thought. In reality the cardboard sign was a decoy, what he had really wanted was his staff, and how best to get a big stick to a protest? Stick it to a piece of card with a slogan on it. Thus the police were none the wiser that in amongst the crowd of peaceful protesters stood Jack, ready to take the fight to the pigs behind the thick walls of city hall. 1

On the steps of the hall a line of riot officers stood grim looks of determination on their faces and heavy batons in their hands, most held shields for protection from hurled objects. The last few protests had turned into riots and they were uneasy. The extremists had taken more dangerous measures recently, last time a police officer had been hit by a Molotov cocktail and was still in intensive care with grievous burns. 2

“Tax the Rich, Help the Poor! Tax the Rich, Help the Poor” thudded through Jack’s mind as the crowd mantra grew louder and louder, he slowly moved towards the front of the crowd, around him, dotted throughout the protesters he knew would be his comrades, ready to turn this crowd of moderates into a screaming horde of anarchists. 3

The crack of a firework going off signalled the attack, almost instantaneously several fireworks were hurled at the police officers who swung into defence, raising their shields to fend off the explosives. The horses of the mounted officers reared and bucked, sending more than one officer to the floor. 4

Jack swung the sign down, ripped the cardboard from the end, the police would retaliate he knew, and “innocent” people would be involved, if all went to plan the crowd would turn on the police instantly giving Jack a chance to take a few down before fighting his way into the hall, he had a special mission, and in his bag was a present for the capitalist oppressors. 5

As he expected the police charged forwards, bringing heavy batons down on the skulls of protestors and rioters alike. Half the crowd turned to flee while the other half surged forwards to fight. In the chaos Jack found himself at the front, his staff swinging, he knocked down an officer and brought the end down on his face with a crunch. He jumped over the now fallen officer and looked for his next opponent, suddenly another police officer grabbed him from behind, and attempted to wrestle him to the floor, Jack relaxed making the officer think he’d won, but suddenly Jack kicked behind, his foot smashing into his enemies fragile knee cap, a sickening crunch let Jack know he’d won. The man’s hands loosened from him and Jack jumped forwards, dropping his staff and snatching up the police baton dropped by his first opponent. He swung it in an arc forcing anyone in the way to move aside, and like this he started running for the hall, his bag heavy on his back, but he knew that today was a victory. 6