Page 51 of Raven's Dawn
“Do you really need us for this?” Warren asked. “The four of us. We can be done in five minutes.”
“I resent that,” Graham said. “I need at least ten.”
“That’s all it takes for you,” I said, turning to Warren. “Just the mention of sex, and you’re ready to rumble.”
“I can think of two times in my adult life when I have ever not been ready to rumble.” Warren paused. “I can’t decide if I like that phrase. Ready to rumble.”
Scrunching up his nose, Ezra shook his head. “I do not.”
“And you guys say that I’m so immature,” Jake said under his breath.
“Making dumb sex jokes is ninety-nine percent of adulthood,” Laila defended. “And taxes.”
“Fuck taxes,” Warren said.
“Oh, are you catching on to my commie ways now?” Jeremy asked. “I bet you money, in a few years, you’ll be rooting for universal basic income right along with me.”
“I told you, I have no issue with welfare programs,” Warren said. “I just don’t believe in communism. Shoot me.”
“But why?” Jeremy asked, sitting forward. “Why are you against it? Because of the CIA propaganda? Is that it?”
“Maybe.” Warren gestured to Connor and Naomi. “They’ve been brainwashing me for decades.”
“Don’t look at us,” Connor said. “We’re just working within the system until we can break it.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Right along with Jeremy, I was sitting up straight. “Do you have plans for world domination? Overthrowing the government?”
“Why do you ask?” Naomi asked. “You want to join us?”
“I can’t tell if you’re being serious or not.”
“Alright,” Laila said. “I’m too fucking tired to hear you two bitch about politics.”
“Coming from the goddess of political power, that’s saying something,” Graham said.
“No, I want to know.” Propping his elbows on his knees, Jeremy leaned in. “What’s your problem with communism?”
“People,” Warren said. “People are greedy.”
“Coming from the multimillionaire,” Jeremy said.
“The multimillionaire who donates thousands of dollars every year to hundreds of organizations,” Warren said. “And this is why we can’t talk about politics. Because you use every single thing that comes up as a personal attack.”
“I’m still stuck on the world domination thing,” I said.
Naomi only laughed.
“Fine. I’m sorry,” Jeremy said. “I won’t attack you personally. What does greed have to do with it? Because in communism, everyone has access to the same amount of resources.”
“And who distributes that?” Warren said. “In every communist country I’ve ever seen, there are a handful of people at the top, and they hoard all the wealth. Just like there are a handful at the top of capitalist countries who hoard the wealth from everyone beneath them.”
“But that’s just it.” Jeremy wagged his finger at Warren. “You’ve never seen a truly communist country. Countries that call themselves communist now are closer to dictatorships. True communism exists without a government.”
“And then what?” Warren said. “You know how many horrible people there are out there? If we have no governing entities controlling us, what does society come to?”
“What does the government do now aside from control us?” Jeremy narrowed his eyes. “How many people have you had to kill because the government didn’t fucking arrest them after they raped or murdered someone?”
“No law enforcement can be perfect, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t exist.”