[ WP ] England decidedly does n't like the way the United States of America is progressing and decides to regain control of the colonies by force .

It started of simply, with a single question asked by a young boy. 
 
 “ Why is that man on the telly, father? ” 
 
 The high-pitched voice cut through the bustle in the room surprisingly easily. Stephen did n't need to look up from the report sitting on his desk to see which man his son was referring to. BBC, CNN, and the rest of the entire world had the story on a continuous loop. It was the biggest story the world had seen since the collapse of the Soviet Union over 40 years ago. 
 
 “ Not now, Charlie. Father is working. Go back to bed. ” 
 
 As Charlie and his teddy marched back through the door, the staff continued with their briefing of the incident. 
 “ Stephen, we need to issue an immediate response. The longer we wait, the weaker we look. Yes, they have been our strongest allies for over a century and yes they practically bailed us out in the first two world wars, but are you really going to risk starting a third one over this? ” 
 
 “ Sir, I can ’ t help but agree with John. Parliament and the House are in turmoil, the entire nation is looking for leadership. My recommendation is that we cancel our alliance, revoke military access, and demand that they remove their troops within 72 hours. The European Union and Turkey issued similar demands and are considering implementing economic sanctions on natural gas, timber, and agricultural products. ” 
 
 Stephen took a moment to collect his thoughts. This decision would hopefully go down as his most significant in his political career. He hoped it would be. 
 
 “ Alright, pass me the phone. I want to inform him personally. ” 
 
 As he picked up the phone in his home office, his hand trembled slightly. 
 
 -- -- -- - 
 “ Heya, Stephen. What can I do for you today? ” 
 
 “ Mr. Allen, I regret to inform you that there we are cancelling our mutual defense treaty, our access treaties, in light of recent events. We will also be demanding that you remove any military personnel from our territories by Thursday at 5 AM. Our time. ” 
 
 As the silence stretched out, Stephen felt his pores start to open as sweat began forming. 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 30 seconds. Finally, the President responded. 
 
 “ Stephen, what I did was entirely justified. Mexico ’ s plunging economy had threatened to bring down everyone else. If Seňor DeLeon had decided to accept our aid package, there would have been no reason for the invasion! This is fucking unbelievable! We have been allies for over a century. Are you going to turn your back on that many years of friendship and loyalty? ” 
 
 “ Brad, your troops fucking shot the president of Mexico on live television. He was bloody unarmed! You annexed Mexico and divided it up into 6 new states. You are also actively involved in suppressing revolts in Veracruz, Los Angeles, and San Antonio using lethal force. You are killing your own citizens by the dozen. ” 
 
 He took a deep breath to regain composure 
 
 “ Great Britain as a nation can no longer support your actions as a leader or your nation, who continues to support such a corrupt government. ” 
 
 “ I ’ m sorry that you feel that way. Look, Stephen, we ’ ve had enough discussions for you to know how I work with foreign affairs. I have a good list and I have a bad list. Which list do you want to be on? ” 
 
 Now it was Stephen ’ s turn to be silent. He looked up at John, his chief of staff. He nodded once. 
 
 “ That ’ s a double edged sword Brad. You ’ re already at war with Brazil, Venezuela and Colombia. India, China, and the EU are mobilizing their reserves. You ’ re losing allies by the hour, the S & P has dropped almost 30 % over the past two weeks, and you have riots in almost every major city. Sure, you have the most lethal force in the world by a huge margin. But you can ’ t take on the rest of the world alone. The EU and China are mobilizing reserves already. The world has already seen two world wars, we don ’ t need a third. ” 
 
 “ The bad list then. ” 
 
 Stephen heard the click before he could issue a response. His augmented intellect already began taking steps to ensure the safety of his people. 
 
 “ Defense Secretary Daniels, bring us to level 2 DEFCON. Ready the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy for war with the US. Have the Army set up positions in major cities and strategic ports. I will leave the specifics to you. ” 
 
 The instructions kept coming and one by one his advisors left his office for their own. Soon, Stephen sat alone in his office. He stepped over to the window in the room and rummaged around the cabinet there. With a great elation, he pulled out his last pack of Camels. He opened the packet and looked at the two white cylinders inside. As he pulled one out, he marveled at how such a small thing could ruin his reputation. 
 
 “ Then again, ” he though “ let ’ s see how many people give a shit about illegal substances when missiles start raining down around them. ” 
 
 He lit his cigarette, inhaled, and let the smoke slowly drift out of his mouth into the dark. He closed his eyes and sat there smoking that Camel down to the filter. He opened them and lit another match, watching it burn slowly. As it fizzled out, he looked out through the window at the assembled news vans parked out front. He could see several news anchors already lined up with a shot of the iconic doorway, recording their news segments. He went to strike another match, but noticed a red light in the early morning sky, right above the setting moon. He lit the match subconsciously and turned to see his security team come running through the doorway screaming into their throat mikes. Since he was next to the open window, he was the first to be enveloped by the blast. 

