Once the Ghost and Brittany returned to Ottawa, they washed up and got some sleep. About two days later, everyone gathered in Washington Park.
"Good Morning, well, almost Good Afternoon everyone. Today, we embarked on a journey to expand the borders of Ottawa, to make new friends and new co-workers, reunite with old friends..." The Ghost paused his speech a moment to look at Brittany. "Today, more than what we expected to happen, happened. Today, my team saved the lives of the citizens of Morris, liberated the Senecan Preppers, and one of my best friends..... saved me, saved my sanity by stopping me from making a terrible decision.... With all that said, today marks the beginning of a new era, the fresh start for many of us, and the beginning of how we take back our homes, reclaim our corrupted nation, and overthrow tyranny!"
The crowd cheered as Ghost spoke. Once they'd settled down, he continued.
"With the amount of new faces we have, the biggest priority is housing. I assume those who remained here have an update on that?"
"Yes we do, child!" Started Barbara, "We have managed to fully reclaim the South, East and West sides of Ottawa. There is plenty of housing to go around!" Reported Barbara.
However, before the Ghost could move on, there was one last thing both Barbara and Roland had in-store for the Ghost.
"In addition to the housing fixes, we also solved an issue that has plagued Ottawa. Of the several warehouses that used to be dotted around the city, I am proud to say that a large chunk of the Westside bordering what had been unused land next to CIMOC has become the Ottawan Industrial District as warehouses moved there, and factory transport routes have been made more accessible."
"Excellent to hear Barbara! What about the other three teams that ventured out to help expand our borders?"
"Team Overlord can proudly report that Grand Ridge, Ransom and Streator are now part of "Greater Ottawa". In addition, we've added several thousands in farmland acreage to be used for farming and hunting." Said the Overlord, his team hyped up.
"Great job fellas."
"Team Archie can say with the utmost confidence, the areas of Harding, and Earlville and Norway belong to "Greater Ottawa", while the surviving citizens of Mendota, Leland, and Sandwich have joined our city as citizens. While we were unable to get a big amount of farmland, we did get plenty of eager farmers, people of the trades, and workers to make up for it." Said Archie as his team cheered.
"More hands make light work! Good Job there!"
"Team Preacher here. We managed to pull in survivors from Peru, Tonica and DePue. While most of the land there is unusable, we gathered plenty of equipment such as, planes, combines, tractors, several lots worth of construction vehicles, guns, ammunition, several kinds of artillery, mortars, alongside a few army trucks.
"Good work on the scavenging. As for my team, Team Ghost with the 451st, we may not have pulled land, nor weapons, but what we did get is the largest population of new citizens from Morris, the entire village of Seneca who not only are predominately with the field of the trades, but have and can build their own specialty vehicles, which the Key Council is considering implementing, Strykers from Morris, and a crap to resources we will all benefit from."
Everyone within Ottawa was going to be busy for a while. The newly commissioned Ottawa Civics Agency had been overly busy getting the new citizens set up with houses, getting into jobs, and organizing files to be sent to the recently finished Committee Council Building. The Civics Agency had also been on mission of getting at least one of the many schools operational. Mrs. Thorsen, one of the many Senecans liberated from the bunker and teacher at Milton Pope, had been assisting the Agency in their endeavor.
The three big factories had all begun expansion projects of their own, doubling or even tripling their sizes. Dr. Madie Sue had been overseeing the overhaul of Libbey-Owens-Ford, giving the construction works exact blueprints and designs of what she had planned. Following her footsteps, the Overlord was getting the CIMCO and Peltier into bigger spaces. The goal was to increase the output and production of Steel, Glass, and Firearms before the Midwestern Winter gripped the region. As they were at the end of August, they possibly had till October if they were lucky, but with a majority of construction crews working on their project, it would go quickly.
Generals Daniel Mateo and Roger Allen had the Military of Ottawa focusing on getting the 451st Division certified and trained using the OIPCS-IV armor. They finally had enough back-up suits made that the suits were greenlit for standardized use. They'd occasionally bring in the Ghost to show the soldier how to use the suits, but mainly taught the soldiers themselves.
The Ghost was busy in ways that made every action made by Washington D.C's many politicians seem exceptionally stupid. He was working on establishing a better system of communication with the Confederation of the Texan Republic. Through that, President Keith and the Ghost were hoping to reach out and establish something with the other two factions of the Appalachian Territorial Dominion and the Western Commune of States. While there were heavy protests for President Keith while considering the W.C.S, the Ghost had to remind him of the inescapable fact that if they wanted the United States back, they'd need the W.C.S just as much as they'd need the A.T.D. The scars of the old-world politics were beginning to heal, at least between the Midwest and South.
"Slow-moving, forward progress is still progress, Keith. We just mold it, shape the way we want our respective regions to run." Laughed the Ghost during a conversation.
Things were looking up for Ottawa, and only got better. The Ghost was out with Brittany, enjoying the ever-changing city on a beautiful afternoon. They'd stopped by Tones Cones, an Ottawa Staple, to get their last scoops of icecream for the year as Tones Cones normally closed in the Fall. While two were enjoying their Ice-cream, an emergency arose and the newly founded Greater Ottawan Border Soldiers, called GOBs for shot, rushed to get him.
"Sir, we've got a situation at Ottawa's crossing of new I-80. Come with us."
"Brittany, hop in." Said the Ghost as he got into the Border Vehicle. They flew across uptown to where a few crews had been tasked with the redirection of Interstate 80's entry into town. Once they'd arrived, there was a small-crowd awaiting entry into Ottawa.
"They came within the last half an hour. None of them caused the construction crews any headaches. They've been exceptionally kind and accepting of having to wait." Said one of the GOBs opening the door to the partly constructed terminal building.
"Then what's the problem?"
"There's a guy here who claims he knows you."
"Where is he?" Asked the Ghost.
"He's in the interrogation room. He also claimed to be a former Ottawa resident."
"I've got it from here. Brittany, this shouldn't take more than ten-minutes."
"Don't worry, I'll be here."
As the Ghost entered the room, he closed the door and sat down across from the man. The man had on a newsie-style cap, a white, collared long sleeve shirt and black vest with accompanying, plaid-tan tie.
"Hello sir, I am the Ghost of Ottawa, leader of the New Ottawa Coalition. My soldier out there said you know me, and claimed to be a former resident of Ottawa. Is that right?"
The man sat up in his chair, a smile plastered across his face. "Before I answer that, allow me to tell you a joke. See if you can't figure out who I am."
The Ghost looked at him puzzled but agreed to hear the joke.
"I hear that it took Michelangelo four years to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. But I figure.... if he used a roller, he could have painted it in a weekend."
The Ghost had just about choked on the water he had just taken a sip, when he'd heard the joke. As his laughter stopped, his eyes shot up and examined the man, realizing there was one only open person who'd told him that exact joke one other time before.
"I do know you... It's been far too long, I nearly didn't recognize you."
"It really has. Far too long since I've seen your Dad, Mom, Sister and yourself."
The man sitting before the Ghost was none other than his father's former business partner and family friend with all the jokes, Mr. Brisson of Chicago, formerly of Ottawa.