COLD FRONT by GIC

Chapter 2: RISING TENSIONS IN VANCOUVER

Chapter 1: THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM

Photo by Matt Hanns Schroeter on Unsplash

Rain streaked down Alex’s apartment window as he scrolled through the forums. The encrypted chat logs, cracked open by a contact in the Vancouver tech underground, revealed the inner workings of True North Front’s plans. Threads titled “Northern Dawn Logistics,” “Target Zones,” and “Recruitment Zone” buzzed with activity.

It was worse than Alex imagined.

Members shared detailed maps of immigrant-heavy neighbourhoods, discussing routes of coordinated attacks. Photos of local activists were posted alongside chilling captions like “Know your targets” and “Traitors will burn.”

Alex’s stomach churned when he stumbled upon a username he recognized: NorthernWolf88. It was David. His younger brother wasn’t just following these threads—he was one of the most active contributors.

A recent post from David caught Alex’s eye: “Phase One starts downtown. Let them know we’re taking back what’s ours. Watch the sparks fly.”

Alex leaned back, his heart pounding. David wasn’t just parroting TNF rhetoric. He was deeply involved in planning the chaos.

He picked up his phone and called David again—straight to voicemail.

“David, it’s me. Call me. Please. You’re in too deep.”

The community centre bustled with quiet urgency as Aisha directed volunteers: families, primarily refugees and first-generation immigrants, huddled in corners, their eyes filled with fear. The TNF rally was set to occur in a few hours, and no one doubted it would end in violence.

Alex slipped through the front doors, his laptop bag slung over his shoulder. Aisha spotted him and waved him over.

“What do you have?” she asked.

Alex opened his laptop and showed her the forum screenshots. “They’re planning to target Chinatown and South Van after the rally. I’ve got the timestamps, usernames, everything.”

Aisha scanned the screen, her jaw tightening. “We need to get this out there. Can your editor publish it?”

Alex shook his head. “He’s under pressure from the network to avoid anything ‘too political.’ They’re afraid of blowback.”

“Cowards,” Aisha muttered.

“I can try leaking it online,” Alex said. “But TNF’s got an army of bots ready to discredit it as fake news.”

“Then we need to hit the streets,” Aisha said. “Let the people know what’s coming. Maybe we can evacuate some neighbourhoods before it’s too late.”

Alex hesitated. “They’ll be watching us. We’ll paint targets on our backs if we're too loud.”

Aisha’s eyes burned with determination. “People are already targets, Alex. The difference is whether they’re sitting ducks or prepared to fight back.”