Gang of Four

The Gang of Four - In the latter half of the 20th century, the United States faced a wide variety of external and internal threats. With things rapidly being overwhelmed in the chaos, the time became right for a coalition of government agencies, later known as the "The Gang of Four", to launch a secret coup within the United States government, effectively ending federal democracy in the U.S.
The secret cabal was made up of the heads of four agencies, the National Security Agency, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Agency, and the executive branch as led by Vice President Harold Harrison Hunt. 
== Overview ==
Motivated by the desire to take over the USA from the weak and gullible President James Richard Allen, the Vice President conspired with the NSA to overthrow several countries in South America with the goal of expanding U.S. influence and taking control of food and raw materials (for their corporate clients).
The Gang brought the attorney general into the cabal to provide the justification for their acts of destabilization, accusing the targeted nations of supporting drug smugglers (thus involving the DEA) and external criminal/terrorist organizations (bringing in the FBI). The CIA was later brought into the plot to provide intel and black ops resources in exchange for a cut of the take. The CIA's primary concern was the growing independence of the South and Central American nations. As these nations began to carve out their own economic paths, they threatened the lucrative captive markets of several powerful U.S.-based megacorps. In addition, the CIA had begun to employ rebel terrorist groups to destabilize hostile nations and keep "socialist forces" from gaining control.
Any home dissidents were pacified by labeling them as the "enemies of the state," by the FBI. The agency also provided wiretapping, intelligence on, and covert surveillance of targets throughout the U.S. Although only a minor part of the original plot, the FBI became enmeshed in the wheels of the conspiracy as the Gang began to employ its own mercenary armies of "federal agents" to control the restive states. 
For its part, the DEA provided the excuse for the invasion of central and western South America, as elements of the agency wanted to gain the favor of a cabal of pharmaceutical megacorps who wanted the South American drug dealers out of the way so that they could flood the market with their own artificially-created superdrugs.
"The Gang of Four" was largely responsible for the collapse of the original United States, causing a crescendo of political, social and economic instability due to its dubious involvement in both local and foreign affairs.
==Known actions==
In early 1991, a powerful bio-agent swept across the coca plantations of South America, destroying the economic foundations of cartels' power. Simultaneously, a suspiciously similar bio-agent swept through the poppy fields of Central Asia, wreaking havoc with the opium production of the region. The attacks were carried out by "The Gang of Four", who wanted to destabilize the situation in order to use the confusion for their own purposes. At the same time, the CIA began to finance and arm separatist groups in Chile and Bolivia in exchange for access to lithium deposits there.
This, in turn, eventually drew the United States into a series of conflicts in Central and South America known as the Drug Wars in which SouthAm nations refused to stay put in their own countries, launching guerrilla attacks all over the continental U.S. and its satellite territories, ultimately leading to detonation of a small "suitcase" nuclear device in the New York Financial District, killing 15,000 people.
At the same time, members of the cabal began investing the money raised from covert black market U.S. arms sales not only to support the rebel groups under their control, but also to enrich themselves. Bypassing congressional oversight they created an umbrella of holding companies buying stocks on the European and Asian Exchanges. This in turn aroused the suspicions of the European Union, which after several years of careful investigation by Interpol formally charged the government of the U.S. with stock manipulation and money laundering. This led to the World Stock Market Crash of ‘94, a worldwide financial meltdown resulting from the news going public.
The World Stock Market Crash of '94 sent the United States into a major depression. Within two years, the United States was overwhelmed by homelessness, unemployment, and corruption. Many city governments declared bankruptcy or collapsed. Controlled by the machinations of the Gang of Four—a powerful lobby comprised of the United States intelligence community and wealthy industrialists—the country descended into chaos. By this point, one in four Americans were homeless, and hundreds of thousands rioted. Nomads appeared on the West Coast and soon spread across the nation, along with the first appearance of boostergangs. Fed up with government inability to solve the crisis, citizens lynched hundreds of criminal defense attorneys. Military units were deployed on the streets to keep the peace
On August 17, 1996, President James Richard Allen was assassinated during a campaign stop in California. Vice President Harold Harrison Hunt subsequently became the next president of the United States, gaining free reign to advance the plans of the Gang of Four.
The Collapse left millions of citizens homeless and caused any government outside of Washington, D.C. to decimate. The United States Military Forces were ordered to return to home soil to maintain order during this chaotic time and establish Martial Law. The Martial Law introduced a shoot-on-sight curfew in many major cities such as New York, Chicago, and San Francisco, and led to an incident known as the "Houston Incident," where over 2,000 citizens were slaughtered by artillery bombardments executed by the military under order of the Gang of Four.
The streets of many cities across the United States were covertly regulated by many federal forces, such as the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS), the Federal Prison system, and paramilitary services secretly provided by several Megacorporations. Unidentifiable due to their lack of uniforms or badges, they contributed heavily to the thought that the United States government had turned into a gang of thugs, causing local governments and their allies to protest, then resist federal invasions with counterattacks that caused State Militias and National Guard details to face the paramilitary groups. The imposed Martial Law would frequently be interrupted due to other major events in the following years.
As the conflict escalated, more and more states began to consider leaving the union. The process began with New York and Texas, which refused to pay taxes to Washington as part of economic strikes. The rebellion then took the form of economic blockades, with the states, protesting against the federal government, blocking the two-way flow of goods at their borders. The impasse was violently broken when a para-militarized police unit, subordinate to Gang of Four, took control of San Francisco, leading to a regular battle in the streets between residents and federal forces. The governor called on the National Guard for help, which sided with the city in the dispute. In response, paramilitary forces, operating under the auspices of the federal government, tried to capture the state capital, Sacramento. California then announced that the Washington administration henceforth no longer had authority over the state and officially withdrew from the union.
The United States Armed Forces, which had long regretted supporting the actions of the Gang of Four, refused to participate in the wars of succession, even as California authorities blew up the passes connecting the state with northern Nevada and Arizona. At this stage, more states rejected the authority of the federal government and declared themselves "Free States." The armed forces also refused the order of taking back the country given by the Gang of Four, causing the Free States to remain free.
==Downfall==
The Gang of Four, struggling to maintain popularity with and power over the American people, had settled on a successful war as the best and quickest plan to bolster their sagging control. One January 15th, 2003, the Second Central American War took place. The US invaded Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. The conflict was a complete disaster which cost thousands of American lives.
In 2003 WNS Media Tesla Johanneson exposed secret NSA transcripts of the First Central American War revealing "The Gang of Four" involvement. In response to this heavily armed mobs stormed the Capitol, supported by units of the military who had had enough and mercs from both U.S. and EuroTheatre megacorps. Members of "The Gang of Four" fled, but they were hunted down. Some managed to escape but others were killed. Such was the fate of President Hunt, who was run to ground at the edge of the Florida swamps and set afire by a cheering mob. With the Speaker of the House in the hospital and the three nearest in succession refusing the job, the position of President fell to Secretary of Defense, John Seward. The fall of "The Gang of Four" paved the way for the introduction of much-needed reforms.
==References==
Category:Cyberpunk 2020 Organizations
Category:Cyberpunk RED Organizations
Category:Cyberpunk 2077 Organizations
fr:Bande des Quatre