by Robert Boren
“Look, there’s a roadblock up ahead,” Brenda said. “Slow down.”
“Dammit,” Kelly said. “Call Junior and let him know.”
Brenda picked up her phone and hit his contact, then put the phone to her ear.
“Junior, there’s a roadblock coming up. Looks like they want to control who comes into the town.”
“Uh oh,” Junior said. “Better get the shotgun out of sight.”
“Yeah, we’ll do the same. Be careful, Junior.”
“You two, sugar lips.”
She ended the call. “I’m gonna put the shotgun away.”
“Yeah, you do that,” Kelly said.
She took it from his lap and slipped it back behind the seat.
There were two armed officers standing at the roadblock. Kelly slowed to a stop and rolled down his window.
“Good morning, officers,” Kelly said. “What’s going on?”
“Where are you headed, sir?”
“Fort Stockton. Don’t know if we’ll make it all the way there today.”
“Experience any problems on the road in?”
“Nothing we couldn’t handle. There are truckloads of Islamists out there. You know that, right?”
“Yes, that’s why we have the roadblock up,” the officer said. “You ran into some back there?”
Kelly glanced at Brenda, then back at the officer.
“Well?” the officer asked.
“Yeah, two truckloads.”
“Did they do anything to you?” the officer asked.
“They tried,” Kelly said. “They won’t bother anybody else.”
“Don’t tell me about it,” the officer said. He got a grin on his face.
One of the other officers came to the window. “What are you folks gonna do in Fort Stockton?”
“We’re meeting some friends,” Kelly said. “You might know one of them. Jason Finley.”
“Shit, you’re one of the men who helped out at the Superstore attack and the battle of Austin,” the first officer said. “Thought I recognized you. The guy in the motorhome back there with you?”
“Yeah,” Kelly said. “We in trouble?”
The officers looked at each other and chuckled. “Jason’s father was a dear friend of ours,” the first officer said. “We’re at war and most people don’t know it yet. I suspect you guys do.”
“Yeah, we do,” Kelly said. He nodded towards Rachel “She came from Houston. Things are worse there than we’re being led to believe.”
“I know, one of my friends is on Houston PD. Or was, rather.”
“He leaving town?” Kelly asked.
“No, he’s gonna stay and fight.”
“Good for him,” Kelly said.
“You folks are free to go,” the first officer said. “Say hi to Jason from Fredericksburg PD.”
“Will do, officer,” Kelly said. “Thanks.”
Kelly drove forward. The officers waved Junior through.
“That didn’t go the way I thought it would,” Kelly said.
“Seriously,” Rachel said. “I was scared shitless.”
“That roadblock is up to stop the cretins from getting into town,” Kelly said. “They should have more men on it. If some of those trucks arrives with Islamists in the back, those two officers are gonna get shot.”
“What should we do?” Brenda asked.
“As soon as we’re past the town, I’m gonna call back there and warn them about what they’re up against.”
“Good idea,” Brenda said. “Surprised Junior hasn’t called.”
“He knows what went on,” Kelly said.
“Hey, something’s happening,” Rachel said. “Look up there. Huge crowd forming.”
“We’re gonna get stuck,” Kelly said. “The traffic is stopping by that big park.”
“This is scary,” Brenda said.
Kelly rolled down his window. “Don’t be scared yet. Those people are cheering. Listen.”
Horns were honking all over town now, and church bells started ringing.
Junior called Kelly’s phone. He put it to his ear.
“What the hell’s going on up there?” he asked.
“I don’t know, Junior, but people seem pretty happy about something. You hear the church bells?”
“Yeah,” Junior said. “Reminds me of when I was about six.”
“What happened then?” Kelly asked.
“First time the Cowboys won the Super Bowl.”
“Well hopefully whatever this is gets over fast so we can keep driving,” Kelly said.
Brenda was trying to get Kelly’s attention. He took the phone away from his ear.
“What?” he asked.
“There’s a banner being unfurled over there, see?”
“Oh, shit!” Kelly said, a wide grin spreading over his face. “He did it.”
“What’s happening?” Junior asked.
“Look at the banner off to the right,” Kelly said. “It says Republic of Texas.”
Chapter 18 – Overture
“Dammit,” Kip Hendrix said, switching off the TV in his office. Maria rushed in.
“Sir, both Jerry Sutton and Commissioner Holly on the way here.”
“It’s okay, Maria. If the US Attorney General’s office calls, tell them I’m out for the rest of the day.”
“Really?” Maria asked.
“You didn’t hear what just happened?”
“No, I’ve been busy all morning,” she said, worried look on her face. “Another terror attack?”
“Governor Nelson just announced that Texas is breaking away from the United States.”
“Really?” she asked. “I remember you saying that might happen, but it still seemed improbable to me.”
“A lot is happening. Things are going to get crazy around here.”
“Can he really get away with this?” Maria asked.
“Well, he did it,” Hendrix said. “We’ll see what happens. This didn’t work out so well last time we tried it.”
“Last time?” she asked.
“The Civil War,” Hendrix said. “Don’t worry. There’s a lot going on behind the scenes. We’ll be okay.”
“That’s stuff you can’t tell me here, right?”
“Afraid so,” Hendrix said. “My offer still stands. Good to get it off my chest, frankly.”
“That still makes me nervous, Mr. Hendrix. Here comes Jerry Sutton.”
“Okay, I’m ready for him. Thanks, Maria.”
“You’re welcome, sir.” She went back to her desk.
Jerry Sutton came in and sat down.
“You okay?” Hendrix asked.
“We knew it was coming,” Sutton said. “This is gonna start a real shit-storm.”
“I know,” Hendrix said. “I got some pressure from the US Attorney General’s office yesterday. They heard the rumors.”
“What do they expect us to do about it?” Sutton asked.
“They want us to spy on the Republic of Texas,” Hendrix said. “They’ll try to blackmail me.”
“With what?”
Hendrix leaned closer to Sutton and whispered. “Cecilia. Probably Erin and Juanita too.”
“Oh,” he said. “Crap.”
“Don’t worry. If it comes to that, I’ll resign. Had enough of this anyway, and I’d rather be embarrassed than end up in front of a firing squad.”
“You don’t think Nelson would do that, do you?”
“Treason is treason, and as of a few minutes ago, we came a separate country. The US Federal Government is the enemy at this point.”
Sutton leaned back in his chair, head spinning. “How’d we get to this point?”
“Us progressives shouldn’t have tried to cozy up to these damned Islamists. They’re like fundamentalist Christians with a tan.”
“I hope I don’t hear you saying that in public,” Commissioner Holly said as he came through the door.
“Hey, Holly, having a good day?” Hendrix asked, wicked grin on
his face.
“Funny,” he said. “What now?”
“We hold on and survive until things get back to normal,” Hendrix said. “What else can we do?”
“So we won’t come to the aid of the Muslim population when the violence runs rampant? You know it’s going to.”
“Don’t be so sure about that,” Hendrix said. “And don’t equate these foreign invaders and their sleeper cells to peaceful Muslim citizens. They aren’t the same thing.”
“That won’t be popular rhetoric now,” Holly said. “I don’t view our support of the Muslim community as a mistake. Can’t believe what you were saying when I walked in.”
“Use your head,” Hendrix said. “It was a miscalculation on our part. The enemy of our enemy is not always our friend.”
“Did you listen to Nelson’s whole speech?” Holly asked. “Good Lord. Damn red-necked bigot.”
Sutton laughed. Hendrix didn’t.
“Don’t get all reactionary on me now,” Holly said.
“Oh, I’m not,” Hendrix said. “My comments about tactical mistakes aside, I still believe in the same principals, but now it’s time to set that aside and put down an invasion. And make no mistake, it is and invasion. You hear what went down in Houston yesterday?”
“Yeah, I heard,” Holly said. “So we play the Texas Patriot while the war is going on. I can handle that. Probably no other way. What about after?”
“We push to rejoin the Union, and get back to what we were doing before this happened, just like the progressives did after World War II,” Hendrix said.
“Eisenhower happened after World War II,” Holly said.
“You’re forgetting Truman,” Sutton said.
“Same difference,” Holly said.
Hendrix laughed. “Yeah, well we bounced the White House between the two parties for the rest of the century, but for the most part, the Federal Government got bigger and more powerful continuously for the whole time.”
Holly chuckled. “Yes, that’s the dirty little secret.”
“All behind the scenes,” Hendrix said. “Unelected officials. Regulatory agencies. Programs that can’t be reduced. Meanwhile we push progressive ideas in the schools, mass media, and entertainment. It’s a long, slow process, but it’s working.”
“True, but we get a big setback every once in a while,” Holly said. “We need to be better at avoiding them. Remember what happened after the mess in the late 1970s. Mortgage interest rates of 18% got people upset with the movement. The voters upset the apple cart.”
“Yeah, and post 9-11 was a setback, too,” Sutton said. “And now this thing.”
“I get what you’re saying,” Hendrix said. “I’ll file it under shit happens. We get up, dust ourselves off, and move on.”
Holly got up. “I’ve got to get going. Chief Ramsey is holding a meeting in half an hour. He’s invited all members of the Police Commission, plus leaders of the smaller departments around this part of Texas.”
“I’m sure you’ll enjoy it,” Hendrix said. “Keep a cool head. This too shall pass.”
Holly shrugged and turned to leave the office.
“He’s really upset,” Sutton said.
“I know,” Hendrix said. “I could go there too, but why? And I’m in a lot more trouble than he is.”
“What are you gonna do to protect yourself from the Attorney General’s office?”
“Nothing,” Hendrix said. “Enjoy my position as long as I can. I might even chat with Nelson about it.”
“Why would you do that?”
“It’s in my interest to be completely open with him. He already knows about all of this stuff, remember. Guess who he’ll suspect if the Feds find sources of inside information.”
“Oh,” Sutton said. “Right.”
“And by the way, if any Feds contact you, let me know right away. I mean it, no matter what they threaten you with. Understand? I wasn’t kidding when I mentioned firing squads.”
Sutton swallowed, looking uncomfortable. “Okay, boss. I get it. I’ll see you later.”
“Oh, one other thing,” Hendrix said. “Forget about going after the vigilantes. That will be counter-productive now.”
“Good,” Sutton said. “I thought that was a bad idea anyway.”
Hendrix nodded and waved him off, then went back to an article he was reading. Maria came in.
“You okay, sir?” she asked.
“Sure, I’m fine,” he said, looking up, keeping eye contact. “Why?”
“I heard some comments about firing squads.”
“Don’t worry about it,” he said, trying to look uncomfortable.
“Oh, sir, you aren’t really in that kind of danger, are you?” She came closer.
“It’s a time to be careful,” Hendrix said. “Don’t worry, I know how. That’s why I told you to put off the Attorney General’s office.”
“They’ve already called,” Maria said. “They were very upset when I told them you were gone. They asked for your private number. I said I wasn’t allowed to give it out.”
Hendrix looked at her again, fear in his eyes.
“I did the right thing, I hope,” Maria said.
“Yes, you did exactly the right thing, Maria,” he said. “Really.”
“I hope so,” she said.
“Why don’t you go to lunch a little early. I’m going to take off for a while.”
“Sure you’re okay?” she asked.
“Yes, I’m fine,” Hendrix said.
“Okay,” she said, turning to leave.
Hendrix sat at his desk, watching for her walk away, sneaking a look at her curves as she left. Then he got up and headed to the elevator, taking one to the ground floor. He walked out of the Capitol building and took the walkway to East Eleventh Street, then headed for Colorado Street. There was an air of jubilation as he approached the Governor’s Mansion. A few people recognized him and came over. Reporters who were milling around outside the mansion rushed over.
“President Pro Tempore Hendrix,” a woman reporter said. “How do you feel about the announcement this morning?”
“I completely support Governor Nelson,” he said. “It’s time for Texans to set aside their differences and pull together to fight the invaders.”
A number of people in the crowd clapped. He looked at them and smiled. Wonder if one of these guys threw the brick through my window?
Barriers on the side street next to the mansion were up, manned by a large number of officers. Hendrix pulled out his ID and showed it, and the men let him pass. He walked up to the columned white building. The receptionist recognized him right away. She was an attractive young woman with blonde hair, wearing an expensive business suit.
“President Pro Tempore Hendrix, good afternoon. Do you have an appointment with Governor Nelson?”
“No, sorry, this is a drop in,” he said. “Could you tell him I’m here please?”
“Of course,” the receptionist said. She got on the phone and spoke in hushed tones, then put the phone receiver down. “Governor Nelson said he will see you now. Go on up.”
Hendrix smiled. “Thanks.” He walked down the hall and took a guarded elevator up to the second floor. There were more guards in the hallway, eyeing him as he walked by.
The Governor’s secretary was waiting for Hendrix as he walked up. “Right this way, sir,” he said. He opened the office door and ushered him through.
“Kip Hendrix,” Governor Nelson said from behind his desk. “Sit.”
“Congratulations, Governor,” Hendrix said, reaching out his hand to shake. Nelson took it warmly. Both men sat.
“I saw you on TV just now,” Nelson said. “You really support me on this?”
“I don’t see that you had any choice,” Hendrix said. “I know you. Very well, and for a lot of years. We don’t see eye to eye on policy, and it’s pulled us apart, but I know you’re a fair-minded individual and a patriot. This needed to happen. I’m behind you a hundred percent.”
/> “Well, thanks, Kip,” he said. “That means a lot to me.” He sat looking at him for a minute, and then laughed. “Okay, let’s talk frankly. I know you aren’t really here just to congratulate me and show support. What’s on your mind?”
“This is sensitive,” Hendrix said.
Governor Nelson buzzed his secretary. “Brian, close the door and hold my calls, okay?”
He released the button. Brian pulled the door shut.
“Okay, what is it?” Governor Nelson asked.
“I’m getting pressure from the US Attorney General’s office,” Hendrix said.
“What kind of pressure?”
“They called me yesterday about rumors that you would take Texas out of the Union,” Hendrix said.
“Did they, now?” Nelson chuckled.
“Yes, and they threatened me,” Hendrix said.
“Why would they do that?” Nelson asked.
“They want me to spy on Texas for them,” Hendrix said.
“What did you tell them?”
“I told them no way,” Hendrix said. “And I meant it.”
“I see,” Nelson said. “I assume they threatened you with the problems you’ve had over the last few years with your female subordinates.”
“Yes, and since I’ve refused to help them, they’re going to come out with that info. Not that I care that much personally. I don’t have a wife and family to worry about. I plan to resign if they go public. Take my lumps. I was guilty of what they’re going to expose.”
Governor Nelson leaned back in his chair for a moment, thinking.
“I see the gears in your head going into overdrive,” Hendrix said. “I know you too well. What are you thinking?”
“Maybe you shouldn’t refuse these guys so quickly,” Nelson said.
“Excuse me?”
“They want somebody inside. That might be useful to us.”
Hendrix laughed. “Oh, I get it. You want me to be a double agent.”
“Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking,” Nelson said. “Give it some thought.”
“Shit, you’re serious, aren’t you?” Hendrix asked.
“Deadly serious,” he said. “But I won’t go forward with something like this unless I get buyoff from my cabinet and a few key members of the state legislature.”
“Okay,” Hendrix said, thinking for a moment. “I’m willing.”