The Second Declaration

by T Emerson May

  "Everyone is fine. The country is doing well. Tom's a happily married man. I plan to be married in a few weeks, myself."

  "To Linda Hargrove? She's a lovely lady, Sam. You're a very lucky man."

  "How well I know. I had abandoned hope of ever finding a woman I could be married to."

  "Sam, I just got the word that a snow storm is working its way eastward. My pilot tells me we have to wait at least an hour to see which way it's going to pass. Are you socked in, too?"

  "I hadn't even checked. I imagine we'll both have to wait. Got time for a sandwich and a drink? There's a decent restaurant in the area."

  "Sure, why not. It'll be good to catch up on the events out West." The two men returned to Sam's car and drove a short distance to a small restaurant near the hangar where both their planes were housed. On their way, Sam came to a decision about telling Tim the untold story concerning the secession of the West. He felt that he owed that to Tim. As soon as they had placed their orders, Sam began.

  "Tim, there's a great deal about the events that occurred out West that you aren't aware of. You interested in listening to the whole story?"

  "That's like asking a Washington Redskin if he likes beating Dallas. Sure I want to hear about it. What more can there be?"

  "The whole thing was a setup. It didn't come down the way it appeared. It was planned from Washington and Ottawa. The west didn't really break away. They were pushed."

  "What are you saying, Sam? A setup? What do you mean?" Tim reached for his recorder as Sam prepared to answer. But Sam took the device in his massive hands, wrested it from Tim and removed the tape.

  "No recorders, Tim. This is just two men talking about the real world. This meeting never took place. You're a good reporter, Tim. See if you can figure it out for yourself. What would the US gain if the Canadians broke up and formed a new nation? Who would benefit? Why gamble on something that big?"

  Tim sat, staring at Sam Brouchet. He felt his heart pound against his chest. His breathing was quick and very shallow. He was experiencing an emotion that he had never felt before. He was confused, a little panicky. When he did speak, his voice sounded as though it came from someone else.

  "Sam, I don't know. How could the US benefit from the dissolution of a union that had endured for two hundred years? Fewer states to worry about? No, no. They gained the eastern seaboard of Canada. Less territory to govern? No, that doesn't make sense. A smaller governmental operation? Well, maybe. The government has contracted since the country split."

  "You're getting close, Tim. Why would the US gain from a smaller government and government budget?"

  "It was out of control. The separation of the west gave the US the excuse it needed to cut back on spending and to reduce government! But, why not just do it? Why screw around with all the gyrations it took to create a country out of the west?"

  "You answer that question. It's yours. Why not just do it?"

  "By creating the charade of a secession, Canada would dissolve. But that still leaves the question of the west. I don't know," said Tim. His mind was whirling with a confusion of fear and attempts to analyze Sam's questions.

  "Let me help you out, Tim. The western states and the western Canadian provinces secede from their two countries. Quebec is isolated. Canada dissolves. This creates the appearance of a crisis so big that the US government can use it as an excuse to pull in its horns and downsize, cutting back spending programs that had gotten completely out of control. Welfare payments, medical care. Defense costs. Subsidies to farmers. You know the story."

  "But the US loses half its area and some of the most strategic at that. How can that be good?"

  "Do you see any substantive change since the separation. You still buy gas for your car? You still buy food at the store? Have your taxes gone down? Has the sky fallen?"

  "No, I must admit, things are actually better economically. People have adapted to the change. They still think of the west as just the same as it was."

  "Exactly, that's because people don't like upheavals and change. They want things to improve but without any visible change and they don't want their own lives to be affected."

  "Sam, how come you know this? And why aren't you upset? And why are you in Washington?"

  Sam looked Tim directly in the eye, never flinching or blinking. He did not answer immediately. Tim became anxious at the long wait. Finally Sam said, "I was part of the plan."

  "What? You, a part of the plan? Come on, Sam. You have got to be shitting me. I saw you in action out in Denver. I know how you reacted when you found out about how Washington sabotaged the first convention. Was that all an act?"

  "Yes," said Sam simply. The two men sat for a long time looking at each other. Tim was growing angry, upset with himself for being a party to such an insidious scheme. Finally Tim broke the silence.

  "You plotted this whole damn thing? All by yourself? Really, Sam, that's hard to believe."

  "Oh, no, I had a lot of help. I played a very small part in it actually. My part could have been played by any number of people. The planning took place in Washington, and Ottawa."

  "Why are you telling me this, Sam? You want me to get on the air tonight and report this to two hundred million viewers?", asked Tim with biting sarcasm.

  "No, Tim. I think you know that nobody would believe it, anyway. But don't get any ideas about reporting it, if you value your career."

  "Oh, now it's my career that's at stake. Is Wendy in on this, too? What, one call to my boss and my career goes down the shit tube?"

  "Not unless you want it to, Tim. I'm telling you the story. Twenty years from now you can write a book. Make a lot of money. But for now, I don't think you should do anything at all."

  "OK, so at least tell me the whole story. All the dirty details. Where does Tom Adams fit in, and Bob Winston, and McKay and Brazleton? Are they all part of the plot?"

  "No, only Winston. His death was not part of the plan, but his early participation was. He was to be the first leader of the new country. McKay was never a part of it. He's the only honest politician left in this country. Adams was just a greedy politician who saw a chance to promote himself. Brazleton was just around for the ride, an opportunist."

  "So you guys do make mistakes. Winston's death was a pure accident, wasn't it? He was in the wrong place at the wrong time, wasn't he?"

  "Yes, he should have kept his pants zipped for another hour or so," said Sam simply. "He was to go back to Washington, resign and return to Idaho. The riots were an unfortunate thing."

  "Unfortunate? Several thousand people died! Unfortunate. What an understatement! I suppose you used the riot to your advantage?"

  "Of course we did. Unfortunate as it was, it became a critical part of the plan. We couldn't have planned a better scenario than what actually happened. It provided the secessionists with the opportunity they needed."

  "There's one thing that escapes me. Why did you stage the sabotage of the first convention? Why not just let it succeed?"

  Tim was regaining his composure. He was thinking more objectively, more as a reporter should think.

  "It was felt that the overall effect would be better if it appeared that Washington was interfering with the whole process. Our interference was supposed to be revealed. There didn't appear to be enough popular support out west at first. If the government of the US appeared to be sabotaging the convention, more popular support would be generated. All we had to do was find someone of your talent to act as the detective. When we realized that you were one of the few reporters of the major networks present at the convention, it was easy. Then we discovered that Angie Brett was an old acquaintance of yours, and the rest was easy."

  "Angie was a party to this little charade? Damn, you guys don't miss a trick, do you? How did you get to her? Money?"

  "Yes, a fairly large sum of money. How do think she's lived for the past year? On her good looks?"

  "You bastards. You play with people like they're pieces on a chess board. Y
ou have no remorse, no scruples at all, do you?"

  Sam did not respond to that charge. Instead, he said, "You think it's easy to govern a country, don't you. You sit at your desk and type up copy about events you know nothing about. You only see the bumbling legislators and their junkets, the scandals, the greed. You pass judgment without ever really understanding what is at stake. But there are dedicated people in this country that know that it is a very difficult thing to keep a nation rolling. They know the reality of it. They know that people want their cars and their stereos and their four bedroom houses. They want to send their kids off to college, but they want the government to pay for it. They want interest on their mortgage low but interest on their CD's high. But it doesn't work that way. It is a very complex game, with very complex rules. It had become like a runaway locomotive headed for disaster and something had to be done. The national debt was out of control. Deficit spending was out of control. It was all out of control. We saw an opportunity to get it back under control and we did what we had to do. It worked, Tim. It's under control now."

  "So what happens to the NAU? Does it stay independent?"

  "For a few years. We might learn some new techniques about governing out there. That was part of the plan, too. Turn good people loose for a few years and see what they come up with. We've already seen several good ideas come out of it. Like contracted government operations or a weaker central government. We're going to be watching that closely. But eventually the NAU and the US will emerge as a unified country, with twice the real estate as before. Most likely the same thing will happen in the old Soviet Union. After they've all had a few years of freedom, high taxes, mob related crime and drugs, they'll reconsolidate and be bigger and stronger than before. They had some real problems, too, you know."

  "So the NAU is just a laboratory experiment? You're saying that the NAU will just give up and come back into the fold in a few years. Suppose they like the arrangement the way it is now? What then? And what makes you such an expert on the Soviet Union? Are they part of the group? Do you consult with them?"

  "We'll find a way, Tim. And so will the Russians." Sam avoided the question of the Soviet problem.

  "Yeah, I'm sure you will. I'm damn sure you will. One other thing. Was Jeffries a part of this, and Browning?"

  "Jeffries was, but not Hal Browning. Jeffries knew that Canada was falling apart. He participated because he felt that Canada would be better off as a part of the United States. It was not always easy for Jeffries; he doesn't like the President very much. And the President doesn't really care for him. For what it's worth, I don't care much for the son of a bitch, either. Hal Browning is someone we'll be watching. He's an excellent executive. He's probably Presidential material. Of course he has a little problem that he needs to keep under control."

  Tim sat with his head in his hand, looking down at the floor. After a minute he said, "Sam, who appointed you to this group? I mean how do you get to be a member? Are the Russians in on this damn scheme, too?"

  "You're asking too many questions, Tim," said Sam abruptly. "This is not an interview. I've told you more than you should know already. Let it go at that." Sam rose from his chair and looked out the restaurant window. "I think I'll check with my pilot and see what the weather report is. Have a good flight back to Atlanta, Tim. Give me a call when you're in Seattle. It's always good to talk with you."

  Tim did not at first acknowledge Sam's last remark or his farewell. He rose from his chair and started to walk out of the restaurant, forgetting to pay his check. Then he stopped, turned and said to Sam, "You said you'd find a way. Maybe I can find a way, too." He spit the words at Sam as he left the restaurant, like a cobra spitting his venom.

  Sam merely smiled and left a twenty dollar bill on the table. He muttered to himself, "Wrong answer, Tim." Sam went to a pay phone and made a call. He left the restaurant to look for his pilot. His plane was aloft within fifteen minutes.

  "Tim Mullenski's plane crashed and burned over South Carolina," announced the network newsman on the evening news. "He was a bright young reporter who had gained considerable prestige with his reports on the developments in the west. He was well-liked by his colleagues, and we shall miss him. It is not clear if the crash was a result of a winter storm over the eastern seaboard or pilot error. The FAA is investigating. Tim was thirty three years old and appeared to be headed for a brilliant career. It was indeed a tragedy. In other national and world news, a member of the cabinet of the North American Union is in Texas to......."