Phoenix Rising:

by William W. Johnstone

  “Bitte?” the waiter said as he approached the table.

  “You must let me order for you,” Mironov said.

  “All right.”

  “Gebratenen Lamm, Bratkartoffeln, Artischocken-herzen, und Ihre besten Wein, bitte,” Mironov ordered.

  “Sehr gut.”

  “I’ve never been that big on lamb,” Bryan Gates said. “But if you say try it, I will.”

  “You won’t be disappointed. The Kuchenwerkstatt is known for their lamb.”

  “How is my friend Nicolai Petrovich?”

  “He is recovering well,” Mironov said. “He wanted to do this himself, to have . . . what is it you Americans say? Closure?”

  “Yes, closure.”

  “But I assured him that the job would be done.”

  “I thought when we got rid of the last . . . shipment, that there wouldn’t be another,” Bryan said.

  “Nothing has been moved yet. That is why Golovin is here to meet with Sorroto. They are here to make the final arrangements.

  “Yes,” Bryan said.

  Their meal was delivered, and for the next few minutes they ate with enjoyment.

  “Are you sure about how you are going to do this?” Mironov asked.

  “Yes. Why? Are you having second thoughts?”

  “No, I’m not having second thoughts about doing it. Just about how you plan to do it.”

  “I’m the one taking the risk. All you have to do is drive the getaway motorcycle.”

  “But what you have planned, my friend. It is unheard of.”

  Bryan chuckled. “No, it isn’t. Not at all. Haven’t you ever seen the movie The Godfather?”

  “No.”

  “When Michael Corleone kills Sollozo, he does it right in broad daylight, in the middle of Louis’s Restaurant. The gunshots were so loud that it scared the shit out of everyone else.”

  “And that’s what you are counting on?”

  “Yes.”

  Mironov shook his head and chuckled. “Did you do things like this when we were enemies?”

  “Here now, you don’t want me to give away all my secrets, do you?”

  “They are here,” Mironov said.

  Looking through the window, Bryan saw Sorroto and General Golovin coming up the walk together.

  “Will Golovin recognize you?” Bryan asked.

  “No, we have never met. But I have seen his picture many times.”

  “Yes, the same with me. I have never met Sorroto, but I have seen the son of a bitch’s picture, many times.”

  Mironov laughed. “Da, Golovin is also a sookin sin.”

  “Meine Rechnung bitte,” Bryan said, asking the waiter for the check.

  “Ja.”

  “As soon as the waiter brings me the bill, you go start the motorcycle. From the moment it starts, count to ten, then race the engine to make as much noise as you can,” Bryan said.

  “Da.”

  While they waited for the bill to be brought to the table, Bryan looked over at Sorroto and Golovin. They had chosen one of the small tables and were sitting directly across from each other. The approach to the Herrentoilette would take someone right by their table, so he could approach without arousing suspicion.

  “Look, there is a fire exit just before you go into the men’s room. I’ll come out through that door.”

  “I’ll be there, my friend,” Mironov said.

  At that moment the waiter brought the bill and as Bryan paid it, Mironav left the café. A moment later, Bryan heard the motorcycle start and began to count. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a snub-nosed thirty-eight revolver and held it unseen by his side. At the count of five he started toward the table where Sorroto and Golovin were engaged in conversation so intense that they either didn’t see him approach, or paid no attention to him.

  At the count of ten, the sound of the motorcycle became so loud that everyone in the café looked toward the window in obvious annoyance. Bryan stopped at Sorroto’s table and raised the pistol. Sorroto barely had time to register surprise before Bryan pulled the trigger. Golovin looked on in total shock, first at the black hole in Sorroto’s forehead, then toward Bryan. Bryan pulled the trigger a second time, again hitting his target right in the forehead.

  For a moment the other diners thought they were hearing the motorcycle backfire, then a woman looked over and saw the two dead men at the table. She screamed, but by that time Bryan was climbing onto the back of the motorcycle.

  Five miles away from the Kuchenwerkstatt Gasthaus they ditched the motorcycle and climbed into a rented Mercedes. Half an hour later Bryan was on an Air Lufthansa flight for Nassau.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  From Chronicle Magazine:

  Murdered, in Germany, Warren Sorroto, the wealthiest man in the world. Born Greygor Sorkosky in Hungary, in 1930, Sorroto was a wonderful philanthropist who gave away millions of dollars to help the American Islamic Republic of Enlightenment transition from the false religion of Christianity to the true faith of Moqaddas Sirata, a religion of obedience and perfection. Sorroto was a benefactor of our Glorious Leader, President for Life Mehdi Ohmshidi, may he be blessed by Allah, having assisted him in his initial run for president.

  The murder happened in the Kuchenwerkstatt Gasthaus, a popular café in Hamburg, Germany. Witnesses say that that the killer approached the table where Sorroto and Dimitry Golovin, a Russian general, were taking their lunch. Without so much as a word spoken, he shot both of them.

  It is reported that the killer had an accomplice who whisked him off on a motorcycle. The motorcycle, which had been reported stolen, was found abandoned a short distance from the café. There was no sign of the perpetrators.

  It is now believed by the German police, as well as the Russian FAPSI, that it was General Golovin, and not Sorroto who was the primary target. There are rumors that some in Russia are trying to sell nuclear weapons on the black market, and they perceived General Golovin as an impediment to their plans.

  Glorious Leader, President for Life Mehdi Ohmshidi, may he be blessed by Allah, expressed his sorrow over the loss of this great man.

  Obey Ohmshidi.

  Fort Morgan

  Bryan Gates and Chris Carmack were walking on the beach, along the surf line. A sand crab scurried across the beach in front of them, and five seagulls, in a perfect V formation glided over them, their wings outstretched and unmoving.

  “How was the weather in Hamburg?” Chris asked.

  “Who else knows?” Bryan asked.

  “As far as I know, just me,” Chris replied. “I think that things like this are best kept off the books, even though at this point, there are no books. As long as neither Jake nor Bob know about it, their consciences will be clear.”

  “Conscience? Tell me, Chris, what exactly is a conscience?”

  “It is something that tells you you did the right thing, even though it might seem wrong to others.”

  “The right thing would have been to kill that son of bitch before he ever had a chance to put that incompetent, socialist bastard in the White House,” Bryan said.

  “Did you really play Michael Corleone?”

  “Yeah, I did. If Coppola had been there, he would have put me in that role instead of Al Pacino.”

  “Stick around, Bryan,” Chris said. “We’re starting a new nation here, and need good men.”

  “I have to stick around, Chris. I have no other place to go.”

  Mobile, October 15

  Once again, representatives from nine states arrived in Mobile. This time they came as senators, two from each state, and as representatives, with the expressed purpose of declaring into existence the nation of United Free America. Until the new nation was organized, the number of representatives per state reflected the number of representatives each state had in the Congress of the United States.

  There had been some discussion over the number of seats Florida should have, because in the pre-O days of the United States, Florida had 25 congressional dis
tricts. But only the north half of Florida was included in the alignment of states for United Free America, so, by mutual agreement Florida was given 12 seats. That gave the provisional Congress a construction of 88 House and 16 Senate seats. South Carolina, though it had made a formal application to join the UFA, was not yet included, and would not be included until their petition was voted on and ratified by the other eight states. South Carolina did send a delegation consisting of 6 representatives and 2 senators, but until such time as they were accepted into full union with the rest of the states of United Free America, the South Carolina senators and congressmen would be a nonvoting delegation.

  It was quickly pointed out that Texas and Georgia, should they combine, could control the house. But no piece of legislation could pass without approval in both houses of Congress, and that gave some sense of balance to the proceedings.

  Bob opened the session with an address to a joint meeting of the House and the Senate. After the initial welcome, he introduced Jake, to give a report on the military situation.

  “Ladies and gentlemen of this, the organizing Congress of United Free America,” Jake began, “I am pleased to report that the state of our military is exceptionally good. We have a well-organized military which by actual count is a defense force of 5,379 active duty members. The construct of our defense force is 3,207 in the ground service, 1,453 in our air service, and 719 in our sea service. Our sea service consists of two destroyers, one submarine, and one aircraft carrier. As yet neither our submarine nor our carrier has been deployed, but we expect to do so as soon as they are fully crewed. Eighty-five percent of our service men and women are veterans, twenty-six percent are officers.

  “We have already been engaged in some significant military operations. One was the deployment of an armed, unmanned aerial vehicle, the MQ9 Reaper, which provided aerial support for an embattled firebase in South Carolina. The second was embedding one of our advisors with a combat convoy of the South Carolina Defense Core. That convoy came under fire, receiving rather significant casualties, but they were able to call in air support from their own resources. The third was the rescue from an AIRE prison of Dr. Taylor Urban. The fourth military engagement was the destruction of AIRE jet fighters at Homestead Air Force Base in South Florida. These were the same aircraft that attacked Columbia, South Carolina, inflicting heavy casualties on the innocent citizens of that city.

  “In addition we have had some significant engagements at sea, interdicting would-be attacks on our offshore gas and oil rigs. In every case, I am proud to say that our military performed well.”

  A hand went up in the audience, and Jake called upon him.

  The person Jake called upon, a large and powerfully built man, stood and turned sideways so he could address both Jake and the others in the assembly.

  “I am William Knowles, a part of the South Carolina delegation, and I would like to extend the thanks of the people of South Carolina for the military support we have received.”

  Another delegate raised his hand and, when called upon, stood. “Why are we helping South Carolina? They weren’t here for the constitutional convention, and though I know they have applied to join us, they aren’t a part of us yet. So why are we taking the chance of having one of our soldiers killed, fighting for South Carolina?”

  “Because even though South Carolina hasn’t joined us, they are an ally. And we have a long and storied history of providing military support . . . and sustaining casualties . . . in defense of our allies,” Jake replied.

  “Are we paying our soldiers?” another delegate asked. “And if so, how much are we paying them, and how are we doing that? What I’m asking is, where is the money coming from?”

  “For the moment we are paying our soldiers an equivalent salary to what they were receiving at their respective ranks in the pre-O military. And we are paying them from our treasury,” Jake said. “But part of what I hope we do here for these few days of meetings, will be to come up with a way that we can all participate in funding both our treasury, and our military.”

  “You’re a general, I can see why you are interested,” someone shouted, and the others laughed.

  “Getting paid is nice,” Jake said with a smile and a nod. “And finally, as I’m sure you can understand, though we have a good start in building our defense service, a military force consisting of only five thousand members isn’t nearly large enough. We are going to have to start a very active recruitment program. My personal goal is to have one hundred thousand men under arms by the first of the New Year.”

  After the opening joint session, the senators and congressmen went to their respective chambers to work out the details of building a new nation. Since there were no political parties, there was no such office as a Senate Majority Leader, so a President Pro Tem was elected in the Senate, and a speaker of the house in the House of Representatives. Both positions were selected by voting at large.

  Once the two houses selected their leaders, they were ready to get down to the business of organizing the new nation. The first person to request permission to speak in the Senate was a delegate from Texas.

  “Mr. President?”

  “The chair recognizes Senator Carter Davis from Texas.”

  Senator Davis stepped to the front and, since there were only 18 present, his talk was more of a conversation than elocution.

  “This may sound a little far-fetched at first, but hear me out. Back home, when we had our statewide meeting to select the senators and congressman, a question came up.

  “I don’t know how many of you are up on your history about Texas, but when Texas was first brought in to the United States, it was given the option of dividing itself into five states.

  “For various and sundry reasons, Texas chose to remain a single state. But now the dynamics have changed. And the Texas delegation has been asked to petition this assembly for the right to enter into alliance with the new nation of United Free America, not as one, but as five states.”

  “Discussion from the floor?” the President Pro Tem said.

  “Carter, wouldn’t that give Texas almost absolute control of the Senate?” Senator Patterson from Louisiana asked. “You already have control of the House.”

  “That would increase the number of seats in the Senate from sixteen to twenty four. And even if every senator from the five Texas states would vote together, it would still be a minority. But I assure you, it would be a rare occasion for all ten senators from the five states to vote in a block. It is because of the varying philosophies throughout the state that we are asking for this move. There are some parts of the state, particularly our Mexican-American citizens, who have, in some cases, a family presence going back nearly four hundred years, who feel they aren’t being represented.”

  As this discussion was going on in the Senate, the House was dealing with the same question.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  Bob and Jake were discussing the Texas division bill over lunch.

  “Senator Davis is right in his contention,” Bob said. “Historically, Texas did have the option of entering the Union as five states.”

  “I wonder why they didn’t.”

  “Well, when Texas first came in to the Union there were vast areas of the state that were almost totally unoccupied except by Comanche, and in the early days, Comanche and the Texans weren’t exactly what you would call good neighbors. I think Texas decided to enter as one state as a matter of practicality.”

  “Yeah, but that’s obviously not an issue today. What do you think about Davis’s proposal?”

  “I have no vote.”

  “No, but you have veto power.”

  Bob chuckled. “Yes, I do, don’t I? What do you think?”

  “It seems to me like it would give one state too much power,” Jake said. “That would give Texas ten votes in the Senate.”

  “Yes, but their total number of votes in the House wouldn’t change,” Bob pointed out. “And, breaking up the votes like that might m
ake the House more balanced. As it is now, Texas only needs a couple of allies to control the vote. But this way, each individual state would be greatly modified. In fact, Georgia would become the most powerful state.”

  “Yeah,” Jake said. “Hah, I hadn’t thought about it that way.”

  When the House and Senate reconvened it was learned that, in anticipation of having their petition accepted, the eight additional senators were already present. There was no need for additional representatives, the current slate would merely be divided up among the four new states.

  Though there was spirited debate, it passed by overwhelming majorities in both the House and the Senate. It was presented to Bob later that same day. As it was presented, the five new states were to be called; Texas One, Texas Two, Texas Three, Texas Four, and Texas Five.

  Bob chuckled as he looked at the bill. “I must say you weren’t all that creative in coming up with state names.”

  “It isn’t without precedence,” Davis said. “At least, sort of. There are North and South Carolina, North and South Dakota, Virginia and West Virginia, and now we have North Florida.”

  “I guess you have a point,” Bob said. He looked at the bill that Senator Haris of Texas and Senator Billings of Alabama, the President Pro Tem of the Senate, as well as Speaker Baynard, Congressman from the 1st Congressional District of Georgia, and Congressman Buck Tinsley from the 5th Congressional District of Texas placed before him.

  To approve the division of the current State of Texas, Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of United Free America in Congress assembled,

  JOINT BILL 1. DIVISION OF THE STATE OF TEXAS

  In accordance with the initial annexation of Texas to the United States, approved by Congress on 1 March, 1843, which included the following provision, to wit:

  New States of convenient size not exceeding four in number, in addition to said State of Texas, and having sufficient population, may, hereafter, by the consent of said State, be formed out of the territory thereof, which shall be entitled to admission under the provisions of the Federal Constitution; and such states as may be formed out of the territory lying south of thirty-six degrees thirty minutes north latitude, commonly known as the Missouri Compromise Line, shall be admitted into the Union, with or without slavery, as the people of each State asking admission shall desire; and in such State or States as shall be formed out of said territory north of said Missouri Compromise Line, slavery, or involuntary servitude, (except for crime) shall be prohibited.