by Joe Nobody
President Clifton and Governor Simmons, in a joint press conference, announced the date of the election for all of the residents of Texas to determine if they wanted to secede. The people would be given 30 days to study the treaty before the vote.
A few astute politicians and commentators began to notice what they termed, “Treaty fatigue.” The American public had grown tired of the constant bickering, had lost interest in the back and forth repartee.
That night, a poll found that only 41% of Americans knew that Texas would decide on her own whether or not to leave the union.
Chapter 12 – The Issue
It was a rare occasion, Zach unlocking his front door at a reasonable hour. It wasn’t an accident or random occurrence.
His day had been consumed by appearing as a witness in a trial… the constant breaks, objections, and meetings at the bench dragging the entire affair out. By the time he was dismissed from the stand, there wasn’t much time left to do anything in the field.
“You’re shitting yourself,” he informed the empty home. “You’re having trouble handling the load those documents are putting on your back.”
And it was a tremendous weight.
The entire courthouse had been abuzz over the Presidential Commission’s report. Like most Texans, Zach had been following the entire story day-by-day, gradually accepting that his home state might actually become a country.
Unlike the people around him, Zach knew he could drastically influence the outcome.
Despite maintaining an outward appearance of supporting whatever the people democratically resolved, he was still unsure of how to handle the secret locked inside his gun safe. When someone mentioned the nationally televised debate scheduled for that evening, he’d decided a little TV time might help him make up his mind.
“You’re bullshitting yourself again,” he cursed. “You’re hoping one side will kick the other’s ass tonight and let you off the hook.”
Unscrewing the cap from a cold beer, he reached for the remote just in time.
“Tonight, we are bringing you a special edition of the World News Today program. This extended broadcast will focus exclusively on the proposed secession of Texas and more specifically on the recently released results of the President’s Blue Ribbon panel. The debate between Governor Simmons of Texas and Senator McMillian of Illinois will follow.”
With flawless hair, conservative blue suit, and nationally recognized smile, the anchor appeared at his usual desk, a graphic in the background depicting the United States being split in half.
“We begin our broadcast tonight with a look at the future of our nation if Texas were to secede. Our first report has been filed by our Washington bureau chief and deals with how the political landscape would be altered by the event.”
“Good evening. As of today, there are 36 members of the House of Representatives from Texas, with only seven of those being Democrats. Potentially, the greatest short-term impact for the U.S. would be the Democratic Party taking back control of the House. Currently, Republicans enjoy a 28-seat majority, but with 29 of their rank no longer serving, Nancy Pelosi would once again be primed to become the Speaker of the House.”
The image then shifted to the Senate, a set of numerical columns overlaying the chambers of the higher house. “The same result would occur in the Senate,” the announcer continued. “After the last election, the Republicans managed to pull off a single seat majority, 50 to the Democrat’s 49, with one independent serving the esteemed body. If Texas leaves the union, along with both of her current Republican senators, the GOP would again find itself in a minority position.”
A video clip of President Clifton began to roll, the chief executive smiling and waving to an adoring crowd. “This bears well for the president,” the voiceover continued, “as most political experts believe she has little to no chance of achieving any significant legislative accomplishments with the current division of power in Washington.”
Zach watched the broadcast with a keen eye, trying to gauge where the whole thing was going to fall, and more importantly, trying to figure out how he really felt. The issue was obviously complex, nowhere near black and white. Wasn’t that the way with everything these days?
The ranger continued to absorb the broadcast, surprised at some of the predictions the commission had committed to paper. Other tidbits of information were just common sense.
He yawned his way through the segment concerning the Supreme Court justices, and how a U.S. government dominated by the left would appoint like-minded judges. Duh.
Despite being a native, a few of the facts revealed in the report were a surprise to the Texan.
“Texas is the third largest producer of electronic components of all the states,” said one industry analyst. “It is by far the largest exporter of such products.”
“Texas will be one of the largest export economies in the world,” announced the reporter. “With excess cattle, oil, and agricultural produce, the new republic would export more goods than California and New York combined.”
Zach continued watching, several of the statistics making him proud to be a resident of the Lone Star State.
“Texas has the 3rd largest reserves of uranium in North America,” said one of the experts. “In addition, the state ranks 5th in coal reserves, and has significant reserves of other critical metals.”
The network special then turned to the more difficult questions, a reporter grilling Governor Simmons with a rapid-fire barrage of questions for over ten minutes.
“What about the people receiving Social Security?” poked the newsman.
“Social Security pays regular benefits to Americans living outside the United States today. Why would Texas be any different? The same can be said of retired military and government workers. They can live in any country and still receive their benefits.”
“How would Texas pay for its share of the federal debt?”
“We would be happy to make payments on our portion of the debt. The commission agreed that Texas is 9% of the population, so we will have to inherit 1.15 trillion, or the same percentage of the debt. But, we will also receive that same percentage of gold reserves, military hardware, and federal assets. It must be a fair exchange, as the people of Texas have paid for roughly 9% of the federal apparatus with their income taxes over the last 100 years.”
The reporter didn’t like that answer, the scowl on his face making that clear. “And a constitution?”
“We will immediately adopt the U.S. Constitution, with only minor changes. The Second Amendment, as an example, will be clarified. All changes will be approved by a state-wide referendum within 12 months of independence.”
Zach was bored with it all. He was reaching to turn it off, when he heard the word taxes, closely followed by the reporter’s eyebrows shooting skyward.
“We will have no income taxes,” Governor Simmons announced proudly. “My staff submitted a plan that will provide more than enough revenue without corporate or individual incomes being garnished. Our new system will also provide a solution for one of our nation’s largest issues – immigration.”
Shaking his head, the reporter couldn’t make the connection. “I’m not sure how taxes and immigration affect each other, Governor.”
“Like Canada, Germany, and many other countries around the world, we are going to sell citizenship. Any non-criminal, from any nation, will be welcome in Texas. For the undocumented workers already in the state, we have a solution… a simple, easy path to becoming a citizen.”
“Go on, sir. You have me intrigued.”
“We will establish a quick, 3-day documentation process, not unlike the current day green card. The immigrant will pay income taxes for a period of years, at a rate similar to what the U.S. taxpayers are burdened with today. After seven years, the green card holders will become citizens. This way, the state receives income, and we don’t have people risking their lives to sneak across the Rio Grande.”
“And so you plan
to tax these poor people enough to pay for a new national government?”
Simmons growing frustration with the man’s biased attitude was clear, but he kept his temper in check reasonably well. “Of course not,” he said, dismissing the reporter’s spin with a wave. “We will fund our nation’s federal needs via currency control and the existing income from tariffs that will come to Austin rather than Washington.”
“So you’re just going to print money? Won’t that lead to inflation and devaluation of Texas’s currency?”
“No, that’s not our plan. Any government that has controlled its own currency in the past has failed miserably. We’re not that stupid. Our plan eliminates the role of controlling the money supply, as it is currently fulfilled by the Federal Reserve Bank. We will utilize an independent central bank with elected officials. Rather than give an expanding currency supply to private banks, like the U.S. does today, the government will inject that new money into the economy to pay its obligations.”
“I don’t understand – you’ll still be printing money to pay the government’s debts, won’t you?”
Simmons shook his head, “No. The number of notes being printed will be legally limited to the growth in the economy. If Texas grows at 3%, then the government will receive that same 3% to spend. If we only grow at 2%, then our budgets will be limited to that amount. There will never be any out-of-control inflation. We’re not going to make the same mistakes that have plagued Washington.”
Zach was impressed. A country without any income taxes? He made a note to check his paystub and compute the increase in his monthly take-home.
He also liked the governor’s idea of fixing the immigration problem. So much of his work in law enforcement was due to illegal activity by folks trying to cross from Mexico. On the other hand, the Latino influence on much of Texas was clearly a positive. Maybe the Lone Star flag would fly over the new melting pot of the West?
Zach had made up his mind before the debate began, that portion of the broadcast merely confirming his decision. Switching off the television, he opened the safe and withdrew the envelope containing the copies of the Hendricks documents.
He’d make an unscheduled trip to Houston in the morning, the address of Channel 3 News already embedded in his memory.
For a moment, he considered calling Sam. The thought of meeting her for lunch made him smile, but then he changed his mind. He was treading on dangerous ground, convinced the records had something to do with the incident involving Buffalo. There was no need to drag Detective Temple into the deep water with him.
“Sorry, Sam. You’re just going to have to go a few more days without seeing my pretty face,” he whispered.
Chapter 13 – Trail of Tears
Samantha Temple studied the body, or what was left of it, with a keen eye. Even for the experienced, homicide detective, the scene was shocking.
“I found the arms!” shouted a patrolman, some 30 meters away.
The area was on the edge of Harris County, thick with underbrush and scrub trees. A citizen hunting his lost dog had found the pooch – and the body.
Thankful she opted against high heels today, Sam trekked down a seldom-used lane, the thigh-high weeds only slightly lower along the two parallel paths where a car’s tires would pass.
She found the officer standing with his back to the grisly discovery, the youngish man with a green face merely pointing to the remains.
Sam could understand why. The two arms, separated at the shoulders, were lying about six feet apart. Ropes were still attached to the wrists, the lanyards no doubt hastily cut away from the vehicle that had been used to pull the victim apart.
“Not a good way to die,” Sam commented to the pale officer. Bending closer to examine one of the limbs, she continued, “From the looks of his wrists, they were torturing him… pulling him apart slowly.”
Her comment tipped the scales between full on nausea and his current hue, the young HPD officer rushing away, coughing and gagging on his own vomit.
Sam ignored the upheaval, moving to examine what was once a left arm. “Nice watch,” she noted, using her pencil to brush away a small clump of grass. “You weren’t some homeless guy… or a doper who owed money to some vicious loan shark.”
The crime scene investigation unit arrived a moment later, high-end digital cameras snapping photographs of every possible piece of evidence. Sam noted her footfalls on a diagram and then instructed one of the technicians to do the same for the still-puking officer.
“This happened less than 48 hours ago,” announced another agent. “From the rope burns on the hands and wrists, I’d say the victim died slowly. He was being tortured… maybe interrogated.”
“I bet he talked,” Sam observed. “I bet he told them anything they wanted to know.”
“He lived for about 1 minute after his arms were dismembered,” noted the medical expert. “Actual cause of death most likely due to hemorrhaging. He was brutally beaten as well, the disfigurement of his face and skull the result of a blunt instrument… maybe a blackjack.”
Satisfied that the surface area and near-proximity to the body had been detailed, the CSI officer gave Sam the okay to search the body.
“Who are you?” she wondered, taking a knee and patting down the corpse’s pockets. The first thing she found was a press identification card. Wiping the blood from the plastic encased ID, Sam inhaled sharply when she read the name. “Ross Garcia,” she said aloud. “Now who did you go and piss off?”
Fifteen minutes later, Sam was on the road, driving to the victim’s home address. On the way, she couldn’t dismiss the commonality of Abe Hendricks, Ranger Bass, Sal Perkins, and the now-deceased Ross Garcia. She reached for her phone.
“Hello, Detective Temple,” Zach answered in a cheery voice. “What can this Texas Ranger do for you?”
“I just finished working a crime scene, and I ran into an old friend of yours,” she answered. “I’m sure you remember Ross Garcia, the man who became famous for interviewing Abe Hendricks and flashing your fistfight all over the national media.”
“Yes,” Zach replied, his tone cautious. “And what did Mr. Garcia have to say?”
Sam ignored the question. “And when was the last time you encountered Mr. Garcia, Zach?”
“I’ve not laid eyes on the man since that morning in Mr. Hendricks’s yard. What’s going on, Sam?”
“Someone tied ropes around Mr. Garcia’s ankles and wrists, and then proceeded to pull him apart. My guess is they used a pickup truck, and the culprits most definitely did it nice and slow.”
“When?”
“The medical examiner thinks it was less than 48 hours ago. Anything I should know, Ranger Bass?”
The gap of silence on the other end told the detective that Zach was choosing his next words carefully.
“As I’m sure your brilliant mind had already deduced, I sent Mr. Garcia an anonymous copy of Abe’s papers. Other than that, I’ve not had any contact with him since that morning when your ex-boyfriend and I had our minor altercation.”
“No contact?”
“No, none. And if I were you, I wouldn’t rush to the conclusion his death is related to those documents. There’s no way anyone could know he had them. I just dropped them off yesterday morning at the station.”
“And you didn’t tell anyone what you were doing?”
“No. I started to call you, but decided against it. I didn’t want to involve you in something that might be over-the-top dangerous. I’m pretty sure somebody’s been trying to take me out.”
“Now that’s stunning news – someone wants to kill Ranger Bass. I’m utterly shocked. Why would anyone want to end the life of such a nice, polite, low-key guy like you?”
“I know,” Zach teased back. “I guess they heard that the good die young.”
“And you were going to fill me in on this little tidbit at what point in time? Or had your brilliant deductive skills already eliminated the possibility that someone might assoc
iate me with you, and thus concluded I was not in danger?”
“I think you’re jumping to conclusions,” Zach replied. “It’s entirely plausible that Mr. Garcia’s murder was due to a completely unrelated story he was covering. He was, after all, an investigative reporter. This might have been purely a coincidence. Where are you now?”
“I’m heading over to Mr. Garcia’s home. He resided on the west side… out in Katy. Are you in Houston?”
“Not yet. I’m still about an hour outside of town. The governor is going to be visiting your lovely city in the next few days, and I’ve been assigned to do a little pre-arrival screening. Why don’t you give me the address, and I’ll meet you there. It’s on the way, after all.”
“Suit yourself,” she replied. “I suppose you might get lucky and notice something I’ve missed.”