Burning Nation

by Trent Reedy

  “Excuse me, Mr. Vice President, but you’ve been a supporter of a tougher war on the Idaho rebels. Doesn’t this peace plan represent a total one-eighty from your previous position?”

  “The redistribution of combat assets from New England is only one part of an aggressive solution to the present problem. A lot of the other components of that solution are classified, but what’s important to remember is that the people of America, certainly the people of New England, are demanding peace and leadership, and I aim to provide them with both. •—

  —• I’m Teresa Bradley for KGWN Cheyenne Action Eye News, about ten minutes south of Cheyenne at the Wyoming-Colorado border. Ever since the late President Rodriguez enacted a blockade against Idaho nine months ago, federal military personnel have been restricted from entering our state, but they have been allowed to freely move to and from F. E. Warren Air Force Base near Cheyenne. However, traffic heading into the base has recently increased dramatically, with large military convoys coming north out of Colorado. This possibly confirms a recent leak from White House insiders that President Griffith is tired of requesting that Montana and Wyoming allow troops to enter the state, and she may be preparing to force the issue. I want to see if our KGWN cameras can get a look at this. As you can see, Wyoming Highway Patrol and National Guard personnel are assembling on this service road beside the interstate and in this nearby RV lot. There appear to be armored personnel carriers and armored Humvees with machine guns massing on the Wyoming side.”

  “Excuse me, ma’am, but I’m going to have to ask you to shut down your camera and vacate the area.”

  “Have we done something wrong, officer? Can you tell us why all these Wyoming soldiers and police officers have gathered here? Are they preparing to forcibly close the Wyoming border to all federal troops?”

  “Ma’am, we need you to move along. We’re here to protect you from Idaho rebels.”

  “Idaho rebels? Idaho is hundreds of miles away, clear on the other side of the state. That’s completely ridiculous.”

  “Ma’am, that’s all I can tell you.”

  “Well, no help from Wyoming Highway Patrol, but a potentially dangerous situation on the Colorado-Wyoming border. Teresa Bradley, KGWN News. •—

  —• The police have arrested everyone down by the Columbia River who are trying to film this. Smashing comms right on the street. So I’m in big trouble if I get caught, but people got to see this. Something is happening. You can see this huge ship, like a battleship or something — I mean, not a battleship, but this sucker isn’t a pleasure boat, those are some serious guns — four of these ships, just rolling upstream past Portland. If I zoom in … there it is. LCS 1, USS Freedom. LCS 3, USS Fort Worth. LCS 5, USS Milwaukee. The last one … LCS 7 … I think … USS Detroit. I heard that Idaho had scuttled some barges upriver so the Fed couldn’t get through, but maybe those have been cleared out, or maybe these ships are going to shoot them out. Look at the size of those forward guns. I don’t know … If you’re watching this, stay away from the river. There’s trouble on the Columbia. •—

  —• in the CNN Idaho Crisis Situation Room. Nothing has been confirmed, but we are getting reports from anonymous sources that some federal soldiers in Idaho who posted shouts sympathetic to Texas opposition have been relieved of duty and confined. The White House has not commented on these reports, but •—

  —• CBS News live coverage of the Oklahoma Senate action continues. I’m Simon Pentler. Federal officials attempting to enforce Unity Act prohibitions against so-called dangerous public assemblies are struggling tonight with rallies in full force all over Oklahoma City and around the country. The nation’s military and law enforcement communities are on high alert. Republican delays on voting on this bill mysteriously evaporated yesterday. Now the debate is over, and the Oklahoma Senate has come to the moment of decision. President Griffith has made it clear that the federal government will not tolerate any further nullification of federal laws at the state level, and many speculate she has not ordered military enforcement of the Federal ID Card Act in Texas, which passed a law to nullify the act over a month ago, in hopes of being able to peaceably persuade Oklahoma not to follow suit. Bear in mind, of course, that if the Oklahoma Senate passes this nullification bill, Governor Martha Fergus still has the final say as to whether or not it becomes law. Governor Fergus has said only that she will consider the bill carefully based on its own merits, regardless of, quote, “federal intimidation tactics,” end quote. Many have speculated that her choice of words might be an indication that — hold on. Yes.

  Ladies and gentlemen, the last vote is in. It is a tie! The vote is twenty-four in favor of nullification and twenty-four against. The outcome is much less along partisan lines than had been anticipated. Twenty of the state’s thirty-six Republican senators voted in favor of nullification, joined by four of the state’s twelve Democrats. Eight Democrats opposed the bill, along with sixteen Republicans. Oklahoma law now requires the lieutenant governor to vote to break the tie. Lieutenant Governor Toby Lenthin is in the Oklahoma Senate chamber tonight. He is expected to — wait a minute.

  And there it is. One of the longest special sessions in the history of the Oklahoma legislature is over. Lieutenant Governor Lenthin has voted in favor of nullification. Under Oklahoma law, Governor Fergus has five days to veto the bill. If she signs the bill or allows the five days to pass without her signature, Oklahoma will join Texas and Idaho in open defiance of the federal government. And now those senators who were opposed to the bill are walking out of the chamber together, singing a rather mournful rendition of “America the Beautiful,” on their way out to the capitol grounds to join anti-nullification protestors there.

  As there is no comment from Governor Fergus at this hour, we welcome to the CBS newsroom an expert in states’ rights issues and constitutional law. Dr. Hernando •—

  —• WE INTERRUPT ALL BROADCASTS AND TRANSMISSIONS FOR AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE. LIVE FROM THE OVAL OFFICE, HERE IS PRESIDENT GRIFFITH.”

  “More than a hundred and forty years ago, our ancestors brought to an end the bloodiest war this continent had ever known, and, as Abraham Lincoln said, we as a people resolved at that time that government of the people, by the people, for the people should not perish from the earth.

  “We now stand on the brink of a second terrible civil war, testing whether the rule of law and its accompanying general welfare and domestic tranquility — whether the United States of America itself — can long endure. As many of you know, the decision as to whether or not Oklahoma obeys the United States Constitution by respecting the Supremacy Clause now rests entirely with Oklahoma governor Martha Fergus.

  “I want to be perfectly clear. Nullification is illegal, and if the governor signs the nullification bill, the full power of the United States military will be brought to bear in order to make sure federal law is carried out in both Texas and Oklahoma. Personally, I abhor violence and value peace above almost everything else. However, as president, it is my duty to carry out the laws set forth by the US Constitution and by the Congress, and, if necessary, I will order the most overwhelming military force in order to perform that duty.

  “Many of you might be wondering why there is so much disagreement over something as seemingly simple as an identification card. Certainly, it does not seem as if blood should be spilt for the enforcement of such a law. But what is at issue is something far more important than an ID card. We cannot, under any circumstances, allow states to decide for themselves which federal laws must be obeyed and which can be disregarded. If states are allowed to disregard the Federal ID Card Act today, then what would stop them from tomorrow deciding to withhold all nationally beneficial federal revenue? What would stop states from disregarding federal laws that provide for the equal treatment of all its citizens? Our very unity as a country, the form and function of this nation, is necessarily predicated on the establishment of constitutional federal authority over state governments.

  “And
now, I would like to make a personal appeal directly to Oklahoma governor Martha Fergus. Governor Fergus, you have said that you will carefully consider this nullification bill regardless of federal intimidation tactics. I assure you, the federal government does not wish to intimidate you or anyone else. Instead, I am begging you, Governor Fergus, to please think carefully about the implications of your decisions. Just as you would not tolerate a county in Oklahoma blatantly disregarding a law you had signed, I cannot allow states to willfully disobey laws passed by the United States government. Governor Martha Fergus, the fate of the nation lies in your hands. I ask you, leader to leader, person to person, to please save us all from chaos and anarchy. Please save our democracy.

  “People of Oklahoma, my fellow Americans, I ask you to prevent disunity and violence. Oppose nullification. Contact your elected officials and representatives to demand that they oppose nullification. I opened my message tonight by quoting from President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, and there are no better words to close. ‘Let us highly resolve to be dedicated to that unfinished work that our honored dead have so far fought for. Let us be dedicated to the great task remaining before us, that those who gave the last full measure of devotion shall not have died in vain, that the United States of America will live on. •—

  At zero four thirty on the day of my mission, I walked through the dark morning along the perimeter trail around alpha base. Even though I hadn’t been posted to guard duty, I’d still been out there all night, and my hand ached from squeezing the grip of my rifle.

  Had the world been normal as recently as last summer? Now we were about to go into combat again. One of my best friends hated me. And by the end of the day, a lot of people would be dead. Everything had gone to shit, and I was pretty sure it was about to hit an industrial-sized fan.

  “Thunder,” a voice challenged me from out of the shadows.

  “Badger.” I quickly gave the password. It was JoBell. She was one of the very few who could have made it this close to me through the woods without making a sound, even while carrying that thirty-pound monster rifle she’d been practicing with.

  She joined me on the trail and kissed me. “What are you doing out here?” she said. “Nobody goes —”

  “Nobody goes alone. I know rule number one,” I said. “But I spent some time visiting Lightning in the horse barn, and guards are posted about every thirty yards. I haven’t been alone all night.” JoBell slid her arm around me. Her warmth pushed away the night’s chill. “Except for Alsovar’s hell chamber, I haven’t been alone much since this war began.”

  JoBell started to move away from me. “Sorry. Do you want me to go?”

  There was playfulness in her voice, but I pulled her close anyway. “No. I meant what I said back then about wanting to spend my whole life with you. But I’d like us to be alone together, not just to mess around.” I laughed a little. “I mean, I like messing around with you, but more than that, not to have to be on duty all the time. Not to have to live with strangers.”

  “I understand,” she said.

  “But even if we could be together, have our own place, and no more of this damned war, even if we win … JoBell, what kind of life are we going to have? What’s left for us? My shop is shot to hell. You didn’t get to finish high school. All your plans—”

  She kissed me. No quick peck. No comforting consolation prize. She devoured me, sucking my breath and soul and any tiny idea of resistance. Good thing my rifle had a shoulder strap. I let it hang while I wrapped my arms around my girl, while my hands slid up under her coat and sweatshirt. She gasped against their cold until her warmth melted the ice in my fingers. “Danny, all my plans are nothing without you.” She took a step back, taking hold of my hands. “We get through this. Together. For now, that’s all that matters.” JoBell dropped my hands and held up the rifle she had slung from her shoulder. “See, I learned something while you were locked up. If I can’t live without you, I have to get active in protecting you. I have to help you through this one last fight.”

  We walked hand in hand along the trail in silence for a while, and it felt like old times. Except for the guns. Always the guns. They brought on a weird mix of feelings. I knew we needed them, and if I was totally honest with myself, I’d have to admit that a part of me liked the power I felt when I carried a gun. But they ruined everything, and often I was just so tired of always having them around. “Remember when we used to go —”

  “For those long walks? Yeah. Way back when we were first dating.” She squeezed my hand.

  “On the railroad tracks,” I said. “For miles out of town.”

  “We talked about everything. I told you about my mom and her damned dentist before anybody knew she was leaving us for him. You listened to me like no one else ever had.”

  “You were … You are interesting to listen to.”

  “I began to fall in love with you on those walks, Danny.”

  “Thunder.” A man spoke from down the trail. The next guard.

  “Badger,” I said. Silence fell as we walked past him. He sat on a stump with a SAW resting on a bipod on a little dirt berm in front of him.

  “I think I fell in love with you the first time we danced together,” I said to JoBell when we’d cleared the guard. “Freshman homecoming.”

  “What? No way,” she said. “The first dance?”

  “The third song of our first dance. I still remember you standing there in front of me wearing that silver dress and the corsage I bought you.”

  “The silly pin-on one that you picked out instead of one I could wear on my wrist.” She smiled.

  I laughed a little. “Yeah, it was so hard to pin on your dress. I was so afraid of poking you with the pin.”

  “And of my father.”

  “Yeah. And there wasn’t all that much fabric at the top of that dress. But we worked it out. And you were an angel on that dance floor. Hank McGrew’s ‘Cowgirl Lasso My Heart’ started playing, and I didn’t even have to ask you to dance.” I put my arms around her right then on the trail.

  JoBell leaned her head on my chest. “Mmm. I remember.” She started us swaying.

  “What are you doing?” I asked.

  She kissed me and looked into my eyes. “Dancing with you.”

  For a few minutes the whole world left us again. The memory of old songs carried us along as we pressed our bodies together, sharing our warmth, and slowly turned, like we were hanging there, floating in space.

  Then our slung rifles clicked together. The sound yanked me back to my world at war. A thousand worries ripped through my mind right then, little movie clips of all the ways JoBell could get hurt or worse. But she was the best shooter I’d ever met, and she’d already saved me during our escape from the ski lodge. I had to trust her.

  The sky was just beginning to lighten. I looked at her, all bundled up against the cold, with her blond hair pulled back in a rough ponytail. She had just rolled out of bed before the toughest test of our lives, not all dolled up like for prom or something. Still, my JoBell was dazzlingly beautiful. “I love you,” I said.

  “I love you more,” she answered.

  “Thunder.” Becca’s voice came from behind the trees.

  “Badger,” JoBell and I said together.

  Becca timidly stepped out onto the trail, almost as cautious as a doe in hunting season. She approached us, armed with a battered M4, the ugly opposite of her purple butterfly hair clip. “Hey, Jo,” she said in a near whisper. “Danny.”

  JoBell put her arm around her, rubbing her back to keep her warm. “Hey, baby. What are you doing out here so early?”

  “Hardly slept all night,” Becca said. “It’s almost time anyway.”

  I sighed. “A part of me wishes it could be simpler, that I could just take out Alsovar and the local Fed. If I do this, launch this big nationwide action, a lot of people are going to die.”

  “A lot of people are going to die anyway,” JoBell said. “This fight is going to happen
with or without us. It’s better if we strike first and get it over with. Then maybe fewer people will get hurt.”

  “Or the right people will be saved,” said Becca. “ ’Cause I made up my mind, if it’s us or them, I’m saving you guys.”

  In the morning gray, I could just make out that look of determination in Becca’s eyes, the same expression she had riding Lightning around barrels at the rodeo. Becca and JoBell had both joined the fight completely, and I knew that meant a certain light had gone out inside them. The commandment, the old moral certainty that we’d learned in school and church about the absolute evil of killing, had no place in what we would have to do that day.

  A twig snapped out in the woods. The three of us crouched down and readied our weapons. Another stick broke. The rustle in the shadows grew louder as someone moved closer.

  “Thunder.” I spoke quietly, but my voice sliced the silence like a knife.

  “Wright, is that you?”

  The three of us looked at each other. “Cal,” we said together.

  “Badger, I guess,” Sweeney said, following Cal onto the trail. “Though following this ox through the woods, I don’t think we really need to bother with the password stuff.”

  “Good thing we don’t gotta mess around in the woods today.” Cal wore jeans and a plain black sweatshirt. He was carrying the M240 Bravo machine gun, his sword hanging from his belt. Draped with belts of ammo, he looked like one of those mercenary guys from some action hero movie.