by Adam Yoshida
"Alright," said Anderson, "how can I help?"
"I need you to help America win the war," said Jackson.
"I'd love to do so," said Anderson, "but I'm not so sure how I would go about doing that."
"The majority of the Conservative and Liberty Party caucuses are in favour of getting into the war. Those that aren't can be brought along. There are plenty of ways that we can do that. The problem is the Prime Minister himself," said Jackson.
"Well, you'll get no disagreement from me on that point," replied Anderson.
"But that can be overcome," continued the General.
"With all due respect," said Anderson, "I'm not really sure how exactly that could be done. He's got the leadership of the Conservative Party locked right on down."
"He does," agreed Jackson, "but that doesn't mean everything. He doesn't have close to a majority in the House without your votes."
"I've spoken to many members of the Conservative caucus. They're not happy with him at all," said Anderson, "even if they're not prepared to challenge his leadership directly."
"Exactly," said Jackson, "but if something were to knock him off his throne and if appropriate fundraising were available, then everything would be up for grabs, including the Prime Minister's office. It would be available to anyone with the courage and the strength to take it."
"True, but..." said Anderson, trailing off.
"Isn't there a budget vote coming up tomorrow?"
.
Before the Canadian Civil War, James Beauregard had been one of the four Liberal members of the Alberta Legislature. During that conflict he had initially hedged his bets, but quickly changed sides as it became universally obvious that, at an absolute minimum, both British Columbia and Alberta would never return to the Canadian Confederation. That early shift of loyalties had been enough to secure him a place both within a Western provisional government that was eager to show that it was not an exclusively partisan affair and then within the permanent government of the United Western Republic once the first national elections were held. His Progressive Party had actually managed to gain seats during the second national elections that had been held within the Republic. In fact, they were actually the largest single party within the House of Commons, even if the combined numbers of the Conservative-Liberty Party coalition were far larger than those of his caucus alone.
The gains of the Progressives in the last election and been partially caused by vote splitting on the right, as the Conservatives and the Liberty Party had been unable to agree on common candidates in a large number of constituencies, but it was also something of a reversion to the mean among Western voters who, now further removed from the immediate trauma of the energy crisis and Federal oppression that had brought on secession, cast their votes over more prosaic concerns. Beauregard: handsome, young, and always smiling on camera alongside his equally beautiful wife made a picture-perfect leader for the left. He was always carefully moderate and was fully willing to ride almost any populist wave that drifted on by. It was almost universally-acknowledged that he'd be Prime Minister of the UWR one day. Perhaps not in the next election, but certainly no later than the one after that.
Or perhaps , he thought, much, much sooner than that.
The vote on the supplemental budget for the Department of Culture was supposed to be routine. Libertarians didn't like that the Western Republic even had such a department - it smacked of the hated CBC and the other institutions that they had managed to drive out during the war - but the Conservatives ran the government and the Western Conservatives shared an awful lot of DNA with the Canadian Conservatives from which they were descended, meaning that they were usually willing to compromise core principles rather than making a fuss.
But that's certainly not what Nate Anderson is doing today , thought Beauregard.
"Is this what we went to war for - what men and women died for from Vancouver to Thunder Bay?" roared Beauregard.
"This is enough," continued the Liberty Party Leader, "this is quite simply enough. For too long we have tolerated compromise over core issues and we have sacrificed our principles for power. As the great cause of liberty has been contested here and all around the world, we have chosen to sit silent and still."
"If that is not clear enough, let me make myself very plain: I will be voting no on this measure. I expect that my friends will be doing the same. I encourage the Prime Minister and the government to likewise join us in rejecting the sort of big government nonsense that we fought a war to rid ourselves of."
Jackson sat down and the Speaker stood up.
"The Right Honourable, the Prime Minister," announced the Speaker.
Prime Minister Kent stood up and buttoned his suit coat.
"Mr. Speaker," he began, "I must begin, of course, by noting that I am very surprised by this sudden turn of events. The Member for Burnaby South is, of course, a valued Ministerial colleague and he did not indicate to me prior to this session the course that he would be taking today. That is a surprise indeed. However, I am confident in the virtue of this measure and know that it is universally supported by sensible and moderate opinion in this House and in the country."
The Prime Minister looked across the House towards Beauregard as he spoke, locking eyes with him.
"And I am confident that those who consider themselves to be defenders of moderation and sensible government will find it in themselves, whatever their party affiliation, to sustain this particular measure. Going forward, of course, it may be that the events of this day will require us to reconsider the composition of the government or to take other similarly-dramatic measures, but that can and should wait until we have had some time for sensible and sober contemplation of this unexpected state of affairs."
"I move that the House now vote on the measure that has been laid before it," concluded the Prime Minister.
"Very well," announced the Speaker, "hearing no objection, all of those in favour say aye."
Most of the members on the Conservative benches called out their approval, while the Liberty Party members remained silent. It took a second for it to dawn upon the Prime Minister and the members on the Conservative side to realize that the Progressives had also been silent.
"All opposed?" called out the Speaker.
"Nay!" screamed the Libertarians and Progressives, who represented an overwhelming majority of the House.
"The nays have it," announced the Speaker.
The Conservative whips jumped to their feet to called for a roll call vote as the Prime Minister slumped, ashen-faced into his chair.
.
"Excellent," announced Nate Anderson as he walked into the Legislative offices used by the Liberty Party, "as soon as it becomes clear that Beauregard and the Progressives don't have the votes to form a government, then the President will have to call upon me and I think that we'll be able to get enough Conservative votes to make a go of things. Then we'll see some real change in this country..."
Anderson stopped mid-sentence and fixed his eyes on a television screen that carried an image of James Beauregard standing with a half-dozen Conservative members of the House - and one Liberty Party member - standing behind him.
"What the fuck is that?" asked Anderson, stabbing his finger into the air in the direction of the TV. Those around him remained silent. Some deliberately looked away.
"What the fuck!" said Anderson, stalking over towards where the television was mounted and turning up the volume.
"...we have to think about the need for a stable government, especially at a time of so much international tension," explained one of the Conservative MPs.
"And you'll be voting to keep a Progressive government in power?" asked one of the reporters.
"I think that this is a time where we have to look beyond partisanship," said one of the MPs.
"Fuck!" screamed Anderson as he drove his fist into the television, mildly injuring his hand.
.
"It was a clever plan," said Colonel Bens
on comfortingly as the plane that she and General Jackson were taking back to California prepared for takeoff, "even if it didn't work out in the end."
"Who said that it didn't work?" replied General Jackson with a smirk.
.
It was after midnight when James Beauregard, newly-designated as the Prime Minister of the United Western Republic, made his way home. He wasn't quite fully the Prime Minister yet - the President had asked him to form a government and he had accepted, but he had yet to either choose a team of Minister or to be properly sworn in - and so he still had only the sort of security afforded to the Leader of the Opposition of a relatively small country. That meant that he had a bodyguard and a driver and not much else and even those left at the end of the day most days. Only the President of the United States and a handful of others in modern democracies travel with a convoy of retainers more suitable to a Roman Emperor than a democratic statesman.
"Don't be frightened," said a voice from the darkness of the living room of Beauregard's townhouse.
"Who the fuck are you?" demanded Beauregard.
"No one you know," answered the man. Beauregard turned on the lights in the room to find a bald middle-aged man of average size sitting on his couch.
"What do you want?" said the Prime Minister-designate, stepping warily forward into the room.
"I want to talk about your future," said the man.
"Ok," said Beauregard, moving into the living room and taking a seat in a giant plush recliner.
"In a few days, you'll be the Prime Minister and I think that's great. It's rare for so young a man to advance so far as quickly as you have. I'm fearful, though, that there are things that could bring your bright and brilliant career to a sudden and shocking end."
The man grabbed a file-folder and tossed it down on the coffee table that stood between them. Beauregard picked it up and began to look inside. It was filled with big 8x10 pictures of him and women. A lot of them.
"The... interests... that I represent are very diverse, Prime Minister," explained the man, "and they own a great many businesses. Some of them they're quite up front about. Some of them, on the other hand, they control through many, many layers of subterfuge... for obvious reasons. Your favourite escort service being one of them."
Beauregard threw the folder back down on the table.
"So what?" he said, "I'm not married or even seeing anyone seriously. The Western Republic doesn't even have a prostitution law at the moment. I don't think that the voters will care."
"About the hookers in and of itself? Well, some might," said the man, "but you're right: most probably won't. However, I think that what they will care about is how many of them were underage."
Beauregard went white.
"This was an open - government-regulated, in fact - service," he said.
"Yes," agreed the man, "it certainly was. And the people that we hired to ran it ran a very clean shop. These girls in question - did I mention that the youngest was fourteen? - were run very much off-the-books for special clients such as yourself."
"I didn't know - and couldn't possibly have known anything about that," said Beauregard defensively.
"Well, perhaps you can sell that case to the electorate - and to the public prosecutor's office. I've seen the video that we have of the girl's - the fourteen year-old, I mean - version of this particular story. She is a very compelling witness."
"I... This is awful," said Beauregard, defeated.
"Yes, it is," conceded the man, "but, if it makes you feel any better, I'll let you know that the girls were all very well-paid. And the ones that we selected were, to put it mildly, hardly innocent. Let me put it this way: we didn't introduce them into the industry. They were enthusiastic participants, both from our end and, I must say - based upon the videos that I've seen - so far as you were concerned as well."
"What do you want? For me to resign? Fine, I'll resign. Fuck, I mean - I haven't even taken office yet. I'll refuse the office," said Beauregard.
"No, you misunderstand me, sir," replied the man, "I want you to take office. And I want you to prosper. We are going to be great friends, Prime Minister."
USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), Near the Cape of Good Hope
The transit of the Fifth Fleet, once it had moved clear of the Suez Canal, had been the longest period of peace and quiet that any of the sailors, soldiers, airmen, and Marines of the Central Command had enjoyed since the Iranian nuclear attack on Israel had plunged first the world into crisis and then America into civil war. The fleet moved slowly, weighed down by the lumbering transport ships that had been pressed into service to carry the vast quantities of equipment and supplies that made the Third Army an effective fighting force. Their return to the Atlantic had also been slowed by the need to detour to Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean to take on supplies. The movement of the ships, marred by mechanical breakdowns, had managed to take fully twenty-one days to execute.
"It just isn't acceptable," said General Dylan MacKenzie, as he reviewed the latest reports of the issues that were stalling the progress of the fleet.
"I'm sorry, General," replied Vice Admiral Quentin Layton, the commander of the Fifth Fleet, "but this is the reality that has been forced upon us by the condition of the ships that we've got and, also by the need for us to take an evasive course in order to avoid the enemy. Would you prefer that we sail in a straight line and leave behind one wounded ship after another for the Russian submarines that we all know have to be out there to pick off?"
"A war for the survival of America is being fought," insisted MacKenzie, "and we are sitting on the outside."
"Do you want to get home in a hurry, or in one piece?" shot back Admiral Layton.
"Gentlemen, gentlemen," interjected Major General Augustus King, once again thrust into the role of peacemaker, "let's take a breath and think this thing through. Let's think it through slowly and rationally."
General MacKenzie dropped into a chair and looked over at King.
"Go ahead," he said, learning backwards and looking up at the ceiling.
"Ok," said King, "the fact is that the war at home has become a stalemate. One, in fact, that we're probably the only force that can break. Do we all agree?"
Both Layton and MacKenzie nodded.
"And we all agree that a lot of the ships that we have are in very poor material condition, meaning that they're prone to frequent breakdowns. Yes?"
There was another round of general nods.
"Hold on," interjected MacKenzie after a moment, "I agree that a lot of the ships that we have are in poor condition, but that's certainly not true of the entire lot of them. There's also the political calendar to consider here. If we wait on this much longer, the election may be over and with it the war."
"As if that would be such a bad thing," said Layton.
"It would be if it left our country disunited and broken into pieces," said MacKenzie, "it would be the end of America to let even a single star be torn off of that flag."
"And," added King, "allowing the continued existence of the Federation of North American States would mean that, in any future international crisis, we would have a major threat directly upon our borders."
King did not add the other considerations that he'd been ardently discussing over a secure satellite connection in recent days: the break-up of the United States would leave tens of billions of dollars of property belonging to the Praetorian Corporation in the hands of a hostile and socialistic government that would be likely to seize such property as soon as they managed to uncover the true owners.
"I am going to get into the fighting," proclaimed MacKenzie, "if I have to sail across the Atlantic in a rowboat. Understand me gentlemen: I am not going to permit the enemies of the United States to tear the republic into two without ever firing a shot in anger against them."
"I share your desire to fight, General," replied Layton, "but I have responsibilities that require me to think in more practical terms. I command nearly twenty thous
and sailors and other personnel whose lives will be endangered if we don't move with the utmost of care."
"How many of your ships would you need to protect the slow-moving merchant ships," said MacKenzie, "if they were out of the combat zone? I know that we're sailing into the teeth of the combined European navies, but what if they weren't?"
"I'd have to run the numbers, but it'd be fewer," said Layton.
"As well," said King, "surely you could probably use the older, slower, and less-powerful ships as convoy escorts to protect the merchies if they were out of the primary line of fire?"
"Certainly," said Layton.
"I've seen the map of the traitors' defenses around Washington and in the Northeast," said MacKenzie, "I could break them with two divisions of professional soldiers. This new breed - on both sides - that they've got in North America now could hardly stand up to what I could bring to bear."
"General..." said Admiral Layton, but General MacKenzie was already on his feet.
"We'll sunder their defenses," he said, raising his voice, "we'll pull a left hook on them and set them to running. Then we'll overrun them with the soldiers of this new Army of Northern Virginia."
"That's a whole new plan..." said Layton, struggling to regain his footing in this conversation.
"They're expecting a siege - to fight a prolonged positional battle," insisted the General, "and instead we will unravel their minds by a sudden and shocking battle of manoeuvre."
"These plans..."
The General smashed his fist into the table.
"In a single blow, we will dazzle the leaders of this treasonous conspiracy and bring this war to an end."
With that burst of inspiration, the General was up and headed out of the room as quickly as his long legs would carry him.
Lexington, Kentucky
"Are you ready, Governor?" asked the Acting President as he stood behind the curtain together with Aaron Chan, the Governor of Kentucky, along with an entourage worth of aides.
The latest polls showed that the race between the Acting President and the independent candidacy of Mitchell Randall was now effectively a tie. While Rickover spent most of his days tied up with the details of the war, the Senator from West Washington was barnstorming the country and firing up everyone of almost any ideological persuasion who believed that immediate peace was a goal with pursuing. This wasn't strictly a left-right issue these days, nor even really a partisan one, given the degree to which the Democratic Party had been devastated at an institutional level by the effects of the Great Mutiny and all that had followed. The national leadership of the Democratic Party had almost entirely joined the Loyalist cause. More than a few of them had defected when Kevin Bryan was deposed and the Federation was created, but their return to the fold hadn't been enough to wipe away from them the taint of disloyalty that was not attached to most national Democratic figures.
