by Kurt Winans
As the men began their assignment, the major strode confidently with two armed aides at his side into the building which had served as the administrative center. Upon locating the office of the former base commander, he then motioned for a third soldier to move forward with a satellite phone. The major contacted his commanding general, and reported, “Sir. We have entered Laughlin Air Force Base, and are currently conducting a systematic search of the buildings and grounds to confirm that no forces or vagrants are present.”
“Understood major, well done. Contact me again when all is secure.”
“Yes sir general.”
Number seven hung up the phone and smiled. By ordering the major and his men to move onto the base for the initial occupation at the current hour, he had fulfilled a promise spoken to his President that such an action could be accomplished within twenty-four hours of notification. The general had exhibited a level of both competency and organizational skill which those in Austin had come to expect of him, and he understood that he would need to do so again. Regardless of what would transpire at Laughlin Air Force Base in the coming hours, the general had faith in the major and his men. Based on that faith it was his intent to use the same compliment of troops for the initial wave of subsequent occupations.
Although Laughlin represented the first of eight bases which the republic wished to occupy for its needs, it was certainly not the largest or most vital. The American military forces had placed top priority on vacating the base with expediency, as they were led to believe by various intelligence agencies that the Republic of Texas and its military were concerned with using the base only for enhanced border enforcement. Although he was thankful to his counterparts within the United States for having done so, the general was aware that the carefully planted information which had initiated the priority was not the complete truth.
As to the mission specifications for the base, there was much work to be done. Within the coming hours and days the intent was to fully occupy and completely secure the base which lay just a few miles east of Del Rio, as its location would be quite strategic for Texas. The facility had represented the largest military base for pilot training sessions by the United States Air Force in recent years, so Texas would use the runways for that function as well as that of border patrol. With Del Rio being located along a portion of the Rio Grande River and the Mexican border which was directly west from San Antonio, it offered a perfect spot for those dual functions. Aside from the slow flying planes in conjunction with the newest generation of drones which would be used for observation, planes held over from the Texas Air Guard could be used to train additional pilots in relative obscurity before Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene would become the new Air Force Academy.
The clandestine meeting of Tuesday February second, which had been attended by only the trifecta of Ambassador Pearson, number twenty-nine, and Kristen Royce, centered on the report which the Ambassador had received from the Secretary of State. After they each thoroughly perused and discussed the content, the Ambassador stated his belief that the report regarding the withdrawal of American military forces had been woefully incomplete. Even though it was known by the group that meaningful scraps of intelligence were often difficult to come by, members of the organization back in Texas needed more concrete facts in order to properly plan for the upcoming weeks and months. Obviously something had to be done by the limited faction within Washington D.C., and the three of them would use whatever means necessary while they went about their work.
They jointly agreed who would probably be best suited for the task, while believing that employing a particular tactic would provide them with the easiest path toward the information which they sought. Therefore Lieutenant Kristen Royce understood that her role in the process must be carried out with conviction, as she benefited from holding one of those rare positions for a junior officer within the Pentagon which enabled her to move about rather freely. Consequently, beyond the sometimes obvious lusting stares from various senior officers or enlisted personnel posted as guards, she typically went unnoticed while performing her daily routines. Kristen was keenly aware that with proper positioning and careful listening habits, an opportunity to overhear something of importance would eventually present itself.
For several days she worked the various angles of her theory in the hope that it would bear fruit. Kristen moved from one breakroom, conference room, or office to another while in the course of carrying out both required business and meaningless errands. Unfortunately she had picked up little purposeful information, but then on the afternoon of Friday the twelfth it happened.
Roughly two hours before she was to be relieved from duty for the holiday weekend of President’s Day, Kristen was informed by a familiar army colonel that a high level meeting would take place in one of the conference rooms the following Monday morning. The meeting scheduled for the fifteenth of February would fall on the holiday when most of the nation would be enjoying a day off, but apparently Kristen would not be among them. The colonel had been ordered by his superiors to ensure that a conference room was decorated festively for the day that honored both Washington and Lincoln, and was in his typically demeaning way passing on that responsibility to Kristen. She would also be required to illicit the assistance from the two attractive female air force officers who were usually selected for conference room detail, so she needed to contact them immediately.
However false her response may have been, Kristen wanted to exhibit enthusiasm for her latest assignment while also appearing to be concerned with how the colonel would look in the eyes of his superiors. With a slight smile she brought forth a tempered measure of flirtation toward the overweight man in his mid-fifties, and replied to his order, “Yes sir colonel, we shall have the conference room prepared per your instructions. Now if I may sir? It would certainly help us to properly decorate the conference room, while also providing the necessary seating and refreshments, if we had some additional information from you. Could you please tell me who and how many will be attending. And more importantly sir, when is the meeting scheduled to begin?”
Feeling superior to the woman not only in military rank but also intellectually, the colonel seized the opportunity to disrespectfully look her over once again. Then he replied, “Certainly lieutenant. The time of the meeting will be zero nine thirty hours, with twelve attending which will include the Secretary of Defense along with the Secretaries of the Army, Air Force, and Navy.”
“Thank you colonel, I will begin my preparations immediately.”
“Good. And I want the room to look sharp for them lieutenant, is that understood?”
Knowing that her next action was what the colonel truly desired to help brighten his day, Kristen snapped to attention with her chest pushed out and saluted the man. Then while holding the rigid pose replied, “Yes sir colonel. I completely understand.”
He returned the salute in accordance with military regulations so that she could lower her right hand, and stated, “Excellent lieutenant. That is all.”
With that Kristen spun on her heels and walked away knowing that the colonel was probably taking the opportunity to inspect her backside with ill intent. She had noticed the man undressing her with his eyes several times before, but had learned to ignore it on most occasions. At least his leering was better than the alternative, as the thought of actually being naked in his presence revolted her. Looking beyond the fact that the colonel was little more than a sexist pig, Kristen also didn’t like the way he always mentioned the navy last in whatever list he was referring to. It was blatantly obvious, at least to her, that the colonel believed her particular branch of the military was nothing more than an afterthought. Still, if appealing to the whims and pleasures of the man would be necessary in order to obtain meaningful intelligence for the good of her republic, she would find a way to stomach that vulgarity as well. Besides, Kristen knew that she ultimately possessed the upper hand. Should the colonel as a married man who was also in the desperate quest for a
promotion to general ever touch her in the way which he desired, it would mean the end of his control over her. At that moment the colonel would have jeopardized both his career and comfortable lifestyle via blatant sexual harassment. Such a man with that much at stake would become most susceptible to blackmail.
By zero nine fifteen hours on Monday February fifteenth, the three ladies had already appropriately decorated the conference room per the orders of the colonel. While then putting out the final touches of beverages and food trays, two enlisted men wheeled in a cart which was stacked with reports. Each one was nearly as thick as an old style phone book, and Kristen felt that the obvious length of the report was just another example of military or government overkill. Refraining from comment which could lead to her removal from the meeting, she didn’t utter a word to the point. Then Kristen and the other two young lieutenants placed a copy of the report on the table in front of each chair before standing back and waiting for those who would be attending to arrive.
At the conclusion of the lengthy meeting, like in all other instances, the ladies had been tabbed as the ones responsible for cleaning up the conference room before returning to their normal duties. In the course of doing so, Kristen silently reviewed the list of topics which had been discussed by the Secretary of Defense and his key underlings. She went over those topics time and time again in her mind, as she wanted to commit the salient facts to memory while they were still fresh.
Later that evening, Kristen met with number twenty-nine and the Ambassador again at their secure location. She had much to report, as their plan for her to obtain meaningful information had been a success. Kristen touched briefly on what had been discussed during the high level meeting with regard to the various military academies, and that the Secretary of Defense planned to meet with President Harwell on Wednesday to brief him on the implications of such. Ambassador Pearson paid close attention to what the young lady had to say with regard to the various academies, while taking a few personal notes which he would pass along to Samuel. Although Kristen would be unaware of the connection, he knew that number two would be keenly interested in the news. After all, the organization not only had operatives at two of the academies who could be impacted by what was transpiring, but there would be an added concern for Samuel over the fact that those operatives were also his grandsons.
Turning to the more pressing matter, at least from the perspective of those in Austin, Kristen reported to number eleven and twenty-nine what she had been able to learn about the progress of the American military withdrawal from Texas.
Ambassador Pearson put the pencil down on his pad of paper, and number twenty-nine did the same with his. They had each wanted to take notes of all that was reported to them, so there would be less chance of missing something. It was fortunate that they had made such a decision, as the wealth of information provided by Kristen who stood before them filled several pages.
Reaching out to shake Kristen’s hand, the Ambassador said, “Well done lieutenant. You have provided some valuable intelligence that both the organization and Texas could find very useful. I thank you for your efforts.”
While clasping the man’s hand she replied, “Thank you for saying so number eleven. I hope that the information we obtained will be of some help.”
“Oh I’m quite sure that it will lieutenant. And although you just said we, I will inform number two that you were far more responsible for obtaining this information than either number twenty-nine or me. You did most of the work, so you shall receive the credit.”
“That’s kind of you, but as with everything else we do for the organization and Texas, I see it as a team effort.”
While nodding in agreement, he stated, “That’s beautifully expressed Kristen, and I will reiterate to number two that you are indeed a trustworthy team player.”
Then the Ambassador leaned back in his chair and pulled a new burn phone from his pocket to connect with number twenty-three back in Austin. He asked her to contact number two, and when he heard Samuel’s voice a moment later, he relayed all the information which Kristen had provided. The Ambassador spoke of how she had been in the conference room with the Secretary of Defense, his underling Secretaries which were verbally listed for Kristen’s sake as that of the Navy, Army, and Air Force, as well as each of the dignitaries’ accompanying aides.
Number eleven continued by informing Samuel that the United States military brain trust was feeling overly confident at the present time. They had quickly vacated the smallest and least vital of bases or facilities within Texas first, and had then used Laughlin Air Force Base as a bit of a ruse. The American forces had known that the Republic of Texas intended to occupy the base to help bolster its border protection, but that intent also suited the needs of the United States. Because of that it was logical for the American forces to vacate its personnel and equipment in the hope that Texas would see their actions as a sign of things to come. The brain trust at the Pentagon also stated that they knew Laughlin Air Force Base had already become partially occupied by Texas military units, but that Texas had little or no budget currently available to fully man the base to its ultimate potential. What had been learned by the Ambassador during that portion of Kristen’s debriefing was twofold. First, it had been confirmed that the telephone lines within his offices had indeed been bugged so various intelligence agencies could listen in. The proof had come by way of the Secretary of Defense uttering nearly the identical words that the Madam Speaker of Texas had used when describing the budget situation for Laughlin to the Ambassador. Second, and not at all surprising to the Ambassador or Samuel, was that the American military had eyes near the base to keep tabs on the occupation process. Therefore it would also be logical to assume that a similar action would transpire at each of the other bases or facilities when they were subsequently vacated.
Kristen had also learned during the meeting that another base of interest to Texas had been vacated in the southern portion of the republic, but that the information pertaining to the base had not yet been conveyed to Texas by the Secretary of State. She added that others would be vacated with similar expedience as Laughlin, but the American forces would attempt to drag their feet as much a possible while vacating bases within the northern portions of the republic. That intent would be especially true for the massive bases of Fort Bliss in El Paso, and Fort Hood in Killeen. Although that stance would most probably slow down the intended plans of Texas occupation, the action could eventually provide the Ambassador with some added leverage for future meetings with the Secretary of State.
Number eleven further reported to Samuel that Kristen had overheard where the American forces intended to relocate their massive amounts of personnel, equipment, and ammunition. Although which of those various locations would receive certain elements of the aforementioned was still somewhat unknown to her, she was able to provide a partial list of intent within the complete array of bases.
Two of those bases were located in Arkansas, and they would be utilized for the dispersal of the ammunition stockpiles which were currently located just west of Texarkana in the Red River Army Depot. The load would be split between the Little Rock Air Force Base in Jacksonville to the northeast of the state capitol city, and Fort Chaffee just to the south of the city of Fort Smith. Fortunately wisdom had prevailed by not having planned to stockpile any of the potentially explosive ammunition at the Pine Bluff Arsenal, as that facility to the southeast of Little Rock was not only mainly occupied by civilian personnel, but its primary function was that of the development of chemical and biological weapons. Should there ever be some sort of accident with the ammunition in such close proximity to the volatile chemicals, it could lead to a disaster causing death or severe illness upon many of those living within the region.
In similar fashion two bases would be utilized in Louisiana, however their purpose would be significantly different. Barksdale Air Force Base, located in the northwest corner of the state within the Shreveport suburb of Bossier City, h
ad been hugely significant for decades as a base for B-52 bombers. It seemed obvious that the air force intended to reposition a portion of their multiple squadrons of various aircraft from Texas to that huge facility, but which ones were unknown. Conversely the army would use Fort Polk further to the south near Leesville. Also located well within fifty miles of the border with Texas, the facility was the only one of its kind currently in operation within the United States. Covering roughly one hundred thousand acres of land, Fort Polk had been used for the training and deployment of both combat and combat support units. One could theorize that the intent of that base would be to take in some of the resources which Fort Hood had to offer, but such a plan had not been revealed in the Pentagon meeting.
To the west of Texas, New Mexico would employ Cannon Air Force Base near Clovis. Also in close proximity to the border with Texas, the base would probably serve a similar function to that of Barksdale. Additionally, Holloman Air Force base near Alamogordo would shoulder some of the load. Covering some sixty thousand acres, the base was smaller than Fort Polk while also possessing another significant difference. That base also lay in close proximity to the vast regions of both the White Sands Missile Range and the Fort Bliss McGregor Range. The latter of which stretched southward beyond the border and into Texas where it ultimately joined up with the actual Fort Bliss in El Paso. The Ambassador conveyed, and Samuel agreed, that the American forces eventually withdrawing from Fort Bliss would probably halt their retreat just north of where the east to west directional border crossed the range.
Then there was Oklahoma, the last of the four neighboring states and the one whose territory ran along the entire length of the northern border of Texas. Altus Air Force Base in the small hamlet of Altus, and Fort Still in the slightly larger town of Lawton would be used. Both were somewhat close to the portion of the border which was defined by the Red River, and each base would probably take in a significant portion of the forces currently stationed at Sheppard Air Force Base in nearby Wichita Falls.
