by Kurt Winans
For the pilots there was only one sensible response. Their belief or non-belief in what had just been conveyed to them was irrelevant at the current time, as an offer to escape from Syria had been presented to them without unpalatable strings attached. They promised to pass along the words of the Syrian officials to their superiors, and gladly accepted the offer for a safe crossing. Several weeks later the smuggling underground of Turkey had stealthily moved them westward across the width of the country, before providing sanctuary on a small fishing boat which wound its way through several islands toward the peninsula south of Athens Greece. From there the pilots maintained the cover of being ordinary men of little means, while making their way via scrounging for handouts from American or Canadian tourists toward the western most reaches of Greece. Then they secured passage on another fishing boat which smuggled them safely onto the boot of Italy. Additional handouts of small cash donations helped the cause, and before long the men were on a train bound for the universal neutrality and freedom of Switzerland. After arriving in Zurich, they made their way from the train station to the American Embassy to ask for assistance. Although their tattered clothing didn’t match with the story of their true identity, the two men were escorted inside for a DNA swab. With the search narrowed to active military personnel, the computer then quickly came back with a positive match for both pilots.
Now standing upon the tarmac of Andrews Air Force Base on the afternoon of Sunday April eighteenth, President Harwell was poised to greet the pilots with a heartfelt welcome. Aside from Agent Bishop and a few White House staff members, he was joined by a large entourage of military personnel, civilians, and media representatives who were also eager to see the men deplane. The President had listened in early January to various senior advisors when they claimed that the two pilots were most probably dead, and he was happy in that the consensus of those so-called experts had been incorrect. As for the other side of the equation, the President also felt remorse. He had been the one who ultimately gave up on them and ordered to call off any further searches, so he privately hoped that the two men could find it in their hearts to forgive him.
Agent Bishop had a different take on the situation, which rightfully provided him with a measure of humility. Although he had gone through an interesting ten days to say the least, he had not endured anything close to what either of the two men now walking toward President Harwell had gone through. For Heath there had been the return to the place of his youth which he thought would never be seen by him again. As was then expected, the return created a swirl within his mind of both joyful memories and pain from the past. Thankfully he had attained a level of closure by exercising some of those ghosts, but after meeting a woman whom he could have possibly built something with, another ghost of perhaps greater significance had sadly been created. Domonique had been assassinated of all things, which was ironic in the sense that it happened while Heath was on vacation from providing a portion of the defense against any such attempt on the President. Then he had discussed the matter with the woman’s employer in Texas, before returning to his post in Washington D.C. to learn that the pilots whom he was now watching approach the President had not been killed. Heath realized that he would need more time to process all that lay before him, but his questions of life paled in comparison to those of the two men in starched white uniforms who were now saluting their Commander and Chief.
Beau Tillman was quickly approaching the completion of his third cadet year at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, and he would be required to make a verbal and written commitment of serious consequence within the next few weeks. He had put substantial thought into the pending decision throughout the previous three months, while also making an internal promise that he would not wait until the last allowable hour or day to convey his choice in the matter. In the belief that Beau was taking far too long to decide upon what they felt should be obvious, several of his fellow cadets had subjected him to an increasing level of grief as winter gave way to spring. However in spite of that growing pressure, Beau had tried not to let their vision of his future path sway him while he continued to ponder the consequences of his decision. Then in an attempt to relieve some of the stress which had been placed upon him, Beau selected the final day of April to publicly announce his intentions. Such a time would be a full two weeks before the mandated date as set by the Secretary of Defense, and it easily fit within the parameters of Beau’s personal pact.
Now that Friday April thirtieth was upon him, Beau waited outside the office of the Academy Commandant to fulfill his promise. He harbored no reservations, and would freely declare and then swear an oath of loyalty to the United States of America while also publicly denouncing any allegiance to the Republic of Texas. That action would allow Beau to remain at the academy for his fourth and final year, and then upon his graduation, he would receive a commission as a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force. Had he chosen not to take such an oath and instead leaned in the direction of his native Texas, then Beau would have been forbidden from continuing his studies beyond what remained of the current term. Additionally he would have most probably been ostracized by those within the cadet ranks, and in turn, faced the most difficult of times during the spring terms final two weeks.
After leaving the Commandants office with his loyalty officially recognized, Beau returned to his quarters. He made no mention of his recent activity, but then again, there was no need. Word spread quickly within the barracks that Beau had remained as one of their brethren, and any previous thoughts of him somehow betraying the United States for the Republic of Texas quickly vanished.
When both time and secrecy availed on the following night of Saturday May first, Beau used his burn phone to contact number twenty-three. In response to her greeting and the question of what there was to report, he stated, “Please inform number two that I have taken the loyalty oath in order to remain at the academy for my final year.”
“I understand the message Beau, and congratulations. Number two will be pleased to learn that you have done so, as you have made those around you believe that you are still one of them.”
Departing aboard a commercial flight on Friday the fourteenth of May from the George Bush International Airport north of Houston, the entire Tillman collective with the lone exception of Beau headed off for New York. Mason, per the directive of Samuel, had taken a short break from his ongoing mission in El Paso, and had flown into Crockett aboard the family jet the previous day. The total of nine Tillman’s were to be accompanied by Ms. Holloway and two of Samuel’s most trusted security men, so the family jet, still without a replacement flight attendant for Domonique, would not suffice. Even with little Savanah among them, the weight of twelve passengers and two pilots combined with all the luggage would exceed what Samuel felt to be the safely limits of their Gulfstream G280. It was quite obvious that the prudent move was to find another alternative.
Upon their arrival at La Guardia International Airport, the group split into two rented suburban’s which were driven by the security men. They would travel northward in close proximity to the Hudson River until reaching their intended destination of West Point, where several rooms had been reserved nearly a year before at the Thayer Hotel. Just like virtually every other guest at the historic old hotel for the upcoming weekend, the Tillman clan would be present for the commencement exercises of Saturday May fifteenth.
As the Suburban transporting Samuel, Victoria, Ms. Holloway, and the two youngest grandchildren grew closer to the academy, little Savanah was captured by the view. The Hudson, lined with blossoming green foliage from a nearly endless supply of trees, was often visible off to the right side of the vehicle. As a consequence, she spent most of her time peering out the window in that direction. Blake on the other hand couldn’t care less about what was going on outside of the vehicle, as he was engaged in a conversation about school and math in particular with Ms. Holloway. Turning to view all that was transpiring in the seats behind him, Samuel no
ticed that Victoria seemed rather distant in thought. He understood why, but certainly didn’t want to broach the subject at the present time. With a shift of his eyes toward Ms. Holloway, and subsequently viewing her responsive subtle nod, Samuel knew that his wife would be comforted while still in the vehicle if the need arose. For Victoria this trip had been a huge step, but one which she had vowed to take in spite of the pain which would surely resurface. In a very short time she would arrive at the Thayer Hotel for the second such visit of her life, with the previous stay having been seventeen years prior during May of 2010. Arriving with a lessor number of the Tillman family, that weekend had been when Samuel and Victoria celebrated the achievement of their youngest son Chance as he graduated from the United States Military Academy. Unfortunately for those who loved him, Chance would be killed in action barely more than a year later.
The trailing suburban was carrying the adult pairs of Kyle and Ashley, along with Mason and Courtney. They were joined by Jennifer, who now at the age of sixteen felt that she not only knew everything that there was to know about life and the universe, but that she should also ride with other adults as opposed to her two younger cousins. Ashley reached for Kyle’s hand on the seat beside her as both suburban’s rolled through the town of Highland Falls just south of the academy grounds. Then as she smiled at him before looking out the window toward a certain place of business, Kyle surmised that Ashley had multiple events on her mind. Beyond the pride which they both rightfully felt for their oldest son Jason and his upcoming graduation, she like him was probably reflecting back to the day when Kyle’s youngest brother Chance had done the same. Then of course there was one more reason that Ashley held his hand as a measure of comfort. Although she had been a young wife to Kyle during the visit of seventeen years prior when they celebrated Chance, unlike Victoria, that had not been her only visit to the area. Kyle was well aware via numerous strategy sessions with his father that Ashley had been in Highland Falls the previous November. Aside from the mission responsibility of driving a few of the attackers to safety in one of many getaway vehicles, she had also carried out a sanctioned hit for Samuel less than thirty minutes prior to that departure. As Ashley took an extended look at that victim’s place of business when the appropriate side street came into view, Kyle gave a gentle squeeze with his hand. In response she squeezed back, and turned to offer him another subtle smile.
In the meantime Mason and Courtney remained cordial and upbeat, but expressed no supportive or romantic gestures toward each other. This was to be a festive occasion, and in spite of his current sadness and her disappointment over Domonique, they would not bring the group down. Mason would never know the true nature of Domonique’s death, and at the moment, was still unaware that Courtney knew of the affair.
Seated alone in the front passenger seat, Jennifer was making sure that everything about her appearance was in correct order. She anticipated that aside from the corps of cadets, there would probably be plenty of boys around the hotel and academy grounds during the weekend. In the event that her first opportunity to impress some of them would be in the lobby of the hotel, she wanted to look her best.
After the entourage checked into the Thayer Hotel, they enjoyed a nice walk beyond the nearby Thayer Gate and through a portion of the academy grounds. That was followed by a splendid family dinner while overlooking the Hudson from the hotel restaurant, and Victoria seemed to be holding up rather well through it all. Then on Saturday morning many of the hotel guests, including the Tillman’s, rode courtesy shuttles from the Thayer Gate up toward Michie Stadium where the commencement exercises would take place. Each bus was large but not overly comfortable, and could easily seat at least forty people for the ride of no more than five minutes.
Once seated, a man from across the aisle asked Samuel, “So do you have a connection to one of the graduates?”
“Yes sir I do, it’s my oldest grandson. What about you?”
“It’s my oldest daughter Michelle. She had a rough time during the past six months, but she made it.”
“I see. Well if you don’t mind me asking, why did she have a rough time?”
“She was injured in the attack of last November, and spent several days in the hospital. Michelle fell behind with her academics a little bit, but with help she was able to catch up and her grades didn’t suffer too much.”
“Well that’s a shame that she was injured. Is she alright now?”
“Oh yea. She’s fine physically, but she still struggles with the memory of that day sometimes. However in the big picture I guess that Michelle was lucky, as so many other cadets, including the two friends that she was with at the time, were killed.”
“Yes, that day was a tragedy. But I’m glad to know that your daughter is alright.”
“Thanks. Was your grandson hurt?”
“No. Fortunately for him, he wasn’t at the stadium when it happened.”
“Lucky.”
“Sure was, and he knows it.”
“So I detect a bit of a southern drawl, where are you and your family from?”
“Texas.”
What had been an amiable conversation between two total strangers then suddenly took a bit of a turn. As the younger man leaned back toward his seat, he said, “Texas huh. Well your state decided to leave America in her hour of need, and I don’t think that was the right thing to do.”
Realizing that the conversation could turn ugly, and that he had made an error in openly admitting the family was from Texas as opposed to some other southern state, Samuel covered his tracks and replied, “I can respect your opinion.”
“Thanks, but do you agree with it?”
“It doesn’t really matter one way or the other.”
“It doesn’t matter? Of course it does. You must have some opinion on the subject.”
“That’s true sir, but what I meant is that I don’t have any power which could alter the fact that Texas has done so. But if you must know, then I disagree with the decision of those in Austin who decided to separate.”
Nodding with understanding, the younger man sat back in his seat and didn’t say another word. Then turning his gaze toward each individual adult within his entourage, Samuel looked for a response. A gentle nod from each member of the collective was the signal that he was hoping for, as it conveyed an understanding of the need for caution. None of them would mention to anyone else while in New York that their home was in Texas.
Once inside Michie Stadium, which was still undergoing repairs throughout the upper deck portion, Kyle located a block of available space where the family could use two rows of six seats in each. Samuel and Victoria moved toward the seats in the middle of the lower row, so Ms. Holloway and the three youngest of their grandchildren could position themselves on either side. In the row behind, the adult couples occupied the center four seats, while the two security men sat at each of the ends. As the commencement proceedings continued with varied short speeches, occasional applause, and respectful homage when the name of a fallen cadet was read aloud, the Tillman clan waited eagerly to hear the name of Jason. When it finally was spoken, they like many other family members of a graduate, stood to exhibit their pride.
At roughly the same time another commencement was under way at the Naval Academy in Annapolis Maryland. Along with the Secretary of the Navy and other dignitaries, a guest speaker had been brought in for the occasion to give the commencement address. Rising at the appropriate moment, Vice Admiral Anthony Rutherford moved toward the podium to begin. He felt mixed emotions throughout the process of his speech, as there was pride and joy at being selected for such an honor, while also being saddened as he looked upon the empty chair and name placard in recognition of his niece Heather. Additionally there was an inner feeling of self-accomplishment. He had received a Presidential commendation and a promotion in rank shortly after returning to Norfolk Virginia with the fourth fleet task force which had done their part in the pummeling of Syria. In order for Tony Rutherford to receive
that third star, the approval of Congress would be required, but they had done so without undue delay.
After the commencement at West Point, Samuel planned to meet with Jason if his grandson could spare a few minutes. Times were hectic on the grounds of the academy as seemingly everyone wanted a piece of each graduating cadet, but Jason had promised that he would do his best. A short time later he had fulfilled his promise by gathering four other graduating cadets from Texas who like him, had decided to forgo their five year commitment to the United States. They would instead proudly stand for their new republic. During the course of taking multiple photographs with various family members and friends, Jason made sure that each one of his fellow Texans met his grandfather Samuel. Later that night when things had calmed down, Jason informed Samuel that he would keep in contact with the various cadets from Texas. His intent would also include underclassmen who had taken the oath, and would be leaving West Point to complete their education and training at College Station.
Then on Sunday morning the Tillman entourage enjoyed breakfast at the hotel, before heading back toward La Guardia International Airport and their return flight to Houston. By nightfall they had all returned safely to the confines of the Tillman mansion.
