by Doug Ball
STATE
OF
CONFUSION
The
fourth in the
STATE OF ARIZONA
series.
OTHER BOOKS BY
DOUG BALL
Tales of The Old West
Blood on the Zuni
Vengeance
Lone Tree
The Deacon
Death by Baseball
The Deacon Underground
Tales of The Not So Old West
Gentle Rebellion
4 X Armed
Rebellion’s New Beginnings
The State of Arizona Series
Alternative Current History
State of Defense (also in audiobook)
State of Threat (also in audiobook)
State of Peril (also in audiobook
The Silent Service
Sailor
Biblical Studies
Puzzling Theology
The Fishy Prophet
Called to Good Works
Copyright 2017 – Douglas H. Ball
Cover designs by the Author
Cover art by Shutterstock
This is a work of fiction.
Any resemblance between the characters of this book
and persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental, with the exception of historical figures. Even then the persona is that of the author’s imagination.
This book is dedicated to
the
FIRST RESPONDERS
everywhere.
May God grant you
His mercies, daily.
And of course
my beloved
Patti.
47 BEAUTIFUL YEARS.
THE BEST WIFE A MAN EVER HAD.
STATE OF CONFUSION
Fourth in the State of Arizona Series
January 5, 2015
Inauguration Day for the new Governor of Arizona
“Governor, I enjoyed your speech, which is something I do not say very often after all my years of listening to politicians pontificate,” Senate Majority Leader Merle Hopkins, commonly referred to as the Hawk, said loud enough for the press to hear.
“Thank you for that. I may be ruffling some of your feathers in the near future, Hawk. I pray we will be able to work things out without the wars of the past.” The Governor was looking every which way as he talked.
Chief Justice Ivan Bradford looked the new Governor in the eye, “Don’t ruffle the feathers of what’s working, if you want my advice, which you probably don’t.”
“Justice Bradford, I have the utmost respect for you and your rulings, but I will do all I can to get Arizona back in a good relationship with the Federal Government. Our President has two more years to serve this great nation and I think we need to get on board to a certain level. Some of his ideas are way out, but the unity of the nation is what’s important.” The Governor’s blood pressure was rising after his short, but definite, speech.
“If every state was on board with this President, we’d all go under.” The Speaker of the House was on his soapbox. Anthony White was no lap dog, as the Hawk had found out many times. But, he was a man that would work with, emphasis on the with, anyone.
The Governor focused on the discussion that was not going his way. “We’ll chat about all of my ideas in the next few months, I’m sure.” He turned to walk away.
The previous Governor, addressed only as Governor while in office, walked up, “Governor, may I escort you to your, YOUR, office at this time? It is tradition, you know.”
“Yes you may, Governor. I’d be honored to keep that tradition.”
“I’ll formally introduce you to the staff when we arrive. All of them are waiting in the outer office for your arrival.”
The new Governor said to the men around him, “If you’ll excuse me? I will meet you at the reception in twenty minutes.”
His aide stepped up, “Governor, you have a hard appointment in ten minutes for a statement for the cameras. Your people await.”
“They just heard a half hour of me, isn’t that enough?”
“No. We promised the press, remember?”
“They’ll wait.” He turned to the others, “Twenty minutes. We’ll all be there for the press as a statement of solidarity and unity.” He took his predecessor’s arm, “Shall we go?”
“I am honored.”
Two weeks later
Arizona/Mexico border
2 miles west of Montezuma Pass
A black Explorer kicked up dust as it traveled past Parker Canyon Lake and then turned south to stop in a deep gully a hundred yards past a stock pond and the end of the two ruts. Five men got out. All were dressed in camo and carrying semi-auto rifles and six 30 round ammunition magazines. Each weapon was equipped with a sound suppression device. Their faces were obscured with camo paint and each moved like he knew what he was doing and had done it quite a few times before.
“This will be like shooting targets if none of them are armed.”
“Even if they are, they won’t have a chance to shoot back if we do it right.”
The biggest one shushed them with a hiss and said, “If you don’t hold it down, they won’t come this way. You also have to remember, Border Patrol has listening stations in the pass.” He pointed to a hump, “That hump of dirt is the only thing between us and them.”
Each man moved silently down the gully to within sight of the border, or it would have been in sight if it were anything but a busted down four strand barbed wire fence that had seen many better days. As it was, there was absolutely nothing to see. Each took his position and waited.
Up from the south, rumor had it, coyotes would be bringing a group of illegals across the border just to test the resolve of the new Governor of Arizona. He had appeared weak on the illegals issue during the campaign which almost cost him the election. Now was the time for the coyotes and the cartels to try what was left of the security that was in place because of the previous Governor and the War with Mexico of eighteen months ago. Many on both sides of the border wanted the border open again, and many did not. ‘Would that well established security still be in place with the same resolve or not?’ was the question.
The sound of illegal travelers was clearly heard by the hidden men in camo. Each checked his weapon after a double click on the radio bud in their ear. Each waited for the illegals to come into view.
The point man, in deep cover fifty yards closer to the border, watched until he saw the first one and then gave a triple click to the rest. As they walked by his position he counted and gave a click for each one until there were no more. He pressed the button on his mike, “Eight men, six women, and what looks like four young teens. Save the good looking one in the dull yellow jacket, she’s mine.”
Four clicks registered as each of the other men responded with a single click. The biggest man was at the north end of the ambush and it was his signal that would start the operation. He watched as he heard the group get closer, but still not in sight. The point man signaled that all were past his station and he was closing the escape route. The rest of the men watched as the group came into view and passed them, each making a count to ensure all the illegals were covered in a field of fire. Each man looked for the dull yellow jacket and marked her in his mind.
Two clicks sounded, the big man had seen the first of the illegals coming his way. All they waited for now was the next click.
Within moments a single click sounded. One single click and the darkness shattered with the light of exploding rounds emitted from the barrels of the weapons and the strangely innocent poof of noise. Each man took out his assigned targets with overlaps plann
ed so that all would be dropped, except the good looking one. As the targets dropped, the firing died until two clicks came to the ear buds.
Every man stood, ejected an empty, or near empty magazine and inserted a full one. They walked forward to check the victims. Three single shots marked the positions of ones that were not dead. The good looking one in the dull yellow jacket quivered as the shots rang around her. She even wondered why she had been missed as she lifted her head and watched the five men walk through the dead toward her.
“Don’t worry, baby. We’ve got a message for you to carry.”
Two men grabbed her and took her down. Another stepped up and cut her clothes off.
After three of the men were sated and she had been slapped around enough to leave bruises that showed, just as the eastern sky was showing the false signs of sunrise, she was given her shoes and the message. “Tell the people down south that this is what will happen to all who violate our border.” His arm swept the positions of the dead. “The new Governor of the State of Arizona has decided to get tougher than ever on you damned border busters. Tell the cartels we will come south after them if they try to run any more drugs into our state. The Federal Government won’t stop you, but we will, and we are many.” The biggest man gave her a shove, “Go deliver the message.”
“May I have my clothes, at least a bit of dignity?” There was no accent.
“No. Deliver the message. Next time all die. No more messages. You are the lucky one.”
“I do not feel lucky. I feel violated.” She lunged at him.
He slapped her down. “That’s what Arizona feels when you sneak in and take our resources for your own.”
One of the men grabbed her arm and pulled her up. She was pushed toward the border.
The walk for her was a long one. For the first time in the trip she felt the cold of the night and shivered as her arms started to prickle. She cried into the night in shame and anger. As she stepped over the rusting four strands of barbed wire, she turned and cursed the United States of America where she had lived for five years in peace before all illegals had been given the ultimatum of leave with their possessions or they would be caught and thrown back across the border with only the clothes on their back. Now she wished she had clothes on her back.
The men quickly gathered the fired brass they could find, rechecked the dead, and gathered around the big man. With a silent nod, the leader motioned toward the vehicle. The point man set off on the trail that marked their entry into this place and the rest followed. The big man brought up the rear to erase as many of their tracks as he could on the move.
At the Explorer, they washed away the dirt with a couple of jugs of warm water, changed clothes, safed and cased their weapons, fired up the engine, and rolled toward Seirra Vista through the Montezuma Pass. The banter in the vehicles centered on the quality of the lady and the ease of the operation. All wanted to do it again, mostly for the money they would receive.
The point man said as he was dropped off in Benson, “Had fun. Let’s do this again, soon.”
The leader said, “I’ll call on the cell. Never use anything but the cell you were given and only use it to receive calls. No chats with your bookie or the ladies.” All of them nodded, “Wipe our ride clean, real clean, and give it back to the rental in Benson by noon.” The point man closed the door and walked toward the quick stop store to get a drink, a big drink.
2
Later that day
Phoenix
The Governor’s office
The Governor wasn’t happy. They had been talking for over an hour and he had other business on his agenda. “Gentlemen, I understand the need for the border shut down, and the border control, and Druggersville, and the immediate transport of the illegals, and the schools, and the courts, and the everything else that was so quickly put in place to regain our positive fiscal balance. But, we have alienated the Federal Government and the Mexican Government. All I’m saying is we need to move in a direction that will begin to mend those broken fences.”
Hawk broke in, “Those items you are talking about were not quickly put in place. They were argued, thought about, even prayed over, in the combined meeting of the House and the Senate for three days, over 72 hours, before we even began to implement those items. Arizona is unique. It is our state. We are part and parcel a state within the United States. Nothing we have done is illegal, nothing is as expensive as taking the Fed dollar; every change we implemented saved us money and resolved issues that were draining us of all resources. Yeah, we had some problems. Most of those problems were because of the Federal Government you want to kiss up to and the foreign government you want to surrender to. I will not allow that if at all possible.”
“I do not propose to surrender to anyone. I agree that the changes brought us back to a solid fiscal position, but there is no use in continuing the stalemate that exists today. The Fed will not live up to its security responsibilities and Mexico is making no effort to stop illegal border crossers. I am sure there are enough new people in both branches to bring about the changes I want, but I do want us to work them out together. Am I clear?” He stood before them with his arms crossed over his chest and stretching his body upward.
“Yes. Problem is, most of the new folks ran on platforms that agreed with the changes. The majority of people of the State of Arizona must have agreed with the changes in order for them to make it into the seats they now hold. For us and them to change back to the Federal Government controlled state we had will be a death knell for the State of Arizona as a separate entity within the USA. I, for one, will not now or ever, bow my head to that idea. When the Fed agrees to state’s rights as stated in the Constitution of these United States, I will rethink my stand. At no time should a state be cowed by the Federal Government’s money and random unconstitutional regulations. Our schools are turning out better students more capable of holding a job as seen by our low drop-out rate, SAT/ACT scores, and other states following our lead. Industry is very happy. Our welfare system is the best and least expensive in the nation. Our courts have the shortest trial cycle in the nation. Our drug problem is the smallest in the nation. We have a greater percentage of money in bank savings per capita than any other state in the nation. We are still using legally invited folks from across the border in our industry. We are closing prisons and not building new ones. Why would you want to change all that?” The Hawk said.
The Speaker said, “I’m just as adamant as the Hawk.”
Heads bobbed around the table.
The Governor backed up a step, his face red, and his hands dropped at his sides clenched into fists.
The phone rang in the outer office as the men and women awaited the explosion.
“Gentlemen,” the Governor began, “I see your point, BUT, there must be a way to regain a strong, but – oh, what word to use, separate, unsurrendered, independent, positive – that’s it, positive and independent relationship with both political entities. That’s what I propose to …”
“Governor?” the secretary said.
He looked up, startled, “I told you no interruptions.”
Josie replied, “I think you need this call, Sir.” She smiled. “Line 1, Sir. It is El Presidenté Ramos.”
As he reached for his phone he said, “Maybe this is a beginning.” He put the phone to his ear, hit line 1, and “Governor Estabon Reeves here. How are you, El Presidenté?”
“I am not well, Señor Reeves. Your message has upset me much,” El Presidenté replied.
“My message? I have sent you no message, Señor.”
The Governor listened for a long time. As his face saddened he dropped into his desk chair. Tears rolled down his cheeks and were caught with his handkerchief. Until, finally, he put the phone down and put his face in his hands. “He hung up on me and I don’t blame him. Seventeen people were massacred and a woman badly abused down on the border. The ones who did this thing said it was a message from me as to how we would treat anyone who ca
me over illegally. The woman was assaulted and left naked, except for her shoes, to walk back south and give the message to the Mexican government and the cartels. How could someone do this in the name of Arizona?”
Ted Fuerte, reporter started for the door with his cell phone in hand.
“Stop, Ted. I cannot let you print this right now. Let’s find out more. You’ll get your scoop.” Hawk’s voice was hard.
“Okay. One hour. Then I call it in.”
“Thank you,” The Governor’s voice was weak and definite.
Josie was still standing in the doorway.
“Josie, leave us.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Each of the legislators and the reporter were stunned into silence until Philomeno Ruiz, the leader of the Hispanic Caucus, said, “I do not understand this. Why? I do not think you would do this and from your reaction I think you are as shocked as I am. I will tell my people it was not you. They will listen. The ones to the south, below the border will not. This is a bad thing for your goals, Señor.”
The Governor was silent, visibly gathering himself for the task at hand.
Anthony White said, “This sounds like something for your Investigator’s office, Governor.”
“Who? You mean that bunch of do-nothings down the hall.”
“They only do what you tell them to do. Tan and his troops, have saved the bacon for us and put their lives on the line a couple of times. I’d call them,” the Hawk said.
Heads bobbed around the table.
Fuentes said, “I’d go for him if I were Governor,” and walked out. “Call me.” He closed the door.
Josie stuck her nose in, “You want me to call the Office of Special Investigator to the Governor, Sir?”
“No. Get out.” He shouted it just a bit too loud.
