A gloved hand appeared in the upper right hand corner of the screen behind the gibbering Jew-face of Michael Perlman, holding an automatic pistol with a silencer. There was a spitting sound like a match striking, and then red oozing liquid covered the videocam.
“Good timing, Charlie!” muttered Barrow under his breath.
“Actually, no, Mr. Perlman, it is we who are watching you die,” said Morehouse smoothly.
The faces on the other video split screens registered shock and consternation, then they all twisted wildly as the wealthy men turned their heads and looked around their plush offices in terror, looking for similar assassins behind them. All except for Lodge, who smiled wryly. “More of your proactive diplomacy, Mr. Morehouse?” he asked in a calm voice, sounding almost amused.
“Precisely, Mr. Lodge. One of our boys from Operation We Are Not Amused whom we persuaded to do an encore down in Tinsel Town.” [See The Brigade by the author.]
“Nice new friends you’ve got there, Walter,” said Lodge.
“I like ’em” replied Stanhope.
Red Morehouse struck while the iron was hot, as the blood dripped off the screen in Perlman’s Los Angeles office and revealed him slumped over his desk with his brains showing. “Gentlemen, let me lay this out for you nice and neat. We have spent the past five and a half years spilling a lot of blood to make this new Homeland of ours. Mostly your blood, but a lot of our own as well, because that is the price of freedom. We will keep on doing so, whenever it is required. If you try to starve our children, if you deny our sick people the medicine they need, if you try to plunge the Northwest into darkness, if you try to harm this Republic in any way, then we will kill you, because that is what we do to the white man’s enemies. Then if the man who succeeds to your job refuses to mend his ways, we will kill him as well. And so forth and so on, until we find someone who thinks enough of his own skin or who simply likes money enough to play ball with us. How long do you think it will be before we can find someone in your respective organizations with such a pragmatic view? Not long, I think. How many more such examples will we have to make? Not many, I’d guess. Now, you have a choice here. You can live the rest of your lives surrounded by bodyguards and living in fortresses, which will do you no good in the long run, or you can accept the verdict of history. The Northwest American Republic is a fact of life, from now on. Deal with it.”
Morehouse paused, and looked at Henderson. “Mr. Henderson, for what it’s worth, I offer my sincere sympathy and regret at the death of your son, Captain Harold Henderson. One of the certainties of war is that young men die. Please, sir, help us make sure that it doesn’t happen again.” Morehouse reached under the table and turned off the screen with a snap.
“I just got a coded text,” said Barrow, lifting his cell phone. “Colonel Randall and his team have E&E’d successfully. They should be back in the Republic by tomorrow.”
“All right!” exclaimed Morgan happily.
“At the earliest opportunity please convey my congratulations to the Colonel and his team on a successful operation,” said Morehouse. “Now, I think we can break for an early supper, comrades. Back in an hour?”
“What are they serving in the cafeteria tonight?” asked Salvatore.
“I think it’s lasagna,” said Morehouse with a smile.
IV
NEW DAWN
(Six months after Longview)
“I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it”
—Thomas Jefferson
The following document, subsequently known as the Basic Act of Establishment and General Repeal, was published in all major newspapers and posted to all major websites of the Northwest Republic, and delivered in the form of a nationwide televised address by the acting State President on March the seventh. Although predating the actual ratification of the Northwest Constitution by some months, the Basic Act laid down the ground rules for the new state, and is considered by historians as the formal beginning of the new Republic and the end of the Cleanup, by virtue of formally reinstituting the rule of law:
The Constitutional Convention and government of the Northwest American Republic, assembled at Olympia, in anticipation of the adoption of the Constitution of the Republic by said Convention, do hereby declare and proclaim for the purpose of interim governance the following acts of repeal, and do also decree the following affirmative statutes and acts, to wit:
1. The Constitutional Convention now sitting at Olympia, and the government instituted by the Convention, are henceforth the sole governing authority of the Northwest American Republic. Martial law is hereby rescinded in all remaining counties of the Republic wherein it is still in effect, and the entire Republic is henceforth under civil authority.
2. All federal, state, municipal, county, and other law enforcement agencies that existed under the United States are hereby abolished. All law enforcement plant, property, premises, and personnel are herewith consolidated into the Northwest Civil Guard.
3. Elections for all offices under the new Constitution to be promulgated and ratified by the Convention will take place no more than thirty (30) days after ratification, the precise date to be determined by the Electoral Committee.
4. Graduated Franchise: For the purpose of the Republic’s initial national elections only, any resident of the NAR over age 18 may be granted third-class citizenship and one (1) vote thereby, provided they swear an oath of loyalty to the Republic before an election commissioner and bring the notarized instrument of said oath to the polls on Election Day.
Residents requesting third-class citizenship must also produce a certificate from the Civil Guard, affirming that the individual in question did not commit any acts or crimes in the service of the United States government and/or its multifarious agencies during the War of Independence that were of an especially heinous, cruel, or violent nature; and that furthermore, according to all information available, the said petitioning individual did not at any time during the war act in the capacity of an informer or collaborator with the United States forces.
Second-class citizenship, carrying two (2) votes for electoral purposes, is hereby granted to all serving members of the Northwest Defense Force, as well as to all women who can prove they are the mother of three or more children living in the home or resident elsewhere in the Republic.
First-class citizenship, carrying three (3) votes for electoral purposes, is hereby granted to all personnel over the age of 14 years who served in the Northwest Volunteer Army, or who served the Party in any capacity either during or prior to the War of Independence. First-class citizenship is also hereby granted to all members of the Northwest Defense Force who fought in the battle of Portland from November first through November fourth, or who have been decorated for valor in combat during the Consolidation, or who served in the unit designated as Force 101.
5. All laws and ordinances which previously existed under the United States of America and its state and local governments that in any way prohibit, restrict, control, or limit the keeping and bearing of arms, the open or concealed carrying of arms, and the possession and transportation of firearms, ammunition, powder, supplies, cartridge casings, or any other material necessary to the exercise of the First Amendment of the Northwest Constitution, are hereby repealed and declared to be null, void, and of no effect.
6. All vouchers, receipts, and IOUs issued by officers and other personnel of the Northwest Volunteer Army and the Northwest Defense Force for personal property, cash, food, supplies, vehicles, fuel, weapons and ammunition, or other material during the War of Independence and the Consolidation must be presented for payment to any office of the Ministry of Finance or the Northwest Defense Force within a period of ten (10) years dating from this proclamation. Such vouchers or receipts must be presented by the original persons to whom they were issued, or by their legal heirs. Where possible such documents shall be authenticated by the original issuing NVA or
NDF officer if they can be located, before payment. If the original issuing officer is dead or cannot be located, the Ministry and the NDF shall make reasonable assumption of good faith and shall reimburse such creditors.
7. All debts owed to American financial institutions, specifically to include home mortgages and liens, mortgages and liens on any commercial or industrial property, credit card debt, automobile debt, student loans, and all other forms of corporate indebtedness or indebtedness to Jews or Jewish financial institutions that existed prior to the signing of the treaty at Longview, are hereby declared null and void. Existing home ownership in the Republic shall be determined on grounds of present occupancy. The Bureau of Race and Resettlement shall expedite the transfer of title deeds free and clear to homeowners.
8. All real estate, money, valuables, fixtures, vehicles, and other property abandoned by white persons who have fled the Republic, will be deeded to the National Abandoned Property Trust established by the Convention on February 20, and shall be placed in a state of escrow for a period of one (1) year from the date of this proclamation. During that time any person seeking the restoration of any real or personal property thus sequestered, or seeking compensation for any property which for any reason cannot or will not be returned, may make application at any office of the Trust or at any Civil Guard station, provided that such application shall be made in person by the property owner and that said property owner provide proof of their permanent return to the Northwest Republic.
9. At the conclusion of the one-year period described in the previous paragraph, any and all abandoned property that remains unclaimed may be sold or distributed to such governmental or private agencies as the officers of the Trust and the government of the NAR shall determine.
10. All real estate, money, valuables, fixtures, vehicles, and other abandoned property reasonably determined to have been owned by Jews, by non-whites, by sexual deviates, by the United States government or by any American state or local government, by any corporate entity hostile to the Republic, or by any individual determined to have been irredeemably hostile to the Republic during the War of Independence, is herewith declared to be the property of the state and shall be distributed among the appropriate government departments and agencies. The Ministry of Defense shall have first refusal on all American military property and installations. The Ministry of Race and Resettlement shall have first refusal on all housing for potential use for new immigrants. The Ministry of Finance shall receive all identifiable enemy cash, stocks and bonds, coins and precious metals, jewelry, and other movable personal property of value that can be liquidated for the treasury.
11. The retail sale of alcoholic beverages and intoxicating liquors is hereby declared to be a state revenue monopoly, and shall be administered through the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, which shall be a statutory body to be run at a profit for the benefit of the treasury. Private sale of alcoholic beverages by individuals and businesses shall be legal, but subject to taxation to be determined at a later date.
12. The retail sale of tobacco products is hereby declared to be a state revenue monopoly, and shall be administered through the Tobacco Control Board, which shall be a statutory body to be run at a profit for the benefit of the treasury. Private cultivation of tobacco and sale of tobacco products shall be legal, but subject to taxation to be determined at a later date.
13. All laws and ordinances of the United States and its several states and local authorities prohibiting the use, possession, cultivation, and transportation of marijuana and/or cannabis products are hereby repealed and rendered null and void. The Ministry of Finance and the future Parliament may at their discretion impose excise taxes on the cultivation of cannabis hemp and the manufacture and sale of marijuana and cannabis-related products.
14. The use, possession, sale, importation and transportation of hard narcotics such as powdered cocaine, crack or crystal cocaine, methamphetamine, ecstasy, heroin, PCP and lysergic acid shall not be illegal per se, but until such time as these substances pose no further risk to the fabric of society, shall be treated by the Civil Guard and the Ministry of Justice as an anti-social activity and dealt with as the appropriate authorities see fit. The use of capital punishment is authorized in especially egregious cases.
15. Homosexuality is henceforth legally defined as a mental illness. Those suffering from this condition will be suitably confined in secure mental facilities for treatment. The Civil Guard and Ministry of Justice may reserve the right to prosecute the commission of actual homosexual acts through the criminal code.
16. The practice of infanticide by abortion is prohibited, except in cases where two physicians certify to the Ministry of Public Health and the Ministry of Justice that the prospective carrying of a fetus to full term constitutes a clear and present danger to the life of the mother, or else that the fetus will be born irremediably mentally retarded, brain-damaged, or dead. Subsequent confirmation is to be obtained prior to any abortive procedure by a third physician acting under the direction of the Ministry of Public Health. Individual cases of infanticide will be treated by the state and by law enforcement as acts of premeditated murder.
17. National Service. The first national service intake of young people aged 18 to 20 who have completed high school will begin on June 21. All citizens and residents of the Republic aged from 15 to 20 must immediately register for national service.
National Service shall consist of one (1) year in the National Labor Service and two (2) years in the Northwest Defense Force for males, and two (2) years in the National Labor Service for females. Female citizens and residents of the Republic may be exempted from up to one (1) year of national service on grounds of impending or recent maternity. For the first three (3) years from the date of this proclamation, young men may upon graduation from high school opt to go directly into the Northwest Defense Force for a period of two (2) years.
All persons having completed national service will subsequently be eligible to attend any college, university, or technical school in the Republic free of charge for tuition and housing.
18. All laws and ordinances that existed under the United States and its several states and local authorities dealing with taxation, regulation, and/or control of private business and enterprise are hereby repealed and rendered null and void, and of no effect.
19. All laws and ordinances that existed under the United States and its several states and local authorities dealing with the taxation of income, and of homesteads housing individuals and families, are hereby repealed and rendered null and void, and of no effect.
20. The conversion of the Northwest American Republic to its own currency, the Northwest credit, shall begin on the first day of July of this year for a transitional period of six months until the thirty-first day of December, after which date no monies other than the Northwest credit shall be accepted as legal tender in the Republic.
* * *
For Amber Myers, the dreaded Knock on the Door finally came one balmy evening in late April. Actually the Knock On The Door was a ring at the doorbell, and it came just as the family was sitting down to dinner.
“What’s for dessert?” asked Georgia, as she usually did at the beginning of any meal.
“I made us brownies,” said Amber. “I wanted to serve ice cream with them, but there’s no more ice cream in the stores.”
“Why not?” asked Georgia.
“Because the Nazis ate it all!” replied Amber viciously.
“Mom, I’m ten years old, not four,” said Georgia in disgust. “Come on, really, why is there no ice cream in the stores?”
“Because the United States government has imposed economic sanctions on the Northwest,” explained Dr. Clancy Myers. He pointedly avoided using the term Northwest Republic to avoid setting off his wife into another one of her hissy fits. “That means that no one in America is supposed to do business with us or send us anything to buy or sell. The sanctions aren’t working very well, at least not so far. Too much bor
der, and too many people interested in making a buck off smuggling. The U.S.A. was never able to seal off the southern border sufficiently to stop illegal immigration, and they’re not having much more success now with the even longer border around the Northwest. Certain items like gasoline are more expensive than they used to be, and a lot of luxury items aren’t available any more, but nobody is actually going hungry, or doing without basic needs like clothing and heat and most medicine. But one effect of the sanctions is that there’s not the kind of big selection of merchandise there used to be in the stores. Sometimes we run short on certain items. This week it happens to be ice cream.”
“The shelves in Southgate Mall are half empty,” said Amber mournfully. “So are the shelves in Safeway. Mighty Mart is even worse.”
“You always hated Mighty Mart, Mom,” said Georgia. “Mighty Mart never had anything but cheap Chinese crap anyway, you said so.”
“That’s true,” agreed Clancy. “Now people in Missoula can go downtown to stores owned by local people, small businessmen who can make a living once again now that they don’t have to compete with Chinese slave labor via Mighty Mart. Also, it means we get things fixed when they break and we don’t just throw them away and go to Mighty Mart and buy another one.” He avoided saying “white people” for the same reason he avoided saying “Northwest Republic.” Clancy was coming to realize that the Party and the new authorities weren’t quite the ogres everyone had expected, but he was still worried that his wife would one day lose it and go off into an anti-NAR tirade in public that might attract the attention of this new Bureau of State Security that everyone was whispering about.
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