by Kurt Winans
“Yes sir.”
Back aboard Air Force One the President had a call placed to Christopher Westin before the plane began to taxi. He needed to be briefed on what level of either success or failure that the diversion and subsequent incursions had brought forth. As he listened to what was being forwarded, Jordan Harwell smiled with delight. The preliminary reports from each location were coming back with positive results, as Texas had indeed been caught flatfooted.
Before hanging up the phone he said, “Thanks Chris. That will help me rest a little easier on the flight home. I’ll see you in a few hours when we get back to the White House.”
Three days had passed since his return from the Caribbean, and now during the closing hours of Thursday the first of June, President Harwell watched intently as results of the referendum vote on the desire for statehood were reported. His sources informed him that a high percentage of the registered voters on each island cluster had turned out, and news from the early and midpoint counts were looking favorable. However unlike many of the races during recent decades within the United States which had been potentially tainted, the outcome of this impactful decision by the people of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands would not be prematurely forecast.
In recognition of that intent, the President turned his attention to other matters. The days and nights since boarding Air Force One and heading south to offer encouragement had been busy, but also prosperous. Aside from the positive aspects of the trip to San Juan, the blockade, northern diversion, and various incursions upon Texas had been successful. On late Wednesday evening the President was informed that Fort Bliss and Biggs Army Airfield within, as well as the Red River facility, were completely secured and there was no hint of a pending counter offensive from the opposition.
Those successes were possible in part because the compliment of Texas military forces at Red River were small in number and had been caught flatfooted on a holiday morning. The El Paso front had been completely different in that regard, but a necessary diversion gained through absolutely no effort had helped to pave the way. In believing that the buildup of American forces along border positions on Interstate-10 and other entrance points to the west of Fort Bliss would represent a major offensive thrust, the Texas forces within the region shifted many of their units to those locations to defend against it. As a consequence the base was left with severely depleted strength, and was rushed via mounting ground forces that had flowed freely across the border on US Highway-54. In addition, the airfield and runways were captured and secured in short order by helicopter squadrons and the transport planes which followed. The Texas military was unable to reinforce their strength from the nearest friendly stronghold of Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene, and the personnel who remained at Fort Bliss were outnumbered. By late Tuesday those forces had been completely overrun, while those that had moved to the west were caught in a compromising situation. They could no longer return to Fort Bliss as their comrades within had succumbed, and because of that they were pinched between two American forces that each possessed greater strength.
What the American military minds in the region didn’t know was that Texas intended to mount a counter thrust on Monday evening, but reports of American troops in Van Horn and subsequent confirming reconnaissance flights led them to rethink their stance. Convoys to Fort Bliss via Interstate-10 would have taken several hours, but adding the delay associated with clearing the way through Van Horn would push the arrival time back further. That, when coupled with reports of a separate American occupation in the northeast at Red River, had made the situation most precarious. Therefore the General in command of the Texas military forces reached a decision. He had to defend the remaining bases within Texas from further occupations at all cost, so in his view it would be better to keep all of his forces in their current locations as opposed to chasing their own tails from one end of the republic to the other. The General ordered each of the remaining bases to be put on full alert status, while the two bases that had been breached would be sacrificed for the greater good. Each base would be on their own in the posture of defending the perimeter from additional incursions, and they were to send up multiple reconnaissance flights so that a vigilant watch could be maintained from above. Those orders came with one notable exception, as reserve forces from the central command base of Fort Hood in Killeen would be sent to Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls. That facility was located within a few miles of the Oklahoma border, and the General feared it would be the most logical of future targets.
As for the remaining forces on the exterior of Fort Bliss, they were instructed to move south a few miles into what would be a slightly less compromising position. From there they were to do what they could to defend the city of El Paso.
President Harwell was unaware of those impactful decisions from within the military command of Texas, but was pleased with reports received from the Joint Chiefs. According to what was forwarded from various American officers in the field, there had been minimal contact with civilian personnel in Texas throughout the few days of conflict.
Inviting the opinion of his Chief of Staff, the President asked, “Well Chris, with no military reprisal from Texas as of yet, what do you think will be their next move?”
“That’s hard to say sir. But I’m puzzled that President Stoddard hasn’t reached out.”
“I am too. However I can understand why he may not wish to speak with me directly. Even so, you would think the State Department would have been contacted by now.”
“Yes sir. But President Stoddard and his staff could be getting organized to present some sort of financial resolution or ultimatum as a response to the incursions. I believe that their Ambassador meets with the Secretary of State on a regular basis, so perhaps Texas is waiting for that meeting to show their hand.”
“Alright Chris, I can see that scenario as being possible. And we must remember that such an ultimatum could reflect more of what the organization desires.”
“Given the status of both men, I believe that would be most probable Mr. President.”
Turning to face Heath, the President asked, “I would also like to hear your input Heath. What are your thoughts on the desires of the organization and Samuel Tillman?”
“Pardon me sir, but to what end?”
“Well I’m referring to their next moves and how tidy they could be with them. To be quite blunt, those who we know of in the organization, including Mr. Tillman, have been sloppy and loose lipped in several instances with regard to maintaining the secrecy of their identity and actions.”
“That is correct sir, but we can’t expect further security breaches from Samuel Tillman.”
“Are you saying that he will be more cautious and thus infallible in the future?”
“Well sir, I will admit that he has made some mistakes which in turn led us to significant amounts of intelligence about the organization. And as with anyone, he is certainly capable of making additional mistakes. Therefore I don’t believe that he is infallible.”
“So then are you implying that he’s not a careful person?”
“No Mr. President, quite to the contrary. I believe that Samuel Tillman is a very careful person in most respects, but he has made a few errors in judgement. Now some of those lapses could be related to loss of focus when his youngest granddaughter died, but I believe that it stems from a larger and more lasting issue.”
“That’s an interesting observation Heath, please continue.”
Heath proceeded to explain his belief that there was an overlying arrogance to Samuel Tillman, which caused him to imagine everything would work out according to his master plan. That perceived invincibility percolated downward through his operatives and into those that they mentored. As a result, every one of them probably believed that they had fooled the power structure of Washington D.C. along with the citizenship of the United States and the world. Then Heath continued by adding that their loose lips during certain conversations were not the fault of Samuel
directly, but instead were the byproduct of a mindset.
As for Samuel Tillman, Heath suggested that his pattern demonstrated two dimensional thinking in terms of either complete success or failure in any given situation. At times he showed an inability to properly handle an obstacle if things didn’t go according to plan, and would lash out in a negative fashion. That evil side of him was personified most by how he coped with a perceived significant threat, as he typically ordered a sanction to alleviate the issue as opposed to searching for alternative measures. Examples of that trend included the air traffic controller in Colorado, Mr. Spano in Highland Falls near West Point, his former lead flight attendant Domonique, and perhaps many others that were presently unknown.
President Harwell was intrigued by the observations of his protectorate, and that he had left his own name off the list of those who had been targeted. The description of Samuel Tillman and his thought process seemed logical and disturbing, but the question of how he and the organization could proceed from this point forward remained unanswered.
As Heath continued he stated his doubt that Samuel Tillman or the organization would fold their tent, because as an entity they had too much invested in the high stakes game that was being played. Therefore it wouldn’t be a surprise if they went about business as usual for their own interests as opposed to caring too much about what would happen to the military forces of Texas. Then in once again moving to the personal outlook of Samuel Tillman, Heath believed that he would be more preoccupied in reestablishing the flow of incoming revenue via his shipping and trucking interests as opposed to worrying about anything else.
After listening to the perspective of Agent Bishop, Christopher Westin intervened by asking, “So in following that course, you don’t believe it will be necessary to move against the various numbered operatives of the organization within the next few days.”
“That is correct sir. In fact waiting to capture and arrest any of them for a short time could work to our advantage. What we already know of their operatives could be added to if they feel that their elaborate ruse was still securely in place. Besides that, the use of covert teams to quietly collect them could take a little time to properly organize.”
The President had listened attentively and was in agreement with the assessment.
Rising from his chair, he said, “Alright Heath, we will do this your way.”
During the afternoon hours of Friday the second of June, Commander Calvin Foster was sitting at his desk in the Pentagon. As he continued to peruse various network websites for news or other items which involved the interconnected actions near El Paso and Texarkana, he ran across an article concerning recent happenings in Puerto Rico. The vote with regard to desired statehood took place throughout the previous day, and the article revealed for those who weren’t already aware that the referendum had passed resoundingly.
Within the article there was a section expressing that the visit and speech of President Harwell a few days earlier may have been what swayed the vote to such a lopsided and favorable outcome. It was an opinion that Commander Foster could not refute, as he had seen only a portion of the speech on tape and none of the crowd reaction. Nevertheless he shook his head negatively in disgust as he looked at the photograph which accompanied the article. Although there had been perhaps thousands of photographs of President Harwell circulated by media outlets throughout the years, there was something about this particular one that seemed out of place. Unfortunately the Commander just couldn’t put his finger on exactly what it was until he magnified the image for a closer inspection of it.
Later that evening he contacted number eleven and said simply, “We need to meet as soon as possible.”
“Is it important?”
“I believe so, and I think that you will too.”
“Alright, but I can’t get away right now. Can you make it tomorrow night at ten?”
“Yes I can. See you then.”
By the time Ambassador Pearson arrived at the warehouse, the Commander was already waiting with his tablet primed for viewing. Looking at the man who was hunched over the luminescent screen, he said, “Good evening number twenty-nine.”
Shifting his gaze upward he replied, “And to you as well number eleven. Thanks for agreeing to meet me on such short notice.”
“No problem. So what’s on your mind?”
Motioning toward the tablet, he asked, “Have you seen this article on MSN?”
“Which article would that be?”
“It’s about President Harwell and his recent trip to Puerto Rico.”
“No, I’ve been busy sifting through news reports of what happened at Fort Bliss and Red River. So what’s so important about the Puerto Rico article?”
“There’s a photograph of Harwell at the lectern in San Juan delivering his speech.”
“And why does that matter?”
“Well if you look closely at the background you will see. That’s a member of his Secret Service detail that we were led to believe is dead.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Look, that man at the left edge of the photograph is Agent Bishop.”
In disbelief number eleven looked closely at the photograph, then admitted, “I agree that is Bishop, but this photograph must be from stock footage of an earlier event.”
“No, I don’t believe so. I remember seeing a portion of his speech on tape yesterday morning while I was at the Pentagon. It was filmed from an angle directly in front of him, and President Harwell was wearing that same tie with the bizarre pattern. I also remember the building in the background along with the banners which are visible near the top of this quartering angle photograph. That is most definitely the setting at San Juan from this past Monday, and that man in the background is Agent Bishop!”
After another look at the tablet screen and several seconds of contemplative silence, the Ambassador replied, “Well then that means…”
Without allowing number eleven to complete his thought, the Commander said, “Yes it most certainly does. We have been misled for the past five months, as it’s quite obvious that Kristen did not complete the sanction number two ordered before she died.”
Another long silence ensued before number eleven responded with, “Well if Bishop is not dead, then that might create a larger problem for us to consider.”
“What’s that?”
“Perhaps Kristen isn’t dead either.”
There was no doubt that Samuel had been preoccupied throughout much of the spring with regard to the demise of Savanah, and then in more recent weeks, with the shocking proclamation of his grandson Beau. Each of those instances, which he referred to as daggers into the heart of the family from an enemy within, had for differing reasons suppressed the keen awareness that Samuel normally possessed. Therefore he was rendered as far less than sharply focused at key moments within that timeframe. Nevertheless the need for Samuel to emerge from that state was immediate, as he and the republic faced a hugely impactful and unwanted challenge.
Throughout the previous seven days the American blockade within the Gulf of Mexico had maintained a chokehold along the entire Texas Coastline. As a result of that and other actions within the same timeframe in various regions of the republic, Samuel had been slapped back into the reality of how the numerous events impacted his global business interests. It was true that the temporary trucking revolt along Interstate-40 had been seen to and resolved so that normal operations could resume, but that represented just the tiniest fraction of his financial empire.
As for the challenges with regard to Fort Bliss and Red River, those were the concerns of number seven. For Samuel the only aspect of current importance in and around El Paso was the safety of Mason and number thirty-one, but unfortunately neither had been heard from since the American incursion. That silence would probably resolve itself with time, and for Samuel the larger concern could be found within the implications of the blockade.
There had already been more than a do
zen cargo ships operating under the corporate moniker of Tillman Shipping which were denied the opportunity to sail from Galveston Bay. As a result of missing their scheduled departures, promised commercial shipments would not reach their intended destinations as agreed. In addition, the cargo that would have been loaded onto subsequent ships for departure was now beginning to stack up on the docks and within the accompanying warehouses. To magnify the problem, inbound ships destined for Galveston couldn’t enter the port. Some of those vessels remained at anchor a few miles off shore in the hope that matters would soon be resolved, while others returned to their point of origin or headed for different ports to unload their various cargos. Beyond the financial impact upon the republic, it was an intolerable situation for Samuel. Therefore how and when it would be rectified demanded his full attention.
Although Samuel understood that he would have little or no control over the situation, he also realized that the acute diplomatic skills of number eleven would be called upon by number three and number five to work on alleviating the problem. Somehow they would collectively need to convince the American Secretary of State that the blockade must be lifted. With that in mind Samuel believed contacting number eleven beforehand would be wise, as additional thoughts of strategy might help to avoid an impasse. However before he could act upon the notion, the phone in his pocket rang.
Noting the caller, he answered, “Hello number eleven. I was just about to call you.”
“Hello number two, so how are things in the republic?”
“Well there are some troubles in certain regions as I’m sure you are aware, but I feel they can be resolved with your help.”
“Yes, and I will do my best. However I wanted to contact you before getting too involved with any of that, as I need to update you on a certain situation.”
Samuel was puzzled by what could possibly take precedence over the negotiations to lift the blockade, but asked, “Alright number eleven, what’s on your mind?”
