Objective- Freedom Read online

  Curtis looked at her. “Ketchup and onion. Hold the mayo.”

  “That’s enough of that! You two must stop. We have work to do. You’ve made a hash of it all. If one of you says, ‘No hash, just fries,’ I’ll walk out and tell the prime minister I’m dealing with fruitcakes. Don’t you dare address that, either, Ray.”

  They sobered up. Ray thought the president needed eye drops to hide his fatigue. Catherine shook her head.

  “They show he’s tired from working and trying to solve problems,” she said. “If he looks too fresh, he’ll be criticized for not caring.”

  Ray wondered if that strategy might backfire, but he kept silent.

  At 5:25, Secretary of Defense Carlock, Secretary of State JJ Kirby, and Ambassador Ray Green walked into the pressroom.

  President Curtis, walking to the podium with his notes, looked squarely into the cameras. The carrion-feeding press finally settled down enough to allow a sound check.

  At exactly 5:30, President Robert Curtis’s face appeared on TV screens in America and many countries around the world.

  Most of the viewers prayed for his success, while others wished him bad luck.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  The five coalition governors were in the lounge with the wall- sized TV screens. When the president came on, Governor Wilson and Governor Tate made bets over who would be nominated for vice president. Wilson thought it would be Carlock, while Tate backed Kirby.

  Polk and Randall were silent. They knew who it would be and wondered if it was wise. Harris worried about the choice, because he thought it would mean a floor fight in the Senate, leaving nothing done. That didn’t bother Governors Raven and Espada, though it was for different reasons. Raven wanted an end to any connection with the US, so he didn’t care. Espada remained silent, still assessing her position.

  “Ladies and Gentlemen of the United States,” Curtis began, “members of the press, our friends, allies, and others in distant lands, we have a system in the United States when it comes to replacing people in office. That system was clearly delineated in the Constitution, with interpretations by the Supreme Court.”

  “Oh, no,” Raven groaned. “He’s going to give us a civics lesson.”

  “Hush,” the others said.

  “Our country suffered a substantial loss last week when we buried Vice President Sutherland. Ronald Sutherland didn’t have the chance to show the American people what he was capable of. When we reformed the government to cut costs and waste, he was one of the architects.

  “Vice President Sutherland was instrumental in this administration’s success. He willingly and capably fit into the role of chief of staff to the president. He set up the framework for a complete renovation of how the government works. His ideas were on the leading edge of many political thinkers. We’ll miss him, his insights, and his proven ability to lead when necessary.”

  “Life goes on for the rest of us, and it’s imperative to keep the government running. Tomorrow morning, I’ll present a name to the two houses of the legislature for approval as my vice president. He is a man well-known to you, General Ray Green, United States Army, Retired, currently ambassador at large to the breakaway states in the Southwest. He has opened lines of communication with those states and is working on setting up an embassy or mission there to begin negotiations to reform our union.”

  The governors in Oklahoma were silent. Tate was mystified that Carlock hadn’t been chosen. Harris thought Green wasn’t what they needed, so he was uneasy. Governor Raven felt a twinge of pride, because Green was an old Army buddy and a native son of Oklahoma. Amalia Espada was withdrawn, willing to bide her time and hedge her bets.

  General Polk and Colonel Roberts exchanged glances.

  Roberts walked into the hall to call the Ranger captain who was the supervisor of the guard detail.

  “I want you to communicate with Sergeant Shelton in Austin,” Roberts said. “Have him order a strike team to cover each entrance to the governor’s mansion. I want the executive office sealed off and a fully armed guard stationed at each door.”

  He didn’t have to explain himself or clarify the instructions.

  When he spoke, men listened and acted. Walking back into the conference room, he gave General Polk a barely perceptible nod. The only one who noticed was Ambassador Randall, who nodded back.

  Governor Espada was deep in thought, wrestling with her feelings. She would do the right thing. She just needed time to reflect. She knew Ray Green was a good man who would be appropriate for his country. How his ascension to power would affect the country was her primary concern. She thought about it for many days.

  Governor Raven of Oklahoma had no second thoughts. He and Governor Harris of Texas served under Green in the Army and knew him as a man who could be counted on when the going got rough. It was rough at the moment, but Raven knew it would get a lot worse soon.

  Harris harbored minor doubts. His long-standing friendship with Green might help in future deliberations. He also worried that their friendship might be strained or broken by politics. He would wait and see what happened.

  In Washington, President Curtis asked for an early morning meeting of both houses to approve Raymond Green as vice president. He closed the TV appearance and told his press secretary to hand out prepared brochures about Raymond Green. Curtis left the stage and went to the back of the room with Green, Secretary of Defense Carlock, and Secretary of State Kirby. The Secret Service detail immediately moved Green and Catherine Blakely along with the president to the Oval Office.

  Catherine congratulated President Curtis on a job well done. “You carried it off well. I also congratulate you, Vice Presidential Designee Green.”

  Since it was late in the day, and they hadn’t eaten, Ray picked up a telephone receiver and ordered three cheeseburgers with hash browns and fruitcake for dessert. That had the desired effect. The three of them sat down, laughed, and relaxed for the first time in days.

  By 9:00 the following morning, both houses had the necessary number of members to do a roll-call vote. The legislature had been in such disarray the media doubted an accord could be reached.

  That was the shellacked talking heads of the networks, most of whom wouldn’t have been elected squad leader of a Boy Scout troop. It didn’t matter that they knew how to pose and posture on TV. Their continuous injection of misinformation was damaging to all government efforts.

  Once a lie or half-truth came from those people, it was frequently accepted as true. Even Josef Goebbels didn’t have as strong a propaganda machine as the networks. Those overpaid egos ran amok and were rarely asked to prove what they said. Few of them even knew who their senator or congressman was.

  Despite the continuing divisiveness of party politics, Green was approved by a clear majority of both houses. The only negative votes came from racist groups demanding their own man or woman and from opposition party leaders who put on a show for the small antimilitary faction on the left. One senator from the Rust Belt equivocated so much, he simply voted present.

  Vice President Raymond Green was sworn in that afternoon in the Oval Office. The secretary of state, speaker of the house, and president pro tem of the senate were there, as were the ambassadors of Germany, Mexico, Canada, and Great Britain.

  The chief justice of the Supreme Court used Ray’s mother’s old Bible to swear him in. Ray carried that Bible through one war, several police actions, and all his education. He used that book to practice reading in elementary school, and it held a deep place in his heart.

  After the congratulations were over, everyone filed out for a reception at the Treasury Building. Ray and Catherine walked not quite hand-in-hand but close to each other. No one noticed.

  That afternoon, all attendees left the Treasury Building and returned to their assigned jobs. Vice President Green told his administrative assistant to have his personal belongings moved to his new secure residence at Fort Myer, Virginia.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  I
t was a long, hot day in Teheran. The ruling council was in session, and many items came up for discussion and rulings. It was almost time to adjourn for afternoon prayer, but there were still a few items to finish, though they could wait.

  The ayatollah was ready to leave for his house to prepare for prayers when a mullah posed a question. It was a senior cleric who was close to him.

  “Does this new man,” the mullah asked, “in the councils of the Great Satan, pose any problems? Is he a concern for us?”

  The ayatollah subconsciously pulled at his beard as he regarded his friend. After thinking carefully, he said, “No. We don’t think he’s important. He’s out of the corridors of power now. He’s simply the president’s errand boy. I wouldn’t worry about him. He was much more a threat when he was commander of their military.

  “The current president will accomplish our needs without knowing it. He seems to, on his own, have destroyed his own nation. Let us see what happens next.

  “Those territories that have broken away have already disavowed any interest in foreign adventures. Maybe we will yet see them remove their filthy presence from the nations of Islam. Then the ideas of the Prophet, all blessings on his name, will be fulfilled.”

  The rest of the council stood and filed out. The ayatollah sat in thought for a few minutes. They had a man in the palm of their hands, and that useless woman slipped and allowed the incompetent MI-5 to ruin the plan. He had to do something about her and her equally useless father.

  That would come later. He heard the muezzin climbing the stairs to cry the Adhan, call to prayer. The ayatollah needed to hurry to his residence to prepare himself for prayer.

  He wanted to ask Allah’s forgiveness and acceptance as one of his. He always felt refreshed by prayer and hoped he would be instrumental in spreading the word around the world.

  Ray Green moved his vice presidential office from the Treasury Building to the White House, where he could be in constant contact with the president. The secretary of state spoke to him about it, adding that he wanted the vice president and chief of staff of the White House to know everything the president did. That was imperative.

  Ray already established himself as a common figure in the White House when he was chairman of the joint chiefs. He knew his way around and most of the people who worked there. Some he knew too well, and he planned to have them reassigned or removed.

  He wanted more military faces in the White House, but he had to tread softly. However, as the White House chief of staff, he doubted the president would object to his management. Ray’s position allowed him to have regular meetings with the current ambassador from England. The benefits kept piling up.

  Today he faced a National Security Council meeting, which he would attend for the first time as a civilian. Although he sat in on those meetings often as a general, it was the first time he would be in the leader’s seat.

  It was generally a closed meeting. That day, it was almost ceremonial. The new vice president felt his way along, knowing his position was untested. He had no trouble working with the military, but he expected trouble with the entrenched civilians. If that happened, he would immediately squash them.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Ambassador Randall received an unannounced messenger early in the morning. The other governors returned to their home states, while Randall stayed in Oklahoma City for convenience.

  The Air Force base there was one of the largest in the world, offering security and a direct connection with airplanes and helicopters to take him to the other state capitols.

  The security police called Randall’s chief of staff and said,

  “We have a visitor at the gate. He produced the proper credentials and said he represented his home state and needed to speak to the ambassador.”

  The chief of staff said, “Send the man through.”

  A few minutes later, a security police officer drove her Humvee up to the ambassador’s office. She got out, walked around, opened the door for the visitor, and stood outside the office, her drawn weapon ready.

  The visitor was Glen Hyde from Topeka, Kansas, who represented his state’s governor. Elliott Randall welcomed him in and told him to relax and give his message.

  “Mr. Ambassador, “ Hyde said, “the governor and legislature of the state of Kansas have ordered me to tell you they’re in accord with your coalition’s actions and request that you present to them the following. We wish to join your Coalition of States to allow us to pursue the freedom that has been denied us by mismanagement of the funds and programs of the United States.

  “We don’t feel we can support the wants and needs of the welfare state established by those in Washington. We bring with

  us approximately three million citizens of good standing. We have three Air Force bases and two Army bases. We have a major aircraft industry, and we’re the leading producer of wheat and grain in the United States. All this we bring to the Coalition.

  “That is all, Sir. I’ve been instructed to wait for your tentative reply, which I shall bring verbally to Topeka.”

  “We’ll take it under consideration,” Ambassador Randall replied. “I want to notify the governors of the various states. You have done an admirable job and are a credit to your state. You have a bright future.”

  The messenger blushed slightly, thanked the ambassador, and turned to go. Randall’s chief of staff escorted the man from the building, and the security officer took him to visiting officer’s quarters to wait. She took a secure message to the communications center, which was broadcast to Topeka. The message read, Presented. Waiting.

  It was a busy day for the security officer. Lieutenant Carmen Woodward escorted messengers from three other states to the ambassador that day. She didn’t have any idea what they wanted and was hit on by only one of them.

  The other messengers came from Utah, Arkansas, and Louisiana. The delegate from the last state was the one who propositioned Carmen. Each person met with Ambassador Elliott separately, but their messages were the same. They were willing to join the Coalition if the Coalition would have them. Each state was going broke paying welfare, except for Utah, which had done away with welfare some years earlier by making the situation very simple, if you don’t work, move. Many did.

  Utah offered several enticing items. It had one of the largest Air Force bases in the west and thus had a sizable population of hardworking, honest people. The state supported a large petroleum industry with major refineries. Texas and Oklahoma were the main suppliers of petroleum, but Utah led the north in refineries. Many people often forgot that Utah was a key player in the oil game. The messenger from Utah explained they also had an excellent technology base with highly trained, professional people.

  Arkansas would have control of much of the Mississippi River and could close it. Besides being a notable agricultural and poultry-producing state, it had many auto-parts factories. Louisiana had ports to the Gulf and absolute control over the mouth of the Mississippi, which was their primary selling point.

  The ambassador held the men at the visiting officer’s quarters and sent messengers to the state capitols to arrange a meeting. He had to gather the council to see if they could bring the states into the Coalition.

  Vice President Green knew of the comings and goings at the various state capitols. When he saw men mysteriously leave their home states to convene in Oklahoma City, he knew what it meant. His best bet was to wait and see, which wasn’t something he enjoyed.

  “Call the president’s office to set up a meeting,” Ray told his aide.

  “He’s in conference with economic advisors and doesn’t wish to be disturbed for anything short of war, Sir.”

  Ray figured he could handle the situation without breaking up such an important meeting. He was wrong.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  A messenger arrived at the vice president’s residence that night and said the president needed him at the White House immediately. They didn’t want to use the phone or Internet for
fear of being observed by people at the Holloman Air Force Base. Vice President Green left with his Secret Service agents and quickly arrived at the White House, where he was ushered into the situation room as news stations broadcast a story with flames in the background.

  Vice President Green watched TV only at work and only the news channels, so he hadn’t heard about the latest story. The TV showed a portion of a city in flames. The press secretary took Green aside to explain the situation.

  Earlier in the day, government officials went into a public housing development to tell the residents they were required to come in and register. The officials met with resistance, then outright hostility. When they tried to leave, an armed gang cut them off. Two officials were severely injured, and one was murdered. The injured ones managed to reach a hospital and tell the police. The residents of the housing development told the officials that they’d fight to stay where they lived. No one would move them out.

  The mayor was notified but refused to act at first. The chief of police didn’t wait. He sent in two officers, who died in a hail of bullets. The public works director immediately cut off all electricity and water to the area. Civil rights groups began protesting that President Curtis was forcing people to freeze to death just to promote his plan.

  The FBI stepped in, because they took a dim view of murder. They sent in a strike force of thirty men and women, backed up by bulldozers and armored cars. The dozer began leveling houses.

  When a few shots were fired, the FBI returned fire with hundreds. The scene became chaotic. Eventually, the gangs set fire to several buildings.

  The mayor still didn’t react. The fire chief arrived on the scene and was ready to give an interview.

  The fire chief reported that many women and children came out before the fires began. The gangs had so far killed six police officers and three firemen. He was drawing his men back and promised to let the place burn. As the chief turned his head to look away from the camera several shots rang out, and the top of his head exploded. The female interviewer was filmed screaming and retching. The FBI returned fire and filled the burning area with lead.