“You bastard. You think you can kill me? You are all beneath me. I will not tolerate…” Parente began to snarl. He was stopped by the sound of a fist slamming into a hand behind him. He turned to see Ricks standing there. His eyes were like fire and it appeared as if he would rip Parente’s head off with one quick jerk.
“Does the court require assistance?” Ricks asked with a voice that Parente thought sounded like death. Three deputies grabbed Parente and slammed him down in his seat.
The judge gave a slight smile. “Thank you for your offer, Master Sergeant. Bailiff, if he utters another word in this building, you are to gag him.”
“I ask everyone to remain after the court adjourns, including the jury. If there is nothing further, this court is adjourned.”
Parente was snatched up by the three deputies and dragged out of the courtroom. Once the door was closed, the judge stepped down from his bench. “Ladies and gentlemen, I apologize for what you have been through today. We take every precaution, yet, somehow, these two managed to sneak two plastic guns into this courtroom. I am sure our procedures will be changed,” the judge said quietly. Turning to the jury, he continued, “I especially want to thank the jury. This has to be one of the most heinous crimes I have seen on the bench. You were forced to sit through it all, listening to things that might be otherwise unbelievable. Yet, I believe you rendered the only verdict possible. You then had to make the very difficult decision on punishment. It is not easy or pleasant, what you did, but you did it, and the people of this state applaud you.”
He then turned to Roger, Dale and Patricia. “As for the three of you, I cannot find the words to express how much we all are indebted to you for your courageous actions in this court. Were it not for you, there might have been many more deaths. It is no wonder to me that two of you are recipients of our nation’s highest award. And as for you, Mayor Hammond, I hope you are always on my side,” he said with a grin. Applause echoed through the courtroom and into the marbled halls outside the door causing several to wonder why the sanctity of the court was being so disturbed.
There was a tenseness in the air as the men sitting around the great table took their turns to speak. The room itself was very ornate. The walls were painted in rich colors and actual gold gilt highlighted the carved features. Someone had mentioned to the delegates that the table itself was over three hundred years old. Indeed, the deep rich colors of the wood seemed to glow beneath the men’s hands. No one in the room had even noticed the colors and decoration. They were there to discuss something so serious that the fate of the world seemed to drip from the ornate walls. The men sat uneasily in their chairs. Some perched with their elbows on the table, leaning forward as if to stress the interest they had in the proceedings, while others sat back in their seats with hands in their laps, trying to remain calm.
The NATO leaders had been meeting for three days and had already covered the easy subjects, but this final one was the real reason they had met. The Polish President spoke to the men in halting English, but everyone could tell he was afraid.
“You all know we are next,” he said. “We have seen this before in the 1930s. Hitler annexed Austria, the Sudetenland, and Czechoslovakia simply because he claimed the people there spoke German. Now the Russians are doing the same. First was the Crimea, then all of Ukraine. Next came the smaller states like Rumania, Estonia, Moldavia, and Latvia. Belarus is now nothing more than a puppet state. We know Russian troops move freely within its borders. We now hear of daily uprisings in Lithuania and Slovakia. It is the same procedure each time. There is rising unrest by people who say their heritage is Russian. People start to be killed and then Mother Russia rushes in to protect the people of Russian descent. It will not be long before my country will be surrounded on three sides by Russian troops. It will be just like the cold war, except that this one will be very hot indeed — especially for Poland. I need to know what NATO will do to help protect us,” he exclaimed. He had been standing at his chair and now glared at the other members of the chamber.
“Mister President,” said the French President, “we have all seen what has happened over the past few years. Yet, we also realize that each of these nations has been run by relatively weak governments and had poor economies. Although it saddens us that some of our former NATO allies have left us, they did this of their own accord. We can’t stop someone from leaving NATO simply because we don’t want them to.”
The Polish President glared at the man. “I believe there was much more than simply changing sides here. If you recall, Latvia and Estonia asked for help, but all we did was debate it till it was too late. Only the United States provided some assistance but even that was not enough. You are correct that we cannot dictate what our member nations will do, but when we know something is about to happen, do you not believe it would be prudent to take steps to support our allies?” he asked pleadingly.
“I feel you are overestimating the things going on in these countries. We have spoken with our Russian emissaries and they assure us that they have no intention of going into any country, but are simply compelled to help people of their Russian heritage,” said the French President. He sat smugly in his chair leaving the impression that he thought little Poland and her fears. This did nothing but anger the Polish President even more.
“And this doesn’t sound vaguely familiar?” he nearly screamed. “I feel the opposite. We should all be concerned. Within a few months, I expect the Russian Army at my back door. I am also here to tell you Poland will not simply give in. We had enough of Russian domination. We were the first to declare ourselves free and we do not intend to give up that freedom. So again, I ask, what will NATO do?”
It was the German Chancellor who stood slowly. His eyes focused on the Polish President. “Gentlemen, I agree with the President. Russia is making her early moves. My military tells me this every day. We all know history and what has happened in the past, and I can assure our neighbor to the east, Germany will be with you, side by side, whatever happens. We cannot let history repeat itself,” he said slowly. “My nation is already secretly building up its reserves so that we may respond to this threat. Perhaps a portion of our past may be forgotten as we work together.”
“As members of this organization, we are pledged to come to the aid of the others when called upon,” said the British Prime Minster Nicholson. “Britain will be there when called for, but we must consider that even with all our forces it may not be enough,” he said.
“Our forces won’t be enough to make much of a difference,” said the Italian President. He shrugged his shoulders, “But we will abide by the NATO Charter and send what we can,” he said. Some of the men in the room looked at each other. They knew “what we can” would be next to nothing. Slowly, they all began to turn to the United States Representative.
President Steven O’Bannon looked around at the men in the room. Once again, he knew they were all counting on the United States to bail them out of any situation. He was tired of it. More than that, he knew his people were tired of it. He let out a small breath and sat forward. “Gentlemen, ever since the end of World War Two, the United States has been called upon to be the policeman of the world. If you look back, we have provided the most people, the most equipment, the most sweat and the most toil of any nation. We have never shied away from standing up to tyranny. But the American people have become weary of these conflicts. Since I have come to office, we have fought one war and been a part of three other conflicts, not counting our rescue effort in South America. My people are starting to ask when the rest of the world will be ready to step up. So as far as the United States is concerned, we will respond, but not before every other nation in NATO steps forward with substantial resources and forces. Don’t count on the United States to shoulder the brunt of a conflict which Europe is unwilling to challenge. You must be ready to take on this one, on your own, if possible,” he said sadly.