After they left, JR said, “Wiley, our long-term objective is to take that base. We need all the military equipment they have and all the people who will fight for Texas.” He tried to visualize General Lee Parker’s situation. A lot of his soldiers had stayed home. The base, with base housing running right up to the perimeter fence, was basically indefensible. If Parker had any sense, he would arrange his tanks and loyal troopers into a strong defensive position where the tanks could cover each other and his artillery could provide support. Parker’s helicopters were already patrolling, searching for threats.
Parker must be very worried, JR thought, wondering if his troops would fight. No doubt he was sending messages as quickly as he could dictate them to Washington, requesting instructions. These messages would go out over the army communications net, which was radio. JR doubted that Parker would do anything without orders from Washington. Then he would move slowly, carefully.
He and Wiley Fehrenbach discussed the situation as night fell. JR didn’t want a battle, but he suspected he was going to get one before long. Eight hundred or so National Guardsmen in this armory were the only organized military unit in the area, so Washington would eventually tell Parker to take the armory. Parker outnumbered the guardsmen at least ten to one and had enough armor and artillery to invade Mexico and take Mexico City.
“Will U.S. soldiers fight Texans?” JR whispered to the gods, who didn’t answer back.
“Food?” Wiley asked.
JR hadn’t eaten since breakfast, which seemed like years ago. “Hell, yes.”
He was soon handed a paper plate with three hot dogs in buns smothered in chili, along with a plastic knife and spoon and a bottle of water. JR found he was ravenous.
He had just started on the first hot dog when the radio on the desk came to life. It was “Milestone One Six,” the senior army aviator, who was flying a Blackhawk — CWO-4 Erik Sabiston, Sabby to his friends.
“JR, we’re fueling at the FBO at El Paso International. Weather is turning to crap. We flew at a hundred feet to get in here.”
JR answered, “Fort Bliss has Apaches on patrol. Be careful, but I want you to do a recon over the base. I need to know what they’re up to. Can you do that?”
“Yes, sir. As soon as we finish fueling. Maybe fifteen minutes.”
“I’d like to know if there are any units from Bliss out on the street. Your primary mission, though, is to shoot up everything on the flight line at Fort Bliss. Here are the coordinates. Ready to copy?”
“Go.”
JR read them off, and Sabiston read them back. “We know the base,” he said. “Trained there many times.”
JR ended with an admonition. “Shoot and get out, Sabby. Hit them as hard as you can but don’t be a hero. We need to deny them the sky.”
“Yes, sir.”
JR attacked the food on his plate and said to Wiley Fehrenbach, “They’re going to come looking for you people sooner or later. You are going to have to abandon the armory. What do you have in the way of munitions?”
“Dynamite, of course. Locked in vaults out back. And a couple hundred AT4s. Maybe a dozen .30-caliber machine guns. Ammo and grenades.”
JR felt a bit better. AT4s were handheld, single-shot anti-tank weapons. They came with the rocket pre-installed and could not be reloaded, so they were discarded after use. They weighed about five and a half pounds each and fired a rocket with a 1.6 pound HEAT warhead, HEAT standing for high explosive anti-tank. The rocket was marginal against an Abrams, which had the finest tank armor in the world, unless the rocket took a tread off or was fired into the rear, where the armor was thinnest. It was better against Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles and whatever other version of the armored personnel carrier 1st Armor had. It was hell on unarmored vehicles, such as trucks, or buildings.
JR said, “Get the explosives out of here. Ammo, weapons, radios, whatever you need, let’s get it gone as soon as possible.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Get some people with AT4s out to El Paso International. Sooner or later Parker will send a tank column to occupy it. Tonight it is our airport. Let’s get cracking.”
FOURTEEN
Governor Jack Hays was in uncharted political territory. He had to deal with threats from the federal government, demands for interviews from newspaper and television reporters, and the myriad of details that had to be addressed and resolved to turn Texas from a state into a nation. He had the leaders of the legislature in his office all morning while he sought consensus on a wide range of issues: the republic’s assumption of U.S. debt held by Texas banks and financial institutions; the issuance of currency by the new republic; collection of federal taxes by the republic; payment of federal pensions and closing the Mexican border; and organizing a system of civil defense that had been pretty much dormant since the end of the 1960s since the feds were threatening military action against targets in Texas. No one knew if that would entail mass bombing of cities, but it certainly might.
One other thing happened that afternoon that would have far-reaching consequences, not only in Texas and throughout America, but around the world. Barry Soetoro announced that legislation would be introduced in Congress to phase in a completely electronic currency and retire all paper money. The implications were unstated but obvious: the federal government could control or confiscate anyone’s wealth, whether it was corporate, individual, or nonprofit. A more effective way of whipping people into line probably could not be devised. Instead of locking up people, the federal government could simply take their money. Part of it or all of the loot could be used to fund the federal deficit, recapitalize banks, pay off political friends, or all of the above. Passage of the legislation was a foregone conclusion because the president’s bitterest political enemies were already incarcerated, which helped cow the rest.
Within seconds of the announcement, precious metals prices on the world’s commodity exchanges took off like a rocket. Within a minute, trading limits had been reached and trading was suspended. Hours later, the government announced that all trading in precious metals was suspended indefinitely.
Texas was already committed to moving from U.S. currency as quickly as possible, but now the urgency became stark. It also hardened the resolve of those legislators who were still unsure they had done the right thing by declaring independence.
The legislators demanded that the governor make a televised speech to the legislature at midnight tonight, and Jack Hays agreed. When he was going to sort out his ideas on what he might say he didn’t know. He assumed he was going to have to speak impromptu, which might be disastrous if he came across as tired, harassed, scared, or uncertain of the course of the new nation. He asked his speechwriters to consult with Ben Steiner and draft some talking points.
In the meantime, Jack Hays had an interview with the Mexican consul, Fernando Ferrante. They had a good working relationship, but Ferrante was not inclined to listen politely to protests of Mexican government policy, allegations of corruption, or complaints about illegal immigration and drug smuggling. His job, Ferrante said, was to smooth the flow of trade, not to advise the Mexican leadership on how to run the government.
“As you know, Señor, we are embarking on a war with the United States to win our freedom,” Jack Hays began. “Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee the safety of Mexican nationals, nor the protection of civil commerce. Consequently Texas must temporarily close the border between Texas and Mexico.”