A state of disobedience

'I'm sure. If those men in there can do what they seem determined to do then I'll be damned if those people in Washington are going to frighten me out of the air. We'll take the helicopter.'

'That's my girl, Juani. . . .'

* * *

Governor's Mansion, Austin, Texas

Elpidia had thought she was alone in the house. Normally—every day, of late—the governor had gone to her office, the father of the family to his, and even the youngest boy, Mario, to school long before Elpi even awakened.

The girl was surprised, therefore, to hear the sounds of sobbing, quiet but distinct, coming from the governor's home office.

Also quietly, Elpi walked to the door. Shyly she knocked.

'Who is it?' asked the governor in a quavering voice.

'Solo yo, Gubanadora . . . just me, Governor, Elpi. I heard crying. Are you okay?'

Juani hastily dried her eyes on her sleeve and answered, 'I'm fine Elpi,' in a voice that gave the lie to the claim.

Elpi walked in, invited or not. 'What's wrong?' she asked.

At the query Juani burst into fresh tears. She half bent and wrapped her arms around herself to try to control the trembling. Rocking back and forth she moaned over and over, 'They're all going to die . . . they're all going to die . . .'

Elpi was literate in English, but freshly and barely so. She could make out the headlines from the newspaper laying on Juani's desk. 'The Eyes of Texas are Upon You.' She read a few lines, painfully slowly. It seemed to her that the state's free press was being a little irresponsible in putting any blame on the governor for the state of affairs. She came to the line, ' . . . and the men who are about to die in Fort Worth . . .'

'Who is going to die?' the young girl asked.

It came out almost as a shriek, 'All those men in the currency facility are going to die and who knows how many others? And it's all my fault . . . mine, mine, MINE! Oh why, oh why couldn't I just leave it alone? Why did I have to start this whole thing?'

Elpi walked over to Juanita and put a warm hand to her quaking back. When this did no good the girl bent her head down, resting a cheek upon the quivering shoulder of the Governor of Texas and whispered, 'You didn't start anything. Neither did your brother. This was started by the people who throw riot police at people who protest killing little babies. It was started by people who attack churches and burn children alive.'

'You didn't start it Governor . . . but you have to end it. You have to see us through this.'

Twisting around, Juanita pulled the girl into her shoulder and sobbed, 'I know.'

* * *

State Legislature, Austin, Texas

Behind Juani, standing at the podium, a map of Texas and its surrounding states shone against a screen. News cameras panned across her, the screen, and on to the raptly listening legislators. This broadcast was going out live to Texans, and via continuous streaming on the Internet to the rest of the United States. A Chinese company had rented Texas the use of a satellite to bring the word to the rest of the world.

'This is what we know,' began Juanita. Instantly, at Schmidt's direction, several dozen symbols appeared on the map behind her.

'To our west, just across the border with New Mexico, the bulk of the 1^st Marine Division and the Army's 3^rd Armored Cavalry Regiment stand poised to invade. To our north, in southern Oklahoma, is the Army's Third Corps. This force has in it the 1^st Cavalry Division, the 1^st Infantry Division, 4^th Infantry Division, and about two thirds of the 101^st Airborne Division, a helicopter heavy formation.'

'East, in Oklahoma, is the 18^th Airborne Corps. This group has been reinforced by, again, about two thirds of the Second Marine Division. The rest consists of two brigades each from the 3^rd Infantry Division, the 82^nd Airborne Division, and the 10^th Mountain Division.

'Southwards, the Navy and a brigade of Marines are blocking our coast and poised to descend upon it. We have reports—reliable reports—that a portion of the 1^st Marine Division has boarded ship to pass through the Panama Canal to join the fleet assembling in the Gulf.'

At this last bit of unpleasant news the legislators, those at least siding with Juanita, gave an audible groan.

Not everyone was on her side of course. Some were ambivalent, others hostile. Many were simply frightened and this news—though not unexpected in broad terms—made them more so.

Juani looked out, smiling, at a known opponent, Imogene Cochran, seated about center in the room. Imogene —pinch faced and severe—was of the rather rare far left variety of Texas Democrat. She returned Juani's smile with a sneer.

'We are prepared to fight them,' Juanita announced baldly, voice ringing loud and clear through the hall. 'On the Gulf Coast beaches, in the cities, in the towns, in the field . . . we are prepared to . . . but surely we do not want to,' this last was spoken in a stage whisper.

'We will hold off from fighting until the very last extremity.

'Something else we know: officials named by the White House have been integrated into the regular armed forces down to battalion level. These men . . . and a few women . . . are backed by federal police forces and appear to have the duty of insuring that the orders of the White House are enforced.'