A Triple Thriller Fest (39 page)

“Dan, I hope you’ll accept my most sincere condolences on the death of your grandfather. Jack Rumsey was a great man and will be missed by all who knew him.”

“Thank you, Governor,” Dan acknowledged, wondering how in the world the governor could have learned so quickly with Jack only gone, what—three or four hours?

“Dan, as we discussed last night, Senator Turner has played his cards, knowing full well that I would need to act swiftly to preclude further speculation. I’ve already spoken with the president and informed him that I will hold a press conference at nine o’clock to announce the formation of the California Constitutional Committee. He wasn’t pleased, and asked if we could find some way to avoid the necessity. I told him that as a result of Senator Turner’s actions, most of my options have been removed. I asked him to seriously consider my position. He let me know he was also running out of options.”

Del Valle moved to join Dan and Governor Dewhirst as Mrs. Hansen replaced the coffee pot. and several participants refilled their cups.

“Morning, Captain. Understand you got took it in the shorts last night,” Del Valle said.

“Good morning, General,” Dan said, his face flushing. “I’m afraid I did. It was an action worthy of any shave-tail lieutenant.” Continuing his conversation with the governor, Dan said, “I’m sincerely sorry for my foolish action last night. I didn’t know what Senator Turner wanted when he invited me down to Modesto, but I felt I should go and keep the peace.”

General Del Valle snorted. “Turner’s as likely to bristle as he is to purr, Captain. Never can tell where the man will come down.”

“Well, he came down on me like a ton of bricks, and before I knew it, I was standing in front of several thousand people, having been presented as the James Madison of California.”

“Captain,” Del Valle started, “I want you to call Colonel Harman and alert him to the current—”

“Bob,” the governor intervened, “I’m going to pull rank on you this time. Effective immediately, Dan’s guard assignment will be as a member of the governor’s personal staff. I’m sorry, Bob, but his legislative role will take precedence now, and as a member of the governor’s office he’ll be clear of any of the confrontations you’ve indicated we can expect. I don’t want any more public confusion about his role than is absolutely necessary. The press would eat it up if he were assigned to write the constitution and also required to stand on the front steps with a rifle and defend the Capitol.”

“I understand, Governor. Captain, it’s been a pleasure to serve with you,” Del Valle said, grinning. “But if you think
I
was hard-nosed, gird your loins, son, because your new boss can make me look like Little Bo-Peep.”

Governor Dewhirst moved behind his desk, and the small group gathered around him.

“Gentlemen, our press conference will announce the implementation of the California Joint Constitutional Committee, staffed by members of both houses and chaired by Senator Pringle. The press will inundate you with questions. Most of you have been down that road before. But as a result of Senator Turner’s announcement last night, Assemblyman Daniel Rawlings will be the focus of their efforts. Instead of having him hide behind the chairman, I believe we should let him respond directly. Dan, are you ready for that?”

Dan stood quietly for a moment, thinking of all that had happened over the past twelve hours. Was it only that long since he stood on the stage in Modesto and rushed from there to Jack’s bedside? While he should be helping his mother arrange Jack’s funeral, he was here, preparing for a game show with reporters. And what of his stand against the secession? Most of the men in this room were cornered into supporting it, or at least preparing for something none of them wanted. And he was supposed to verbally present such support to a group of hungry reporters.

“How do you want me to play it, Governor?”

“We’re on the train now. Most of us here didn’t want it to happen, but it has taken on a momentum of its own. Our job now is to guide the train, and your role with the constitution will set those parameters. Just respond naturally. We needn’t throw out the state laws we have now or the national Constitution, either. Some of the greatest minds in history developed those documents. Let them know that we intend to preserve the intent of the Founding Fathers and that this is not a ‘Brave New World’ venture.”

“I understand.”

“Now, General Del Valle,” the governor said, “what can we expect?”

For fifty minutes, Bob Del Valle detailed the anticipated federal movement and the Guard’s response.

* * *

By three in the afternoon, long after the governor’s press conference had been replayed dozens of times on Fox News and CNN, orders had been received, directing the activation of the California National Guard into a federal status. But they were four hours late. As of 11:00 a.m. Thursday morning, Governor Walter Dewhirst had issued orders decommissioning the National Guard and merging it with the smaller State Military Reserve, an inactive unit comprised mostly of former military veterans and many business leaders.

Activated by the governor under the authority of Section 143 of the California Military and Veterans Code, the unit became the primary military force within the formative nation. By extension of Section 143, and following the 1994 legislative decision to place security aspects of the Capitol under the control of the California Highway Patrol, the governor issued a declaration of emergency. As a result, all five thousand officers of the Highway Patrol were brought under the overall command of the State Military Reserve, reporting directly to Major General Robert Del Valle. Over two thousand Highway Patrol officers were ordered to Sacramento to supplement the newly designated unit.

In anticipation of federal intervention, General Del Valle had prepared and was ready to implement the political, if not the strategic, defense of the California State Capitol Building and the executive and legislative officers sitting therein. Receiving its designation nearly two weeks earlier than planned, Operation Bear Claw was implemented.

Chapter 29

Capitol Mall
Sacramento, California
August, 2012

In June, in St. Louis, the Democratic National Convention had been held, and Colorado Governor Jonathan Timmerman had been selected as the presidential nominee with Senator Alice Caulfield, Iowa, as vice president. Both professed opposition to the secession.

In early August, in Salt Lake City, the Republican National Convention had been held, with Clay Cumberland selected as the presidential nominee and William Snow, the former governor of Arizona, becoming the compromise candidate for vice president.

And in late August, the 2012 summer Olympics ended in London with America once again taking the lion’s share of medals.

But on this crisp, already warm, August morning in Sacramento, California, none of that mattered to the young attorney, who, at 5:30 a.m., turned off the freeway on his way to work. Approaching the Wells Fargo Bank building and his newly established law office, he was confronted by barricades, a phalanx of military vehicles, and hundreds of men wearing camouflaged uniforms—all of whom were massed at the intersection of 4
^th
and Capitol. Unable to cross toward his normal parking entrance, he looked west and saw several low-boy trucks loaded with large military tanks just exiting the Tower Bridge, which spans the Sacramento River at that point.

To the left, toward the Capitol Building several blocks east, the mass of troops lining the street precluded his exit via that route. Unwilling to confront this sea of officialdom, he made a U-turn and retreated the wrong way down a one-way street, intent on finding a route to his office to prepare for his first significant trial, set to begin at eight-thirty that morning. He thought as he departed the area that he hadn’t even taken the time to notice if they were federal troops.
This secession mania is getting out of hand, and someone should put a stop to it,
he thought.
It’s beginning to interfere with peoples’ lives.

From a better vantage point in the State Capitol Building, Major General Robert Del Valle watched the buildup of federal troops, anticipated since the previous evening when his sources at Travis AFB, forty miles west of Sacramento, advised of the arrival of a battalion of 82
^nd
airborne troops from Fort Bragg, supplemented by troops from Fort Irwin.

Through a small, second-story office window, Governor Dewhirst stood with his operational team aligned in their newly assigned roles. General Del Valle, commander of the newly constituted State Military Reserve (SMR); Colonel Harman, the newly appointed SMR executive officer; and Bruce Henry, commander of the recently alerted Highway Patrol, now an adjunct unit to the SMR.

Together, they had watched the first contingent of federal troops arrive at about three-thirty, and the buildup continue through the predawn hours. State Military Reserve troops and Highway Patrol officers were not visible, but Del Valle was not unprepared. Over three thousand duly sworn and newly designated SMR personnel were available for immediate deployment. Twelve hundred SMR forces and eight hundred Highway Patrol officers were assembled in this one location, deployed in defense of the California Capitol. In addition, one hundred or so legislators and staff were inside the Capitol building, with the SMR and patrol units ready to assume exterior cordon responsibilities at Del Valle’s command. Essentially, General Del Valle had the personnel for a light division, but they barely had the necessary armor or artillery to equip a full brigade. It was only for show, in any case, he counseled the governor.

“Well, shall we greet our guests?”

“I guess it’s show time, Bob?”

“I believe it is, Governor.”

The governor spoke briefly. “Gentlemen, we have one primary objective today, which supersedes all other objectives. We must, at all costs, prevent this from getting out of hand, and we must avoid the loss of even one life. Is that understood?”

General Del Valle and his two subordinate commanders nodded, each lost in his own thoughts about the actions they were taking. Colonel Jack Harman, following that fateful day in the governor’s office, had made his choice and had submitted a resignation of his regular Army commission. Governor Dewhirst immediately commissioned him a full colonel in the State Military Reserve with assignment as executive officer of that unit, subordinate directly to General Del Valle.

“Jack, let’s get transport behind the building on the east side and go greet our guests. Commander Henry,” Del Valle said to the commander of the Highway Patrol, “I think you should accompany us.”

“Yes, sir.”

The three men descended a floor and walked the length of the building to the east exit, where a Humvee waited in the darkness. The corridors were filled with SMR troops and patrol officers, standing or sitting along the walls, waiting for the events of the day to unfold.

When forming the new State Military Reserve, Governor Dewhirst had offered all commissioned and enlisted personnel the option to terminate their National Guard responsibilities if they felt unable to take up arms against federal forces. To Governor Dewhirst and Del Valle’s surprise, less than ten percent of the newly designated State Military Reserve had opted to stand down from their assignment, and less than three percent of the Highway Patrol had failed to report when reassigned to Sacramento. Large segments of the Highway Patrol and company-sized SMR units called to active duty had been assigned to other population centers in anticipation of civil disturbances as events unfolded.

Flying the California bear flag and a two-star flag, the Humvee traversed the Capitol grounds, skirting the north side of the building toward Capitol Mall on the west end. As they entered Capitol Avenue, they immediately came face to face with several barricades manned by military police personnel who waved them to a stop. A young lieutenant in BDUs, boots bloused, jump wings conspicuous on his breast pocket, and outfitted with full battle gear, stepped forward to challenge their approach, snapping a crisp salute.

“Good morning, sir,” he said crisply. “This is a restricted area. May I inquire as to the general’s business?”

“That you may, Lieutenant,” Del Valle replied in a slow, controlled drawl. “My compliments to your commanding officer. Please advise him that Major General Robert Del Valle, commander of the California State Military Reserve, requests a moment of his time.”

The lieutenant stood straight and offered another crisp salute. “Yes, sir.”

* * *

They sat in the Humvee for the next three minutes while Governor Dewhirst watched from their earlier command post, now joined by several of his aides, including newly reassigned Captain Daniel Rawlings. At the governor’s direction, Dan was not in uniform.

“The press can’t be far behind,” the governor remarked.

“They’re here, Governor, just cordoned off by the troops,” an aide replied.

“There’s another Humvee,” Dan said as a second vehicle came through the barricades and into the floodlights.

* * *

Del Valle stepped out of his vehicle when the approaching vehicle came to a stop. The officer who stepped out approached Del Valle, and in the glare of the Humvee’s headlights, Del Valle could see he wore two darkened stars on his combat uniform and a Kevlar battle helmet.

Del Valle stood to attention and rendered a salute to the approaching officer.

“Good morning, General. My name is Robert Del Valle. I currently serve as commanding officer of the California State Military Reserve. Governor Walter Dewhirst has requested that we ascertain the nature of your business.”

The officer returned Del Valle’s salute and came to a stop two feet short of Del Valle, but close enough so they could see each other’s face in the early morning light.

“Major General David Chidester, commanding officer of the 82
^nd
Airborne Division.”