Anatomy of a Rebellion

Chapter 33

Decisions

The pen twirled around the man's finger, was halted, then it spun around again. He wasn't even aware he was doing it until the pen lost its way and fell against the table. The quiet "clack" it made was heard only by the military man next to him. Disinterested in everything going on the meeting, the man picked the pen up and went back to twirling it around. A strong hand suddenly snatched the pen. Surprised, the man shouted, "Hey!"

"Please, Secretary. Focus," the General said.

Beau Leoni, Secretary of Defense, sent a glare at the bald, big-nosed General. He disliked a large percentage of the military people, but he knew he had to use them to get ahead. He certainly didn't want to spend the first day of the new year trapped in a room with stuffy military officers. The only man in a civilian suit, he felt out of place. Yet he refused to be intimidated.

For the first time that entire day, he actually listened to what was being said. General Ellis was in the middle of speaking about the abrupt suicide of the Marine Commandant, which everyone immediately linked to the Corpus Christi Crisis. Now, the story of the attack on Union and Percy's Men by an upstart officer was starting to make rounds. Having two journalists in that small town certainly helped put the story on everyone's radar.

Eventually, this topic was brought up when General Wetz asked, "Who gave permission to Doyle for him to attack Major Raymond? I thought we wanted to recruit him, not kill him."

There was no answer, because no one had ordered him to attack. General Aber offered the only explanation he could. "Perhaps since we had okayed the attack on Corpus Christi, he assumed we would want one against Union? Afterall, both Goldwin – a known anarchist – and the Sea Dogs are stationed there now."

Ellis spoke next, his voice gruff, "This makes it much more difficult for us to convince Raymond to join the movement. We need him. We need his Company. The PR would be outstanding if he agreed."

"Yet he did save President Kenning. While that man was in Union, who knows what things they talked about?" General Aber said.

"Kenning is pushing hard against us. Harder than before. Is he suddenly afraid to lose power?" Wetz asked.

Leoni said, "No. That old man is convinced he has a right to run this country. He hasn't given anything; he's never sacrificed for this nation. He doesn't deserve an ounce of the authority he has. I think he's gone along with the legislation just to see how far we'd be willing to go. But we won't stop now. The rest of Congress agrees that handing over Commander-in-Chief authority to Ellis is the right thing to do. Before they blink we'll have the rest of Washington."

"What if they refuse?" Wetz questioned. "What if they realize what we're doing and stop us?"

"They won't stop us. We have the physical power to remove them from office if we want. Hell, we would remove them from this Earth if we wanted to. Kenning and the suits in Congress will not survive this coup d'état unless they quietly cooperate," Leoni said.

"Don't call it a coup," Ellis said. "We may not have legal authority to oust them just yet, but soon they will grant it. And even then, we have the divine right to rule this nation. As those who have sacrificed not only our time but in some cases our lives, we shall have this nation. The warrior class is about to take its rightful place on the world stage. Klaus Brunhart of Europe proved that already."

Leoni could only nod at Ellis in agreement. If those in the rest of Kenning's Cabinet knew what he was up to, they would have been disgusted and confused. Why would a civilian like Beau Leoni want to give away all political authority to soldiers? A quick look into his background made that clear; as far back as his lineage could be traced, his family had served in the U.S. Armed Forces. Leoni had also served, but it was cut drastically short when a heart defect caused him to have a heart attack at a very young age. Although he survived, he was immediately discharged. His total time in uniform after boot camp was six days.

Kenning kept Leoni at arm's length. They were close during Kenning's first few years in office, but that fell apart when they butted heads about the war in Europe. Leoni wanted America to stay out the conflict; Kenning felt pressured to make an impact. Publically they remained good friends. Behind closed doors, they were at each other's throats. When Ellis needed an inside man, he knew Leoni was the one to go to.

"What will we do about Raymond, then?" Wetz asked.

He was full of questions, and it was grating on Leoni's nerves. The Secretary made it clear when he proceeded to rub his aching head. He mumbled, "For Christ's Sake, just butcher anyone who gets in the way. Why must we so cautious over a mere Major and his eighty flunkies?"

Ellis educated Leoni when he said, "Raymond is ruthless. He will do whatever it takes to protect his men. If he feels cornered, he will destroy anyone who tries to take him."

"To make matters worse, Secretary Attaway's eldest son is good friends with him, and the Solicitor General's ex-wife now works in Union," Aber added.

"How much damage can his ex-wife even do? I've never even heard of her," Leoni said.

"She's got a lot of influence in the militia movements. When it comes to underground journalism, no one is as respected as her. If we get involved in Union – or, worse yet, if Raymond gets involved with us – it would end everything. The anarchist would overthrow the government before we would have time to make it ours," Aber said.

As Leoni listened, he suddenly remembered another woman that might have too much influence. "We can't forget about Captain Ross. Her relationship with Senator Hughes needs to end."

"Or, we need to end his career," Wetz suggested.

Ellis rubbed his chin as he mulled over all the ideas that popped into his head. Their foes were numerous. Even inside the military, men like Goldwin and former General Trotter were against the stratocrat movement. It was possible that if word got out about what they were doing, fighting would break out within the U.S. military, and they couldn't afford that. It frustrated him that his comrades couldn't see he was trying to help them. All he wanted was to give them all the power, respect, and care that they deserved.

Leoni was the first to come up with a plan. "I'll talk to Attorney General Overfelt. I'll convince him to open an investigation into Ethan Hughes, on the grounds that there is reason to believe Major Raymond's Company might be planning a coup. We can use Texas and Ozark as examples of his behavior. Since he is engaged to Captain Ross, we could always say he is a person of interest in the matter. Depending on how Raymond reacts will determine what we do with him."

No one agreed to the plan immediately. It took them a while to chew on the idea. With a stern look, one that threatened to kick his ass if it went wrong, Ellis said, "Do it. Have the Solicitor General in charge. We'll see if that brings out his ex-wife. Kill her if she snoops around too much. And kill Secertary Attaway's son Francis if he tries to anything stupid. I want scopes on both of them."