Part 21 (1/2)
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 my fault...mine, fault...mine, mine, mine, MINE! Oh why, oh MINE! Oh why, oh why why couldn't I just leave it alone? Why did I have to start this whole thing?” 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 1st Marine Division and the Army's 3 Marine Division and the Army's 3rd 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 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 1st Cavalry Division, the 1 Cavalry Division, the 1st Infantry Division, 4 Infantry Division, 4th Infantry Division, and about two thirds of the 101 Infantry Division, and about two thirds of the 101st Airborne Division, a helicopter heavy formation.” Airborne Division, a helicopter heavy formation.”
”East, in Oklahoma, is the 18th 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 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 3rd Infantry Division, the 82 Infantry Division, the 82nd Airborne Division, and the 10 Airborne Division, and the 10th Mountain Division. 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 1st Marine Division has boarded s.h.i.+p to pa.s.s through the Panama Ca.n.a.l to join the fleet a.s.sembling in the Gulf.” Marine Division has boarded s.h.i.+p to pa.s.s through the Panama Ca.n.a.l to join the fleet a.s.sembling 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.”
Juani gave a smile that was perhaps slightly out of place. ”It seems that Was.h.i.+ngton does not trust its own army. Kind of makes you wonder whether, if Was.h.i.+ngton doesn't trust the armed forces, perhaps-just maybe-we can.” can.”
Most of the legislators joined Juani's smile at the jest. Imogene merely looked furious.
Juani took a deep breath, steeling herself. The next part was going to be difficult. She pushed a b.u.t.ton on the podium. The symboled map disappeared leaving a blank screen in its wake.
”Did you ever notice how, when Somali kids are starving, the papers and television screens are full of pitiful pictures? Did you ever notice how, when Kurdish kids are driven from their homes you can hardly pick up a magazine without being bombarded with big, innocent eyes? A California girl gets kidnapped and murdered and the media pastes her picture across the nation.
”Why do you suppose we've never seen a single picture of any of the kids burned alive in Waco?” She tapped the b.u.t.ton on the podium once again and the screen behind her lit with a portrait of a smiling little Mexican girl.
”That's Josefina Sanchez.” Juani tapped the b.u.t.ton again and the screen split. On the right side appeared the obscenely charred corpse of a very small person, curled into a fetal position and holding a smaller bit of once-human charcoal between arms and chest. The legislators groaned.
”That is also Josefina Sanchez. In her arms is a little baby...what is left of one...named Pedro.”
A tap of the b.u.t.ton and the picture zoomed in to focus on the little shriveled bundle that had been found wrapped in Josefina's arms. Another tap and it focused further onto Pedro's face, little carbonized teeth faintly visible inside a burned and distorted mouth, empty eye sockets staring from blackened face.
Again she tapped the b.u.t.ton and a full color picture of Pedro at his first birthday party appeared on the right side of the screen. Thank G.o.d I didn't let Elpi come to this and told Mario not to let her near a television or computer, Thank G.o.d I didn't let Elpi come to this and told Mario not to let her near a television or computer, thought Juani, fighting down her own gorge. thought Juani, fighting down her own gorge.
Juani continued to tap, interspersing normal pictures with pictures of the recovered, charred bodies. At each she announced a name, ”Maria Ramirez, aged nine...Pablo Trujillo, aged eleven...Peter Smith, aged eleven...Colleen Drysdale, aged ten...Katherine Collins, aged eleven... David Robles...” About halfway through there was the sound of someone wretching.
”You have no right,” shouted Imogene. ”You have no right to show us these things. It isn't decent.”
Juanita scowled. ”No right right, Imogene? No one had a right to do to these kids what was done to them. And you don't have a right to bury your head in the sand and ignore what was done to them. Admit it, that's the real crime in your mind. Not the killings, but upsetting you you.” b.i.t.c.h. b.i.t.c.h.
”Enough, anyway,” Juani continued. ”The rest of the pictures wouldn't show you all anything you don't know now.
”But you all needed to see why why I decided to resist. It wasn't my brother and it wasn't even that...that...that b.a.s.t.a.r.d of a 'United States Commissioner for the State of Texas,' Forsythe, that Was.h.i.+ngton stuck me with. It wasn't the taxes and it wasn't the jobs and it wasn't even over the control they were taking in the schools. I decided to resist. It wasn't my brother and it wasn't even that...that...that b.a.s.t.a.r.d of a 'United States Commissioner for the State of Texas,' Forsythe, that Was.h.i.+ngton stuck me with. It wasn't the taxes and it wasn't the jobs and it wasn't even over the control they were taking in the schools.
”I just don't want to live, don't want any of our people to have to live, under a government that will do this this; murder a bunch of kids then wrap itself in a shroud of sanctimonious hypocrisy and pretend nothing ever happened.