In the late morning of Wednesday the twenty-eighth of June, the Tillman estate had been encircled to prevent possible escape from those within. Under the guise of a package delivery, the guards who were not accustomed to regular front gate duty were then taken by surprise. Satellite imagery downloaded to a large van enabled the covert teams to know where their targets were located in the house or on the grounds, and although there were less of those targets than what was expected, forces were distributed accordingly.

After advancing upon the grounds from various points, the majority of the force closed on the mansion while four others focused their attention on a location a few hundred yards from it. Seated peacefully on his favorite bench, Samuel Tillman heard the voices from behind and to each side of him and offered no signs of resistance to their clearly defined instructions. Then with a quick glance to his left and right, he could see that each man had a weapon trained on him, so he reasonably assumed that the voice from behind maintained a similar posture.

A few seconds later he heard an additional voice of a fourth man asking, “Mr. Tillman, may I sit with you for a few moments?”

The men on each side of him had moved into a more forward and quartering position with relation to their target, which was technically sound as the triangulated formation of the three around Samuel created safer lines of fire. Their weapons each produced a red laser dot for exact aiming purposes, and after looking down to see them both on his torso; Samuel realized that he had little option to deny the request.

Therefore he offered a cordial southern reply of, “Please do Agent Bishop.”

Heath moved forward while carrying a set of handcuffs and rounded to a position a few feet in front of the bench. He was surprised that his voice had been recognized so readily, but then again maybe he was expected.

Looking at Samuel he replied, “Thank you Mr. Tillman. Now please understand that I must restrain you with these before I sit down.”

With a slight nod Samuel reached straight out with both arms, and felt the heavy steel closing firmly around his wrists.

Then he said, “Somehow I knew that it would be you Agent Bishop. But I suppose that if this had to be done, at least it was done by someone with your talents.”

Knowing that the cuffs were securely fastened, Heath sat down next to Samuel.

Then he replied in kind, “Thank you Mr. Tillman. Those are gracious words, and I will not disrespect you by regarding them as anything but sincere.”

“Well I’m sure that your parents would be proud of you Agent Bishop, as your response to them was delivered in true gentlemanly fashion.”

Choosing to ignore the comment with regard to his parents, Heath looked outward from the bench and said, “This is quite a nice view you have here Mr. Tillman. And as I remember from my one previous visit last year, your home is magnificent.”

Turning his gaze forward, Samuel replied, “Thank you. Victoria and I built a wonderful home to live in while raising the children and grandchildren. I shall miss it.”

“You did indeed Mr. Tillman, so why don’t we just sit here for an hour or so? That way you can enjoy one last morning on your property.”

“Based on what surely awaits me, that is very kind. I suppose you suggest it because you have some questions of me, and in response I will have some questions for you. Now if that is agreeable, and we are going to sit on this bench for the next hour while pretending to be friends, then we should at least be on a first name basis. Don’t you think so Heath?”

“With a nod of agreement, Heath replied, “I suppose that’s reasonable Samuel.”

“Good, so we can be civil. Now then Heath, what’s on your mind?”

“Well for starters I must tell you that late last night and early this morning eight of your numbered operatives within the organization were taken into custody. Since you have no way of contacting any of the others to warn them, I will tell you that two more, numbers seven and thirty-one, as well as your middle son Mason and your grandson Jason will be picked up shortly. We know the exact location of each, and even though it may take a little time to apprehend the General, he will be had. We are also aware that your daughter-in-law Courtney is number thirty-seven, so we have come here to capture her along with you and your oldest son Kyle. Now since you appear to be in a cooperative mood Samuel, can you please tell me where she is?”

Turning to face the man, he replied, “I wish that I could Heath, but I have no idea.”

Realizing that was most probably a lie, Heath pressed, “Oh I see. Then what about the rest of your family? Other than Kyle who is being detained inside, no one else is here.”

“I’m aware of that Heath, but I don’t know where any of them are. Kyle and I have been attempting to locate them, but so far we haven’t turned up anything.”

Not wanting to agitate the man before additional information could be obtained, Heath said, “Alright, well then let’s move on to something else. Now I could ask you why you put together the organization, and why you felt the need to attack thousands of innocent citizens within the United States, but we may not have the time for a complete accounting. However I do realize that a portion of the motivation was based upon your youngest son Chance and how he died. I won’t claim to understand, but please accept my condolences.”

“Thank you for at least grasping that you couldn’t understand unless something similar had happened to a child of your own, as that is more than what most people do. I’m tired of people claiming they know how Victoria or I feel, while having absolutely no clue. Now if I may Heath, I have a question for you.”

“Certainly Samuel, we agreed this would be an open forum.”

“How did you find out about the organization and what we had done?”

Heath explained that it all began with a gut instinct and disbelief that Syria could have been guilty of those particular terrorist acts, which in turn led to the questioning of certain evidence used to support the claim. He stated that not much was discovered to substantiate his belief until the unveiling of the memorials at Annapolis and West Point. Then in turning the clock back, Heath recounted the previous visit he made to the Tillman Estate in order to inform the family about the mysterious death of their personal flight attendant Domonique while she was skiing at Lake Tahoe.

Before making his way to Crockett from the Dallas area, he had seen Republic of Texas currency for the first time and noticed the same code of tiny letters and numbers on the back of each denomination. As they were identical as opposed to sequential serial numbers, he realized that a symbolic meaning could be implied. That was verified when turning the note to the front revealed bold and random numbered patterns of serial numbers like many other global currencies. Although the code must have been significant for some reason, the meaning of it escaped Heath until he viewed the memorials at each academy. Those men and women from each state who had died were listed clearly, and the disproportionate number of two at Annapolis and one at West Point from Texas seemed highly unlikely given the circumstances. Then when subsequently showed the comparison to the code on the bill, President Harwell was intrigued enough by it to begin an investigation.

Silence followed for a few seconds, so Heath pulled a Texas dollar bill from his pocket and once again inspected the tiny coded numbers and letters on the back. Then he looked at the three gravestones in front of the bench and the names of both Chance and Savanah Tillman with complete understanding that they belonged there. It was the third stone that seemed out of place unless one had studied Samuel Tillman to learn how he operated and that he saw the need to properly honor those who truly deserved recognition.

Turning to face him, Heath asked, “Will you verify something for me Samuel?”

“What’s that Heath?”

While gesturing toward the code that read 2M1N1O he inquired, “I realize that the 2M is for Maryland and the 1N represents New York. “

After a few seconds of silence, Samuel said, “Yes, and?”

“This 1O at the end of the code represents the lone operative of the organization who was lost during the attacks of November 2026 doesn’t it?”

Without looking at the note, he replied, “Yes it does Heath. And I must compliment you. There are some within the organization who would never notice the code at all, let alone understand the meaning behind it”

“Thank you Samuel, and if I may, that gravestone next to the members of your family is for him isn’t it?”

“That is also true. He had no family, and because he had valiantly given his life on behalf of our cause, it seemed proper to have him rest here. Now let me ask you something. You have answered how you started to put some things together, and I admit that identifying the code and then using it as a building block is impressive, but how did you learn of my various operatives and their numbered designations?”

“Well that began when someone from within your organization decided to reveal the information. We vetted that information for accuracy, and then planted video and listening devices to broaden our knowledge.”

With little hesitation Samuel replied, “It was my grandson Beau wasn’t it? He had knowledge of several within the organization, and that no number of an operative exceeded fifty. I should have known when he signed that loyalty oath to the United States more than a year ago that he would eventually turn against us.”

Surprised by the completely inaccurate assessment of the situation, and that Samuel had revealed the numbered operatives topped out at fifty, Heath realized that the man was not thinking at his highest level. He also understood that such a lapse could be taken advantage of, as even though she had been given a new identity, the belief of Samuel would serve as an added element of protection for the former Kristen Royce. Therefore if Samuel wanted to believe that his grandson Beau had been responsible for informing on various operatives within the organization, why educate him differently. There was no need to identify who the actual traitor in his organization was, and Heath would follow that course.

After pausing briefly he stated, “That is true Samuel, and we had Beau under surveillance at the Air Force Academy since not long after he signed the oath. You should know that he was not singled out from the beginning, as all cadet and midshipmen at an academy with his circumstance who hailed from Texas fell under the umbrella of suspicion. Once I began an investigation into his last name and background, and then realized that his cousin Jason was at West Point when the attacks took place, I thought that he might know something which could be useful. From there it didn’t take long to break him down and turn him.”

“Unbelievable. Beau has ruined everything that we had built as a family and a republic through the efforts of our organization. Then on top of that he has made it impossible for me to move forward with what I had envisioned for the future.”

Based on what had just been spoken, it suddenly occurred to Heath that Samuel had ambitions beyond the establishment of the Independent Republic of Texas. If what he suspected were true, then there would be very few people bold enough to attempt it. However if recent history had proved anything, it was that Samuel Tillman was bold.

Once again facing Samuel, he surmised, “So your intent was to become the next President for the Republic of Texas.”

Samuel was impressed at the level of insightfulness that Agent Bishop exhibited, but he was not as stunned by it as he would have been prior to their current conversation.

In response he replied, “That’s very good Heath. You have once again figured out something that many within my organization would have never fathomed. And perhaps I would have succeeded if it wasn’t for a couple of memorials for the dead and an enemy within my own family.”

“So how were you going to obtain the Presidency?”

“Well Heath, it wasn’t going to be done in some underhanded way. I fully intended to respect the citizens and laws of Texas by waiting for the next election in 2032.”

After another brief pause, Heath said, “I find that interesting Samuel. And this is where my civility toward you will cease. You had absolutely no problem with disrespecting the American citizens or the laws of the United States when you committed high treason.”

“Well that’s true Heath. But you must understand that it was easy for me to distinguish between the two. You see, I have very little respect for the United States.”