During the early morning hours of Thursday January seventh, President Harwell sat at his desk in the oval office and listened with great interest to a verbal accounting by his Secretary of State. The man’s report in regard to his initial meeting with the Republic of Texas Ambassador had been comprehensive, while also containing more than one element of surprise. The Secretary had begun by listing the topics that he and the Ambassador had discussed and subsequently agreed upon.

One such agreement was that the two countries would keep their borders open toward each other for the entire calendar year of 2027. As a consequence there would be no need for a citizen of either nation to obtain a passport for the purpose of entering the United States from Texas or vice versa. Both parties had also agreed to revisit that position for the calendar year of 2028 and beyond, but unless there had been numerous security breaches within the coming year, each man believed that there would be no need to alter the contract. The terms of that agreement were conditional of course, and based on a mutual concession that the border with Mexico along the Rio Grande River would require vigilant monitoring for security purposes. It was further penned into doctrine that the financial responsibility, and the necessary manpower for the task, would fall solely upon the Republic of Texas. In return Texas would receive a formal apology from the United States for having inadvertently jeopardized the security of that border region, but the apology would contain verbiage stating that the cause had been via an accidentally non-communicated withdrawal of protective agents during the first hours of the New Year.

As to the surprises of the report, President Harwell had, and would continue to, ponder over the implications of them. The Secretary revealed the previously unknown identity of the Ambassador, and even though the President hadn’t ever really seen eye to eye with the former Senator, he realized that the man was a seasoned professional who should not be taken lightly. The second, and more significantly important of the surprises, came when the Secretary informed the President of what had essentially been a demand from the Republic of Texas.

Although the Ambassador’s request of the United States was initially thought by the President to be a ridiculous suggestion, the Secretary maintained a contrary opinion. His argument centered on the importance of maintaining friendly relations with Texas beyond what had already been exhibited. That could be accomplished while demonstrating a level of trust between the two governments by yielding to Texas in this matter. To further stress his point the Secretary mentioned that since the United States had already abandoned every other government facility within Texas, vacating and turning over the military bases could be spun as a logical move. The Secretary understood that the logistics of vacating numerous bases and facilities would be difficult, while also admitting that he couldn’t fully comprehend the magnitude of doing so without additional information.

Much to the President’s surprise, that belief of relinquishing the bases was echoed throughout the next few hours by Christopher Westin and several members of the President’s most trusted inner circle. That circle included Mrs. Dawson, with her sage advice providing the final validation that such a course of action could be prudent. His circle had each, in their own way, reminded the President of the benefits that could be gained by such a gesture of good will, while at the same time pointing out that there was no call for any United States military forces to be present in Texas. The newly reborn republic was not an enemy of its former parent nation, nor did any of the many bases within its defined borders, with the possible exception of a few, offer any strategic advantage with regard to the region. In short, an operating base within Texas was far less relevant to the present military agenda of the United States than one much closer to Syria.

Their argument had merit to be sure, but to state an opposing thought, the President was quick to point out one glaring factor. In his opinion, abandoning a military base anywhere in the world, whether on friendly soil or not, could be viewed by hostile nations as a weakness. Privately Jordan Harwell believed that the danger in such a perception could prove to be significant in the future, as although it was widely recognized that Syria was the major point of focus at the time being, the day could come when military forces of the United States would need to respond to an alternative threat. However in spite of that personal belief, the President had been swayed to the view of the majority.

As there were no other scheduled meetings within the upcoming hour, President Harwell took advantage of the time afforded him after the Secretary had departed. While further contemplating the major topic of the morning, he had Mrs. Dawson place a call to the office of Vice President Sutherland. Once the connection had been made, his instructions to that office were to have the Vice President break away from presiding over the current Senate session immediately. He further stressed an imperative need for the Vice President to call the President so they could discuss a matter of vital importance. Although it was no secret to those close at hand that the two men hadn’t always agreed on a wide range of topics, they had always found a way to work beyond those differences for the betterment of their party affiliation and the country at large. However that seemingly unified front as perceived by many within the American public, false though it may have been, had been strained to the point of change during the course of the nearly two months since the attack upon the three military academies. As a result of that strain, Vice President Sutherland was noticeably upset at having been called away immediately to speak with his boss as opposed to waiting until the upcoming lunch break.

The brief conversation with President Harwell then revealed a rather shocking request, but without letting on that he actually agreed with the decision, Vice President Sutherland obediently carried out the desire of his superior. That desire had been to place top priority within the Senate discussions of the afternoon toward the question of closing all military bases in Texas, and he hoped that any deliberation of the proposal would be expedient. The President wanted the Senate to vote in favor of such a motion, and if possible, to do so within the upcoming week.

From his post within the oval office, Agent Bishop had listened to everything that had been discussed. He thought that his opinion could be solicited by the President at any moment, but unfortunately that opportunity never arose. Although Heath had his doubts as to the wisdom of the President’s decision, his professionalism to duty kept him from offering any comment on those doubts without an invitation to do so. At the present time he possessed only small fragments of evidence to support his gut feeling, so bringing forth his opinion could be occupational suicide. However there was something about the intentions of Texas that troubled him.