Sweetness in the Dark (37 page)

The gold would be placed in one of the silos that had been made available from three ICBM’s that had been removed. The missiles were being readied for other duty. The former New York gold would find a new secure depository.

An armored train would be sent to Newport News to retrieve the gold. A Marine unit would ride along for security. News was sent by shortwave to the Task Force so that everything would be ready upon reaching port.

Paul was up early as the freighter surrounded by warships entered Newport News. Sitting on the dock was the armored train waiting for its cargo. Marines guarded the dock and Paul assumed that the base was locked down until the train was loaded.

“Admiral, it has been a pleasure,” the governor said.

“No, it was all mine. I just wish I could have been there to see the expression on that punks face,” the admiral said. “If you ever need something, don’t hesitate to call the Navy.”

“I’ll remember that. Makes me think I should have done my full hitch,” the governor reminisced.

Paul and the governor walked down the gangway onto the dock as the cranes busily began unloading the gold. Marines began transferring the bullion into the freight cars. The two men supervised the exchange as the day went on.

The transfer went on through the night, as Marines were rotated to relieve the tired day crew. Paul found a bunk in the harbormaster’s office nearby to catch some sleep. He and the governor worked out a schedule so one of them was awake to supervise.

By noon of the second day the last gold bars were loaded. The train doors were locked and sealed. Paul walked over to wake the governor, but was almost run over by twelve military trucks suddenly appearing on the dock. The Marines stood ready at the intrusion.

The Navy Base Commander jumped out of the lead truck and looked at Paul.

“Where’s the governor? I have new orders,” the commander asked.

Just then the governor appeared. He had been rousted out of bed by the commotion of the truck convoy rattling onto the dock.

“What’s going on here?”

“New orders. I just received them from Cheyenne,” the Naval Base Commander inserted.

“That’s right, I’m in charge now. General John Tower at your service.”

The Idaho governor looked at the Base Commander. “May I see those? It says here that the Army will escort the train. Not the Marines, as planned. Why the change in plans, General?”

“Nobody told me anything but to get these men down here and get this train moving. And that’s what I aim to do. So if you’ll excuse me, I have men to deploy,” the general said.

Paul walked over to where the Army troops had lined up outside their trucks. He casually strolled behind the men standing at attention and listened as they chatted among themselves. None were paying that much attention to the civilian.

Orders were barked out and the junior officers moved the men out toward the gold train. Climbing aboard, the general signaled that they were ready. The engines started slowly to move off the dock as the troops in the armored cars shoved their weapons out the slits.

The Base Commander dismissed the Marines and acknowledged the governor as he left in his staff car. Another car had been provided to take Paul and the governor to the airport to return them to Richmond where they still had their committee work to finish.

The governor and Paul were the only passengers on the C-130 Air Force plane as it lifted off the runway. The noise again was deafening. Paul walked up towards the sergeant that was the only crewman onboard in the cargo area. He yelled at the man and soon had two headsets.

Walking back to the governor, he motioned to him to put them on. They each plugged their headsets into the planes communication line. Suddenly Paul could talk normally.

“Sir, something is wrong.”

“What is it?” the governor asked.

“When I walked among those Army troops, something stood out. Their shoulder patches indicated that they weren’t Army troops at all.”

“What?” the governor exclaimed.

“No, Sir. Their patches were for the Texas Nation Guard,” Paul answered. “And I overheard them complain that they had been flown in that morning from Dallas without any notice. They were griping because they hadn’t even been able to call their wives.”

“We need to check this out. I understood the Marines were going to escort the train to Wyoming.”

“That’s the other thing, Sir. I heard them complain that it would be two days before they would be back in Dallas,” Paul said. “We were told by Cheyenne to expect a three day trip to Wyoming.”

The governor looked at Paul in confusion.

Paul continued. “With Illinois unsafe for rail traffic, the southern route was the only one open. That route takes you down through South Carolina and then across Alabama. In Mississippi we were to turn north into Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska and finally Wyoming. A two day trip would take you to Texas, not Wyoming.”

“We need to get to Cheyenne right now,” the governor exclaimed

He reached down on the switch and turned the dial to talk to the pilots. He asked them their fuel status and received news that they had full tanks. A quick discussion ensued about a change in the flight plan to Wyoming.

“But Sir, our orders are to take you both to Richmond,” the pilot complained.

“And then wait on us as we finish our meeting there. Well, we’re finished and now you can take us to Cheyenne,” the governor said.

The pilot continued to hesitate at the request. Losing his patience the governor finally switched tactics.

“Captain, as a member of the Governor’s Council, I am authorized to command the armed forces of the Union of American States. You are under the orders of such legal government. You now have a direct order to fly this plane to Cheyenne,” the governor said. His ex-Navy officer forbearance seemed to win the argument. The pilot acknowledged the order and Cheyenne was now their destination.

Paul nudged the governor and moved his comm switch so only the governor could hear. “Sir, we may need those other governors. Have them radio ahead and have them meet us. It will only delay our arrival in Cheyenne a short time.”

The governor agreed and again, turning the comm switch, changed his orders once again. All the governors needed to be in Cheyenne.

After picking up the additional surprised passengers, Paul left the headset on but unplugged the wire. The quiet was an improvement and he quickly fell asleep. If what he thought was happening was confirmed in Cheyenne, he would need all his energy.

* * *

The governor of Montana waited for the plane as it landed. Standing beside him was Amanda. The prairie wind buffeted the plane as it taxied up to the hanger. Paul could see Amanda’s coat flapping in the strong breeze. It was still early summer, but the cold wind off the mountains hit Paul as the crewman opened the cargo plane’s door. The governors gathered around, pulling on their coats to block the wind.

The Idaho governor divided up the group into people he could trust and people from states that might be questionable. They loaded up into the waiting Suburbans.

When the known supporters were settled in their seats, the Montana governor began. “We got your message. We’ve gathered our supporters and they’re waiting for you. I’m afraid it’s not good. Amanda can fill you in.”

Amanda sat in front with the driver and left the six men sitting together in the second and third row. She turned around and leaned between the seats.

“When word reached the Convention about the New York gold being rescued, it was like a gun going off. Our old friend, Horst, quickly gathered up his minions and along with Oklahoma and Louisiana, walked out of the Convention,” Amanda said.

“I thought we were all agreed upon a new constitution. You were supposed to put the final touches on it while we dealt with the East Coast,” Paul said.

“I was finalizing everything when the Texas governor excused himself. The next thing I knew the Convention Hall was a madhouse. Our supporters in one corner. The Texas supporters that hadn’t walked out, in another. The neutral states were in a third corner. No one knew what was going on,” Amanda said.

“But it soon became evident when the governors of the three states that had walked out had left by plane to parts unknown. We surmised they were heading home,” the Montana governor said.

When the group reached the home of a local supporter, the remainder of the states and provinces that had originally supported the Idaho Plan were finally gathered. The governors and their staff were ready for some answers.

First, Paul confirmed that the original orders for the gold train had been to deliver its contents to Warren AFB. The governors all nodded in agreement that they had voted unanimously to store the gold in Wyoming.

Next he asked if the governors had designated the Army to escort the train west. A uniform shaking of the heads indicated that no such order had been given. Details of the gold transfer had been directed to the Armed Forces Committee. Everyone had assumed the Marines would escort the train since they had done such a superb job capturing it.

Paul informed them on what he had overheard on the dock.

“This is incredible. You’re telling me that Texas is going to commandeer that gold. That’s preposterous. They wouldn’t dare,” the Utah governor yelled.

“I’m afraid that’s exactly what they intend to do,” the North Dakota governor offered.

“Then what are we willing to do about it? Are we ready to tear our future relationship apart with the other states?” the Virginia governor asked. “And if we decide to claim the gold, how do we physically do that? As I understand, the train will be in the South the whole time. They have been generally neutral in the power fight between us and Texas.”

The group broke down into small discussions on what to do and how to do it. Finally the Montana governor called for quiet.

“I understand Dr. Kendall has a plan.”

Paul looked stunned. This was news to him. He stood up to a very quiet room. Everyone stared at him, waiting for an answer. Paul was about to admit that nothing could be further from the truth and he hadn’t come up with anything.

“I believe what the governor is referring to is an idea Dr. Kendall had that he obviously is reluctant to share. It is very risky,” Amanda said as she jumped in to rescue him.

He was glad to hear there was a plan, risky or not. He waited to find out what he had thought up.

Outside Jackson, Mississippi

General Ed Gale waited by the switch yard just outside Jackson, Mississippi. It had been a busy twenty-four hours. First the phone call to gather as many of his Special Ops personnel as he could and get them to Jackson Airport.

Luckily, the Seattle operation was complete and his units were cleaning up the surrounding area of criminal gangs. A small column had been dispatched to bring order to Bellingham and on up into British Columbia. There had been no Chinese troops left north of Seattle, so subduing the local thugs was relatively easy.

Again the gang members attempted to shrink into the countryside when real troops arrived. They would be hunted down. Unfortunately there were only scattered pockets of civilians still alive.

But for Ed Gale, former Navy Seal and former Admiral in charge of Special Ops, the change of pace was unexpected. He had already assembled experienced Special Ops personnel into a reaction team. Having them on a plane heading east was an easy task.

Not knowing their mission had been the hard part. He had to wait until the two C-130’s carrying him and his men touched down in Cheyenne to find out.

He had been surprised when the Idaho governor and Paul walked out of the hanger. After refueling, they were all airborne again.

Once again on headphones, the governor had explained the mission to Ed and his unit commanders. He had retrieved a signed order by the participating states giving him authority to carry out his mission.

Ed had quickly grasped that the Union of American States was in turmoil. The planes had flown with radio silence, keeping the Armed Services Committee, which was the Governor’s Council official chain of command, in the dark.

This was an ‘unofficial’ official mission. Ed and his men would have to work on the edge of legality. When the Idaho governor finally answered Ed’s inquiry as to the cargo that they would be responsible for, there was a moment of stunned silence.

“You mean Texas is trying to steal the Federal Reserve’s gold assets? Man, I can see why this is hush-hush,” Ed had said.

Now sitting next to the tracks waiting for the armored train to arrive, Ed knew what this would mean to the new country. If Texas succeeded in moving the gold to Dallas, the rest of the states would be beholden to Texas.

Any new money supply would have to be backed by gold. After the fraud that Washington had perpetrated on the country had turned the American dollar into worthless junk, any replacement currency would only get legitimacy by being exchangeable in gold. Like history had shown repeatedly, a monetary system based on a paper currency always collapsed. Only a gold-backed currency survived.

Along with the gold deposited in Kentucky, the New York gold was the other gold reserve the new nation could rely upon. The coup being attempted by Texas could upset all the plans of a united nation.

The armored train was scheduled to stop in the rail yards of Jackson for refueling. Ed surmised that the troops guarding the train would be fed at the same time. That would be his opening. Otherwise, he had a crew down the line ready to blow the track to keep the train from crossing into Louisiana. Whatever it took, he would keep the gold from reaching Texas.

“Train approaching,” his first spotter radioed. This lookout was on the edge of Jackson where the track emerged from the city.

It was time to see if they had obtained tactical surprise. If they had to blow the tracks, Ed had commandeered another engine to attach to the rear of the train to pull it back into the yard. The track toward Arkansas led north out of Jackson; to the west lay Texas.