G Hopf: The Long Road

Cruz knew these mass migrations were going to cause problems for his government. With no support coming now from their former allies, he needed to make a plan for their survival.

The door opened and General Baxter stepped in with purpose. He was a man who always walked around looking like he had somewhere to go. He had a stack of binders tucked under his arm. The other staff, including Dylan, followed.

“Good morning, General, everyone,” Cruz said after turning around and facing the front of the room. He motioned for Baxter to take a seat next to him.

“Thank you, sir,” Baxter said, sitting down and spreading the binders in front of him.

“I called you because I just got off the phone with the Australian prime minister and the news isn’t good.”

“Okay,” Baxter said, anxiously awaiting the news.

Everyone else suspected what Cruz would say, but they were just as anxious as the general.

“They have dropped all support for us, citing the Christmas strikes.”

“I think we kinda saw that coming, didn’t we?” Baxter replied.

“Yes, we did. So we need to lay out a plan for reconstruction that doesn’t include support from anyone. Let’s go over everything. I need to get it all straight in my head,” Cruz said, looking exhausted.

Baxter opened up the first binder and said, “Sir, there isn’t much we can do in the East. I think we need to pull our assets out. My recommendations are to have both groups get as many troops as possible from those bases there and then set sail for the West Coast. There we can start to redeploy those assets to our new capital.”

“You have my attention; go ahead,” Cruz said, sitting back in his chair.

“I know we touched on this briefly yesterday; but we need to just abandon any efforts back east. Look at the map behind you, sir. It’s a loss. With everything that has happened back there and with what limited assets we have, we really can’t do anything for those people. We need to set up a new capital, work on repairing our relations with our allies, and then after we get our own infrastructure back up, we can start to think about anything back east.”

“That’s it, just abandon it? General, you sound like that rogue colonel,” Cruz said sarcastically.

“Mr. Vice President, when you asked me to be the secretary of defense, you told me to be honest, and sir, I’m being honest. I don’t agree with the colonel; however, I can’t help it if we share some beliefs. In the end it is your decision. If you want us to stay back east and continue to salvage what we can, then I’m with you. If you don’t, then I’m with you. I’m a loyal soldier,” Baxter said defensively.

“Sorry, General, it’s just that what you’re suggesting is unthinkable in some ways.”

“But necessary, sir. If we are to help them, anyone, we must help ourselves first. Especially with the loss of resupply and equipment from our allies, it’s just impossible. We need to target and focus what we do have to make sure we have a government.”

Cruz looked at all present and asked for a yea or nay on the topic of abandoning the East Coast.

Remembering the incident with Griswald, many looked around the room for affirmation before they answered. One by one, each person agreed with Baxter. Taking this all in, Cruz came to a decision.

“General, give our troops back east the command to evacuate all bases and to coordinate with the command elements of both groups. Let’s get those men and women to the West Coast.”

Baxter just nodded his acknowledgment of the new order. He then stood and approached the map. Taking a green marker, he started to draw a line down the map. Beginning on the border of North Dakota and Minnesota, he moved down South Dakota to Nebraska; he then cut off the eastern part of Nebraska and went straight down to the border of Oklahoma and Texas, then took his marker west all the way to Nevada, then north along the Nevada-California border to Oregon and back west to the ocean. Then he turned and said, “Mr. Vice President, the area I just outlined is the area we need to secure, protect, and consider the new United States.”

Some cross talk began after Baxter made his declaration . Cruz hushed the group and said to the general, “I see the red areas, so I know why you’re marking this territory.”

“The contamination from all the meltdowns is too much for us to deal with. It would be an impossible task if we had everything at our disposal. It’s just too much to overcome. These are the new boundaries that I propose we defend. We need to contact the governors of these states to inform them that we aim to take care of them. We need them to put what assets they can along their borders to stop others from migrating into their states. Not all of the migrants will make it, but a majority will, and the sheer numbers will overwhelm them.” Baxter spoke while pointing at the states that bordered the red-outlined states to the east.

Others at the table began to whisper to each other. Cruz sat looking at the map. He stared for what seemed like minutes; then he spoke.

“Okay, General, I agree with you on what boundaries we need to defend. However, I will not abandon Americans who seek sanctuary. This is their country, and we will do what we can for them. Inform the governors to establish tent cities, if they can, of course, and to supply what they can as far as food or water for these areas. What we will need to do is get those two naval groups to the West Coast as soon as possible. When they arrive we will set up a tight perimeter around Portland. We then will start building up the new capital, but we will have to make it secure, so we will limit access. That is as far as I will go in restricting Americans’ free access. Understood?”

“Yes, sir,” Baxter replied.

“What is the update on reinforcements?”

“Arriving late today, sir.”

“Good, get them here, fed and outfitted. We need to send several teams back out to look for Conner,” Cruz said as he stood.

“Sir, we have made several attempts and you know the results,” Baxter reminded Cruz.

“I’m quite aware of the difficulties. Until we know for sure the president’s fate, I will assume he’s alive.”

“Yes, sir,” Baxter answered; he knew debating with Cruz was hopeless. If Conner was still alive and they could bring him back, that would give people hope.

Cruz rose and walked to the map. He stood looking at the line that created a new border for his country.

“I noticed you bypassed Texas and California,” Cruz stated.

“Yes, sir. The Texas legislature was able to get a quorum, and their decision was to exercise what they believe is their right to leave the union. I spoke with the Texas governor early this morning, and they overwhelmingly decided to break away. They acknowledged this might cause some issues with us but felt they could handle the situation themselves. They will work on a draft agreement that formalizes a treaty with the U.S. and get it to me soon,”

“Unbelievable. That quickly they decided to jump ship,” Cruz said.

“You know those Texans. They’ve always had an independent streak in them,” Baxter joked.

“As far as California goes, I disagree with you; we can’t let her go. California is rich in natural resources. I see the red lines designating the hot spots, but the state is big. I want California under our wing. Anything new from Sacramento?”

“Nothing new since we talked with the governor two days ago. The legislature there is in disarray. The civil unrest has been crippling for them at the capital and all around the state. They are having issues with the militarization of the drug cartels in the southern part of the state. That group called the Villistas has secured many strategic parts of San Diego County and shows no signs of stopping. Our rogue colonel helped us a bit out there.”