A Time for Patriots

“We’re looking at a number of extremist groups in the West, ma’am,” Fuller said. “The pilot of that King Air made a radio call to the Reno Airport control tower and used the phrases ‘live free or die’ and ‘the Lord has spoken.’ We’re back-checking those phrases to see if they’re associated with any particular groups. The use of the King Air, the direction of flight, and the target are all being factored in as well. The search teams we sent to the crash site also found a homemade flag belonging to a well-known extremist group.”

“Who are they?” the president asked.

“They call themselves the Knights of the True Republic, sir,” Fuller said. “They’re based in a fairly isolated part of northwestern Nevada near the town of Gerlach. They’re led by a minister named Reverend Jeremiah Paulson. It’s a collection of old-timers, military veterans, bikers, ranchers, outdoorsmen, miners, and even Native Americans. They claim to be a community of like-minded so-called sovereign citizens that oppose federal, state, and county government interference in local affairs. We’ve made some arrests and are conducting searches of members’ properties — nothing yet. Paulson was questioned, but the community is compartmentalized enough that they know very little about the terrorist side of the organization. But eventually someone who lost a loved one in Reno or is fearful of the leadership will drop a dime.”

“You don’t sound very hopeful, Director,” Phoenix observed.

“It takes time to infiltrate one of these groups, sir,” Fuller said, “and there are hundreds of such groups in the western states alone. Most are very small and isolated and don’t resort to any sort of violence; this one obviously wants to prove they have the will and the resources to take on the federal government. We’ve been after them for months. We got them on tape buying weapons and explosives and were about to take them down until they asked about large quantities of radioactive material. We decided to delay the arrests. We took a chance, hoping to nail more members or associates and uncover more plots. The plan backfired.”

“Can you round them up again?” Ann asked.

“We may be able to, ma’am, but they’ve scattered,” Fuller said.

“When do you hope to take this group down, Director?” Ann asked.

Fuller spread his hands. “We’re almost at square one with the Knights, ma’am,” he replied. “It took several months to get a confidential informant close enough to make a buy for the radioactive materials, and now he’s dead. Local law enforcement is plainly scared because of the group’s power and reach — the sheriff’s department lost more men than the FBI that morning. They destroyed four helicopters and killed twelve officers.”

“God,” Phoenix said under his breath. The president paused, then rubbed his temples in frustration. “And all this because of my economic austerity programs. People are out of work, and there is very little or no government to help them, so they resort to banding together to share whatever little they have. And if they feel they’re not getting enough protection from the government, they turn to violence.”

Ann looked to the FBI director, giving him a silent order. Fuller caught the glance and said to the president, “If there’s nothing else, sir, I’ll get back to work.”

“Of course, Justin, of course,” Phoenix said. He stood and shook hands with Fuller. “Let me know when the funerals for your agents will be — I’d like to attend.”

“Of course, sir,” Fuller said, then turned and left the Oval Office.

“What a loss he’s suffered,” Phoenix said somberly after the FBI director departed. “It’s got to be crushing him.”

“I’m more worried about you, Ken,” Ann said directly. “You’re blaming yourself for what this nut-job group did yesterday? Are you insane?”

Phoenix’s eyes flared at his vice president’s words. “These extremist groups didn’t exist before my austerity programs went into effect, Ann…”

“Of course they did, Ken,” Ann snapped. “But law enforcement went after them more than they do today. How? By borrowing trillions of dollars, raising taxes, or printing money, that’s how. Your programs, your decisions, your leadership stopped the destructive financial practices that were driving local, state, and the federal government into the ground . Less government. Across-the-board spending cuts. Across-the-board tax cuts. No bailouts for failed institutions or irresponsible actions. All of that has been good for the country. Right-minded folks can see real hope out there.

“But there will always be whack-jobs and extremists who see the continued unemployment and the disparities between the haves and the have-nots and conclude that government isn’t working and they need to take the law into their own hands,” Ann went on. “You can’t reason with them or try to understand them, and you certainly can’t look at their murderous actions and blame yourself. The only thing you can do is use every resource at your command to stop them.”