Free A Triple Thriller Fest by Michael Wallace, Philip Chen, Gordon Ryan

tell, but like the council, the supervisors need to sort out the impact on Yolo County. What seemed a farfetched idea has turned into the most serious question our locally elected officials have ever faced.”
    Addressing City Manager Roger Dahlgren, Dan asked, “Roger, how do you see it? Flash in the pan, posturing—or what?”
    Dahlgren frowned. “Dan, I’m surprised you don’t realize how serious this is. The Senator is the spokesman for a majority percentage of Californians. We’re fed up with it. We’ve already told Washington, in two statewide elections, that they can go bark up a tree, for all we care. We don’t need ’em, and for certain we won’t put up with their oppressive regulations, federal mandates, and bureaucratic ineptitude anymore.”
    As soon as Dahlgren began his harangue, the mayor quietly slipped away and began speaking with another group of guests.
    “Rog, you’re far too uptight about all of this. It’s politics,” Dan cautioned.
    Dahlgren shook his head. “Look, the senator brought this important issue into focus. If Governor Dewhirst or the courts don’t recognize our rights in this matter, and I mean soon, you’re going to see this thing mushroom beyond belief. A new republic is the answer, and the people will be heard, either in the ballot box or from the bullet box—whatever it takes. I believe it was Thomas Jefferson who said ‘If a man hasn’t found something for which he is willing to die, then he’s not fit to live.’”
    “Uh, actually, that was Martin Luther King, Jr.,” Dan said, straight-faced.
    Dahlgren screwed up his face and gave Dan a disgusted look. Dan exchanged quick glances with Jim Thompson, who smiled just slightly, raising his eyebrow in question.
    “You’re kidding, right?” Dan asked, looking back at the city manager. “You’d go to war over this family squabble?”
    “ Squabble? Was Fort Sumter a squabble ? Did the South see it as a family feud? Jefferson or King, it doesn’t matter who said it. There are things worth fighting for—in fact, worth dying for.” Dahlgren shook his head even more vigorously.
    Dan couldn’t believe it. Secede from the Union? Just send in your postal change of address notice and move on? And to equate this with the Civil War. What is he thinking? Irritated and struggling to keep his cool, Dan leaned into Roger, his body language somewhat threatening.
    “And worth killing for?” he asked.
    “Unlike some of the more patriotic members of your family, I don’t think you appreciate the gravity of the situation. When it all shakes out, you don’t want to be left … hanging around. Considering how long your family’s been in this valley, I thought certain you’d be a patriotic Californian.”
    Dan bristled at the obvious reference to the recent hanging, to say nothing of the inference that his views on secession impugned his patriotism, but he stifled the sharp response that instantly came to mind. “Well, Rog, it’s—”
    The room was gaveled to order as the chairman called all to seats. Roger Dahlgren walked over toward a group of younger men standing in the corner. Following a prayer, lunch commenced.
    Buttering a roll, Dan shook his head, leaning toward his deputy, his voice muted. “Jim, what was that all about?”
    “Rumor is, Dahlgren’s now a captain in the Shasta Brigade. Those paramilitary boys find this secession mania right up their alley.”
    “Well, if his council members don’t support the movement, he’ll find himself working on his resume,” Dan said. “And what did you make of his ‘hanging’ comment?”
    “I’d take it as a warning. A very real warning.”
    Dan thought for a moment about what Sheriff Sanchez had said earlier in his office. “You could be right, but, man, I hope not, and not—for just my own sake.”
    Jim asked the man across the table for the salt, then leaned over to whisper in Dan’s ear.
    “It’s quickly becoming a true rebellion.”
    Dan shook his head in