It was busy in the sheriff's office. Ever since the Major had read the evidence on Hawkin's computer, there had been debate on how to handle the situation. While his men were with him in standing up to the Cheyenne government, there was a certain wisdom in not openly declaring it to the world. They were, after all, essentially an island in enemy territory. While Texas was only two states away, it would take time to secure the territory between them. They were coordinating with Texas via Hawkins and Jake.

The plan was to 'take orders' (or pretend to) from Cheyenne for as long as possible, or until Texas secured the territory between them. This would allow them to continue receiving supplies from the ASA and it would also give them time to prepare.

There had been some extremely heated negotiations between Constantino and Major Beck. He was not one to believe that the major had just switched sides, whatever the evidence. Fed up, Beck had finally issued an ultimatum:

"Look, I'm only offering you this alliance because we could use the resources New Bern has to offer. I don't much care for you or your tactics, and would much rather focus on defending Jericho. Either accept this alliance and the conditions, or you are completely on your own against the ASA."

Once the concept was driven home, Constantino had been forced to swallow his pride and accept the deal: New Bern would produce as many munitions as humanly possible, as well as provide some combat elements. There were conditions on who could serve; those who had ever used tactics deemed unacceptable by the major were banned from service in a combat role. This meant that Constantino and most of his deputies were relegated to working in the factories. There was also to be an extensive briefing on the rules of engagement during training. Beck absolutely refused to be associated with a combat force that used terror, torture and murder.

In return, Beck's men would protect New Bern and Jericho would share food resources. Most parties only reluctantly agreed to this, each still wary of the others. But they were forced to admit it was their best chance to survive.

Working out these details without alerting the ASA had been tricky; getting the three parties (Jericho, New Bern, and the 10th mountain division) to meet in person and in private had taken all sorts of conditions, worthy of a spy movie. Each party was allowed to send three people to negotiate, and only one of them could be armed. Gray Anderson had picked deputy mayor Eric Green and Dale Turner as an expert on the town's resources. Major Beck had chosen his second-in-command Captain Dunne and Heather Lisinski for her knowledge of both New Bern and Jericho. Phil Constantino showed up with two of his deputies, Clark Constantino (his brother) and Patrick Carter (also related). As expected, there were animosities. Eric Green still glared at Phil Constantino, but he was actually better than Heather. Heather never once addressed either Constantino, preferring to let Beck speak to them. She also seemed to be acutely uncomfortable, even nervous, with Clark. Worse, Clark seemed to be enjoying the effect he had on her. Beck understood why she wouldn't speak with Phil Constantino, but he made a mental note to ask why she reacted to his brother so strongly. Somehow, they muddled through, and Anderson, Beck, and Constantino managed to shake hands on a deal that would provide all parties with food, munitions, and protection.

After the deal was made, everyone was glad to leave, none more so than Heather. On the ride back to the office, Beck noticed that Heather wasn't herself; she was staring out the window, uncharacteristically quiet and her face tight. Her hands were clenched into equally tight fists in her lap. He tapped her shoulder, and she started at his touch.

"You ok?"

"Not really, but it's over now."

"What's the deal with Clark Constantino?"

"What do you mean 'the deal'?"

"You wouldn't talk to him. Or for that matter, look at him."

"We've met before. I did not enjoy the experience."

"He held you prisoner in New Bern." he stated flatly.

"He interrogated me."

"I'm sorry, Heather. I would never have asked you to come…"

"It's part of my job."

"I think we can make an exception here."

"Look, it's over now. It's in the past." She said with finality, closing the subject.

He nodded, letting her have the last word. But he noticed her knuckles were still white.

**********

Texas was only a few days away from Jericho when the charade fell through. Valente had basically ordered Major Beck to flatten a piece of New Bern as a 'demonstration', which he agreed to do…and never did. Unlike other orders agreed to but not carried out, however, the lack of flaming craters on satellite images tipped off Cheyenne. Major Beck managed to stall them for about a day with 'preparation' and 'planning' excuses.

Having those days of covert preparation had been an immense help. When the first air raid was spotted, preplanned signals were sent out. Civilians were sent to shelters, and combat units were activated. It wasn't perfect; the general population had not been briefed on the deal their leaders had made in private. A call was made to Texas, telling them the jig was up and to please hurry up and get here. And that if they could provide some air support, it would be greatly appreciated.

The sheriff's office shook as bombs fell. Glass shattered, bricks crumbled. A piece of ceiling fell in, narrowly missing Lt. Posly. After what seemed like an eternity, the bombers were chased away by jets from Texas.

As the reports came in, Major Beck was impressed. There was significant property damage, especially here in the center of town, but only a few people had sustained injuries. There was one death from a heart attack. He was upset that Heather was the one handing him the reports, however.

"Why are you still here?"

"I work here" she replied

"You're a civilian. You should have been in a shelter."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"I mean it, Heather. Next time you're going. It is not a request."

"You're really going to be pigheaded about this, aren't you?

"I'm the CO around here. It's required."

Heather raised her hand in an impudent salute.

"Yes sir!" she snarked.

"Very funny. Now get out of here, I have calls to make."