The phone rang on Davis’s desk. He let it ring twice. Then he answered.
He hung up, leaned back against his chair.
He was still governor of Texas. His state was with him. Soon, he knew, he would be at war with the federal government.
Brett sat in an empty warehouse—they weren’t going to risk bringing him back to a known facility. Too high profile, too much media. He sat with his back to the wall—just like the ’Stan, he laughed ruefully to himself—his head in his thick arms. It was getting late; the sun was setting beyond the haze of the skyline, devastated once more by terror. He looked up, the sunlight reflecting in his red-rimmed eyes. “Ellen,” he whispered. “Ellen, I’m so sorry.”
He didn’t even sense it when the door creaked open and an officer in full SWAT regalia strode into the room. He was tall, broad shouldered.
Piece by piece, he began undressing.
“There isn’t much time, sir,” he said. “You need to put this shit on.”
Brett looked up at him. “What are you talking about?”
“You’re leaving, General.”
“How did you get in here?”
“You want to stick around here, that’s up to you, General,” said the officer. “But I have a feeling you’ll be better off taking my advice.”
Brett stood up and began putting on the police gear as the officer spoke. “General, you’re going to walk out of here. Keep your face toward the wall as much as possible. Show them this ID. It’s federal.”
Brett looked at it. “EPA? What do they have to do with this?”
The officer laughed. “The ID serves the purpose. Used to belong to a friend of mine.”
When Brett finished suiting up, the officer sat down with his back against the wall. “Only one of us can leave,” he said. “That’s you. No time to argue. Get out of here.”
Brett nodded slowly as he clipped the ID to his vest. “Thanks.”
“The car’s down the street. Two rights, then a left. Black van, license plate 3X8FFSL. Get out of here.” Then the man dropped his head to his chest as Brett opened the door.
None of the guards in the hallway gave Brett a second glance. The uniform took care of that. At the end of the hall, he took an elevator down to the street.
When he got to the street, he followed the directions to the van. As he approached, the passenger’s side door popped open. He climbed in.
A woman sat behind the wheel.
Then Brett saw her face.
He grabbed a fistful of her hair, pulling her toward him as she screamed. He placed his hand on her neck, gripping it. “Why?!” he yelled. “Why would you do this? Who are you?”
Her left hand gradually came up—Brett found himself at the point of her muzzle. “Get the hell off me,” she said.
Slowly, he let go.
“My name is Soledad Ramirez,” she choked. “I’m here to get you out of the city.”
“You tried to assassinate Prescott. What do you want with me?”
Soledad looked at him seriously. “Do you want to stick around? If so, get out right now.”
Brett looked at her. “You’re that terrorist.”
“I prefer rancher. The government made me a terrorist.”
“No,” said Brett. “You made you into a terrorist.”
“You’re free to get out at any time.”
Brett went silent. She started the engine. “For what it’s worth,” she said, looking straight ahead, “I’m sorry about your wife, General Hawthorne. I’m sorry for this country. I’m not sorry what happened to Prescott. None of that matters.”
“Where are we going?”
“I figure you’re the general. You pick.”
Brett thought for a moment. Then he looked to the horizon again, to the murky cloud of ash blotting out the rising stars. He set his jaw in a look Ellen would have recognized instantly as unshakable determination.
“Let’s head West,” he said. “I’m going home.”
About the Author
Ben Shapiro is editor-in-chief of DailyWire.com, as well as editor-at-large of Breitbart News. Shapiro is the author of six books, including the New York Times bestseller, Bullies: How the Left’s Culture of Fear and Intimidation Silences America (2012). Shapiro is also a nationally syndicated columnist since age 17, a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School, and the host of The Morning Answer on KRLA 870 in Los Angeles and KTIE 590 in Orange County.
Rush Limbaugh says Shapiro isn’t just “content to have people be dazzled by his brilliance; he actually goes out and confronts and tries to persuade, mobilize, motivate people.” Glenn Beck calls Shapiro a “warrior for conservatism, against those who use fear and intimidation to stifle honest debate. I’ve never known him to back down from a fight.” Sarah Palin says that Americans should “consider Ben’s advice about how we must stand up and push back twice as hard against this bullying.” Sean Hannity says to join Ben Shapiro and “fight back!” against liberal bullying. And Michelle Malkin says Shapiro is “infused with the indomitable spirit of his friend and mentor Andrew Breitbart.” Even the liberal Washington Post, in the aftermath of Shapiro’s devastating destruction of Piers Morgan on national television, conceded that Shapiro is a “foe of extraordinary polemical agility.”
Praise for TRUE ALLEGIANCE
“Meet our new Ayn Rand.”
“True Allegiance is a terrifying read that brilliantly lays bare the chilling future we all fear is headed right for us.”
“Provocative, intense, and about five minutes from becoming reality, Ben Shapiro’s True Allegiance is a riveting thriller about what happens when America falls apart. It’s not just a phenomenal thriller, it’s prophetic.”
“We all know Ben Shapiro for his keen intellect and his impeccable ability to articulate the principles that made America great. Now Ben has delved into the world of fiction in his book, True Allegiance—but is it really fictional? This is a must read novel in which we must ask ourselves, will we make a stand?”
“A gutsy and gut-wrenching vision of an America coming apart at the seams—an America not so different from the one we’re living in right now. Ben Shapiro has used his deep understanding of current events to create a fictional world that could well be our world the day after tomorrow. It’s a scary story and just a little too real for comfort.”
“Ben Shapiro’s strong, elegant writing moves from journalism to fiction with grace and impact. His famous insights into the characters and institutions of our times now present in razor sharp delineation of characters and their gripping progress, each with their own arc that draws you tightly into his remarkably well-told story. True Allegiance cuts no corners and makes no easy choices in unfolding its tale of the great challenges of our times and the perilous way they’re being managed. Shapiro’s view, through the eyes of those who become captives of history, finds them all, those who seek greatness only to becoming unwitting pawns, and others upon whom destiny is thrust. This is a wonderful novel, a brisk and enjoyable read.”