Read Remember The Alamo Online
Authors: William W. Johnstone;J.A. Johnstone
"Hold on," Dave said as he pointed at the television.
"Something else is happening."
The pair of news anchors on camera looked flustered about
something. One of them said something to somebody off
camera, and then the shot changed, the anchor desk disappearing and being replaced by a shot of a crowded room
where flashbulbs were going off in a constant flicker of garish
light as a stocky man in a blue suit stepped up to a podium. Several men in gaudy uniforms stood near him. A graphic
superimposed at the bottom of the screen identified the man
as Enrique Guzman, the president of Mexico. One of the anchors back in the studio said in a hushed voice, "We take you
now to Presidente Guzman, speaking live from Mexico City."
"What the hell?" Phil muttered.
Speaking in English, Guzman looked into the cameras and
said, "We have received reports concerning the deplorable violence carried out in San Antonio by those opposed to the
friendship between the United States and Mexico."
Phil opened his mouth to make an angry comment, but
Mahone stopped him with an uplifted hand.
"On behalf of Mexico, I extend our sympathy and condolences to those who have lost loved ones today to these
rightwing terrorists," Guzman continued. "Intolerance is unacceptable, but especially so when it seeks to force itself on others
through violence and bloodshed. It is even more distressing to
us when such an atrocity takes place on Mexican soil."
"Oh, my God," Dave began.
"Wait for it," Mahone said, his face grim.
Guzman went on. "Despite the misguided fanaticism of
these individuals, they were unable to prevent the transfer of
the Alamo and its adjoining plaza to Mexican control, which
was a welcome gesture by an American government eager to
redress past wrongs. Therefore, the terrorists who have taken
shelter inside the Alamo have sought refuge in Mexican territory, a refuge which they shall surely be denied."
Some of the reporters on hand started to shout questions,
but Guzman ignored them until they quieted down. Then he
resumed his statement.
"Acting swiftly and decisively, the San Antonio police have
secured the area, dealt with the injuries and deaths caused
by the murderers, and surrounded the Alamo so that these
ruthless men will not be able to escape and cause further suffering. I have no doubt that given the opportunity, they
would be fully capable of apprehending these criminals.
"However ... since this crime took place on Mexican soil,
and since the perpetrators are now hiding on Mexican soil like
the craven cowards they are, I hereby call on the government
of the United States to allow Mexico to deal with this situation. We will bring justice to these lawless interlopers. I will
be speaking shortly with the president of the United States and
making arrangements with her so that special units of the
Mexican army will be able to travel to San Antonio, secure the
Alamo, and arrest the criminals." Guzman took a deep breath.
"If they refuse to surrender, they will be dealt with by any
means necessary."
"Holy crap," Phil said. "Does that mean what I think it
means?"
"No quarter," said Dave. "The Mexican army is on the way,
and they won't be planning on taking any prisoners."
Phil turned to Mahone. "They can't get away with that, can
they? We won't let the Mexican army operate in our territory
and fire on American citizens, will we?"
"By we, do you mean the president and the rest of the politicians in Washington who want the rest of the world to love
us ... not to mention wanting all the Hispanic votes they can
get?"
"Oh, shit," Phil said. "They're liable to do it. They might
actually let that happen. Oh, shit."
Mahone nodded. "Exactly."
"Damn that greaser for putting me on the spot like this!"
"Uh, you really shouldn't talk about our neighbors to the
south that way-"
"Shut up," the president snapped at her husband. They were
alone, upstairs in the residence portion of the White House, and the television was tuned to President Guzman's speech in
Mexico City. "Don't you have some blonde-of-the-month to
go play around with?"
"Now, honey, I'm just sayin'.... Why, if there was anybody
around but me to hear you usin' an ethnic slur like that, it'd
be mighty bad for your poll numbers"
The president ignored him and stared at the TV screen,
where Guzman was going on about how the Mexican army
would handle everything and how they would be counting on
the cooperation of the American authorities to bring this terrible situation to a conclusion as soon as possible. "He's really
got me boxed in," she muttered to herself. "I can't refuse him
permission to send in the army. It really is Mexican territory."
"Really?" her husband asked. "I thought it was all just for
show."
"I got the agreement tacked onto a spending bill as an
amendment without much fuss being made about it. The
media knew I wanted it kept quiet, so there wasn't much coverage when I signed it into law yesterday. It gives that treaty
Alvarez signed the weight of a real treaty."
"Well ... I don't know if that was such a smart thing
to do"
The president restrained the impulse to slap the big
lummox. As if she would ever take political advice from the
likes of him!
"One of our finest officers, General Augusto Lopez Montemayor de Salgado, will be placed in command of the troops
that will be leaving for San Antonio as soon as arrangements
can be worked out with the American government," Guzman
continued. "General Salgado can be counted upon to put a
swift end to this lawlessness."
"Does that mean he's gonna come in shootin'?" the president's husband asked.
"It means the shit's going to hit the fan," the president snapped. "And I don't have any choice but to let it. I'll need to
go downstairs right now and get all my advisors in so we can
start working on a statement"
"Well, just do like I always did," her husband said. "Don't
get any shit on you"
Figuring that it would be a while before anybody tried to get
in there, Dave called most of the defenders of the Alamo together, leaving just one man at each door and window to keep
watch. Those sentries could be filled in on the new developments later.
As the group gathered in the center of the chapel, near the
big diorama, Dave said to Stark and Mahone, "One of you
guys should do the talking."
Both men declined. "You and Phil are the ones who got this
started," Mahone said. "If I'd believed you and stuck to my
guns, maybe we could have prevented it."
"Not likely," Stark said. "You'd have been goin' up against
all the weight that Washington can bring to bear, and I know
from experience how overwhelming that can be"
Mahone shrugged in acceptance of that point. Then he said
to Dave, "Just lay it out as plain as you can. The men will
listen."
Dave knew that. They were as good a bunch of guys as anybody could ever want siding him in a fight.
He turned to the assembled defenders, raised his voice, and said, "All right, listen up. There are things going on that y'all
need to know about"
"Are the police about to storm the place?" Dieter asked. "I
wouldn't want to shoot at cops"
"None of us ever intended to shoot at cops," Dave said. "We
hoped to keep them back by a show of force, without ever getting into a battle with them. But now it looks like we won't
have to worry about that. The San Antonio police aren't going
to be the ones trying to get us out of here"
Belko said, "Let me guess. They're sending in the army."
"Sort of." Dave smiled, but there was no humor in it. "The
Mexican army."
Exclamations of surprise and disbelief filled the air. Dave let
the hubbub run its course, then continued explaining what he,
Phil, Stark, and Mahone had learned from the television.
"The Mexican government claims that the treaty giving
them control of the Alamo is valid and therefore it's their right
to deal with us. Units of the Mexican army will be brought in
as soon as the United States government gives its okay, since
of course they'll have to travel over our territory or through
our airspace to get here"
"Our government will never agree to that, will they?" Dieter
said. "To let a foreign military operate here is ... is unAmerican!"
"Think about the people who are in charge now," Dave said.
"They've never drawn the line at acting un-American before,
now have they?"
Murmurs of troubled agreement came from the defenders.
"According to the TV news, the president will be issuing a
statement any minute now," Dave continued. "I want all of us
to watch it together and then decide what we're going to do ""
"We're gonna hang on to the Alamo," Belko snapped.
"That's what we're gonna do. Why else would we be here?"
"Let's just wait and see what the president says," Dave
advised.
Stark went back to the office, where Phil was resting, and
returned with the television, which was small enough to place
on the information counter. He plugged it in and turned it on,
then hooked it up to a cable outlet behind the counter. Nearly
fifty men crowded around to watch.
For several minutes there was nothing to see but assorted
pundits pontificating about how terrible the events in San Antonio were and how things never would have come to this if
not for the continued existence of a fanatical right-wing extremist movement in the United States.
"By that they mean honest citizens who don't agree with
their wacky ideas," one of the defenders said, drawing a laugh
from the others.
They quieted down as the scene abruptly switched to the
White House, a shot from outside showing the place lit up in
the dusk. It was still late afternoon in Texas, but it would soon
be night on the East Coast.
An announcer intoned, "The president of the United
States"
The shot changed to the Oval Office, where the president
was seated behind her desk, looking suitably grave. She
looked into the camera and said, "Good evening. By now all
of you have heard about the riot that took place in downtown
San Antonio today near the Alamo, in which more than a
dozen people, including several police officers, lost their
lives. This terrible civil disturbance was instigated by a group
of protesters opposed to the symbolic return of the Alamo to
Mexican control for the weekend. Following the violence,
these dangerously disturbed individuals took refuge inside
the Alamo itself, dishonoring its hallowed halls with their
presence"
Several of the defenders started to boo, but Dave motioned
them to silence.
`Because of the treaty signed by Mayor Joaquin Alvarez before
he was murdered by these fanatics -a treaty ratified by the
United States Senate and signed into law by me just yesterdayfor the moment Mexico has full control and sovereignty over
the Alamo and the adjacent plaza. For that reason, President
Guzman has formally declared a state of emergency and has
asked for official permission to let the Mexican military intervene
in this terrible situation. International law-and the spirit of
international cooperation that I fully embrace-demands that
this permission be granted.
"Therefore, I am now issuing orders to the American military to allow free passage through our territory and our airspace for the Mexican army, units of which will be proceeding
to San Antonio immediately to bring this illegal, immoral
standoff to a close."
This time Dave couldn't stop the booing, but it didn't last
long because the men wanted to hear what the president was
going to say next. Given what they had heard so far, nobody
was going to put anything past her, no matter how crazy it was.
"In addition," she said, "I am placing our forces at the disposal of the Mexican commander, General Augusto Salgado,
to assist him in any way he deems necessary. To that end, I am
placing the city of San Antonio under martial law and instituting an immediate curfew." The president's voice and expression grew even more solemn and resolute as she went on. "The
terrible violence that took place today is at an end, and it will
not happen again. You, the American people, have my word on
that. We will not allow these homegrown terrorists to dictate
policy or to achieve their ends through violence. They will be
taken into custody and removed from the Alamo, and they will
be dealt with to the full extent of our legal system. Let this be
a warning to anyone who believes they can subvert the will of the American people. Such defiance will not stand" She
paused, then said, "Thank you, and good night."
Stark turned the sound on the TV down as the talking heads
started their endless rehashing of everything the president had
just said. Nearly all the defenders were talking at once, but
gradually they quieted down as Dave held his arms up to get
their attention.
"All right, everybody heard what she said. The Mexicans
have said they're coming after us, and she's agreed to let them
do it. Earlier, we were watching President Guzman's statement
from Mexico City, and he made it pretty plain that if we put
up a fight, they intend to wipe us out" Dave paused and
rubbed a hand over his jaw, fighting off the tiredness he felt.
"So here's the deal," he resumed. "We can put down our guns,
walk out of here, and turn ourselves in to the San Antonio cops
before the Mexicans get here. They'll haul us off to jail and
charge us with all sorts of things, most of which they won't be
able to make stick. But we'll all spend some time behind bars,
I think you can count on that"