Now it was GO’s turn to let his determination show. Standing, he stared at the Attorney General for several seconds before he spoke. When he did, he used the tone of voice he reserved for those times when he wanted it known that there would be no further discussion. “Listen, Tom. I have no idea what this colonel did to you. Quite frankly, I don’t care. What I do care about is the fact that this state is in the midst of a major crisis. The Guard needs every swinging Richard, male and female, if it’s going to generate a viable deterrence to future Federal action. That colonel you’ve taken a strong disliking to may be a burr under your saddle, but she’s one of the Guard’s best and brightest. While the Adjutant General is willing to move her, he made it clear that he’ll be damned if he’s going to throw her to the wolves just to satisfy someone’s bruised ego.”

Sensing that he had pushed Thomas as far as he dared for now, Osborn raised his right hand in a gesture of peace and nodded. “Fair enough.”

Only after he was in his car and the driver had pulled away from the governor’s mansion did Osborn inform the other man riding in the backseat with him of GO’s decision concerning Nancy Kozak.

Rather than being perturbed by this, Louis Garvey accepted the decision. “Well,” he stated with a bit more glee than even Osborn found comfortable, “it looks as if we’re going to need to tend to our own affairs.”

Osborn cautioned his compatriot. “Don’t let your authority go to you head and don’t go getting yourself in trouble. Be patient. When the time is right and the people are ready, we’ll be able to step in and take over. Until then, we need to be team players.”

With the last of his visitors and staff gone, GO slumped down in his overstuffed chair and laid his head back. Sometimes even dealing with his most trusted subordinates could be an exhausting experience. It was almost as if he were the only man in the entire state who understood what was at stake. Why, he wondered, didn’t anyone else appreciate that they had, within their grasp, the last great hope of curbing the oppressive power of a federal government run by corrupt politicians and mediocre bureaucrats? Why did men like Osborn insist on cluttering their minds with the petty concern of “getting even” instead of keeping their focus on the big picture?