“And those problems are?” Jan asked as she tried to conceal a self-satisfied smile.

With the flood gates thrown open, GO Thomas spent the next ten minutes delineating not only the problems he felt needed to be addressed, but also his views on how best to solve them. He ended his discussion of these issues by bluntly warning that a failure to do so would, in time, lead to a confrontation. “This country stands,” he stated as if he were a preacher delivering a moral lesson from the pulpit, “at a crossroad. If wisdom prevails, and leaders with foresight and conviction come forth, we can reform our national institutions from within, painlessly, justly. Otherwise,” he warned, “we will face a crisis unlike anything that this nation has been witness to since the War Between the States. Of that,” he concluded, “you can be sure.”

“And how, Governor,” Jan asked as innocently as she could manage, “do you see that happening?”

Thomas gave Jan a kind, fatherly smile. “The same way most revolutions start. A man with a clear vision of the future will ride forth. In his wake the honest, hard working people of this country who have been alienated by a Federal government run by political elites will rally to his standard and follow.”

Though tempted, Jan held back from asking the one question that begged to be ask, namely, if George Oliver Thomas, Governor of Idaho, was that man.

CHAPTER 6

NORTH OF COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO • JULY 7

When he was given the choice of how he wanted to enjoy his last evening at home before departing for the Infantry Officers’ Basic Course at Fort Benning, Nathan Dixon opted for a small, family dinner at home. That their son had selected this option came as no surprise to either Jan or Scott. Having been a cadet himself, Scott understood the desire to seek out and enjoy every opportunity to be with one’s family. So Scott made no effort to dissuade his son. On the contrary, he all but applauded the decision. Given their respective careers, both he and Jan leaped at any excuse to skip out early and enjoy a quiet evening at home.

Of course, once the four parties who made up the Dixon household gathered around the table, quiet was all but nonexistent. Nathan and Andrew Dixon had been raised by two strong willed parents who were in the habit of openly exchanging their ideas and views. So it was natural that their boys would grow up feeling that they, too, were free to contribute their own opinions and comments. This resulted in conversations that wandered about without direction ranging from serious discourse on world events to light hearted exposes, to downright ludicrous debates on subjects that were sometimes pointless but always entertaining. Though the occasion was a solemn one, this evening’s fare proved to be no different.

“It’s just been incredible,” Jan kept repeating as she served up a steaming bowl of pasta shells covered with thick, spicy tomato sauce. “It’s like someone turned on a light in a room full of cockroaches. Everyone’s just scattering for cover.”