Joe woke at dawn as was his custom. He found Jane beside him, nude and half rolled up in the bedspread which she had pulled over the top of herself. Joe got up slowly, grabbed his socks and tennis shoes and slipped out the front door. He stood in the hall and put his shoes and socks on. He noticed one of the guards watching him, so he went over to him.

“I am going to take a run in the desert, I just want to let you know," Joe said.

“I will send a man to follow you. And the nearest desert is about a mile away," the guard said.

“It’s not necessary," Joe said.

“I’m sorry, my boss would not see it that way, Mr. Monroe," the guard said.

“And your name, sir?" Joe asked.

“Jesus Lopez," the guard said as they shook hands.

“Jane and I will probably go on a walk after breakfast. Please tell your boss that I would feel more comfortable with my gun on such a walk. We are on the same side about protecting Jane."

“It was my job to inspect your suitcase, Mr. Monroe, I apologize for any intrusion you felt," Jesus said.

“Call me Joe. You are doing a good job, Jesus," Joe said.

“Thank you," Jesus said bowing his head.

Joe ran easy through the desert trying to clear his head for his talk with Jane. His own personal emotions were getting all mixed up with the loyalty he felt for his country. Jane was considered a terrorist by Texas and the States. And yet, she was a hero, bigger than life, and at the same time a selfish indulgent brat. And he like most Texans despised how his government had rolled over to the States and their temporary occupation of Dallas. The entire state had become a sea of orange t-shirts. So far it had all been peaceful, but he could feel the anger simmering under the skin of most Texans. He had also seen in the news that the orange shirts were beginning to spread over California. Their one-word message was powerful.

Joe came back to the hotel more confused and conflicted than when he left. He noticed Jane still asleep in the bed probably nursing a hangover he imagined. He quietly picked up his suitcase and headed to the shower.

He stood in the shower letting the hot water flush the cobwebs out of his mind and the dirt from the desert off his body. He lathered up his armpits, crotch, and hair with soap from a dispenser on the wall and then rinsed. He was standing there, eyes shut, enjoying the heat of the shower on his aging joints when she slipped in behind him. Her arms wrapped around him and her hand went immediately to his penis as she looked at the side of his face. She felt him hardened in her hand.

“I see you still work," she said.

“Why wouldn’t I," he asked appearing calm at her advance.

“You told me how old you were last night, you are one of the ancient ones, remember?" she said as her hand moved up and down the soap letting her hand move freely. She moved around and bent over and let her lips move gently over the head of his penis as he finished washing his hair. She smiled feeling the tension growing in his body. She moved her lips from his penis and moved up to his lips.

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Their meeting with Juan and a few of his key men went on until sunset. Jane who had promised herself only a couple of margaritas had followed it with wine, some port and finally a Baileys Pumpkin Spice Espresso Martini Cocktail that she took with her to the pool with Joe walking beside her.

Joe asked her, “have you ever thought you might have a problem with drinking?”

“Yes, I have," Jane said laughing a little. She felt happier and safer than she had felt in a long time, maybe ever she thought.

“And what did you decide?" Joe asked.

“That I have a problem, but that I may not live long enough for it to kill me," Jane said her tone changing in mid-sentence to a more somber tone.

“So, you do realize that the road you are on has a lot of perils," Joe said as they sat down beside the pool on the same lawn chairs they had left about six hours before.

“Yeah, I do. I am feeling way too good at the moment to want to spoil it by talking about my mortality," Jane explained. “We will do all that serious talk tomorrow. Hold my drink, I am going to take a swim. She slipped her dress off, hesitated a moment, and then took off her bikini. “I don’t want them wet when I put them back on,” she said. She then walked over to the edge of the pool and dove in. Joe watched her beautiful body lit up by the spotlight in the pool. She was magnificent in so many ways he thought. He had a brief wish that he was younger, but he knew his competitive edge when he was young would have always been at conflict with her very serious, almost combative attitude. Now, he could just worship her in all her wonderfully fascinating glory.

Joe sipped her drink and found it too sweet and then set it on the ground near his chair. He looked around and wondered why no one else in the hotel was out enjoying the pool on such a glorious night. He had noticed the lobby seemed unusually quiet for a summer night in August. Something was brewing and he felt quite sure something was going down.

When Jane finally came out of the pool and walked back to him, he made no effort to avert his eyes. She was accustomed to men gawking at her. Joe had such appreciation in his eyes and that half-smile on his face that she wanted to model for him.

“What do you think," she asked as she turned slowly around feeling his eyes absorb her.

“I think you are unbelievably gorgeous and lacking any semblance of modesty," he said.

She laughed, ‘I know that, but I meant the drink."

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Jane was flown to a nondescript square in the middle of the desert and then taken by a limousine to Quinta Real Hotel. She got there just before dawn while the gold dome of the hotel was still in all its splendor. She had been in luxurious hotels before, but this one was in a class of its own. She was taken to her room, and the bellhop refused a tip, he said something like she was especial. Her room had a sitting room, a bedroom with two king beds, and her bathroom had marble sinks that ran continually in a waterfall through three bowls. She figured out that when she wanted to use them, she pulled a lever, and water flowed into the sink flush with the counter. Another lever slowly adjusted the water temperature. She quickly formed the opinion that it was more beautiful than practical. Her bathroom had a toilet, and in another room a large tub, and in a third room, water came out of a bowl in the ceiling and onto a tile-covered floor that had a central drain. Her entire room was filled with the gentle sound of a mountain stream. She couldn’t resist; she stripped and walked into the shower letting the water immerse her in warmth.

Jane stayed in the shower for twenty minutes, then came out, still wet, and wandered around her apartment. She then ordered up a pot of coffee and some fruit. She found a white robe in the closet and put it on. Five minutes later, someone knocked on her door. She expected them to bring in the coffee and fruit, but instead, they motioned her to a small room a few doors down. A chef and a woman put several bowls of cut fruit in front of her and poured her coffee. She poured in a generous portion of creme and dug into the fruit. In passable English, they asked her if she wanted anything else, and she asked to take the pot of coffee and the pitcher of cream into her room. They insisted that they would bring it to her, and she headed back to her room.

Once in her room, she went over to the computer on the desk and turned it on. She brought up a chrome browser and signed on to her google account. Everything looked normal but she wondered how she would know if her account had been hacked and if it was being monitored.

She was pleased to see that she had three monitors. She signed into a programming site she often used, and it was clear the moment she logged on that a year of code and thousands of subroutines were gone. A small knock at the door let her know the coffee was being delivered. She yelled, come in, but then had to get up and open the door anyway. The lady that had just served her brought in a tray with the pot of coffee and cream and more fruit. She had her put it by the computer and then sat back down, anger swelling up inside of her that someone had ransacked her code. Lisa had gotten too big to be on this site, but a lot of subroutines for Lisa had been developed here. A lot of the code she used to hack other sites was missing.

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The meeting was reconvened after an hour and a half lunch with lots of connect time. People talked about their families and pets and stuff that was important to them. There was very little talk that didn't come from the heart.

Jane was shown to her room, a spacious bedroom that overlooked a corral with half a dozen horses. She noted what appeared to be guards stationed all over the place. She wondered about security and why the Feds didn’t just appear, say as paratroopers, and just whisk her away. It seemed hard to imagine they didn't know that she was here.

David brought the meeting to order when they reconvened about 3 pm, “Gentlemen and Jane: Jane is going to bring us to speed on what she knows about Lisa and bringing it, her, back online. And although none of us has said it, we are wondering if Lisa could be used instead of hard power to get the States out of Texas. Jane, none of us are on the same level as you in this room when it comes to technology, most of us know very little about programming. So, you need to speak in layman terms. I am sure you are capable of organizing the subject at hand, so I will turn it over to you."

She jumped right into it, “I want to get Lisa back online. She would give us another option against the States. There are two good options, perhaps more," Jane started in.

“Option #1, I have a copy of her core program stored in a safety deposit box in San Diego about a hundred miles from my home, or what I used to call home. Alfred, the kid in Mexico and I have talked about it a lot and I think he could handle the technical part of the install," Jane explained. “We need an adult to go with him. I assume I can’t go into California and show up at my bank without being napped by the Feds but we can discuss that option. I have someone in mind that we can discuss. We will need a lawyer to get someone else into my box, and I lost the key when I lost my backpack. Before we discuss those details, Option #2 involves me getting access to a kickass computer with lots of bandwidth. Lisa was in the process of creating backups of herself when this whole thing started. The last week I used a laptop at the hotel and really made no progress, but with more muscle, it could be different. I am sure Lisa would have left me some crumbs somewhere if possible. A few C+ and Java programmers would be helpful too.”

“Is the rumor about Lisa shutting down the State's MDS true?" Sam asked.

“Yes," Jane said simply.

“How do you know," Sam asked.

“Lisa told me and then all hell broke loose," Jane confirmed. “And yes, Lisa has not learned to lie. It is a very difficult thing for an AI to lie well. And the way the States responded and descended on me confirms it to me."

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He nodded to her, and she dropped her guard and sighed, “I really didn’t see all of this coming. I’ve asked myself a dozen times how I could have played my cards differently," Jane said.

“Life is like that, every once in a while, it takes you for a ride and drops you off in a strange new land," he said philosophically. “A lot of things had to line up to bring us to this point standing here together on the same side. That’s life."

He followed her down some steps leading down a few feet to a grass lawn. She sat on a bench to the side of the steps and turned toward him. His head was about even with her lap. She knew she should cross her legs to be safe, but old habits took over. She kept her knees slightly apart and noticed that the sun was behind him, and her legs were in full sunlight.

“I see you like orange," he said as if he was talking about the orange t-shirt she had selected for the day, but they both knew he wasn’t.

Her legs twitched slightly, enough that a good poker play would see it as a tell.

“Yes, I do. What do you think about orange?" she said, fishing for a lead into how he thought and if her charms impacted him.

“Depends. In some situations, I would like it. In others, I would consider it inappropriate, General Jane."

Jane took a slow deep breath and mentally licked her wounds. She was saved by three other men coming out on the patio that she rose to meet.

She had never been so nervous in her life as she sat down in her first meeting with the militia. She felt completely out of her element. She arrived in her four-seated autonomous copter-plane with three bodyguards into a house in the foothills of Austin. The house was surrounded by acres of land with Longhorns and Hereford cattle free-roaming in a half dozen small herds. Closer to the house, they flew over some fields with horses and cowhands. Jane thought there is some serious money here.

David met her at the door with a hug and a big smile. “I see you got the t-shirts I sent. We are selling the shirts online to help finance the militia. We can’t make enough to keep up with demand. We are selling them all over the world, and China is our biggest market. They are even respecting our copyright on the shirt, which is a first for them. We have a whole side team that is running that business." All Jane could do was smile.

Jane was taken to a meeting room and offered coffee and three chocolate truffles. She asked for tea instead of coffee and was given an assortment to choose from. She chose Lady Gray.

Jane ate the chocolate as if it was the first time she had tasted chocolate, and it might be her last. She was not intentionally sexy, but her pleasure was so intense that every man in the room, and there were only men in the room beside her, was mesmerized by every movement of her red lips over the chocolate, every sound she made, and every lick of her tongue to clean her fingers. She seemed oblivious to the mental agony she was creating in the room, except for the small half-smile that crossed her lips as she licked chocolate from her fingertips. And then there was an unannounced moment of silence where everyone appreciated being there with her.

David went around the room, introducing six men, each representing the militia in their area. There was some small talk, and Jane asked about Henry and Joe. Jane thought David was overly brief with his answer as he got down to business immediately.

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The trip for Jane and a few of her crew across the Rio Grande turned out to simply be a matter of money, $4 million. The standard cost was $6000 per person, but Jane had such a high profile the drug lords realized their cozy deal with the border patrol could be jeopardized. The drug lords also recognized an opportunity when they saw one. Unlike their first decision in Lerdo to try to sell Jane to the Feds, they now saw a chance to furnish the Texas Militia with arms, secure communication equipment, and other high-end technology that they used routinely to smuggle drugs and guns into the States. And, the drug cartel recognized that the militia had money. Texas had the richest and largest middle class in the world, and this was the first revolution by people that most of the world would consider being rich.

Automatic retina scans and facial recognition software would have picked up Jane and many in the militia if they came through the legal ports of entry. But, in the arms race of getting stuff across the border, the drug lords were still significantly ahead of the States as they had been for more than a hundred years. Texas and California had decriminalized all drugs and concentrated on treatment and therapy while the States continued their war on drugs which had kept the drug lords in business. They were willing to branch out into being a supplier for one or both sides of the looming revolution.

The meeting was delayed a week as the Texas Militia negotiated to get their new leader flown into Austin. In the end, the flight into San Marcos, a regional airport outside of Austin, was routine. They flew over the border before dawn in a modified, autonomous copter-plane that rose vertically from a field in Mexico south of Brownsville, Texas. It then flew at speeds approaching five hundred miles an hour over the border at a low altitude. The first goal was to be undetected by the States radar. But if that failed their goal was to remain above populated areas and assets such as oil refineries and solar farms so that if the plane was shot down civilian losses would be too high to be tolerated. It was even rumored that the drug lords armed their planes with bombs that would detonate on impact if not annihilated in the air. They made the cost of shooting a plane down simply too high. They also paid well for their access to airports in the states. These days they paid with Petro yuan from the Chinese, the only major currency in the world backed by oil or gold at the choice of the redeemer.

Henry asked, “so what do we say to the Feds? We can’t take Jane’s side, but we can’t deny her words struck a chord with us." Henry looked over at his dad who was around so much these days it was hard to remember that he was supposed to be retired.

Joe spoke up, “I think we have to focus on practical matters, like our attempt to get out in front of the local militias and set up gun-free zones in the city centers. By the way, how are our efforts going to crack into their emails, and stay aware of what is happening?"

Jeff cleared his throat, “is there any chance we are going to grow balls and tell them to go to hell?” They all knew that “Them” referred to the States.

The room went silent, all eyes on Jeff. He continued, “this crazy Jane is going to bring the entire state together. Have you gone on social media? You can’t find a conversation that is not about her, here, or in the States, or in California. Even in Europe, they all want to know about this, “Jane Galt," the Superwoman. We are not only crazy but downright stupid if we think we can put a lid on this. This resentment of the States has been building around the world, but especially here in Texas for decades. And have you walked into Walmart or any gun store in town?" When no one answered him, he continued, “you will not find a single goddamn gun or bullet. We can either fight with her or against her, but we are all going to be pulled into this conflict."

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Texans, our Mexican Friends, Californians, and the compassionate citizens of America and the world, we are at a turning point in history. The States, the former United States, was once a great democracy, the greatest and most powerful country in the world. We all know that that day has passed. But how does America regain its footing and play a valuable role on the world stage?

Your leaders say they are in Texas to protect the energy center in Dallas from terrorists like myself. They are rewriting history and claiming that the militia was created and threatened the center before the States invaded. I do not know what videos the States has created to support this narrative, nor how to prove to the listeners in the States, that what I say is the truth. The truth is that the militia was created because the States invaded Texas, not the other way around.

Let’s look at a little history to see who’s story makes more sense, the story your leaders in the States are giving you, or the story of the people of Texas. How did we get to this point in history where the States with its military might is sending troops into Texas, a neighboring country and former member of the once-great United States?

First, it is not an accident that we find ourselves here on the edge of a revolution. Decisions have been made by the States, by Texas, by California, and even by Mexico that have brought us to this point in history. Let me tell you my story of the States, how I see what has gone down. I am sure your leaders will explain to you that I got it all wrong. I want you to listen to my words, and even more to my heart, because deep down I care about you and the abyss your country has fallen into. We are here to help you if you reach out and ask for help and are willing to make some real changes in how you see yourselves and us. If you are not willing to make these changes, we will not let you in the interim take what is not yours so that you can continue down a road that has not been working for fifty years.

When did the States stop being a great country? Perhaps your decline began when you let the Oligarchs with their lobbyists take the country away from the American voter and worker. This led directly to California breaking away in 2044 and Texas in 2050. How we averted war is one of the good chapters in our history together.

When we left, lobbyists had already been more important and powerful than voters for many decades. The States had given up trying to overturn Citizens United by amendment. Instead, the ineffectiveness of the government to respond to the will of the people, and the stoking of tribalism by both parties had given rise to polarization and even hatred between the left and the right.  Splitting the country into three countries enabled California and Texas to free themselves of the power of the Oligarchs and lobbyists. What we have is not perfect, but we do have democracies in California and Texas. I do not believe that can be said of the States anymore. You have the battling of two groups of Oligarchs for the right to pillage the American citizens.

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Jane and her small army camped outside of Durango that evening, a mere eleven days since she had fled from Austin. She had no idea how many had joined her march, but it was clearly in the thousands, perhaps ten thousand she thought. She was still in small tight shorts and a t-shirt and had not bathed for days. The white dress shirt had been lost somewhere on the journey. Street vendors were in full force selling all manner of food. Buddy had given her a few hundred in spending money and she bought and consumed everything from enchiladas to sopapillas. She even managed to buy a shower from one of the women named Carmen who was selling beers that lived close to the plaza. She bought a used white sundress from the lady after the shower. It was too small and short because the woman was much shorter than her, but it was clean and much more modest than the shorts with half her ass cheeks showing. It seemed too weird to try to buy the lady’s used underclothes, so Jane just did without. She looked in the mirror at herself in her new dress and smiled. The dress fit her new image since this whole crazy adventure started. It was too short; her nipples were obvious, and it was too tight. It buttoned up the front and her only real worry was that she would pop some buttons if she got too rambunctious. Jane had a passing thought about how easy it was for her to adopt the role of a radical, feminist, exhibitionist woman. Perhaps that was really her she mused. She looked in the faces of all the men looking at her in her new white dress until it made her wet. She smiled at herself for being so wicked. If they only knew how warped you are Miss Jane or is it, General Jane.  Her new friend, Carmen, who spoke no English gave her some salve for her lips to cover the cracks from her time in the desert. She then looked through her purse, got her red lipstick out and carefully put it on Jane. She held up a small mirror for Jane to see. Jane had never worn lipstick, but it fits with my new image she thought. When she tried to pay Carmen for it, Carmen gave her a big hug and wrapped her hand around Jane’s hand with the lipstick inside. She then took off a necklace with a small statue of Mary and put it around Jane’s neck. She bowed slightly and said a prayer. She then knelt and said “eres muy importante para mi.” And then in English, she said “may God bless you. You are very beautiful, Jane.”

When she came back to Buddy’s pick up, she had a couple of beers then motioned Buddy, Alfred, Doc, and a few others over to sit down and talk. A new guy named David from an El Paso Militia group joined them.

Jane introduced herself, “David, I hear you are here to represent the El Paso Militia.”

“I am here to find out if you are for real," David said with no fanfare.

“What do you want to know," Jane asked.

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