The Texas Ranger and the War Lord The Republic of Texas 2044 A.D.

By Rod Wright

After the Time of Troubles, the war that pitted the United States against the countries in the Middle East and North Korea, A total oil embargo was imposed on the United States. Several American cities were destroyed with weapons of mass destruction. Things became so chaotic in America, that the government only kept order in the major cities. Texas received permission to secede from the Union, if Texas would sell all their oil to the U..S.. This treaty did not please Iran, so Iran devised a plan to stop that flow of oil.
Texas Ranger Joanne Baker and her war dog Rufus discover the plot to stop the flow of oil, which was to seize seize Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Station. Their skimmer is shot down near Comanche Springs. With no other options, Joanne turns to the Texas War Lord, Doug Haley. The war lord agrees to help. He sends one of his young fighters, Billy Ray Vavra with Joanne to hand carry her information to Austin. On this dangerous trip Joanne and Billy Ray fall in love. The Iranians know she has their plans and will do anything to stop her Will Azar, the Iranian leader end their love with a bullet from an assault rifle?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rod Wright
• Release date: Jan 6, 2016
• ISBN: 9781310103209

Rod Wright

I received from Baylor University a BS degree with a major in biology and a minor in geology. In the United States Air Force, I was as a military public health specialist.After the Air Force, I worked as a city health inspector in of Beaumont, Texas. Later, I was employed by the Texas Department of Health. First working in the Product Safety Division, and then transferring to Radiation Control, I retired as the Radiation Control Program Manager for the Dallas/Fort Worth region.I have been married to the same wonderful lady for forty 48 years. We have two children and four grandchildren.I have had articles published in the Grand Forks Air Force Base news paper, The North Texas Health Physicist news letter, the Texas Gun Collector's magazine and the Dallas Arms Collector's News.My current interests are my family, reading, writing, and collecting antique firearms.The wife and I live live in Texas.

Book preview

Chapter 1

Texas Ranger Joanne Baker woke with a start, when she heard her war dog gave a warning growl. Someone or something was in her family's old abandoned mansion with them. She got her pistol from under her back pack, which she was using as a pillow, hushed the dog and waited behind the door.

"Why didn’t I win the coin toss? I could be working on the Skimmer, instead of spending the night alone in this old pile of rocks guarding these data sticks. I should have gone with Norm. I wish he would hurry back. Great-Grand Mom, Janet Backer told a story about being seeing Barr, the Egyptian Cat Goddess, when she was a young woman living in this house with her grandmother. Don’t be silly. She was just stressed out, because she was pregnant with grandpa, while great grandpa was in Vietnam. There are no such things as ghosts, a Egyptian Cat Goddess, or things that go bump in the night. That noise must be some wild critter, that has come inside to get out of the rain."

She started to open the door to let Rufus out, so that he could chase away the critter, but thought,

I better not let Rufus loose. That critter might be a skunk!

Rufus, the war dog was a gray Irish wolfhound which weighed one hundred and fifty pounds and was thirty five inches tall. When he stood on his hind legs he was little over seven feet tall. He was genetically engineered, so that he had the mental capacity of a ten year child. He fully understood human speech, but because of the anatomical features of his mouth and throat, he could not speak. When he needed to communicate, he would use sign language or bark and whine into a special computer programmed to translate his sounds into human speech or text. Like all good soldiers, war dogs were trained for combat, but each had a specialty such as security, recognizance, ground combat or search and rescue. Rufus was trained to locate and disable bombs and other munitions.

When Rufus curled up at the foot of her sleeping bag, Joanne decided everything was OK, but she could not go back to sleep. So, she turned on her pocket phone, that projected a streaming hologram of the Chinese astronauts landing on Mars.

"Rufus, Americans should have landed there at the turn of the century, but the climate change, the Mideast wars, and the nuclear exchange with North Korea in 2038 has the American people living hand to mouth, with no government outside the major cities, except that provided by gangs led by warlords. Even if most Texans are as poor as church mice, Texas has an elected government and at least some law and order. We would be OK, if those damn eastern war lords would quit trying to come across the Red River to steal everything that is not nailed down."

With those depressing thoughts, she turned off her pocket phone and tried to go back to sleep, because if Norm could not get the skimmer fixed, it would be a long wet walk from Comanche Springs to Austin.

At five in the morning, Ranger Norman Goodnight returned to the old mansion. He shook the rain from his hat and rain coat and said,

That damn Iranian drone shot up the skimmer so badly, that I can’t fix it. I thought I had all the holes patched, but when I started up the motor, every damn warning light on the instrument panel came on. I guess we will have to catch the train.

Just after you left, I heard on a news report, that the train jumped the track south of Dallas.

Damn, that means we will have to walk or go on horseback.

Joanne shook her head and said,

"Walking is too slow. We will have to buy some horses.

Chapter 2

So that Norm could get an extra hour of sleep, Joanne walked down to the livery at seven that morning to see if she could buy two horses, saddles, and bridles.

In the dull gray morning light, that passed through the low hanging clouds, Comanche Springs looked like a ghost town. The buildings on the streets, that surrounded the Longhorn County Court House were in a state of disrepair. Most were empty. Some had faded for rent signs in their dirty windows, while others had broken windows or collapsed roofs. The only open businesses were the grocery store/gas station, the cafe named the Texas Rose, and Jake's livery stable.

When Joanne was a block away from the livery, the sky opened up once again with the monsoon rains.

"Damn the climate change. In great-grandmother’s day, it would be dry this time of year,"

She had difficulty getting livery’s door open. The owner got the door open for her. Her looked her over and saw a very physically fit young woman with Red hair and green eyes, who was about five feet and six inches tall.

Girl, what are you doing out in the rain? You’re not from Comanche Springs!

Joanne ignored the man’s rudeness, smiled and asked,

Do you have any horses for sale?

No, I don’t. If I did, I sure as hell, wouldn't sell them to a stranger.

A well dressed, tall, handsome, middle aged man with an Ivory handled pistol on his left hip and silver handled Bowie knife on his right hip was trying to dry his rain slicker by standing close the wood burning stove, commented,

Don’t mind Jake. His mother raised him in a barn. A raiding party came through last month and stole most of our horses.

Jake spit tobacco juice on to the stable floor and spoke in a high whining voice.

It’s almost been a month since the raid, and the Rangers still haven’t got them back.

The other man ignored Jake and continued the discussion.

"Back at the ranch, I have some riding mules I might be willing to sell

"They might be just what I need."

Doug walked over from the stove and extended his hand.

"My name is Doug Haley."

Joanne looked straight into war lord's eyes, reached out, took his extended hand and shook it firmly.

"It is nice to meet you. I am Joanne Baker."

"MS Baker, Let’s go over to the Texas Rose. We can work our deal over a cup of coffee."

The café was in an old store front directly across the street from the front door of the court house. The cafe had a counter and about ten scared wooden tables and four upholstered booths, that were in bad need of reupholstering. Joanne saw empty table, where she could set facing the door. She pointed to the scared old table, that was in the corner of the room.

Doug there is an empty table,

Doug noticed her watching the door and asked if she was looking for someone.

"No, I just like to be aware of what is going on around me."

Doug nodded in agreement, but he did not believe what Joanne had just said about just wanting to aware of her surroundings.

She is the law or she is running from the law. I wonder which one it is. Are you from these parts?"

I am afraid not, I am just passing through."

At that moment, the waitress came over with a steaming pot of coffee. Julie Wilson, a pretty, blond, young woman, who was dressed in a faded denim dress and starched white apron gave Joanne a hard look as she poured their coffee. Julie quickly swished back to the kitchen.

I wonder what that was all about.

Don’t mind Julie. She is my woman. She gets jealous, when she sees me with a pretty lady.

Joanne decided that Doug's comment didn't deserve a response.

"Why don’t you tell me about the mules, the saddles and bridles you are going to sell me?"

"The mules are about eight years old. They are big strong fellows. They stand about eighteen hands high. They have good tempers for mules. Are you a good rider?

Yes I am.

"They won’t give you any problems, if right from the first, you let them know whose boss."

I can do that. How much money do you want for them?

"I’ll take a hundred gold Texas Lone Stars for each." Joanne's face took on a calculating look.

I’ll give you a hundred and seventy five gold Lone Stars, if you throw in a usable saddle and bridle for each.

Doug let out a fake groan.

You drive a hard bargain pretty lady, but I will sell them to you for that, since you are such charming company. Are you going to pay cash?

No, I will electronically transfer funds from the Texas Treasury to your account, when I see that the mules are all that you say they are.

Doug was rather surprised at her answer.

How is it that you have access to the treasury?

Don’t worry. It is a legal transfer. The less you know about me, the better off you will be.

When they had finished their coffee, Doug got up from the table.

If you will excuse me, I have some unfinished business, that I need to take care of, before I take you to the ranch. I will be back in less than hour.

Joanne also got up from the table with a question in her mind.

"What spread do you work for?"

I own the Rocking H, which is about five miles north of town.

OK, I will be waiting for you here in this nice dry café.

Chapter 3

Doug left the café and went across street, to the court house to check Jolene’s identity. Joanne also left, and went around the corner to the old family mansion. She did not notice two men dressed in cameo standing in the shadow of a crumbling building. Mohammad told Aztar, his superior, that he wanted to kill Joanne now.

Not yet. Let’s watch and see who else she contacts besides that infidel, Doug Haley. We also need to kill the Ranger whore’s partner.

She went inside the old