

The Phoenix Project

Author: Allen Currie

Editor: Toby Clark

This book is a work of fiction and, as you may imagine has only incidental references to any actual persons, be they alive or dead.

Originally created by Allen Currie under the title:

"Project Phoenix" and published by Amazon in 2014

Allen's original dedication to his Son and Daughter stands in his memory.

For Kim and Marc

### The best things that ever happened to me

Editor's notes

I never met Allen and my only contact with him has been via an extensive exchange of emails during 2017 and ending on 21st December of that year when he was terminally ill and ceased to respond to any further communications. He remained lucid to the end and his quirky sense of humour never wavered.

### Vale Allen! (1934 - 2018)

I have not been able to contact either Kim or Marc but I am hopeful that via this upgrade of his book they may wish to contact me. I would be honoured on both Allen's and my behest if they were to do so.

"Operation Phoenix" was written over a period of around 20 years and published through Amazon in 2014 where it is currently still available for purchase. Allen revised it numerous times but it remained as a 'work in progress' when he finally released it and he sent me a working copy with permission to proof read and revise it.

"The Phoenix Project" is the outcome.

In today's ever evolving technological world things become dated very quickly so that for example faxes and cheques (checks in American English!) have become obsolete and letters replaced by email. Social Media (whatever that actually is) did not exist though some things are more enduring so that for example Amazon still don't pay any taxes despite making $billions! I'm sure that Allen somehow would have been amused by that!

### Acknowledgements (Allen Currie)

I have always been annoyed by those authors who listed pages and pages of names in their acknowledgements until I tried my own. I have been working on this novel for nearly 20 years. During that learning process there were so many who appeared at just the right time to answer a critical question that was blocking further progress. I am sure I would miss some very important ones, and the list would make a book unto itself.

How much can be attributed to my parents and neighbours of the dirty '30s and the experience of living this type of adversity? That type of experience is not available to most people today. How about my economics/money and banking professors at University? The various brilliant CEOs I worked under and with? How should I credit the two English language Soviet newspapers I was subscribing to when the USSR went down in 1990? While I had studied how societies went down going back to the Roman Empire, the question of how modern technology would affect the downfall of a society was very much on my mind.

Then the senior and exotic bankers who contributed to my knowledge as I went about my work as a consultant to these leading edge banks and the brokers I dealt with. Not to mention the librarians, websites, and many others who assisted mostly for free in the research process.

Now we come to the "learning to write" process itself and that list is also a very long one. The numbers of editors and friends who read early versions and commented thoughtfully will be appreciated forever. I am sure that nearly 200 percent of the positive things about the manuscript were plagiarized from their comments. Then there was the writers club I joined briefly – awesome people.

Also the people who are giving me marketing ideas are another critical link in the chain.

Lastly are the people who I bump into in the real and historical world. Nearly every scene has some relationship with the real world. For instance Patti, was modelled on a KGB Special Ops woman who was killed in January 2008 in a freak accident. (SEALs don't or didn't have female ops, by the way.) The kidnapping was based on a real Brazilian kidnapping. The dog eating on a dead human came from war torn Africa.

I must specifically mention two people; Jeorg Schroeder who provided many details and Linda Brady Traynham who had so many wonderful ideas. (R.I.P. dear Linda Dec.20, 2011) Without ALL of the above people I would be still stuck on some sidetrack. I thank you all humbly.

### Allen Currie 2014

Synopsis

The Western World's economic system epitomised by the mighty $US begins to collapse under the weight of its own indebtedness as the mighty 'greenback' becomes junk almost overnight. Gary Alden is an entrepreneurial headhunter who has made preparations for this forseeable event and amasses a fortune in gold by buying 'futures'at the moment of the curency implosion. He uses his new wealth to set up a community on the lines of 'Noah's Ark' and so 'The Phoenix Project' is born. This is its story!

The Phoenix Project Chapter headings

Chapter 1 P5 Gary Alden

Tuesday 14th February — Day 1

Chapter 2 P28 Eric & Lynn

Chapter 3 P38 Gord Symes

Wednesday February 15th — Day 2

Chapter 4 P47 Dick Menach

Chapter 5 P57 Jan Kerr

Chapter 6 P68

Chapter 7 P76

Thursday February 16th — Day 3

Chapter 8 P88 Ron Thompson

Chapter 9 P96 Chris Harbel

Friday February 17th — Day 4

Chapter 10 P104 Zurich

Sunday February 19th. — Day 6

Chapter 11 P112 International Energy Agency,

Tuesday February 21st — Day 8

Chapter 12 P125

Wednesday February 22nd — Day 9

Thursday February 23rd — Day 10

Chapter 13 P137 Claude D'antonio

Friday February 24th — Day 11

Chapter 14 P151 Wolfgang Perl

Saturday February 25th — Day 12

Chapter 15 P162 Jan Kerr

Sunday February 26th — Day 13

Chapter 16 Wayne Buckley

Chapter 17 P181 Containerhaus

Monday February 27th — Day 14

Chapter 18 P199 Mark Rich

Chapter 19 P215 Roy Bryant

Tuesday February 28th — Day 15

Chapter 20 P229

Wednesday March 1st — Day 16

Chapter 21 P235

Chapter 22 P244 Patti Wagner

Thursday March 2nd — Day 17

Chapter 23 P250 Wolfgang & Jan

Sunday March 5th — Day 20

Chapter 24 P257 Capt Bruce Nott et al.

Chapter 25 P268

Chapter 26 P282 Peter Rosen - Friendly Gas Bars

Monday March 6th — Day 21

Chapter 27 P294 Harbourmaster Jack Sopper

Chapter 28 P311

Chapter 29 P330

Tuesday March 7th — Day 22

Chapter 30 P339 The Phoenix

Chapter 31 P346 Heidi

Wednesday March 8th — Day 23

Chapter 32 P354 Matt (SEAL)

Chapter 33 P362

Chapter 34 P373

Chapter 35 P386

Thursday night, March 9th — Day 24

Chapter 36 P400

Chapter 37 P413

Thursday night, March 9th — Day 24

Chapter 38 P427

Chapter 39 P435

Wednesday March 15th — Day 30

Chapter 40 P448 The Phoenix Sails

### The Phoenix Project

Chapter 1

Tuesday 14th February -- Day 1

The voice on the phone was unusually abrupt.

"Gary, it's Nils."

Nils Jenson, SVP, Treasurer, was number four man at Foremost American Bank, a bank with the reputation of being the most advanced on the street. They had an uncanny ability to forecast major upcoming trends and events, positioning themselves to be at the right place at the right time to take advantage as these events. Very good readers of chicken entrails was the summation on the street.

"Oh hi. What's up?"

"Can you make a meeting here at 2:30?"

"Yes I suppose so. What's it about?"

"I don't want to discuss it on the phone."

Gary tried to elicit a bit more information so he wouldn't look totally stupid walking into a meeting blind. "Who's going to be there? Just you?"

"We'll talk about that when you get down here."

"Okay, see you at 2:30."

With billions of dollars at stake, the possibility of phone hacking made Nils extremely cautious about discussing confidential information on the phone. Gary's blood began to get electric. New and difficult problems in pretty much any field fascinated him, almost to the point of obsession, until he controlled them. He viewed new information, situations, and much of life as an adventure to be approached with excitement.

Why do mountaineers climb ever more difficult mountains? There isn't usually a lot of gold at the end of that particular rainbow. How much fame did the fifth person to climb Mount Everest gain? Yet every person starting that climb knew there was better than a 50/50 chance that a small miscalculation or an act of God would send them a long way down. There was an excitement of danger and anticipation that stirred his blood.

Methinks thou hast sacrificed another chicken. Looks like a strategy session and marching orders for a big change. They need a very special person to do whatever they are going to do. And I think I may have an idea of the direction you are marching in.

Gary ran a one man 'head hunting' agency, specializing in finding and recruiting 'one of a kind executives'. The kind where maybe half a dozen people in the world had the qualifications to do the job. About half his business was with the world's most advanced financial institutions. The other half was extremely varied. He had just deposited a fat check from a typical 'other' search.

In that search a new, rich beryllium deposit had been discovered, now one of six in the world. Lighter than aluminum, six times stronger than steel, with extremely good electrical and metal fatigue properties, it was a wonder metal, darling of the defence and aerospace industries. Beryllium was very benign in its finished form, but a brief exposure to its dust during the refining process lowered life expectancy significantly.

With only five producing mines in existence there were probably about ten or twenty people in a world population of well over seven billion with experience in designing a safe production line. How could you find such a person among all those billions? And even if you succeeded, how would you entice a valuable, highly remunerated and comfortable candidate to even look at a new opportunity? Not that he thought he knew everything there was to know about beryllium mining, but he did know enough to recognize someone who did and not be taken in by a con job.

But if you passed him on the street you might give him no more than a glance. Six foot, mid 40s, with blond silvery hair, fair complexion and an average build, he would not have impressed you any more than most men his age. It was his eyes that riveted you. Deep blue, they scrutinized, sized up and dissected all in one look.

At 2:15 as Gary turned into Foremost's foyer of the glass and marble monolith representing a banker's view of the latest and coolest in architectural art, a lead gray sky dripped wet snow on to already gray sloppy New York Streets. A worsening recession hung like a pall over the land. Citizens darted for cabs, dived into subway entrances, or simply slogged along in the grey slop in resignation.

Foremost's trading floor was on the 32nd floor. He took the elevator up, all the while trying to brush the wet clots of melting snow from his topcoat and hair. It wouldn't do to meet senior bankers looking like a drowning rat. The elevator deposited him in a hallway facing a wall of thick bullet-proof security glass. Beyond lay the trading reception area.

Shannon, the receptionist, seemed unusually busy. Gary walked over to the security door and waited patiently for her to notice him, rather than interrupt the huge volume of calls she was handling by buzzing her. After an unusually long wait, she finally noticed him and released the security lock on the door. The reception area was very properly decorated in banker's muted abstract modern, and the clock on the wall behind her fitted in perfectly, while somehow conveying it's overweening importance.

"I'm a few minutes early for a 2:30 with Nils," he told her. With flying fingers doing battle with rows of blinking telephone lights, she still confirmed with a nod and a smile.

As he turned to remove his overshoes and hang his well cut gray tweed topcoat in the courtesy closet Gary thought That gal sure is good at her job. I've never seen her so busy but she is still on top of it. To generate this number of calls something important must have happened while I was on my way down here. Maybe another big bank has gone under. That would get Foremost's attention fast. Happiness to a banker is feeding on choice cuts of a competitor's carcass at a deep discount. But you had to move really fast before the other sharks came. He glanced left down the hall towards executive country and Nils' office. Someone shot out of one office and into another in a flash.

Crossing back in front of the reception desk, Gary walked to the bank of floor to ceiling glass windows overlooking the trading floor. The second Tuesday of each month was always an important US Treasury bond auction day. For the bond crew, it was the day they put a few dollars sure profit in the pot, buying direct from the treasury and reselling immediately to their clients at a slightly higher price. Tomorrow was too late as prices might move against them overnight. From shortly after 2:00 when the auction results came out they would be focused on selling the inventory they had. Most bond people would be hunched over their phones concentrating on their sales pitch, or if that were their personality and style of selling, leaning back in their chairs joking and cajoling their customers into buying. Tense and important work but they were in control.

Today the body language was all wrong. Today everyone was tense but didn't seem to have a direction. About half were on the phone, a few were just standing staring at the screens. The rest were moving aimlessly.

On the foreign exchange side of the room, normally at this time of day the bulk of the commercial transactions for the day would have been finalized and the trading day would be winding down. The activity would slow to more relaxed kidding around, complete with crude jokes. Today everyone was agitated, standing up, sitting down, waving their arms and fists. While Gary watched, one trader actually stood up, hurled his telephone handset into the bank of computer screens in front of him and stalked out.

Gary was turning to go to the courtesy corner sectional couch to think over what he was seeing when tall, blond Nils actually galloped at high speed around the corner. Seeing Gary, he slowed to a rapid walk and nonchalantly put his hand in his pocket. Gary was aghast. He had never even heard of a senior banker running except for exercise. Their image required they always be in dignified control. Running was out of control.

While still approaching him, Nils started speaking hurriedly, emphasizing a slight European accent. "I'm sorry. I tried to call you to cancel our appointment. The treasury auction was a failed auction. There weren't enough bids to cover the bonds offered. Everybody went nuts. The markets are jumping out the window."

Gary felt an electric charge run through his body. His heart started to hammer. He tried to keep his voice and manner measured as 'banker in control' demanded. What he had been seeing made sense now. He had recognized and studied this problem for years. The world had just decided that 'the full faith and credit' of the US was worth about as much hot air as it took to say it, and with appalling suddenness they refused to lend against it anymore. Accordingly, the US dollar was falling off its pedestal. There is nothing quite as despicable as a fallen angel. If a top athlete is caught cheating on his wife his whole reputation will suffer. Yet he is still a top athlete and his moral standards have nothing to do with his athletic ability. Judging from Foremost's track record and his conversations with Nils they might even have been preparing for this eventuality.

"So you were probably a bit late with your forward looking plans this time. How bad is the currency crisis?"

Nils took his hand out of his pocket and gestured, all the while doing a small dance, picking up his foot and taking a very small step in preparation for leaving, again and again.

"Yeah, we were finally coming around to your scenario. No one, you or I or us together as a government can borrow forever without paying back someday. People are lending money, not giving it. Confidence in the dollar is pretty scarce right now. Anyone with dollars or treasuries makes a long face today. Derivatives are killing us. Gold jumped ten percent in as many minutes. The dollar is falling hard against every major currency. The world financial system is at risk." Nils continued his 'gotta leave in a hurry' dance.

"You have to be in a near panic mode. I'll call you in a week or two when we have a better idea how this will shake out."

Nils began to turn. "Yeah, I gotta save what I can." He was at a full run before Gary could utter "See you later".

"Yeah, later," Gary mumbled at Nils rapidly disappearing back. While Foremost had not completed their preparations they were further along than most who had not even thought of this possibility. The world and its rules had just changed dramatically. Most would not have the acumen to break free from the world and rules they currently knew and understood. At least Foremost should be operating proactively rather than hanging desperately on to the old order which didn't apply any more. Whether this would be enough of an edge to save them was very much in question, because a big bank is not something you turn around on a dime.

The world is well into the Age of Aquarius and Aquarius is all about change. With the advent of the computer chip change can take place at the click of a mouse. Change has also become very impersonal. In WWI one man shooting at another was very personal. Today we drop smart bombs from ten miles up, or nukes from space, and with smart bomb technology we can hit a target the size of a dime.

In the 60 seconds after the auction failure was announced, billions and trillions of dollars whooshed around the globe at the speed of light as traders tried to dump their losing positions onto someone who hadn't heard yet.

As he hurried over to borrow a phone book from Shannon, Gary recalled a recent luncheon he'd had with Nils. Invariably their conversation turned to the long and short term forces driving the markets. They often lunched at Bob's Steak House because the steaks were excellent and the plush booths muted conversation, making it easier to discuss matters which bordered on confidential. The rosewood walls were decorated with shelf after shelf of old books encouraging quiet and serious conversation.

On this particular day the discussion had turned to a newspaper article about federal finances. The annual federal deficit was approaching two trillion dollars, and growing rapidly. The Feds were admitting to a debt of $19.5 trillion, but the auditors were refusing to certify the government financial statements because the statements were entirely misleading. The auditors estimated that the federal government was actually responsible for debt approaching $50 trillion, as well as another $40 or many more trillion in other uncounted obligations, such as pensions, social security, Brady bond guarantees and few other etceteras.

Nils had dismissed the whole subject as 'just numbers'.

"Not so," argued Gary. "It is true that people in government, and traders like you, think of dollars as just numbers because you've had to learn how to move billions around unemotionally. The average Joe who actually owns those same dollars gets pretty emotional about them. They may have worked a lifetime for those dollars. People still count emotionally, one, two, three, many. A billion or a trillion is totally incomprehensible to the human mind. Tell me, how many zeros in a trillion?"

"Uh, nine." Nils paused. "No, that is a billion. A trillion has 12 zeros."

Gary shrugged. "See what I mean? A trillion is simply 'many'. Let's see if we can make it more understandable." Gary dug out his iPhone. Multiplying 60 seconds times 60 minutes an hour, times 24 hours per day, times 365 ¼ days per year, he got just under 31.5 million seconds per year. "If we were to pay off that debt at one dollar a second, we would divide $19.5 trillion by the number of seconds in a year to get how many years it would take to pay it off." He pushed '=', blinked and said, "Over six hundred and nineteen thousand years." Even Gary wasn't sure he had got his decimal point right and rechecked it.

"My God. Have human beings even been a species that long?"

"I don't know, but I doubt it." Gary's face was grim. He worked his calculator some more. "That ignores the $136,679 per second interest on the Federal debt. It also ignores state and city debt, corporate debt, and personal debt, each of which runs in the seven to nine trillion range. We've mortgaged our souls financially, environmentally in more ways than I care to count. We are the most indebted nation in human history!"

"Twenty trillion dollars here, nine trillion there, pretty soon you're talking serious money," Nils grinned. "Then there's the world oil and other trade based only in dollars, but we won't even go there. And about one and one half quadrillion of highly leveraged and totally artificial derivative products which are actually loans in disguise. Nobody knows for sure. Twenty trillion is only a very small fraction of the total debt outstanding." He paused. "Now that's why I like spending time with you. You know where the mainstream is, but mostly you choose not to be there.  You make me think."

"And to save by spending money you haven't got ain't so smart either. A trillion here and a trillion there for things like armament to expand the empire or on social security as a political giveaway and pretty soon you're bankrupt too."

Now, with the whole world financial system ready to implode, split seconds mattered. Gary swung into emergency mode to try to survive the events likely to follow. The situation reminded him of an iceberg. Salt water melts the under-water part of an iceberg faster than the air, which might still be freezing. Soon even a breath of breeze or a single wave can inexorably turn the iceberg upside down in a matter of seconds. Now a huge financial 'debtburg' had started rolling. Governments would surely do anything they could to save their power by saving the treasury.

St. Valentine's Day Massacre may no longer mean Al Capone's boys slaughtering the opposition in 1929. Gary made a face and shrugged.

He looked up Premet National Bank, considered the city's premiere bullion dealer, and went back to the corner courtesy phone. Working his way through to Jan Kerr, special accounts officer, he demanded and got an urgent appointment for 3:30. He'd met Jan over a year ago when he'd opened an account for this very circumstance. It helped to have them in a position where, on the books, he had an established relationship. They would have 'known' him for some time, whether they had checked him out or not.

With the appointment secure, he grabbed his topcoat and overshoes and strode quickly to the elevator, which took forever to arrive, and then frustratingly, seemed to stop at nearly every one of the 31 floors on its way to the lobby. At Premet, as he threaded his way through the crowd on the main floor, between the circular island for normal deposit and withdrawal banking activities on his left, and the retail foreign exchange and precious metals counter and offices on his right, he wondered suddenly why bank buildings needed to have such high ceilings. "I suppose it's a money temple, like the old churches. Make the patrons feel insignificant so it's easier to take their money." Gary muttered heretically to himself. It even smelled like money, although he wasn't exactly sure what money smelled like.

The back half of the main floor rotunda was largely occupied by the special accounts department containing reception and secretarial pool, conference rooms and a myriad of smallish dark wood panelled executive offices decorated to cater to high rollers, special customers who didn't even have to wait for an elevator.

It was not yet 2:40 when he arrived at the receptionist's desk. He told the receptionist that he was in the building, should Jan Kerr be available before 3:30. On an impulse that he would come to regret much later, he added that he would be at the gold counter across the way.

He joined a line of four people. It turned out that two were buying and two were selling. Gary had to restrain himself from asking the sellers not to sell, at least right now. The sellers both looked to be among the newly unemployed. Dejected looking, their coats were designer labels, but a bit tatty. By the time he got to the counter, there were eight people behind him in line. They were all dressed well. Probably all were buyers.

A bright young man served him. He made Gary feel very mature. Old would be a more accurate word.  Gary told himself wryly. The kid was short, maybe five foot six. It appeared he might still have some growing to do. Gary looked closely to make sure he actually needed to shave. It didn't look like it. Obviously a recent college grad on the fast track, being given a week or two's experience in each department before going on to better things. Even Gary's children looked more mature than this boy.

"Hi," said the young man. "How can I help you?"

"Can I use a credit card to buy gold?" Gary leaned against the counter.

"Certainly, Sir. We treat it like a cash advance. How many ounces would you like, Sir?"

"Six bars, one ounce each. What is your price?" Gary straightened up.

"I have to phone the trading room for that, Sir. The price has been changing a lot in the last hour or so. It was $2,567.50 plus applicable charges."

"What's your spread?" Gary demanded.

"I beg your pardon Sir?" The young man frowned.

"Your spread. The difference between the price you will buy for, and the price you will sell for. It's called a spread. That's how you make a profit. You bought from the guys ahead of me, and even if the market price had been the same, you would have sold to me at a higher price." Gary disliked bankers who knew less about their profession than he did.

"Oh. Uh, Four dollars Sir. I'll just go and get a price now, Sir," and he scurried over to the direct phone line to the trader, because only the gold trader was allowed to set prices. He returned shortly. "$2,579.90, Sir." He raised his eyebrows at Gary in enquiry.

Gary nodded and began to mentally calculate. $2,579.90, to be safe say $2,600 to include bar and service charges, times six is $15,600. I can afford more than that. "Are there any taxes?"

"Not on purchases over $1,000."

"I think I'll take another three ounces," Gary decided. "Three more one ounce bars please."

"I'll have to book it, and get another price Sir," said the clerk as he finished the purchase order, time stamped it, and passed it to Gary to sign, and fill in his personal details including name and address.

Gary started filling in the form, and handed over two credit cards. "One card for each purchase," he said.

The teller went back to the phone. He returned, looking a bit uncertain. "The price is now $2,584.10, Sir. I'm sorry. The trader says the market has gone up. I double checked for you Sir." The young man chewed on his lip.

Gary's eyes narrowed at the price movement, and its speed provided more confirmation of the conditions in the market. "Fine," he snapped. "Do it."

They finished the paperwork and the clerk handed over the bullion. Gary slipped the bars into his suit coat pocket and then quickly shifted them to various pockets. Half a pound of metal was making his suit look as if he had Billy the Kid's Colt .45 in his pocket. Such a thought might make bankers nervous. He hurried back to the special accounts section. Jan Kerr was just bidding goodbye to her previous client.

As she walked toward him the male in Gary looked her up and down approvingly, as he had the first time he'd met her. About five foot five, with beautiful medium length auburn hair, she was slim without a hint of being skinny. Probably in her early or mid 30s. Her very appropriate banker's dark business suit hinted at the figure beneath. She walked in a self-confident, but distinctly female manner. No rings, Gary noted. But that doesn't mean much these days. Not stunning in banker's blue, but one very attractive lady. Gary was divorced, and while he still liked women he had no urgent interest in remarriage. He had seen her again later at the Stamford Centre shopping mall, but she didn't seem to recognize him so he didn't press it. His thoughts returned to the business at hand.

"Hello Mr. Alden." Jan said pleasantly with a smile, as she put out her hand. "Please come in."

Gary noticed the flecks of green in her brown eyes and the light scent of her perfume. Her handshake, smile, and perfume returned his mind to her as a female. Women have never understood that the handshake was a ritual developed by early men to gauge a potential opponent's physical strength, and to check that he was unarmed, thought Gary, momentarily annoyed. Women use it as a touching -- a bonding – which has sexual implications in the male mind. He shook his head slightly as he followed her into her small mahogany wood-panelled office.

"How may I help you?" Jan began professionally.

"During our last meeting, when I opened an account with you, I indicated I was opening it in anticipation of a specific set of market circumstances that now appear to be in progress. I have a substantial position in options to buy gold. I took these positions when gold was $2,100-$2,200 an ounce. A few minutes ago, I purchased a few ounces of bullion at $2,579, and a few more at $2,584. Gold seems to be running up rather quickly because of today's bond auction failure."

"We don't make speculative loans here Mr. Alden," Jan interrupted him. This was a standard bankers position but Gary had to get her off this train of thought quickly.

"No. No. Please hear me out," Gary leaned forward. "I am not interested in a speculative loan. I intend to convert my market holdings into bullion should gold go over $3,000. Should gold actually run up and should I sell my market holdings, the fastest I can get my funds from the broker is the following day at the earliest. Assuming gold rises rapidly as it is now, if I sell my market holdings today and can only buy tomorrow at a higher price, I'll lose a great deal."

"What precisely are you suggesting?" Jan was willing to listen, but wasn't yet persuaded.

"I'm interested in some sort of an overnight bridge loan. I would like to arrange an agreement whereby my broker, Wilkinson Brothers, will transfer directly to you the day following the sale, the money resulting from the sale of my gold options. Using the bridge loan I would immediately purchase gold bullion, through your gold department, for delivery after you receive the money from Wilkinson. So you see you will be covered twice, once because Wilkinson is committed to send you the money and again because you are holding the gold until you actually get the money. For shuffling a few pieces of paper you get a good rate of interest and all those bar charges and commissions," Gary sat back.

"The bar charges go to another department." Jan frowned slightly and looked down at her notes.

Gary had been a head-hunter to banks for long enough to know the internal politics she was thinking about. Individual bankers asked themselves, how many 'Merit Points' will I receive towards my bonus for this deal? But whoever initiated the order would receive a good deal of credit for these same charges.

"Ah, but I would be ordering through you and therefore you initiate the order. The charges will probably run between five and ten percent of the total, I would guess between eight and nine percent, not to mention your spread."

"Well," she paused, looked up, and then said slowly, "I have a credit committee meeting shortly and I will present your case. How much are you looking for?"

"I can't give you a specific figure now but it would be several million dollars." Gary said evasively. Then he decided to up the ante a bit.

"You don't seem very positive, Ms. Kerr. Under the circumstances, I will have to approach my regular corporate banker as back-up finance. Of course, that would make it more complex for me, but on the other hand, it will give me more bargaining power as to whom I actually dealt with in the purchase of bullion." That was not as much of a confrontation as it appeared since backup was a normal, common sense business practice, but the threat was real. One bank's dollar was the same as any other bank's dollar.

"If you have a problem with time, that long wait through the line at the gold window with all the other people could be very difficult," Jan bargained.

Unlike most folk, who thought the bank had all the power, Gary understood that he was the customer, and in control. Since she could not possibly know how important time was to him he exerted his control. "Yes, that's why the bargaining power I have, in being able to deal with several firms on a large order is important. Besides, if I ordered a large quantity through you personally, would you not handle the order?" Whether she had consciously thought of it or not, his words and manner had identified him as a 'part of the banking world' person, and while she would likely try some of the usual tricks, she would back off quickly.

"I suppose it would depend on how busy I was," she sniffed.

"Fine. I'll phone you tomorrow morning. Would you advise your secretary to put me through? I won't be able to leave a number. Here's my broker's business card, Vance Paul at Wilkinson, so you can check details with him. Perhaps we should set up a tentative appointment now to be confirmed in our morning call. Depending on the situation we can cover whatever else you might need. I'll call you around ten."

"Okay. I might be able to squeeze you in for a couple of minutes around 10:00."

"Great. We'll pencil that in then. Thank you for seeing me on such short notice. I'll talk to you tomorrow morning," Gary stood, and left.

He came out of the bank into the dreary February day, still in emergency mode, and looked around for a pay phone. Ah, a hotel – a quieter phone.

As he hurried over to the hotel, he wondered how hard she would fight for the loan in credit committee. Some of these bankers seem afraid to go to the bathroom alone. The deal should easily stand on its own merit, but not if she presented it negatively. She seemed pretty sharp. Maybe this cautious, non-committal façade was her way of coping in the still very macho financial industry. Still, she gave me an appointment, and if the answer were definitely 'No,' she would have stalled, he mused.

As he entered the hotel he suddenly thought, you could lead me in here blindfolded, and I would know it was not a bank. Carpeted floors, not hard stone People actually laugh and enjoy themselves in hotels. And hotels definitely have a different smell.

He looked around for the phones. In the centre of the lobby, pacing up and down in a very serious self-conscious manner was a flashily dressed young man with a cell phone. OK, I see you ordering your pizza. Gary thought. Then he spotted the pay phones. Off in that corner sat a man in a trench coat and with a battered briefcase. He was hunched over a sheaf of papers he held in his hand. His cell phone was barely visible. Guess which cell guy is making more money. Gary thought cynically.

When Gary was away from the office, he refused to have his time wasted by every Tom, Dick, and Harry who thought he had something earth shattering to sell. Nor was he interested in talking to somebody who had just found a pimple on his ass. Gary would be damned if he would carry any of the latest show toys. He did keep both a cell phone and a satellite phone in the car, which he seldom used, and then mostly for outgoing calls.

Gary called his daughter Lynn, who lived in White Plains, and his son Eric who lived in Rye, to arrange a family conference at Lynn's apartment for later that evening. He called his regular commercial banker, Gordon Symes at North Midland Bank in Stamford, arranging for an early breakfast meeting the next day.

Then he rang his broker.

"Vance Paul, Wilkinson."

Gary was never sure why he had selected Vance as a broker. Vance was a small man, and certainly not as knowledgeable as some, but he was so earnest and tried so hard that Gary thought he would rather deal with someone who was definitely on his side rather than 'maybe' being on his side, and had gone with him.

"Vance, it's Gary. I understand, to use the ancient Chinese curse, that the market has become quite exciting." In ancient China an exciting life meant war, and the peasants always suffered during war.

"You can say that again." Vance laughed. "Despite the exchange's safety features, the Dow closed down nearly 1200 points. Bonds, which usually go the other way from the stock market, are down too, way down. Currencies are wild. The dollar is down eight to ten percent across the board. It would be a lot worse except that nobody can figure out where to put their money. Even the Euro is burning. Gold is up. It closed the day here at $2,622.30. It is still rocketing up in the after hours trading."

"Whew." Gary exhaled almost a whistle between his teeth. "I bought a few ounces near what I thought to be the close, and I paid $2,584. Those last seconds before the close must have been brutal for it to go up that fast."

"You said it would rocket up. Gold opened this morning at $2,229.80." Gary could hear Vance clicking his computer keys. "That most recent bunch of out of the money gold options you bought a couple of weeks ago for 30 cents?"

"Yeah?"

"They closed at $38.60. That's more than a hundred times your investment right there, and you stand to make more."

Of course Gary was interested in how the market was doing, but he had called primarily to set up the details of his overnight financing. He warned Vance that Jan Kerr and Gordon Symes might be calling, asked him to treat them nicely, and then asked, "Do you foresee any problems or need anything to make this go smoother?"

"No, It's pretty straightforward. Exactly how many ounces do you control, Gary? It would take me all day to add up your position."

"514 contracts." Gary said promptly.

"That's 51,400 ounces. Now that gold is over $2,400, you'll be making $51,400 every time gold goes up a dollar," Vance's voice radiated admiration. "That's a home run in anybody's league."

"Yeah, that's about right, and I will also lose $51,400 every time it goes down a dollar," he said laconically.

Gary ran for his Metro North train to Stamford Connecticut, up the coast from New York City. The car was half full and the wet slop on people's cuffs smelled of salt and wet cloth. During the 43 minute train ride, he relaxed a bit and dropped into his usual way of thinking. 'Patience!', he counselled himself. 'You've studied the currents and eddies in the river of life and enjoyed the sunshine while waiting for this opportunity to drift by. You have watched quietly from the sidelines long enough. Now is the time for the one intensive effort to pull the opportunity in. This is the key log in the logjam that we have to move to make all the rest of the logs flow without more effort. Review your plans to survive and prosper during the downfall of an empire and the social disruption that follows. Empires rise and fall. That's the way the world works'.

Gary thought that calculating where an opportunity was sure to appear, as being the lazy way of solving problems, but he was anything but lazy. His insatiable curiosity filled his days with activity and led him into the oddest corners of his intellectual and financial universe.

Over the last 20 years or so, Gary had become increasingly disturbed by the number of potential crises brewing on the horizon. The world's hydrocarbon supply was huge, but finite. Peak oil was real. Super diseases, Sars, Ebola, AIDS, mrsa were beginning to appear. The world population was growing apace and predicted ultimately to peak at around a completely unsustainable eleven billion,. The world was in the midst of President George Bush's 'war on terror', with nuclear events always a possibility. Books were being published commenting that the US in particular but also China, India and the other "Tiger Economies" could not just carry on borrowing forever, but would have to pay back their vast burdens of debt someday. International lenders were beginning to sense that the US at least had no intention of paying back with full value dollars, only dollars depreciated to half or less their previous value, if they were paid at all.

These were but some of the potential problems Gary could foresee. The world was at a major 'tipping point', and massive, abrupt change was likely. Natural disasters, earthquakes, tsunamis, superstorms, even solar flares knocking out electrical distribution systems were certain yet unpredictable. After giving the future of mankind and the US in particular some thought, a few years ago he had recruited his son Eric and they spent many long hours on an in depth study of similar conditions throughout history, all the way back to the fall of the Roman Empire. They found an astounding number of parallels.

One problem in particular had bothered them. There had been massive technological advances since the Roman Empire or even since the stockmarket crash of 1930. Surely today's knowledge would change the 'how' and 'when' a crash would unfold. He was lucky to be able to observe in real time what happened to the USSR, another technologically advanced nation when it went down, and more recently the bursting of the internet-driven 'Dot-Com' bubble. The details in each instance differed but the pattern remained much the same, just as it had in every other historic collapse they studied.

Confucius had once defined disaster two ways. One was "catastrophe," the other was "opportunity." When a Giant stumbled, the laws of gravity would take over and the ultimate resulting crash was entirely predictable. What one could not predict was when, and in which direction the Giant would fall. One did not know from where the final blow would come nor the efforts the Giant would make to keep himself upright. It does not help to predict that he would fall if you were standing directly under the spot where he fell. The only goal that could be worked on was 'don't be standing where he was going to fall.' Be prepared to move quickly out of the way!

It would seem reasonable that Gary had made more preparations earlier, but with no way to tell 'when', 'how', or even 'if' with certainty a collapse would occur, preparations such as he was doing now, for every eventuality, would have been foolish to undertake even as late as yesterday. The US was not only falling apart financially, it was sitting on a powder keg with about 50 burning fuses leading to it.

If a nuclear bomb exploded, radiation patterns would determine many of their actions but the populace would likely pull together against a common enemy. If the collapse were financial the social deterioration would likely be quite different as people fought each other to save their own small slice of the pie. If the trigger were a super disease the object would be to move fast and light to a non-populated area where becoming infected was less likely. To a large extent all the problems and opportunities were intertwined, and each would affect all the others. A bomb or disease killing millions of people would reduce the tax base income to the point where the debt burden would not be serviceable, leading to financial bankruptcy.

As time had gone on, all the dangers had grown but none nearly so fast as the financial risk. Gary and Eric had altered their thinking and preparations to acknowledge this fact, and to include new factors such as the omniprescience of cyber attack on the heavily technologically reliant armed forces, something that China, the predominant world manufacturer of computer chips, seemed to be exploring. Russia too, had developed an extremely sophisticated hacker community, sufficient to control and distort the US Presidency, though whether they really intended to place Donald Trump in the White House was a moot point that historians would be destined to debate long into the future.

The problem at hand was to get away with enough resources to allow the family to survive and prosper. Destination was not yet a concern. One location would not fit all scenarios. The first goal was simply to get away from the major population centres where social disruption would likely hit hardest. In the present financial collapse, the first tool needed was a medium of exchange, a store of value in one form or another to acquire the remaining tools they needed for longer term survival. During a 'bank holiday' , cash in hand would be king - for a time at least.

Another part of the 'getting away' problem was to estimate what survival skills, food, clothing, shelter, heath care, motive power or energy, self defence, and a whole range of other things would be needed to set up a self sufficient community, and then keep it running on a daily basis. Ultimately, no one person could have all the skills needed, so a small community of one to three hundred people would be necessary to act as a beacon of light for humanity to recover. It was entirely possible that precious metals would not become a medium of exchange, but for centuries and millennia, in turmoil people had run to them. It seemed probable they might again. Gold was not even the most important of many tools they thought might be useful, albeit one that had to be acted on immediately if they were to secure it at all. Government might make it unavailable. It was simply one part of the funding that would be required to acquire other survival tools.

Not that he knew exactly what was going to happen, but he knew the safest place to watch was from a distance, usually away from the heavily populated areas.

It was to be much later when their "Noah's Ark" was well under way that it became apparent to them that theirs would be only one of an unknown, perhaps unguessable number of similar projects with which their infant "technologically advanced technotribe" would have to negotiate and maybe even have to fight against!

The 'park and ride' lot was still quite full as Gary hurried over to his nondescript older model grey Toyota. That nondescript look was deceptive though. Whether it had recently been washed or not, mechanically it was always in mint condition. The tyres, suspension, steering and braking systems were the best available. The oversized motor purred. The car could lay down rubber with the best of them, even if Gary only did so in emergencies.

Out on Broad Street he stopped at Mooney's Guns and Sports, a privately owned gun shop. Mooney himself was not fat, but was getting on the wrong side of fat and old to be galloping around the bush hunting. However, he knew his guns and gun-smithing. Gary had purchased a .357 magnum from him recently and the reports were on file, so Mooney winked at the background check waiting period.

Not that Gary liked the idea of gunfights but if the other guy has a gun and you don't, it gets one sided fast. He purchased three .40-calibre pistols, ammo, and shoulder holsters and two 12-gauge shotguns, affectionately known as 'street sweepers'. A full 16-inch barrel, with semi automatic six shot capacity; they were mounted on a pistol grip stock. Mostly they were only good for scaring their victims to death, because they were so difficult to aim properly. Their only practical use was in cramped quarters, such as a car, where their shorter overall length was a distinct advantage. He left a deposit for 22 more Glock .40 calibre pistols, holsters, top of the line Kevlar body armour, and a large quantity of ammo for pick up on Saturday.

At the Stamford Centre Mall next, Gary cleaned out a luggage store of all its available large square black rigid leather accountant or lawyer's briefcases, then nipped next door to a dollar store and purchased three dozen each, plastic containers in two sizes. The smaller plastic container would comfortably fit inside the larger with about one quarter of an inch to spare all around. To top things off, he purchased a number of large cans of spaghetti sauce and headed for home.

The Springdale district of Stamford was an older, down to earth neighbourhood of mixed houses common in the 1950's. Cape Cod and Raised Ranch style homes mingled with small apartment blocks and corner stores. Gary's yellowish-red brick Raised Ranch style home was situated on a spacious corner lot and faced south. On the east side a wide driveway led to an attached double garage. The front door with its small, three step cement porch and wrought iron railings was located about the middle of the house.

In common with most ranch style designs the interior was pretty much open concept. Originally three bedrooms and two bathrooms had formed an 'L' shape running from the front door to the northwest corner. Gary had converted the second largest bedroom, the one near the front door, into an office. The master bedroom with its ensuite bath was at the northwest orner.

Completing the 'U' shape in the west end of the house, a space lead to the back patio doors, a four-person wooden breakfast table, a short six foot wall with fridge and stove against it and an 'island' counter. Across from the short wall, under the windows was an other counter and sink with cupboard space alongside. At the east end of the house, against the garage wall, a laundry room, stairs leading down, and a door into the garage.

Gary dumped his load of purchases on one side of the garage, threw the gold bars into his desk drawer, and started for Lynn's apartment in White Plains.

Chapter 2

As he drove to Lynn's, Gary thought proudly and fondly of his two children who were now in their early 20s. Eric, who worked as a technician, was probably the more modest and reserved in manner. Some people would call him introverted, but that description was inaccurate. He was exceptionally quiet, did his own thinking, and unless information was needed, tended to keep his thoughts to himself. Then he would quietly go off and do his own thing. He would happily, regardless of the outcome, lean against the wall at a party under his mop of corn blonde hair, to see if he was noticed. If someone did approach him, the conversation invariably became a protracted dialogue because he was intelligent and interesting to talk to.

Lynn was more extroverted. She worked for a pharmaceutical company where she'd been quickly climbing toward a senior management position. She'd participated in several mergers as the company acquired promising new drugs. Her reputation as a whizkid at merger and acquisition transition was growing due to her talent for integrating people into a cohesive group. She was quicker to gather people around her, but for the same reason Eric often became the centre of a group. Their ideas were just enough different, but logical and intelligent, so that people were intrigued by them.

Tall, buxom, dark blonde, Lynn opened her fourth floor, one bedroom apartment door for Gary and, knowing her father, asked whether he'd like a sandwich or a drink almost before the door closed. Suddenly realizing he was famished because he'd forgotten to eat, he accepted gratefully. He said "Hi" to Eric who was seated on the couch at the end of the living room to the left.

Lynn had taught English in Japan for 18 months, and her living room was festooned with kimonos, shrines, and other oriental memorabilia. The brightly coloured Japanese kimonos hanging on wooden rods with stylized Phoenix birds woven into them in gold thread seemed especially prophetic to Gary that night.

Lynn led the way straight ahead to her neat pocket-sized kitchen. Gary sat at the two-person kitchen table. As she got out the makings for a sandwich, Eric joined them, leaning his slim, six foot two inch frame against the entrance archway.

As usual, their teasing and horseplay commenced while Gary was still in the hall. He had announced, "Your munificent benefactor is here to spread wisdom and largesse among you ignorant natives."

"The only wisdom he has comes from the walls of the public toilets. I already know who to call if I want to have a good time," Eric taunted him with his boyish grin.

Lynn added, "The largesse is in large bills I presume? All of them unpaid."

Eric coughed meaningfully and turned serious. "I guess I'm not sure what the situation is now. What happened today?"

"Gold closed the day at $2,622.20, up by about $400. Most of the action came in the minutes after the Treasury auction failed. This thing is running much faster than our worst-case scenario." Gary drew a deep breath. "Frankly, despite our being more prepared than most, what lies ahead scares the hell out of me."

"Why?" Lynn asked. "There are three things that are over-rated in this country. Hot chicken soup, sex, and the power of money. In that order"

Gary studied the apartment block next door through the kitchen window. "Most people don't even want to understand banking, the financial system or the internet" he mused. "They take it for granted without explanation and think of it as being boring or complex, albeit necessary. Yet banking is very simple. You use a bank to keep your money safe. The banks have strong vaults and security systems. You trust them to give your money back when you ask for it. Nothing more! Everything else beyond that is down to greedy accountants and their ilk trying to cream off profits for themselves at the expense of the rest of society. Come the revolution hopefully they will be the first to be put up against a wall!

Bankers since the beginning, right back to when Jesus overturned their tables and got crucified for his trouble have suffered from greed and larceny. It is what goes on with your money below the counter that can be complex. The first bankers secretly stole depositors money and lent it to someone else as if it were their own. Of course they kept the profit they made! If a depositor wanted their money, they stole it from someone else and gave that to them, or more simply, just replaced it when the loan was to be repaid. As time went on they worked this theft into the contracts for opening an account and lobbied governments until it was passed into law by bamboozled politicians who were themselves often bankers or similar charlatans. Their under-the-counter shenanigans became really complex by the time the term "derivatives" was coined. Way back in 1850 Frederic Bastait really pegged it. "When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men... they create for themselves, in the course of time, a legal system that authorizes it, and a moral code that glorifies it."

Gary said, "Anything acting as a medium of exchange, be that dollars, precious metals, coloured shells, or stone wheels, must be acceptable to everyone in the community as a currency. People must have confidence that everyone else will accept it in exchange for goods and services. In fact, the dollar is confidence at its extreme. If you'd accept a $10 or $20 bill for an hour's work, would you accept an equal weight and size of toilet tissue? There is nothing very special about either piece of paper except confidence and green ink. The US has enjoyed extreme confidence in its dollar for so long that nearly every currency in the world rests on a reserve base of US dollars. But, confidence is a very fragile and fickle thing. If you catch a trusted employee stealing, how long will it take for your confidence to evaporate? Would you ever trust him to the same extent again?"

Lynn cut the ham and cheese sandwich in two and poured Gary a glass of milk.

"Aren't you guys being a bit paranoid? You've been running around screaming "The sky is falling" for ages. Some auction failed. So how does that affect me? I work for a pharmaceutical company. People will still get sick and need drugs."

Lynn's thinking was not unexpected. Gary had seen some pictures, taken by a security camera that survived in 2004 and overlooked the seawall in Thailand as the tsunami wave came in. A large Indonesian island had jumped 33 feet south earlier due to an earthquake, so a massive water displacement was entirely predictable.

The early pictures showed the tsunami as a thin dark line on the horizon. People went about the business of having a holiday. A later frame showed the people beginning to notice and stare at the dark line which was actually coming in at jet plane speeds. At this time, if someone had recognized what it was, and screamed "Tsunami, run for your life," many of them would have been saved but since they had had no experience, they simply stared at it in confusion. It was only when the 30 metre high wall of water was about 100 metres away that people began to recognize the danger, and run for higher ground.

Like most people, Lynn was unable to envisage a dramatic change in the fortunes of humanity. She'd never experienced a major social or economic reverse in her life. She couldn't imagine the magnitude of what might happen. If Gary couldn't convince his own daughter, how many potential members of a new community could he convince? He would have to wait until unfolding events made them ready to countenance his solution. Only then would they be eager to participate.

Gary blew out his breath. "The fact that there weren't enough people willing or able to lend the US more money was perceived by many as a lack of confidence in the American dollar. In the 1929 crash they sold US assets, stocks and bonds, and the dollar. They bought precious metals, the only currency not based on credit, or ultimately the US dollar. The dollar and the stock market plunged, and the price of gold rocketed. When enough people around the world are worried that if you take your dollars down to the grocers, they may not exchange them for food. That is exactly what happened in the German Great Inflation when the Mark became worth less than the paper it was printed on".

"Sell me a bridge in Brooklyn! America is the strongest country in the world." Lynn said as she sat down on the other chair across from Gary.

"Russia was a superpower until the world suddenly noticed that they were bankrupt, and look at them now. The country broke apart, and they were fighting all over. I saw a picture in the paper from the early 90's, shortly after Russia's economy collapsed. An elderly couple were ploughing their back yard so they could grow some potatoes in order to be able to eat the following winter. What made it noteworthy and showed how desperate people were was that the old wife was hitched to the plough, pulling it."

"That's different. Russia was not a free country." Lynn persisted.

Gary threw up his hands. "Despite all the propaganda, Russia was an advanced country. They put a man in space before we did. Maybe their financial system was not as good as ours, and they went broke before we did. We're only pointing to Russia as an example of what can happen even to a technologically advanced country. Our problem is that the US is now effectively bankrupt. We can look at the USSR for examples of how bad it might get in another advanced country, that's all. It won't be exactly the same. The world is already changing at the fastest rate in history. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that all such changes may be to our liking."

Gary paused to take a bite, then said. "We are expecting Bank Holidays, so what I want you to do soon, tonight even, is go to a bank machine and start drawing out your maximum allowable cash from every account and credit card you own. Cash-cash. Not numbers in some account. Don't pay any more bills this week. If you have a 401K-retirement plan, or mutual funds, or anything, collapse them tomorrow as quickly as possible. Try to have the cash in your hands by Friday the latest, even if you're charged a penalty. Tell them you need the money desperately. Tell them any story – like I had a heart attack and you need the money for my treatment – anything at all, but get the cash."

"My creditors certainly will have a heart attack if I stop paying them. Besides, on holidays you can use a bank machine," Lynn shrugged her shoulders dismissively.

"Not on this kind of Holiday. The object of this kind of Holiday is to stop money from being moved, regardless of the consequences to the people. It's a Bank Holiday, exactly that! On orders from the government, everything is shut tight. Credit cards. Bank machines. Thrifts. Credit unions. Stock markets. All financial institutions. Closed. Tight."

Eric, who had been listening intently broke in. "Something I read during that power blackout across the North-eastern US. A guy who lived in Detroit got stranded when he was more than a tankful of gas away from his home. He had just two dollars in his pocket, lots of credit cards, and about a quarter tankful of gas. Clearly, he was bound to get pretty cold and hungry before the power came back on and he could use his plastic. He couldn't even buy food. He was only helped out by the kindness of strangers who lent him stuff on trust. If the power went off right now, how much cash do you have? How much food could you buy? It seems to make some sense that people with extra cash could buy all sorts of things for pennies on the dollar from people who needed cash for food."

"I know it's hard to believe," Gary tried to be as gentle as possible. "Right now we have to plan for the worst, and hope for the best. It's almost inconceivable that gold ran up by twenty percent in the last hour of trading. It could even be worse than we anticipated. That's why, until now, Eric has been buying a few ounces of gold here and there so it won't be noticed, while I've been making other preparations. That way, we as a family could probably survive if any one part of the plan didn't work." Gary drew a deep breath. "I put my money into highly leveraged gold futures options, hoping I could act faster than the government, and get out with mega-bucks, some of it in gold. If it doesn't work, we are going to need your cash. If it does work, we won't have to worry about money for the rest of our lives, although the government may be pretty annoyed, particularly with me."

"What exactly are 'gold futures options'?" Lynn's brow furrowed.

"Gold futures options are one of those derivative products you keep hearing about. To spare you all the technicals, you can think of it like house insurance. The insurance company has a formula that tells them that, on average, out of every 1,000 homes they insure, one or two or three will burn down or be destroyed during the term of the policy. So they total up the cost of the houses that they estimate will be destroyed, add a little for profit and more for a safety margin, and divide by the 1,000 insured houses to get the premium that every house owner must pay. The term doesn't have to be for a year. It can be only until April, or June, or December. Over a five or ten year period, some years no houses will be destroyed, but some years double the usual number of houses will be but because of the low average, everyone pays a small premium.

Lynn shrugged. "So how does that affect us?"

Gary waved the remains of his sandwich in emphasis. "Insurance companies get into trouble when something unusual occurs, like a forest fire or a hurricane destroying all of the 1,000 houses they insure in one small town, rather than the one, two or three they expected by their formula." He paused to take the last bite of his snack, and talked around it. "Futures options are like that. You can take insurance that the price will go up, or down, in a wide range of commodities: grains, gold, orange juice, whatever. They use a formula that tells them on average how much they are going to have to pay out. They can then set a premium for their particular insurance. On average they will make a nice profit. Technically, in North America, the main point about options is the ability, but not the obligation, to buy gold at a specific price throughout the life of the contract. If you expect the price to go down, you buy a put option."

"So some speculator will suffer. I still don't understand how that affects us."

Gary took another deep breath. "The problem is that a huge financial tsunami wave has started racing around the world, destroying the entire world financial system. So we have to get the money out and into something we think will survive before the financial industry realizes it is bankrupt." He swallowed and changed the subject. "By the way – You both have passports don't you?"

Both Eric and Lynn nodded.

"Good. About two business days after gold goes over $3,000, we have to go to Switzerland. All of us. As well, we have to take a day off to hide the gold that we will keep here in the US before we go overseas. Can you get three or four days off on short notice?"

"Whatever for?" Lynn demanded, "And why would we all need to go?"

Gary studied the brightly coloured fridge magnets for a second before replying.

"We're expecting the government to retroactively make gold ownership illegal, and to seize it, along with most other forms of wealth. It's not fair that just because they are greedy, they can steal what we have. But whatever happens we don't want all of any wealth we have to be in one place. If someone finds it, we will become penniless. We make plans to hide it in several places. If we lose one stash, then we still have enough to survive on. It makes sense to take a part of it outside the jurisdiction of our government, even if that may make it hard for us to get to when we need it."

"What this means Lynn, is that we're afraid our way of life is changing entirely," Eric said seriously. "Clearly, what is popping up will make living deteriorate beyond what is known and experienced by most people alive today. I assume that the public and the government will try to bring back the good old days of just a couple of weeks previous. They will certainly be wasting their energy on the wrong thing, and actually they'll be blocking off any beneficial efforts. I haven't a clue how this is going to unfold, but if we get into a tight situation, and it becomes necessary to get at our stash, then each of us must know where it is and have access to it."

Lynn stared pensively into the distance, "I suppose I could take a day off to help you with your gold, but I can't go flitting off to Switzerland. I still have to have a job, and I am up for a promotion."

It was still too early to recruit Lynn. Gary wasn't happy, but saw little reason to waste effort trying to browbeat her. She'd come around in the fullness of time as unfolding events convinced her. "We have what we have. The important thing is that we get our valuables out of the system quickly, and we've just arranged for that. One problem at a time." Gary abruptly changed the subject. "Also, I asked you about a year or so ago to get a weapons carry permit. Did you get it?"

Eric nodded, but Lynn scowled. "Guns are not an answer to anything. They're just a phallic symbol."

"Really? It is all over facebook and twitter that they are selling a lot of pistols with two inch barrels."

Eric cocked his head to one side. "Some guy armed with a gun held up the Best Food Market in Houston. A fast talking employee persuaded the thief to sell his gun to the employee for cash. The tabloids had a field day. 'Hold-up victim tricks-flea brained bandit into selling his gun – and forces bandit to flee empty handed.' Clearly, most things, including the almighty dollar, are always hostage to the power of a gun. Sometimes the only way to stay alive is to have your gun out first. It would be nice to be legal if we should ever need to do it!"

"Well, I am up for a promotion, and I can't afford to take the time off to go flitting off to Switzerland," she repeated. "Things can't change that much."

Gary left and was in bed before midnight, unusually early, because he suspected tomorrow would be difficult, and he would need his wits about him. Amazingly he fell asleep almost instantly.
Chapter 3

Wednesday February 15th — Day 2

The 6 AM news lacked many of the specifics Gary might have preferred, but the talking heads did confirm at breathless and inane length that the market crash had accelerated around the world as he slept and that was all he really needed to know. He kept one ear on the news as he hurriedly completed his morning ablutions.

On his way out to his breakfast meeting with Gord Symes, he took care to set all his security system alarms, thinking that things were likely to get more unstable with increasing danger of a break in.

As often happens after a storm, a warming trend had caused a slow drizzle overnight, so the slush of yesterday was gone. The drizzle was stopping, but the streets were still wet.

When Gary had first purchased his spacious corner lot home in Stamford, there was a sturdy, six-foot high wooden fence separating him from his neighbour at the rear with hedges on the property's other three sides. Much to his annoyance, both children and adults 'short cut' through his property by stepping through the hedge border, ruining the lawn that he was diligently working on. He put an end to the trespassing by tearing out the hedges and erecting a four-foot stone wall on the other three sides of the property. The driveway leading to the double garage now sported a sturdy decorative, but lockable, wrought iron gate. Aside from the patio at the back, and two ornamental fruit trees, the grounds were given over to verdant grass.

As part of the awareness of the possible problems facing the US and the rest of the world, he had increased the security precautions at home. He installed alarms, night vision cameras and floodlights capable of covering every foot of the grounds. Where there was wall, he had planted climbing roses with particularly nasty thorns. The house windows were bullet-proof glass with tasteful wrought ironwork shutters.

His breakfast meeting was at a restaurant just down the street from Gord's Stamford bank office, pretty much a rerun of yesterday's meeting with Jan Kerr. Gord extracted a $5,000 fee for processing the loan application, and warned of another 'arrangement fee' if Gary got serious. He mentioned that the bank was getting a bit hesitant about making new loans in view of economic conditions. Gary's antennae went straight up at this information. He had expected the banks to pull back, but not this fast. Financing anywhere could soon become impossible. It wasn't until breakfast was over and they were about to leave, that he asked casually whether Gord expected any problems processing his loan.

"The big problem is going to be getting a quorum of the credit committee together on short notice. If we can do it by videoconference, I don't expect any problems. You're a long-time client, and this is a very short-term loan. I hope to have an answer by 10:30 or 11."

Somewhat relieved, Gary raced for the train to New York. Arriving at 9:30, he grabbed a cab to the broker's offices. An assistant ushered him to Vance's double cubicle to find him frantically responding to his phones, with all lines lit up. He waved and smiled, but stayed on the phone, "It's really a no man's land. The Dow has a lead balloon tied to it. It gapped down on the open by 653 points, and is now down over 1300. There's all sorts of offer but nobody is bidding when they think they can come in later at a lower price. The computer cease trading ban is already in effect and it appears we will have a total "cooling off" shutdown very soon."

"What's up?" Vance continued with his customer. "Well some currencies are up, particularly the Euro and the Yen, but not as much as you might think. Precious metals are way up, particularly gold. It opened here in New York at $2,763, and now – uh – it last traded at $2,872.40." Vance glanced pointedly at Gary, and turned the screen a bit so he could see it. "Yesterday it closed at $2,622. It has been rocketing up all night, overseas.

"Okay, I have an order to buy as many June gold futures at the market as possible with your available funds. I probably won't be able to get back to you quickly. The market is such a zoo that it sometimes takes a while for the confirmation of a trade to get back to me."

Listening to all this, Gary's adrenalin level was heading up toward the red line, although he was trying to maintain a calm exterior.

"Okay, I'll talk to you later." Vance gave the orders to the floor trader and hung up. "What can I do for you, Gary?" he said with one hand still on the phone.

"I have just heard all I need to. I want to borrow one of those client cubby-hole front offices with screens and a phone if I may."

Vance's assistant, Cheryl, found him an empty cubicle, and as Gary hung up his topcoat, turned on the computer. She showed him how to look up codes in the codebook, and enter them to call up screens of various markets. He got her to print him off a pdf copy of his account, and to email a copy to Gordon Symes.

After a bit of fumbling, Gary punched up gold on the screen, then picked up the phone and dialled Jan Kerr. After some argument with the secretary, he got through to Jan's mobile. She was in a meeting.

"Yes Mr. Alden. I'm not really in a position to discuss this fully at the moment, but in principle we are in favour of going ahead. Can you call me at 10:55? I'll try to squeeze in five minutes to cover."

Obviously he thought, her 'dumb, helpless' façade of yesterday really had been an act.

"I may be able to do better than that. I'm at Wilkinson now. I'm getting a printout of my position as of last night, so we can make a closer estimate of the numbers. It's 10:10 now. I can have that over to you by 10:55. At the same time, if you have any paperwork, I can pick it up."

"Yes, a printout would be helpful. Fine, 10:55."

He stood up to go and find Cheryl, and bumped into her at the door as she walked in with his account copies. "Hey, we have to stop meeting like this. People will talk," he joked lamely.

Cheryl smiled. "Here are your copies, Mr. Alden. Vance stamped and signed them. Is there anything else?"

"Tell Vance the bridge loan at Premet is approved in principle. I'm on my way over there now."

Gary turned back to the computer screen, and punched up in turn, April expiry gold call options, then June, August and December. For each he quickly copied the last trade price for his holdings. He returned to the gold screen, and entered the last trade price of gold, now $2,899.70 in his tablet. As he watched, the price of gold broke $2,900, and traded at $2,901.50.

He grabbed his papers and tablet, and at a walk that was nearly a run, broke for the elevators. Again the elevator took forever to come, and again it stopped at nearly every one of the 22 floors on the way to the lobby.

He sprinted out to the street and tried to hail a cab. "Cabs and cops – never there when you need them," he muttered. "It's only four or five blocks. I can walk." and set off at a high-speed lope, dodging through the crowds.

About half way to Premet he suddenly stopped. Hold on. Hold on. Calm down, he thought. It's only two blocks, and I've got at least twenty minutes. Take three deep breaths. After breathing deeply, he slowed to a normal walk, arriving looking as though he was cheerful and unflustered, except for his hair, which was unruly as usual. As he walked up to the front of the building, he paused and blinked.

"'Ello, 'Ello, Wot 'ave we got 'ere?" he said to himself. Two security guards were shouting, "Gold line forms here," pointing to a ragged queue of shivering people stretching down the block. Suddenly Gary remembered his topcoat, back in the Wilkinson offices. Three of New York's finest in blue had a couple of people up against the wall, probably for fighting for a position in the gold line.

'It wasn't just himself, or the professionals like Nils in the market who were stressed, the tension was on the streets too. The public had to be buying to raise the price of gold this quickly. Still, the size of that line, and the presence of cops indicated more public fear, spreading faster than he had predicted. He wondered what the Federal Treasury was thinking about all of this'.

Subdued, Gary gained entrance to the bank by telling the guard controlling the doors he had an appointment with special accounts. After telling the receptionist he was early for an appointment with Jan Kerr, he sat down and flipped open his tablet. He started copying down the current value of his holdings, using the prices he had picked off the screens at Wilkinson. Assuming he sold at $3,000, as he planned to do, he simply added $100 to the price of his holdings, and calculated the expected amount he would realize. He totted up the total and it was only when he was inserting the commas in the final number that he fully realized its magnitude. It came to an incredible $33,767,800.

'For a guy who didn't care all that much for money, on screen he sure had a lot!' A small grin of pride briefly lit his face. 'Not bad for an initial investment of less than $50,000. Those out of the money options really only work well as insurance against violent price moves. Otherwise they are pretty useless. Now to convert those online profits into hard reality.

How many ounces would that work out to? If say, 15 percent were eaten up by bar charges and suchlike, that would leave about $28 million. Say the price went up to $3,200 before the purchase could be completed, then $28 million divided by $3,200 would equal over 8,500 ounces, about 600 pounds, or a staggering quarter of a ton! Luckily most of it was going out of the country so he would not have to deal with all that weight personally.

"Mr. Alden!" The receptionist sounded exasperated, as if she had called him before.

"Huh – oh – yes?"

"Jan Kerr will see you now."

"Oh – Right" he spluttered, quickly gathered up his things and followed the receptionist to Jan's small but opulent office.

"Gareth." Jan extended her hand. "We don't have a great deal of time so I'll get right to it. In principle, and only because you are a very special client of ours, the bank is prepared to make you the loan. Did you bring the printout?"

He fished the original sheets from his binder, handed one to over to her, and kept the other for himself. Her eyes met his, a brief but incredibly deep pulse of electricity passed between them" She smiled "and call me Gary. Most people do."

He breathed her light perfume, felt an emotional surge of response to the man within himself, his voice wavering very slightly as he asked, "What terms were you thinking of?"

"Interest at 25% per annum, plus an arrangement fee of $100,000."

Overnight loans such as he was seeking, would usually attract a high interest rate because the total dollars returned in interest would be very small for a one day loan. Arrangement fees were common when the bank had to do a lot of work to line up a number of borrowers to take part in such a large 'syndicated' loan. Now, they were simply gouging, albeit as usual because arrangement fees were so common. Gary decided not to appear too eager and overplay his hand because there might be more bargaining to come.

Fixing his eyes on her, he exploded, "Hold on a minute. You're talking mega bucks in bar charges and commissions, plus a huge amount in spreads, and you want to whack me with a $100,000 arrangement fee on top of it? Not to mention 25% per annum for shuffling some paper?"

"Exactly how much money are we talking about here Mr. Alden?" Her voice had turned suddenly chilly, the hint of that momentarily enticing 'come on' gone behind a distinctly and professionally frosty pose.

"I was able to put some numbers together quickly while I was waiting for you, and I must admit they came out to more than I had anticipated," Gary ripped the page out of his binder. "But they look right. The first column is the printout I just gave you. The second is the prices I picked off the screens while I was waiting for the printout. At that time, for all intents and purposes, spot gold was trading at $2,900 per ounce. If I buy at $3,000, then I just add $100 to get the estimated selling price. I then multiply by the ounce position total to get dollars realized."

Jan studied the page briefly before looking at Gary from under her eyebrows, one of which was slightly raised. "Nearly 34 million dollars is a rather large 'few' million," she said, head cocked slightly.

"I think I said several, but I agree. Nevertheless, the money is not leaving this bank, and the process is exactly the same, except you add a zero. You're probably talking a couple of million profit in spread and bar charges here."

"Gary, how many ounces do you estimate you will be buying?"

"Probably 8,500, plus or minus."

Jan pursed her lips, picked up the phone and dialled. "Dick Menach, please."

"Dick, it's Jan Kerr from special accounts. I have a customer here who is planning a substantial purchase of physical bullion, probably about 8,500 ounces, to be delivered tomorrow. Are you able to do that much given his tight timescale?"

Jan shook her head. "No he doesn't want certificates. He wants physical bullion!"

"Various sizes as I recall," Jan said into the phone while looking at Gary, again with one eyebrow raised.

He nodded. "If that is the gold department manager may I speak with him?"

"Hold on" she said quizzically. "I'll turn you over to Gary Alden, the customer. He can describe his needs."

"Gary Alden here."

"Dick Menach." The voice at the other end was clipped, rather curt. "I understand you would like 8,500 ounces of physical gold bullion and by tomorrow into the bargain! Do you know how much actual weight that is?"

"Yes, I'm prepared for that and I can arrange secure collection. I'm looking for a range of bars or larger, say one-ounce coins . How is your stock of small bars and coins?"

"It's pretty good Mr. Alden, although I'm not sure offhand if I can cover all the sizes you might want to call off until I see the order."

"I do have a bit of flexibility. I'll email you over a tentative list straight away. There is one other thing. The order is to be split into four lots for shipping. I expect that Willis Armoured Cars will do the pick up. Can you accommodate this?"

"No problem. Send me the breakdown and we can talk."

Jan glanced at Gary in a speculative way, flipped open her mobile.

Aha, thought Gary. Security check. She's calling Vance and wants to look up the number herself, no relying on something that I gave her because it might be part of a scam. You are one smart lady. You have definitely become a candidate for head hunting, my beautiful banker. Aloud he said, "His name is Vance Paul. P.A.U.L. His assistant's name is Cheryl. They are expecting your call. Don't let anyone put you off."

Jan smiled, nodded, and worked her way through the system till she was talking to Vance. She confirmed a number of details and arranged for the paperwork flow. She hung up and turned to Gary.

"Gary, regarding your loan. I am prepared to reduce our arrangement fee to $10,000. The best I can do as far as interest is concerned is 22% on this kind of loan. We will process your order for gold at our normal posted fees for bullion. Is that satisfactory?"

Gary grinned. "Well, I've got to grumble a little bit. You're making a fortune on that arrangement. Providing you can substantially deliver on my order, and size requirements, that is agreeable. I take it your bid/offer spread is now eight dollars?"

"Yes, I believe eight dollars. I assume you are expecting to do this transaction today. At what time do you expect to buy?"

"If gold is over $3,000, since we had a one o'clock appointment I thought we could do the paperwork and buy immediately. That way we could be complete by market close."

"Yes, that would be good." Jan glanced at her watch. "My goodness, its 11:15. I'm way behind."
Chapter 4

Gary took a seat in the reception area to draw up his charts for Menach. While 400-ounce bars were readily available he wanted smaller sizes, despite the premium he would pay for them. His best guess was that one ounce of gold would ultimately purchase goods currently valued at $16,000-$32,000. If one had only a ten ounce bar, and wanted to buy bread, $160,000-$320,000 would buy too much bread to be practical, even if food was so scarce that bread was $50 a loaf then.

He decided on a mix of: for every 100 ounces of gold: one kilo approx. 30 ounces, and 40 ounces of smaller bars from ten to one ounce. The balance, of just less than 30 ounces, would be in coins ranging from one twentieth of an ounce to one ounce. A one-twentieth ounce coin with a purchasing power of $800 was still a lot of bread, but it was more manageable.

The receptionist provided someone to escort him over to Menach's area, as security was tightly controlling everything around the retail gold and foreign exchange department.

Dick Menach, in contrast to his Scottish derived name, turned out to be a slim, dark skinned, dark haired man with an oozing, unctuous manner. He was able to flag a reserve on almost all the sizes Gary wanted, meanwhile complaining copiously that Gary was wiping out his supply of small sizes of gold for sale to his retail customers. Nonetheless, with much expressive headshaking and tooth-sucking he reluctantly came to the conclusion that final details would await a determination of exact quantities, which in turn would depend on exactly how much money Gary had to spend.

By then it was close to noon. Gary flipped open his mobile and called Vance to advise him the signing would be at one o'clock. "What's happening in the markets?" he asked.

"The latest rumour is that the IMF and 17 countries, including Finland for Christ's sake, have been supporting the US dollar overnight. The US had only about 50 billion in foreign exchange to contribute to the effort because they had been supporting the dollar previously as it slid lower. "If we can't survive without Helsinki..... Well, I don't know. China alone has over a trillion they want to dump. Japan too. Gold is currently trading at $3,283, but that is more because of dollar weakness than intrinsic value. Happy?"

"Seventeen countries and the IMF supporting the dollar? With things moving this fast, I'll bet even the central bankers' bowels are moving. However, I'll be much happier when I get this transaction completed. I'm really beginning to like this new maths," Gary grinned, blew out his cheeks and thought of lunch!

He found a deli nearby where he was able to get a club sandwich. "The big question" he mused "was when would the government get around to intervening with gold running up so fast". With precious metals upswinging so violently, he expected the authorities were already mumbling to each other about controls or other options. With the tension so high, he was getting emotionally exhausted. However, the storm had broken up this morning and the sun was out sporadically, the atmosphere brightening and beginning to lift his spirits with it. He was, afterall in the midst of making the biggest killing of his life and a fortune that only yesterday would have seemed utterly inconceivable.

At 12:40, he was back at the special accounts reception at Premet. The gold queue was longer, now disappearing around the corner of the block. Half a dozen cops were patrolling up and down the line, just adding to people's tension, as the display sign in the window showed the current price of gold still steadily ratcheting upwards.

Gary asked the receptionist whether Jan had eaten lunch yet. The receptionist didn't think so. He at once scurried back to the deli and grabbed a couple of coffees and a bag of Danish pastries and just back in time to meet Jan as she was coming out of her office.

"Here's a coffee and Danish," he said, holding out the bag. "The receptionist didn't think you'd had time for lunch. I guess that was my fault for holding you up earlier on."

"Is that for me? You are very sweet." She took the bag. "You're right, I haven't had time to eat. I could use that."

They returned to her office. Jan opened the coffee and took a sip, then pulled out a file. "If you would sign the note here, the document allowing us to sell out your position if you do not perform, and the document directing Wilkinson to transfer the results of your sale directly to your account here, our delivery person will then courier it directly to Wilkinson."

Gary signed with a flourish and said, "Phew, another step done. I'll have Wilkinson fax you the dollar amount as soon as we are done, and I'll phone as well. Then I'll come over and deal with Menach."

"That's fine. Thanks for the coffee and Danish, and thank you for dealing with us." Jan smiled with her whole face, including her eyes. Gary thought it made her look very beautiful.

He strode out and walked back to Wilkinson, quite quickly, since his topcoat was still in the cubby-hole office there, and the weather was still cool and damp. It was 1:30. He shivered, partly with cold but mostly due to the stress of it all. The screen was still on and showed spot gold trading. $3,361.00.

Gary frowned, and picked up the phone to dial Vance. "I'm back at the cubby-hole in your offices. I'm not sure I am working this screen properly. Is gold really – uh \- $3,372.50 now?"

"Yeah, my screen shows the same." Vance said. "And another thing. In the last couple of minutes the market has gone eerily quiet. Lots of phone calls, but hardly any trades crossing the screen. It's the same all over. Currencies, the Dow, bonds, everything. Strange, like the whole market is holding its breath."

"Okay, go ahead and start selling my options. Quietly work the price as much as possible without disturbing the market. If it starts moving either way, dump everything. Get out as quickly as possible at any price. At this level I am afraid the Fed will intervene." Gary instructed.

"Yes, I agree. I don't like the feel of this market. It's so quiet it's eerie. I'll start selling you out."

Gary punched up the screen for options. As he watched, a trade went by for the 2,320 strike price option, April expiry. That's got to be mine, he thought. Then a June 2,290-strike price reduced the last trade price by $1.00. Also mine. Then another June 2410 reduced its last trade price by a $1.00. Jesus, I hope those are all mine.

Suddenly December expiry options dropped by five dollars. Then across the Reuters split screen, an announcement scrolled, "US treasury announces release of gold to the market."

Gary dialled Vance. Cheryl answered. "Cheryl, it's Gary. Give me Vance urgently."

"He's on the line with the floor trader finishing your gold options."

"Tell him to dump everything at the market. The Fed is intervening in gold." Gary hung up and looked back at the screen. December options were down $20. He checked the time: 1:48 – 12 minutes to 2. God I hope I'm out. He walked unannounced into the broker offices and headed for Vance's desk. Vance was on the phone with a client.

"Maybe you want to hold off a bit on selling. The Fed announced it was intervening in gold, and the market may have turned around."

"I can't accept an order like that. It has to be specific. Buy or sell. Maybe you could call me back in a few minutes?

"Okay, I'll talk to you later."

Vance turned to Gary. "It's sure hard to keep customers in this market. They keep wanting their money. I suppose you're going to skip out on me too?"

"Well, not totally. When you report to Jan Kerr, hold back $200,000 in case of errors. Besides, I have something else I want to do. Am I out?"

"I don't know." Vance shrugged. "I don't have all the tickets back yet. I would assume so." He pulled out a notepad. "Let's see." He looked up at Cheryl, who was signalling for the phone. "Take a number." He started separating Gary's tickets from the pile on his desk. "You got $1,113.50 an ounce for 24 of the April 2,270 contracts, and $1,080.90 for 80 of the April 2,320's," he mumbled as he continued through the tickets. "We're still missing tickets for seven contracts of June 2350, two August entries, and one large December entry." Vance glanced at Cheryl. "I'll take that call."

As Vance dealt with the customer, Gary grabbed the pad, ripped a blank sheet out of the middle, and copied down the list of completed contracts. Pulling out his tablet, he began extending the amounts to determine the total dollars received.

He hadn't noticed Cheryl move, but she handed Vance several tickets. Vance sorted Gary's tickets out of the pile while he talked to his other customer. Gary rapidly copied down the prices from the tickets, and continued extending them. As Vance got off the phone from giving his latest sell order to the floor trader, Gary completed adding the totals, and entered the result. Vance raised an eyebrow, and held out his hand for the sheet. Gary drew back and clutched it to his chest, and said. "How much are the commissions?"

"$100 per contract. 514 contracts wasn't it?"

"Yes, and your percentage should make you a happier man," as he subtracted $51,400 from his previous total, and then handed the sheet to Vance. Gary kept staring at his tablet, which displayed the final total: $53,704,420.

Vance whistled, turned to his screen and punched something up. "You know," he said, "I've never known anyone who actually sold at the top before," and he turned the screen to Gary. Gold was trading at $3,110. "Are you actually going ahead with your purchase of gold at Premet?"

"Oh yes. Firstly, I got unbelievably lucky, but I think this is a false rally. They had a similar rally in 1929. It was called a fool's rally because it sucked in more fools - the people who believed things had turned around. And, even if gold goes back to $2,200 where it was last week, I'll still have plenty of money to retire on."

Vance shrugged and handed over the paper and a pile of tickets to Cheryl. "Make a photocopy for Gary. Check the numbers are correct. Deduct $200,000 from the total, and prepare a fax to Premet to advise them the total to be transferred." He turned back to his ever-blinking phone lines.

"Wait," said Gary. "Gold is going to continue downwards for a while. I have seen this before. Gold will go down either one third or one half of its advance. Take $100,000 and buy as many gold put options as you can. How much is gold now?"

"3,077.20"

"Okay, buy December 2,800 or less strike price gold put options. If I am not here when spot gold gets to," Gary paused and mentally calculated, "$2,700, sell half. If gold gets to $2,600, sell the other half. How much are long bonds now? 30-year US Treasury bonds?"

"Bonds?" said Vance in bewilderment at the sudden change in thinking. Gary had long ago made his distaste for US Treasuries known.

"Um", he punched up 30-year bonds on the screen. "93 and change, say 94. The eight percent 30-year bonds were $115 and change day before yesterday, for a yield of about six percent."

"Take the other $100,000 and buy bond put options. The price will go down as the yield goes up. Buy the 90-strike price for December if you can. I'll probably be back before it happens, but when bonds reach 60, sell. Work the price, but make sure I'm totally invested in precious metal and bond put options today – even if you have to buy other strike prices and other months. After you have sold according to the orders I just gave you, take all the available funds and buy one year treasury bonds, and register them in my name for delivery."

"Sixty!" yelled Vance. "That's a yield of over 14%. And what do you mean, back?"

Having already said too much, Gary ignored the last question. He wanted to cover his tracks as much as possible. "Actually, I expect bonds to go to 50 or below. As more companies and people rush to borrow money, just to keep themselves afloat, the bond prices will drop as the yield is bid up. Our Government, among others, will try for a while to keep borrowing to cover the amount they are spending, more than they are taking in. That's what our wondrous deficit is. Not only that, but next week, and the week after that, and the month after that, they have huge amounts of bonds maturing and coming due."

Gary waved his finger in emphasis. "They're so used to the idea that they can just roll them over, they won't expect the world to refuse and demand payment. They're a bunch of kids using their parent's credit cards to spend wildly with no thought at all about paying back. Confidence in the dollar is shot, and no one will lend. Economic conditions are falling like a rock around the world. The money is not there to lend, even if the other countries wanted to with credit contracting around the world. Anyway, I've got to get over to Premet. Put the orders in, and I'll talk to you as soon as I can."

Gary hurried back to the cubby-hole office and dialled Jan Kerr. Her secretary informed him once again that she was in a meeting. Gary left a message saying that his sale was done, giving the total for Jan, and saying he would be over shortly. He asked to be transferred to Dick Menach.

"Dick Menach."

"Mr. Menach, it is Gary Alden here."

"Oh yeah, the guy I never heard of before who may be going to buy megabucks in gold," Menach sneered.

"What is your bid/offer for gold now?" Gary ignored the insult. Because he was dealing with bankers, he maintained bank etiquette, and spoke calmly and unhurriedly.

"3,008 bid, 3,058 offered."

Gary punched up gold on the Wilkinson screen. Last trade $3,011.60. It was a $50 spread, and all in the bank's favour. Gary, who had been annoyed at Menach's attitude, got more than annoyed at this childish attempt to gouge him.

"What the hell are you playing at? Gold is falling like a rock. The last trade was $3,011.60. I negotiated a spread of eight dollars. I have no intention of just giving you an additional $42 an ounce. I'll tell you what," Gary started punching numbers into his tablet. "How would you like to get rid of some of your inventory, which is now losing value by the second? I'll increase my order to 15,000 ounces, and give you base price of four dollars over the market offer as shown by the screen at the time of the transaction."

"I make more money per ounce if I sell at retail," whined Menach.

"That's bullshit and you know it," Gary snapped. "How much gold are you going to sell at retail in the next hour with prices plunging? In the meantime you are going to lose a hell of a lot more money on all the rest of your gold inventory as the price falls. Moreover, if I have to buy tomorrow, not only will the price be a lot lower, but I will shop the order. Do you want to play or not? Otherwise, I call another bullion bank right now."

"Well okay, Mr. Alden. Four dollars over the market offer." Menach sounded very, very injured.

"I'll be over in a few minutes." Gary hung up.

He called Joe Seligman at Willis Armoured Car Services, whom he had also talked to about a year ago. It cost him but he arranged for a pickup of the gold and cash shipments just before 11:00AM the next day. Ordering dedicated trucks would insure the Swiss shipment would make it to the airport for the evening flight. It would clear Swiss customs early Friday, and be held in Willis's Zurich offices till Tuesday. Hopefully, the Swiss would not be seizing gold yet. The local shipment would be delivered two hours after pick-up from Premet.

Gary grabbed his coat and ran from the Wilkinson office. Once outside, seeing no available cabs, he galloped to the Premet building, then stopped suddenly. The line of people waiting to buy gold had vanished. In its place a large crowd, with a liberal sprinkling of security guards and cops, milled aimlessly in front of the building.

"Ah so," Gary murmured. "People now velly confuse. Gold plice going down, but not want to roose prace in rine, just in case."

He went over to special accounts and asked the receptionist to advise Jan that he was in the building to see Dick Menach, to please provide someone to walk him to Menach's office, and that he would be on the courtesy phone while he waited.

The receptionist gestured at the phone in the corner and picked up her own phone. Gary dialled the number of his lawyer, Ron Thompson in Yonkers. Ron was a specialist in international and constitutional law, but for some reason he liked Gary and tolerated him as a customer. Gary arranged to use Ron's boardroom as a shipping address for the local shipment of gold and cash. It was an unusual address because valuables are usually shipped from less secure sites to more secure sites and that would confuse potential robbers. Also, if someone, the government in particular, tried to trace the shipment later, the address would be something of a dead end, because of client confidentiality. Not for long of course, but it would buy Gary valuable time. He also requested that Ron have Mary, his secretary, arrange for a couple of armed guards, preferably uniformed off duty cops, to be present from one PM till six.

"Using our boardroom would be agreeable, especially if you have guards here. Let me determine if it's available." The line hummed as he was put on hold. Ron was back in a few seconds. "I've reserved the boardroom, and Mary is arranging for two guards for tomorrow. Is there anything else?"

"Thank you Ron, yes, we discussed using your correspondent lawyer in Zurich for local legal counsel. Would you contact them and arrange for that. Demand an answer by 10AM our time tomorrow. I will need their exact address and other coordinates. I'll call as I get things straightened out, but I'm very rushed right now."
Chapter 5

Jan Kerr walked briskly out of her office to the reception area as Gary hung up. Despite the tension of the moment, the male in Gary resurfaced momentarily.

"Hello Gary," she smiled. "If you'll come this way, I believe everything has been arranged. You are purchasing this afternoon, are you not?"

Gary followed her across the main lobby toward the gold department. "Yes, I hope to, although tomorrow is starting to look pretty good with the price of gold going down. Did you receive everything you need from Wilkinson?", he said as nonchalantly as he could, but he still felt as if he were sweating adrenalin from every pore.

"Yes, everything is in order." Jan was silent until they stopped at the thick glass security door, around the corner from the retail counter, where she buzzed and asked for Dick Menach.

Menach came to the security area personally, to escort them to his office. Gary noticed that Jan started to leave, and then apparently decided to see the deal through, and followed them into Menach's plate glass office. Smart lady, he thought, She's going to keep an eye on it personally, since I appear a bit uptight. She knows she has better people skills than Menach. I wonder if he realizes that. Probably not.

"First, I'd like you to show me spot gold on your screen," Gary stalled.

Menach, seated at his desk, punched up spot gold. He scowled and turned the screen so Gary could see it. Bid $2,950.10, ask $2,952.60, last trade $2,985.90. Gold is still falling fast, thought Gary. I would really like to hold off, but I have to finalize quickly. Who knows what the Fed will come up with next? A few dollars doesn't matter. It's more important that I finalize the deal. Aloud he said, "Okay, call your trader for their best price."

As Menach dialled, Gary, seated across the desk, picked up the bank forms, which now had everything but the gold price filled in to enable quick extension and completion. As he glanced over the form, suddenly his eyes narrowed and his mouth formed a thin straight line. Those bastards were trying to do it to him again. The bar charges and commissions, or premiums over the market price of gold, were way up. He had to do the deal today so maybe he shouldn't notice. Still it made him mad to get ripped off. Not only that but his hand was very strong. Gold was still falling like a rock. It would help to delay. He decided to stay in character. As Gary glanced at the clock on the wall, he felt Jan watching him. It was 2:41 – 19 minutes to 3:00.

Gary flipped open his tablet and began copying quantities and bar premiums.

Menach frowned as he saw what Gary was doing. Still holding the phone he said, "Our base asking price is $2,945.00, plus charges of course."

"Your commission for gold coins is four percent, is it not?" Gary asked in deadly quiet tones.

"We had to increase our commissions to six percent since gold is so volatile," Menach said defiantly. Gary glanced at the screen. It now showed bid $2,942.80, ask $2,945.00, last trade $2,950.10. Gary finished copying the last of the quantities and bar charges.

Menach said with some exasperation, and maybe some desperation, "Well, do you want to do the deal or not?"

Gary placed Menach's pre-filled form back on the edge of the desk. Jan, at his side of the desk, immediately picked it up. "Your bar charges and commissions have gone up substantially in the past few minutes, just for me. Bar charges and commissions have nothing to do with volatility. That is what spreads are all about. You can put down the phone." Gary was speaking quietly, flatly.

He stood up, arms pushing on the desktop. "Someone in this organization should remember a quote which was I think, attributable to the WWII air force. 'There are old men. There are bold men but there are no old, bold men.' Someone in this organization is beginning to appear very bold." He walked out of the office and turned toward the counter area, rather than toward the entrance.

Through the office glass wall he saw Menach sit blankly for a couple of seconds, and then start up to follow him. "Wait, you can't go in there." Jan, who had been quiet all this time, shifting her gaze back and forth between Gary and Menach, reached to pick up the phone. She began to dial.

"Mr. Alden," Menach rushed after Gary. "You're not allowed to go out there." Two steps later, Gary stopped at the end of the aisle between the desks leading to the retail area, where he could see a sign listing bar charges. Menach caught up with him.

"Why can't I look at your posted bar charges? Afraid I might find them lower than the ones you're charging me?" Gary opened his tablet and began copying the posted bar charges by size.

"We haven't had an opportunity to change our signs," Menach said defensively. "For security purposes, the public's not allowed to go beyond this line. Please return to the office."

"Since I am standing behind the line, and since you are standing here to ensure I am not going any further, it looks as if your effort to get me to return to the office is simply a device to stop me from looking at the posted bar charges," Gary said absently as he continued to copy the few lines on the notice.

Seeing Gary was getting what he wanted anyway, Menach changed tactics. "Of course we aren't trying to stop you from looking at our sign, but if you go out there I could lose my job. Besides the new bar charges are now more realistic as a percentage of the gold price."

Finishing his list, Gary flipped his tablet closed. "Well we wouldn't want you to lose your job would we?" he said, and returned to the office.

Jan was listening intently on the phone. "Dick's just returned to his office," she murmured in a low voice to alert the party on the other end of the phone, "I'll follow that line of thinking," and hung up.

Gary said, "Do you mind if I use this chair for a few minutes? I'd like to get a handle on what these bar charges are," and sat down without waiting for an answer. He took out his tablet again and rapidly determined total bar charges and commissions for each size of bar using first the prices proposed by Menach, and then the prices listed on the notice board. He added up the columns, and glanced at the clock on the wall. It was 2:46. He looked at the screen. Gold was bid $2,910.50, asked $2,912.50, last trade $2,916.80.

The slide in the price of gold was not slowing. Gary thought rapidly and wished he could take the chance of waiting until the next day. The price would probably be down much more. It was down $450 from what he'd sold just at about an hour ago. But it had to be today. He had to figure a price they would do business at, but still not allow them to gouge him. Those bar charges were at least partly real, and not simply bank profit. It costs to exactly weigh and stamp those bars and coins. He couldn't get much there. He decided to be content with going back to the posted prices, and a four-dollar premium on the offer price. At least he was pretty sure they'd do business at that level.

He leaned toward Menach and scowled. "I have calculated the cost of purchasing 15,000 ounces under your posted bar charges, versus the suggested bar charges on your pre-filled form that you wanted me to sign. With this cute little trick you thought you would stiff me for over a million dollars. To be exact, $1,404,200. Add that to the $361,000 spread trick, and you are talking a million seven. That looks unbelievably greedy to me. I don't blame a person for trying to make a profit. What I don't like is how you tried to gouge me. Gold is falling like a rock, and the markets close shortly. If I have to wait till tomorrow, not only will I be paying less, but also I am most assuredly going to get competitive quotes. Now the question is not whether I want to do business, rather it is do you want to do business."

Menach blustered, "Of course we want to do business, but at a reasonable return for the risk we are taking in a volatile market."

"Right now," Gary interrupted, "gold is still going down fast, and we don't have a deal. To me your risk looks like you may be selling your inventory of gold a lot cheaper tomorrow, if you sell at all."

Jan cut in smoothly. "Dick, while you were out, I called the head of treasury. He says that since it is a special accounts customer, it is a special accounts problem. So I guess I'm the one who has to sort it out."

Love your wording lady, thought Gary. Menach is out, cut off at the knees. Kerr is in, all smooth and almost bloodless.

"Gary, what do you want?" Jan asked.

"Since we have no deal, the price will be at the market, with the spread being the spot market offer at the instant we agree as shown by the screen, plus a four dollar spread charge, with bar and commissions as posted on the board."

"Depending on your other conditions, we can live with that," Jan agreed.

"The gold is to be prepared for shipment, free of charge, in a manner acceptable to Willis in four shipments, broken down as I direct."

"And?"

"I will want very substantial amounts of cash, probably as much foreign currency as you are likely to have on hand. Up to $50,000 US dollars each in Euros, Canadian Dollars, Swiss Francs, and Japanese Yen. And up to $20,000 each in Pounds Sterling, Hong Kong Dollars, and Australian Dollars. Spreads are to be treated the same as we are doing gold, half of last Monday's spread added to the market offer price. I will want the balance in U.S. cash. I will pay a fee of one eighth of one percent handling for the U.S. cash," Gary continued.

"We need one quarter of one percent handling on the U.S. cash." Jan frowned "Exactly how much money are we talking about here?"

Gary decided to let her win one in front of Menach as he said, "I have no idea. It depends on how much we have left after this transaction. It will be several hundred thousand at least. I'll know better after these transactions are complete. Okay, one quarter of one percent handling for the U.S. cash."

"Is this another one of your 'severals', like the total of your order, that will just grow and grow?" Jan cocked an eyebrow at Gary.

"Possibly, but I doubt it. Do you really care? There are good fees – good normal retail level fees on a wholesale level transaction - to be earned here." Gary shrugged. "My account will probably be empty by tomorrow night."

Jan picked up the direct line to the trader and explained the methodology of the trade to her, and asked if she was willing to trade on this basis. Apparently she would, because Jan turned to Gary with the trader still on the line and said; "If I accept all of your conditions, are you willing to complete the deal now?"

Gary glanced at the clock. It was 2:57. Then at the screen, Bid $2,875.70 Offer $2,877.20. Last trade $2,883.40. "Yes, if you accept those conditions, I offer to buy from you 15,000 ounces of gold at a price of $2,877.20, plus agreed upon bar charges, spreads and commissions," Gary said formally.

"He has offered $2,877.20 plus $4 to total $2,881.20 to buy 15,000 ounces. Do you accept?" Jan said into the phone. She turned to Gary. "We accept. We are done." Then into the phone she said, "Thank you Heidi. We are done," and hung up while watching him, still in a speculative way.

Gary looked back at the screen. As he watched, gold dropped another $8 and then another $15 as the traders rushed to get their trades through in the final seconds before the bell.

The paperwork took 20 minutes to finish. When the final calculations came in, Wilkinson was transferring $53,704,420. to Premet. Gold purchases to date totalled $52.226,180, leaving a balance of $1,277,240. That balance would go first towards the foreign exchange, and then any remaining funds in U.S. cash. Counting was arranged for 10:15, since the funds from Wilkinson were expected by ten.

Gary requested a private phone, and Jan walked him down the quiet, dark wood-panelled hall where the big money plays to a vacant conference room. As they walked, Jan looked at him out of the corner of her eye and said, "You're some negotiator! I'm impressed. You must have nerves of steel to deal with only two minutes to market closing." She tilted her head and stared at him. "But why did you keep looking at the clock? Your calls in the market have been so accurate, it makes me wonder why you want to own gold today."

A small, involuntary grin of pride escaped before Gary said nonchalantly, "I suppose the deal could have been arranged through the after hours market or the orient later, but it would probably have been more difficult. By the way, as a head-hunter - excuse me, 'Executive Search and Recruitment Consultant' - to the investment banking community, I have been watching you too. You have excellent people skills and I'd like to put you on file. Good people are hard to find on short notice. If things return to normal, which I do not expect, or at least for a very long time, I'd like to talk to you. Would you feel comfortable about giving me your home phone number? At the office you can never tell when someone might just walk in."

"Fine by me," Jan smiled briefly. "Do you want my resume as well?"

"No," Gary shook his head. "Resumes are an attempt to judge how well a person can do a job. I've seen that. Before I approached a client, I would need one, but if and when we meet, we can get that formality out of the way with a current resume." He turned to the phone. "Dial nine to get out?"

Jan nodded and left. Gary dialled Eric to advise him they were done, and to have him arrange another meeting that night with Lynn.

Now that the first part of the "getting away" problem looked like it might be solved, Gary started the next phase, securing the results from potential thieves, official or otherwise. He called North Midland Bank in Stamford and cancelled the standby credit, and made some further banking arrangements.

About 25 hours had passed since the crash had begun.

He then called SAFE-tee Corp in Rochester, and ordered a total of ten safes, all with the same combination. One was a large office safe, over five feet high and 30 inches deep, to be delivered later next week to a local address he would specify.

Three were smaller, type 6510 safes. He would have preferred that they be the larger and stronger type 6570 safes that made up the balance of the order, but he doubted the larger safes would fit in the trunk of a car. The 65 part of the number indicated the construction of the safe. The 10 or 70 indicated the size.

Six safes were the larger type 6570s. He directed that each 6570 safe be bolted to pallets one inch larger all around than the footprint of the safe. Then they were to build, attached to the pallet, a heavy plywood box around the safes to disguise them. They were to leave the predrilled front panel of the box off, so the safes might be filled and locked before closing them. The pallets enabled the safes to be moved by forklift, should that be needed. Three 6570s, along with the 6510s were to be delivered to his home at 8AM Friday. Three 6570s were to be delivered by their Zurich offices Tuesday to an address to be specified. The large safe was to be held because Gary didn't have a delivery address yet.

He debated calling Vance to see how the market was going, but then realized he'd talked to him less than three hours before. "It seemed already like days ago"! He mused. It struck him that there was in any case very little that Vance could now tell him that would effect his planning. As soon as the market transactions he'd set in motion were completed, both Vance and the financial markets would largely pass out of his life.  This was "der tag" All those reparations for this day had occupied a part of his mind pretty well every day for many years. It was rather like throwing out an old, comfortable pair of shoes, but if the world changed as Gary had predicted that it was going to, there would be all sorts of new adventures in getting Phoenix to arise from the ashes. His mood brightened at the prospect.

On his way out, Jan stopped him and handed him her card. On the back she had written her private phone numbers. Gary glanced at it as he started to put it away, and then paused and frowned. "You live in Stamford?"

"Yes. How did you know?"

"This is a Stamford phone exchange, like mine.. You must live close to me. In fact," he grinned conspiratorily "I recall seeing you once at the Stamford Centre shopping mall."

"Oh, small world, isn't it?" She smiled and impulsively put out her hand. "I'll look forward to your call. Thank you for your business."

He nodded. "Yes, I hope I might see you tomorrow morning when completing the foreign exchange transaction. It's also very possible I might want to purchase an additional quantity of precious metals and cash again soon, as part of an ongoing contingency process. Would you foresee any problems with that?"

She raised her eyebrows a little "No, I don't think so. The process we used today seemed to work well. How much were you thinking of?".

He shrugged. "I have no idea. The world seems to have gone berserk. If I'm really lucky, it could be a substantial percentage of today's deal, but I don't expect that, and in fact I don't actually expect anything at all." He looked down and suddenly realized he was still gently holding her hand. "I want to thank you very much for all you've done today" he said softly as the sun fleetingly peeked out from behind a cloud, light flooding in through the window, lighting up the outline of her face like a halo. His heart skipped a beat 'By god, you're beautiful!' he thought, suddenly flustered.

"Thanks once more, Ms Kerr. Gotta hop. See you later."

"Call me Jan" she replied, their eyes meeting as he released her hand, to hurry out of the bank, and run for his train to Stamford.

"She said 'Call me Jan!" he thought as he pounded along the platform, suddenly and unexpectedly lighthearted.

The train was crowded with commuters, and there was a lot of discussion about the markets, mostly of the nature that "somebody should do something." Of course, one loudmouth was spouting his moronic theories about how the situation should be handled. Gary sneered inwardly 'You couldn't even fix a flat tyre but you're going to find the hole in the financial system and fix it when the best minds in America can't? If you're so damned smart, where's your chauffeur-driven limo?' But by and large, the city was continuing as it always had. Some numbers had changed on a stock market ticker, which worried those that were invested, but it was still an abstract. It hadn't yet changed their eating habits. With the sun going down it was getting distinctly cooler, but Gary was engrossed in his own thoughts and was only vaguely aware of it.

In Stamford he jumped into his car, and tried to race through heavy traffic to the mid-sized mall near his home to buy a dozen top of the line padlocks, and a couple of heavy-duty moving dollies. While he was there he scooped up a local paper for the local 'for rent' advertisements, and a copy of the latest 'Auto Trader',. Later, he couldn't remember whether the mall had been crowded or not, he had been so preoccupied.

One vision did come back to him though with photographic clarity. Someone had tried to shoplift something and the store security nabbed him as he hit a nearby woman and her buggy while trying to escape.

Afterwards, on his way out, Gary spotted the store security officer and asked him about it.

"Yes sir, we're in a recession, never mind what the government says. Shoplifting always goes way up in a recession!"

By the time he pulled into his driveway, it was almost winter-dark, barely 5 o'clock. He at once looked over the 'Auto Trader', spotted an ad. that interested him, phoned the number to be told the '57 Studebaker listed was on blocks, with most of a bodywork respray done, but the transmission and engine both out on the bench, not having been worked on at all. The asking price was $4,000. Gary made an appointment to see it the following evening, in Darien, a few minutes drive from Stamford.
Chapter 6

"Well as long as nothing major goes wrong, we're out tomorrow."

Gary had arrived at Lynn's about 7PM with Eric and Lynn's portions of the supplies he had purchased over the last two days.

"We bought 15,000 ounces of gold today. Weight's going to be a problem though. We're talking about half a ton in weight. That is a quarter of a ton above our wildest dreams. We really got lucky. I hope our luck holds." He glanced heavenwards, imploringly.

"We're shipping 40% of it to Switzerland. By the time we split the remainder three ways, we will each have over 250 pounds of gold to deal with. And we will have a real stack of cash, literally. Roughly, a stack of bills about 125 feet high if it is mostly in twenties. Take away what we are shipping to Switzerland, and that leaves us with about 90 feet, or 30 feet each. Actually your cash will be a bit less Lynn, because Eric and I will be spending a lot, quite quickly to buy things we need. So say 15 feet for you to store."

She shook her head in bemusement."I'll store my cash in the bank, thank you. Apartments don't have backyards to bury old mayo jars in." Lynn straightened her shoulders belligerently.

"I don't think you understand," said Eric from the couch in the living room where they were seated. "A whole sequence of events will happen. First the government will freeze gold. Then there'll be a Bank Holiday. Gold and most of the money in bank accounts will be seized. We'd best stick with cash which is invisible outside of the banks. Gold and cash are really only a very small part of what we are concerned about. It is simply what we are working on because we don't expect it to be available if we don't move now."

"Snowball's chance!," scoffed Lynn, "This is America!"

"It can, and does happen," Gary raised his head slightly and looked directly at her. "Historically, every time a government gets into financial trouble, including the US in the past – by the way - , they react exactly the same. They take everything they can get their hands on. We don't want our wealth just sitting around for them to take, we have to conceal it, and very securely at that."

"Yeah, history does not necessarily repeat, but people keep making the same stupid mistakes." Eric grinned his boyish grin. "One good place to hide stuff is in your fridge. It'll survive a fire, something that most office safes don't. We'll use the vegetable crisper drawer for most of the cash that we cannot store elsewhere. Packed in tightly it will likely hold about 12 feet of bundled cash. The most important part is to keep it secret. The second you tell your best friend or even a boyfriend, it will travel like wildfire, no matter how much they are sworn to secrecy. It always happens, word always leaks. Look at Wikileaks!"

"Are you planning to use my fridge to store part of your money?" Lynn demanded incredulously. "Look at me. Do I look like I have a vault door and combination lock on my fridge?"

"No, we are suggesting that you use your fridge to store a small part of your valuables," Gary emphasized the 'your'. "As for the gold, I brought some plastic containers. Take the larger container and fill it about one quarter full of spaghetti sauce, which I also have in the car. Fill the smaller container with water and push it into the larger container so the spaghetti sauce is about one quarter of an inch thick all around. Pop it in the freezer and by morning you can pull the smaller container of ice out, leaving you with a frozen shell of spaghetti sauce that you can't see through. Put some gold into a plastic freezer bag, seal it, and drop it into the cavity. Pour more spaghetti sauce over the top, and pop it back in the freezer. Like that, it'll be reasonably well hidden. We should be able to store about 80 pounds each that way. Eighty pounds of gold doesn't take up much space."

Lynn looked worried as if she still thought they were using her fridge to store their valuables, a hassle she obviously didn't want. "Do you think I will get the Good Housekeeping seal of approval if people start breaking their teeth on the yellow clams in my spaghetti sauce?"

Gary smiled slightly and continued. "For the balance of about 200 pounds each of gold, and possibly a little bit of cash, we have two strong safes each. We'll weld the smaller safe into the trunk of a clunker car. We will store those cars, and their cargo of valuables at separate private garages we will rent, ostensibly in which to 'repair' the cars. Nobody will know. The other bigger safes will have heavy plywood boxes built around them, and we will store them at public warehouse storage, or a removal and storage company. The box is about three feet by three feet by four feet. We will pay for a year's storage in advance."

"Storing things in cars and fridges doesn't seem very smart to me. I suppose I could store your money in my fridge, but it makes me nervous," Lynn shook her head unhappily.

"Let's talk about tomorrow." Eric interrupted, raising a finger.

"I'd like you both at my lawyer's offices in Yonkers well before noon so that you pick a parking spot where you can see the elevators, and where you can see each other." Gary directed, mostly to bring Lynn up to speed. "Get the briefcases and dollies upstairs to the boardroom. Try and save a parking spot for me."

"I've got some of those orange road cones. I'll stick 'em in a spot near my car." Eric responded.

"Are you guys psychic? Just why do you think things are going to get so bad?" Lynn demanded.

"Because they always have," Eric exclaimed. "If you read old newspapers you will find people saying and doing almost exactly the same thing at almost exactly the same point in the cycle. Almost word for word – it's really amazing. Humanity really has not advanced much." He shook his head in wonderment.

"Very well, then. If you're really as certain as you're telling me then so be it!" said Lynn, resigning herself to their plans.

"Okay," Eric said abruptly, "do we need anything else?"

"Not for me." Gary looked at Lynn "Do you see any problems?"

Lynn shook her head. "Forgive me if I'm incredulous. Banks that are closed so you can't get at your own account? You've made a lot of money, yet you're skulking around like grave robbers and taking a chance on having it stolen from you? And why gold? I'm sorry, but I have to keep my job. I can't just take so much time off."

"You may be right." Eric replied. "All of this may look pretty silly later. But if our greatest fears come to pass, we will be the winners. We will be the survivers. Ordinary people, who trust things to go on smoothly as before may well end up losing everything, life savings, even the roof over their heads. They'll probably end up queueing up at food banks. If there are any to be queued up at, that is" he added with a grimace

Lynn looked from one to the other, shook her head, shrugged her shoulders, sighed "Well, I just hope you guys know what you're doing. I'll be there by noon then with my briefcases." she added in a still-troubled voice.

"Good. Then we'll see you tomorrow and please don't talk to anyone about cash, or gold, or Bank Holidays, or anything remotely connected with this. As vulnerable as we are, it wouldn't take much for someone to catch on to to what we are up to and hurt us badly."

As they walked over to the car to distribute Gary's load, he leaned close to Eric, spoke quietly. "She isn't convinced, is she? Lynn isn't convinced even now that it's all starting to happen. She still doesn't believe me! Us!. You do, though?"He held his Son's eye with a meaningful look.

"I think she believes we own gold. It just doesn't have any value to her," Eric shrugged. "She seemed more concerned about the cash. Maybe she doesn't understand how much money is involved. I think she feels that she is doing you a favour because she doesn't think of it as being hers – or ours. It's yours."

Gary nodded in agreement.

Eric continued "She can't make the emotional leap from cashless swipecards to millions of dollars. She doesn't really believe that things are going to get worse. I don't think I'd have understood either if you hadn't dragged me along for some of your research. Reading those old newspapers, and seeing how politicians and people spouted exactly the same things before the crash of '29:

He pursed his lips 'This time it is different! We now control things much more scientifically!'

"I can believe they will do the same thing as the next step in trying to keep control. They will stumble down the same old road and it will be the same old road to economic collapse. To ruin!

Deep down I don't suppose I really understand how bad it will get. But after reading about the '30's depression, Brazil, Russia, Argentina, and all those other places, I can believe it's going to be pretty bad."

"Yeah. - 'Those that don't know their history are condemned to repeat it.' Actually, I suppose I don't fully understand how bad it's going to be, either." Gary looked at the ground. "Maybe we shouldn't volunteer much about our other arrangements to her, until she sees for herself. Not hide it, just don't volunteer anything. What do you think?"

"Mmmm, yes," mused Eric, head also down. "If she gets taken hostage or something before she becomes convinced, it would give us a bit more flexibility in trying to rescue her."

"Hostage? Rescue? " His voice became shrilly alarmed.

"I'm not sure why I thought that. I have this creeping horror that law and order are about to break down and who knows what may happen then. If she isn't physically with us we can't protect her."

He nodded, a sombre frown on his face. "That's agreed then!. See if you can think along these lines of security and god only knows what else we should have to take into account " Gary went back to unloading Lynn's part of the load.

"You know it just occurred to me," Eric said suddenly, looking up "she may simply not understand just how much money is involved. I know from our work that it has to be about $40 million. But you haven't even told me how much you got in the end. How much was it?"

"Oh my god, you're right. I got $53 and a half million from the transaction, and spent $52 million and change to buy 15,000 ounces of gold, leaving $1.2 million for operations tomorrow when we buy foreign currencies and US cash. We got out at almost the exact top! I was surprised that the Fed released gold to the market, but in thinking about it, that was a win/win for them. It's a cheap way to defuse a panic, and also give them some cash in hand which they desperately need."

After a moment, Gary added, "I think I may know how to make this more real to her. Tomorrow, when we get the shipment in, one of the first things we are going to do is distribute the cash. One of us will simply dump the largest bag of bills on the table. For someone thinking the way Lynn is, seeing that amount in cash is bound to be shocking. We know it is pretty much worthless but it will be more real for her."

"Yes, we can try that." Eric hoisted two large tins of spaghetti sauce. "You said the Fed released gold to the market?"

"Yes, - I suspect they dumped gold because they needed money more than anything else, but it's also a cheap way to halt the run. And it signals to the world that gold might not be an alternative to the US dollar. That's a smart move on their part but it isn't going to be enough. It's all coming apart, the sheer enormity of this is simply beyond the system to comprehend!"

"I think that it might have been an even more brilliant strategy than that," Eric opined. "It still leaves them with all their other options. They can still freeze gold, and then confiscate it, just like they did in the '30s."

"Huh." Gary exhaled abruptly. "Ah yes, the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. They sell their gold, get the cash, and then take back their gold. A crude but very effective new tax. And it works on those who have enough resources and foresight to maybe be smart enough, and powerful enough to create problems for them later. Those people now have less money to manipulate the world, and no gold. The international financial system must be in even worse condition than we think. We can expect the Bank Holiday and the other operations soonest. We can't foresee when they will move, just that it will be much sooner than we expected. We're not going to get several months to prepare as we might have wanted A house of cards doesn't take long to collapse."

Eric mused, head back down. "I think we should get started on our other plans as quickly as possible. Trucks, food, freezers, and stuff." He looked up at Gary.

"Yes. Particularly the fuel tankers. I think we may want more than we expected, maybe half or even a dozen or more tanker trailers. As many as we can get anyway. I sure hope that thing with Lynn works tomorrow. We need more hands to accomplish what we have to do. If she becomes a believer, she could help immensely."

Eric nodded. "If it's going at this speed, maybe we should change some of our plans. I think government might freeze everything as early as the weekend. What about the bonds you were going to use to pay taxes on your gains in the market?" Eric's eyes narrowed. "Looks like our plans may be wrong."

They had forecast that bond prices would fall and the yield would go up. Once the US effectively stopped borrowing, the largest demand for loans in the world would no longer be there. Suddenly a surplus of funds would be trying to make interest income. The yield would come down and the price would go back up. When tax time came, Gary could simply pay with bonds they'd made a profit on, or perhaps even argue that these were US obligations worth 100 cents on the dollar.

"You're probably right. The government may decide to just wipe them out. I think the buying of bonds is largely out. That leaves us with cash, or perhaps silver. But we don't have time, because we'll either be in Switzerland or be so busy tomorrow and Friday that we can't do anything else but finish what we have on our plate. Maybe we can get Willis to pick up silver and only deliver in a week? I'll check on that tomorrow." Gary concentrated on keeping Lynn's load of plastic containers from spilling.

They arrived back at Eric's apartment just before nine. Gary found a couple of garages to rent, phoned them, and on his way home, was able to view a perfect garage in Greenwich at the back of a residential property, separate from the house, constructed from cement blocks, with a metal door and a plank and steel workbench along one side. That fitted Gary's story of rebuilding an antique car perfectly. He left a cash deposit covering six months rent.

Before going to bed, he made up a list of drafts, wire transfers, and payments for the following day. Then he prepared his own freezer containers.

Despite, or because of the tension, he was exhausted and went to sleep instantly.
Chapter 7

Thursday February 16th — Day 3.

During breakfast, Gary studied the ads in the papers carefully and found another garage that sounded good and two more 'mechanic's special' cars, clunkers needing extensive repairs. While preparing his car with briefcases, firearms and trolleys for the gold transfer, he found himself anticipating seeing Jan again. The day looked like it was going to be one of those all grey February days with the temperature producing occasional drizzle rather than snow. Winds were light but slightly gusty.

He spent nearly an hour online and the phone, arranging appointments to see the cars and garages that night, getting quotations to warehouse the larger safes, and reserving a welding unit and a step/cube van with a pull out ramp. Eric would be looking for clunker cars too since they needed three cars and three garages.

On his way downtown in unnervingly normal traffic, Gary called Vance to learn exactly what he had purchased yesterday, and how the markets were doing. Vance gushed information. "Well, the stock market isn't open yet, but Tokyo, Hong Kong, London and Frankfurt have all been very volatile, and down badly. Since Tuesday afternoon, every one of the major stock market indices is down more than 50 percent. Foreign exchange markets are also very volatile, but were trading in a range because of government intervention. In the last half hour, the dollar has been sliding badly, so maybe Finland, and Canada, and everybody else, is running out of money to play with. Governments have poured billions and billions into this black hole. The last estimate I heard was one and a half trillion dollars, of which the US had less than $50 billion in foreign exchange reserves to contribute."

"Hoo-boy, central banks are panicking, aren't they? But they have to slow the wholesale abandonment of the dollar despite their increasing displeasure with the policies of the US."

Vance observed, "The US is the world's largest debtor. 'Too big to fail.' If the US is in trouble, they are all in trouble. Speaking of which, the IMF, the US treasury, and all sixteen other governments in the cabal have all been actively purchasing US bonds the entire time. This not only helps the dollar, but also supports bonds which they have a lot of. But some of the commercials aren't following their government's lead. Japanese and even our own pension plans have been dumping bonds wholesale. Bonds are down to 82 this morning, and gold is $2,690, so you are in the money on your purchases yesterday."

"That is mainly the reason I called. What did you buy for me yesterday?"

"I had to pay quite a bit for some of your put options, since prices were moving fast. I got 120 of the December $2,700 gold put options with the first $100,000. I had to go to September for 50 of the bond put options at $2031.25 each. That overspent your account by about $1,000, but we are 'in the money' now, so we can ignore that rule. I hope that was okay?"

"God yes. That was exactly right. By the way, I have changed my mind. I still want to sell the options at the levels I ordered, but instead of buying bonds and registering them in my name, just hold on to the cash. I will likely be forwarding the money to Premet as before."

"Okay, I have an order to hold monies, rather than purchase bonds."

After dropping off the equipment needed for the gold transfer at Ron Thompson's, in Yonkers, he parked his car in the Premet Bank building's obscenely expensive underground parking lot. I just want to park my damned car for a couple of hours, not buy the whole damned building. Upstairs, he left word for Jan with the special accounts receptionist that he was in the building seeing Menach. At Menach's office he waited until an assistant led him into the day vault, where Menach, clipboard in hand, was overseeing two sweating clerks who were shifting and counting gold.

The day vault was obviously arranged to limit the exposure to robbery for the relatively insecure retail counter. From the retail counter side, a large coded security door with a bullet-proof observation window gave entrance to the vault. Directly ahead at the other end of the vault were two large security doors, obviously leading to the secure loading area, and probably to the main vault itself. Both sidewalls were lined with security boxes. Four very visible cameras, one in each corner covered every inch of the relatively small room. At the near end stood two counter-height tables, armed with a variety of counting machines, time stamps, phones and computer display screens. Two Willis guards lounged on some decrepit chairs at a battered wooden table.

In the centre, near the wooden table, stood two heavy-duty four-wheeled, steel industrial trolleys. On one were stacked four 400-ounce gold bars, as well as boxes containing what Gary presumed was 14 one kilogram bars of gold. On the other, what appeared to be his smaller bars and coins, all packaged. Next to them, on the floor, bags presumably containing his cash.

Menach acknowledged him; "I'll be with you as soon as I finish this."

"No problem'" Gary said as he made his way over to the guards. "What are you here to pick up?"

"We're the dedicated truck for the airport run. We're trying to catch an earlier flight this afternoon. The other truck should be here any minute."

Satisfied that matters were progressing at least as well as planned, Gary returned his attention to the counting process. Seeing him, Menach came over at once as it was evidently complete, and Gary suggested that they split out the 40% shipment first, to get the guards on their way. He wanted to get it through customs before the Swiss might react and seize it. Gary started counting boxes, opened a couple to spot check, and pronounced himself satisfied with the total. One of the assistants went to get an empty trolley, and the completed 40% shipment for Zurich was split out onto the it

Gary pulled out four $50 bills for the Willis guys. "One for each of you, one for the driver, and one for the guy who gets the shipment seen on to the earlier flight. Don't stop for any coffees along the way, you've got plenty of time afterwards" The other truck must have been waiting, because the two guards were immediately replaced with two more .

Just then, Jan walked in, her auburn hair looking shiny and silken She had taken off her suit jacket and was wearing a pale cream-coloured blouse with a contrasting Prussian Blue bow. She was exuding a faint but expensive fragrance that instantly awoke his manhood and was destined to excite his dreams forever afterwards. Gary broke out into a huge, appreciative smile. He could feel his heartbeat starting to race and his face to heat up in an uncovenanted blush that took them both by surprise. It was pure chemistry, her face beginning to glow in response.

"Hi, Jan." His voice felt as though it wasn't quite his own

"Good morning Gary," She smiled brilliantly at him, albeit her voice wasn't quite as controlled as it usually was. "You're here earlier than I expected. How far along in the process are we?"

"The 40% shipment just went out and we are about to start loading up the other three" "By the way do you think you could get me a private phone to use for a few minutes on the way out – I don't want to use my mobile?"

"Certainly. Now that you're nearly complete perhaps you would like to have lunch on the bank as well?"

"I'd like nothing better but my agenda is packed right now. In fact I will be pretty busy till at least the week after next. Perhaps a rain check?"

"Okay shall I call you or will you call me?"

"Better I call you I guess, because I don't know what my itinerary will be."

Menach came over with a sour, disapproving look on his face, probably at the somewhat intimate body language that was going on between Gary and Jan. Gary decided to change the subject. "Can you tell me what gold is trading at right now?"

Menach punched up gold on the screen, and got a mixed look on his face. Last trade at $2,656.80 and still falling. Gary whistled to himself and thought, I'm out of the $2,700 puts at Wilkinson, and damned near out of the $2,600's. Now to get this gold out of the system, out of reach of the greedy claws of government. "Damn," he said aloud, "I sure wish I had waited till today to purchase. The price is down nearly $300 per ounce." Looking at Menach he said, "Bet you are happy you offloaded a lot of inventory at such high prices. You must be up over five million just on me alone."

Menach's whole body radiated self-satisfaction at finally having won one at Gary's expense.

Jan said, "If you two want to continue on I'll get one of the secretaries to type up any paperwork you need to have done." Menach handed her a couple of sheets from his clipboard. Jan time stamped them and left. Belatedly, Gary returned his attention to his beloved gold, which he'd almost forgotten in Jan's distracting presence.

As they moved back to the clerks and gold-laden trolleys Gary asked Menach as casually as his voice would allow, "I haven't noticed any mention of silver in your operations. Do you carry silver or have I simply been fixated on gold and missed it?"

"Oh we deal in silver all right. But we don't advertise it as much because the lower price per ounce makes for much more weight to make the same dollar return. The additional handling and storing of that volume is more costly. Much of our business is institutional, 100 and 1,000-ounce bars, along with silver rounds, bags of old silver coins. We don't stock as much of the small sizes as we do gold, but we do have them. Why? Are you interested in silver now?"

"Possibly. I'd want to see how my money worked out. But my main interest is gold. Are all your silver bars under 1,000 ounces encased in plastic?"

"Yes, of course, it prevents tarnishing."

"Oh well, if the occasion arises, we'll discuss it, but I'd also want to get competitive quotes. What is your premium on 100 ounce bars?"

Menach answered unhesitatingly "On orders under 20,000 ounces, $0.50 an ounce. On orders over 20,000 ounces, $0.25 an ounce," "I might find him a loathsome slug but he knows his trade, I've got to grant him that much"

"What is your spread?"

Caught, on the hop Menach replied. "But on orders over 20,000 ounces we halve that." He obviously knew he was now making a competitive quote.

"Are there any other charges of any kind applicable?"

"Just taxes, applicable on retail level quantities, not on institutional orders, and of course bar charges on bars under 100 ounces."

"I assume 100 ounce bars come packed in cartons for larger orders? What sort of inventory would be available on short notice?" Gary asked.

"Yes 100 ounce bars are packed in poly or cardboard containers of approximately 185 cubic inches, containing 1,000 ounces each, or about 68 pounds. On the spot we can normally fill any institutional order. Overnight such as you did with your gold, and particularly with larger sizes, it is virtually unlimited."

The other three local shipments were split apart, loaded and dispatched. Gary tipped the sweating clerks. When Menach looked a bit envious, Gary tipped him as well because he thought Menach could be vindictive. He admonished them that he didn't want the news of these shipments to go anywhere.

Gary hurried to special accounts where Jan showed him to an empty conference room with a phone, and left immediately leaving only that tantalising hint of fragrance in her wake.

Gary dialled SAFE-tee Corp and got through to his sales rep. The Swiss safes were confirmed but there was a question about the large office model. The available older ones were not nearly as heavy as the newer ones, which were also stronger with hi-tech metals and composites. Gary asked if they could make a newer model safe look older and look used. The salesman hesitated, his voice full of question marks but when Gary didn't enlighten him he cleared his throat and continued "Yes they could do that by painting it with house paint and using a mechanical buffer to simulate wear on parts., if that's what you want"

Gary agreed without further demur and arranged for delivery of the large office safe to an address yet to be specified, and a delivery date of next week, along with payment details.

Next he called Joe Seligman at Willis Armoured Cars.

"Hi Gary. I don't know if the shipment to the airport has arrived yet."

"I wasn't calling about that just now. They only left a few minutes ago. What I want to know is, are you a company who falls under the jurisdiction of the Foreign Exchange Stabilization Act?"

"No our parent company, Willis Bank is, but we're not. Why do you want to know?"

Gary ignored the question as if it hadn't been asked.

"So if your parent company were to be closed by a Bank Holiday, or something like that, you would still be open and able to service your clients?

"Yes. We could if we had to."

"Good!" Gary made up his mind. "Then can you do a pickup of precious metals and cash tomorrow and deliver it to a local address only in a week's time?"

"Yes we can, but we would charge a minimum one-month storage fee."

Gary thought the storage fees he quoted were unduly high but he needed this more than than the money and accepted without comment. They made a tentative appointment to do a pickup at 10:30AM the following morning at Premet.

Next he called Vance at Wilkinson.

"Hi, it's Gary."

"Gary! You sure are a money-making machine. Everyone in the office knows about you."

"Well, I am not too happy about that!" he snapped. "Right now I am desperately trying to keep a low profile. Please keep a tight lid on this, especially if someone official comes asking questions. No one is to let on about anything to do with where the money went, or anything else at all, except what is officially written down. You understand me Vance?"

"Oh, it would never leave the office."

"It already has, and you damned well know it. I just hope that my name isn't associated with it. Wives have a habit of telling their husbands and they are prone to bragging a little to their friends too. Let anyone who has anything whatever to do with this know that I am hopping mad and that the account is in jeopardy, - or whatever. Destroy any special notes you personally have on me. I don't want anyone official to have an easy time following up. In this atmosphere it is damned dangerous to be known to have wealth" He consciously lowered his voice and continued . "In any case that is not why I called. There have been some changes to my plan, and come to think of it, they make your story about me being boiling mad look real enough. Where am I on the gold puts?" Gary asked.

He could hear Vance punching up the gold. "You sold half your puts at $2,700 as expected. Gold has just crossed $2,600 so I expect they too have now been sold." Vance sounded quite cowed.

"OK, what are long bonds at now?"

"You're a long way toward your forecast of 50. They are 61 and 57/64ths." Vance said.

"What I want you to do is to sell out my bond puts before closing. Then wire the money to Premet first thing tomorrow morning. Just like you did with the gold option money. All the same conditions apply. I will be getting an overnight loan. Any problems?" Gary asked.

"No, I have an order to sell you out before the close, and wire the money to Premet first thing tomorrow." Vance sounded deflated.

"Oh and hold back a thousand. I want to keep the account open."

Vance's voice brightened noticeably "You expect to be doing more trades?"

"I have no idea. As you saw, my plans can change pretty fast but that possibility certainly exists. I expect that foodstuffs, and oil will rocket in price. Maybe, maybe not. We will see how this plays out," Gary said.

To himself he thought, 'Vance, I don't even expect your company to exist after this is over. But you have been fair and $1000 is a cheap price to give you some hope'. Aloud he said, "I gotta hop. Do you need anything else?"

"Nope. Sell you out and wire the money. Keep the account open. With a thousand bucks."

Gary rushed out towards Jan's office. She was alone. He skidded to a halt. "Do you have a few minutes? I want to do another deal."

"Why yes, of course! Gary." she smiled, encouragement in her eyes. 'Those beautiful, sparkling blue eyes' he thought.

"Okay, I am really rushed. I want another overnight loan to take effect from the market opening tomorrow, until the money arrives from Wilkinson."

"How much money are we talking about here, Gary?"

"Probably between four and five million."

"Is this another 'few' that will grow and grow?" she asked with another smile.

"Absolutely not. It could even be a bit less than four, although I doubt it."

"What do you want to do with it? More gold?" Jan cocked her head.

"Nope, Silver. I will be leaving this entirely in your hands," he said. "I want you to buy at the open tomorrow morning, 40,000 ounces of silver broken down this way", and he wrote it on a sheet of paper.

80 X 100-ounce bars.

800 X 10-ounce bars.

1600 X 5-ounce bars.

4000 X 2-ounce bars.

8000 X 1-ounce bars or coins.

"All plastic encased standard good delivery bars and packed in cartons for shipping by Willis. No logo bars but fill the order as you have sizes and I prefer small sizes. I don't want any 1,000 ounce bars but I will take bags of silver dimes if you have nothing else. I expect that order will eat up over one million, leaving about four million in US cash.

Make that roughly equal numbers $5's, 10's, 20's, 50's, and $100 US dollar bills."

Jan scribbled her notes as Gary spoke. "Spread fees like the four dollars we did for gold, but 25 cents over the market offer at the time of the purchase. Bar fees as you posted them last week. The overnight loan at 25%, but no arrangement fee because you will only be financing for an hour or so. Willis will pick up at 10:30. "However" he continued emphatically, his voice rising a little "in the event that something happens such as a government order before official delivery is made to me, there will be no purchase. Deal off! Once the title resides in me, delivery to Willis must then be made, regardless. If there is some block before the title passes I want straight cash for the entire amount, with your handling fee for cash as agreed. Is all that acceptable to you?"

Jan pursed her lips. "I already got a lot of flack about your low fees and moreover we were making money on the foreign exchange spreads, which we won't be here. I have to have more. How about one eighth of one percent more handling fee for the cash?"

"Ouch." said Gary. with a grimace "How about an arrangement fee of $25,000? That way the fees would be credited to your department."

The met his eye with a conspirator's glance. "I suppose I could live with that! Let me do my due diligence." While picking up the phone she dug out the papers for Gary to sign, at the same time began talking to Heidi the floor trader, then Vance, lastly to Menach,while he was filling out the blank forms.

"Yes, I can accept your order." she said with an air of finality.

Gary shook her proffered hand, clung to it for an instant longer than he needed to, feeling a tingle that seemed to go all the way through him before making a hurried, apologetic departure, racing downstairs for his car. The weather was still gloomy and drizzling rain, but he was already imagining the next steps and hardly noticed.
Chapter 8

At Ron Thompson, the lawyer's building, Eric had secured perfect places in the underground parking area, near to the elevators but in separated spots within easy sight of one another. As they waited for the elevator, Gary brought Eric and Lynn up to speed on his activities. They were both dressed casually, Lynn having taken the day off work and Eric having quit his job. Eric had not been sitting around either. He had found some unused air force hangars on a short-term rental to be used as hidden storage places for tanker trailers. The airfield was fenced and had a 24-hour guard service. He had also found eight used 10,000 gallon tanker trailers. "They seem in good shape but I don't think I am going to get them cheap."

"Ah, yes." Gary grinned ruefully. "There are three ways you can get something \- good, fast, and cheap. But you only get to choose two. If it's good and fast, it ain't gonna be cheap. People aren't desperate enough for prices to start falling yet."

In Ron's dark mahogany reception area, two guards, a male and a female in police uniform were lounging on a couch. Gary asked them for Mary, Ron's secretary, who ushered them into his stately, bookshelf-lined boardroom. As soon as they were behind closed doors Gary instructed Mary: "Make sure neither the receptionist, nor anyone else, gives those guards the slightest amount of information that could be used to identify or trace us later. Post the guards on either side of the door here. They are primarily a deterrent in case of unexpected problems. Order them sandwiches when we leave and let them go an hour after we leave, but pay them to five o'clock. Here are two $50 bills as a tip. Any questions of any kind by the guards are to be dealt with by Ron only."

Mary went to the phone to privately instruct the receptionist, since the guards were sitting within easy earshot of the reception desk. Hanging up she said, "Willis has already been up to scout out the lay of the land. They should be bringing up your shipment any time now." No sooner were the words out of her mouth than the receptionist phoned to say they'd arrived.

As soon as the room was clear Lynn asked, "Why are we being so secretive about who we are? Those are cops."

"At times like these it is the security forces who are the most dangerous," Gary stated flatly. "Anywhere the rule of law breaks down, it's the cops and anyone with authority and guns who steal the most. There is no reason for them to have any information. Treat them as if they were about to steal everything we have, because if they can trace us later on they will likely try."

"That's rather paranoid don't you think?" his daughter asked with one eyebrow raised.

"No there's good reason to be vigilant," Eric said abruptly. "You're not being paranoid if the threat is real."

Within a couple of minutes he second and third shipments were delivered, along with the bags of cash. Gary tipped the guards with a $50 bill each, along with one for the driver, and sent them on their way.

"You're being pretty free with the $50 bills aren't you?" Lynn asked. "Why are you tipping the cops and the guards so lavishly?"

"We want them to feel good about us so maybe if they are questioned about us later on they will just answer the questions asked, and we might hope they won't volunteer any extra information. Especially as I have already had a quiet word with them and taken their mobile numbers should we need their services again." He glanced over his shoulder as he was locking the door. "But maybe you're right" Gary bit his lip - "I am getting a bit paranoid!"

"Well, let's get started," Eric said, heaving a large bag of cash onto the table, unzipping it and dumping the contents on to one end. A few packets slid off onto the floor. He shook the bag to make sure it was empty and tossed it into a corner. He started to pick up the packets of cash from the floor, tossing them casually back on to the pile of bills on the table.

Lynn's eyes widened. "That's money," she said in a stunned tone, "Wait a minute. There's all these bags and boxes here. Just how much money do you have here?"

"Well some got shipped overseas, more is to come later, and the price of gold has gone down since we bought, but we made about $58 million in the stock market yesterday and today, so we have about half of that here," Gary busied himself straightening some of the packets of cash that were threatening to slide off the table again.

"Fifty eight million!" Lynn squeaked.

"Shhh. Keep your voice down," Gary hissed, motioning at the door. "I told you we would never have to work again if we didn't want to. Not only that but what we have will be worth a hell of a lot more in the months ahead. By the bye, it is not mine, it's ours. We will use it to buy whatever we need to survive - food, services, bribes, or whatever it takes. In the meantime, to the authorities, anyone with large amounts of cash is suspicious. They assume it is drug money or something and seize it first. Then it gets tied up for years while you are trying to prove yourself innocent."

Lynn continued to stare at the pile of money, awestruck. Gary placed three of the square leather accountant's briefcases on the table and said.

"We have to divvy up this cash now. Lynn, would you take three or six packets of one denomination, say 20s, and walk down, putting the packets equally and neatly into the cases? Eric and I will each take an extra packet and put it into our case. We will be spending this all pretty quickly so we need to have it accurately counted and sorted" he added

"Wait a minute," Lynn sputtered. "I had no idea that you've made literally millions of dollars. Fifty-eight million is pretty awesome evidence that you know what you are up to. I have to get up to speed on this. What's next?"

Eric picked up an armload of bill packets, and started distributing it. "We think it's going to be pretty depressing. What I'm saying is the speed and severity makes us also wonder if our worst-case scenario is 'worst' enough, and maybe by quite a long way. Last week we were not rich, we were just working stiffs. We planned, prepared and used our available resources to take advantage of the situation. Plus we got incredibly lucky because we were prepared to move fast. We had hoped to get out with as much as $10 million, but the speed and severity of events got us $58 million. We just won the lottery, big time!"

As they distributed the cash, and separated the gold destined for the home fridges, Eric told Lynn about the research he and Gary had done. He covered world events and the likely consequences. "It's like dropping a pebble into a still pond. We can predict there will be ripples. Those ripples will go out to touch everything all the way to the edge of the pond. It is going to happen every time and that also makes the ripples predictable. But this event is more like a huge meteor falling into the ocean. The ripples are a huge tsunami racing around the world, smashing everything in its way. The overall results are predictable only because the resulting ripples are predictable."

Seeing a kilo bar of gold for the first time astounded Lynn. "Look how small but heavy it is. And it's beautiful." she positively cooed.

"Yes, if it were compressed into a round ball it would be about the size of a golf ball, the whole kilo – 2.2 pounds. And those bars about the size of a brick over there are 400 ounce bars, about 25 pounds. At the other end of the scale, those one ounce coins are smaller than a quarter."

"How much is this worth?" Lynn asked, holding up the kilo bar, weighing it thoughtfully in her hand.

"Well in times to come it will be worth a kilo of gold. But today, depending on exactly what the price of gold is at this minute, probably about $70,000. Later we expect it will buy much more goods than $70,000 will today." Gary picked up a load of eight packets of bills to put into the briefcases.

Lynn was silent for some time. "Dad, do you want me to quit my job and go to Switzerland with you?"

"Really, we would prefer you did not quit your job at the moment. You are in the drug industry. Prescription drugs are going to skyrocket in value if you can get any at all. There won't be medical supplies or equipment where we are going. We may be able to get what we need in other ways but it will be more difficult and time consuming than if we had your contacts." Gary said.

He took a breath. "As far as Switzerland goes we feel there is a higher risk that we will lose part or all of that shipment. If we can keep and use it, we feel it might be invaluable. We hope that each of us would be able to get access to most parts of the shipment in an emergency, even if the other two cannot. Our first priority has to be to get what we had out of the system so it could not be easily found, seized and tied up, and then get a part of it outside the jurisdiction of the US. It is your choice whether you keep your job or not. Ideally if you could take a few days holiday, we could achieve both objectives."

She nodded her head, suddenly in emphatic agreement. "Okay I'll try to get next week off."

"That's great," Gary enthused. "By the way, what's his name, your latest boyfriend. Are you thinking of having him join our group?"

"No, oh Christ no! He is just a Mr. Right Now. Poor Ralph! He's nice in his own way but once the sex bit has worn off, he'll start driving me insane. Besides, I'm not in love with him!" Gary impulsively hugged her. "Plenty more fish in that old sea!" he smiled "You'll have to remember that you are a very rich heiress from now on and the sharks and charlatans will be trying their luck with you as soon as they can smell the money"

"I can look after myself daddy. I'm a grown up girl now!" She pecked his cheek and he ruffled her hair.

"Well, it looks as if we are about ready to start taking all this load down to the cars. We can probably get all the fridge stuff on one dolly so let's do it. Lynn, you stay here and lock the door so no one can stick their nose in here while we are away. Eric and I will take this lot to the cars. We need your car keys, please." He held out his hand. It was an order!

Despite the tension of moving a high value shipment unprotected through a public place, the trips to the cars were anti-climactic. As Gary exited the boardroom the female cop eyed him intensely, but the male guard was simply bored. In the parking area Eric reconnoitred, got out a street sweeper shotgun and loaded it. They then transferred each part of the fridge money and gold into the respective cars. Eric climbed back into his driving seat to caress his shotgun while Gary went for another load.

The second and third loads were strictly gold, and were difficult because of their weight. Three hundred pounds was heavy to push. The carpet formed a small wave in front of the wheels of the trolley so Gary was constantly pushing his heavy load uphill. Each time he exited the boardroom the female cop studied him more intently, seemingly ever more suspicious of what they were up to and on the verge of making a challenge.

To his profound relief she held herself twitchily in check so that finally they were able to load the last trolley, clean up the minimal debris, and call Ron in to let him know they were done. As the Gary and Lynn were exiting the boardroom with the load, the male cop who was now alert and scowling, asked, "Are we finished?"

"Not yet," replied Ron. "There are box lunches coming shortly."

"Just a minute," said the female cop. "As a police officer I cannot be involved in anything illegal. I don't like what I'm seeing. What exactly is going on here?"

"Nothing illegal," Ron said briefly.

"We still want to know what's going on," demanded the male cop.

"As an officer of the court I can't be involved in anything illegal, any more than you can. Also as an officer of the court, I can assure you that as the laws of the land are presently constituted, there is nothing illegal going on here. Eccentric possibly, but not illegal. We wouldn't have specified off duty cops as guards if there were the slightest taint about what is going on here, you understand?."

The male cop looked as if he was prepared to continue the battle but when his partner subsided with a curt nod of acceptance, he took her lead and backed off.

At Eric's they threw his fridge cash and gold into a closet, covering them with some dirty laundry. Next they drove to Gary's where they backed Lynn's, and then Eric's car into the garage and offloaded the heavier safe gold into piles along the wall, then threw tarps over to conceal them. Eric left with Lynn to get her fridge gold and money into her apartment. Jinally, he backed his own car into the garage, set his alarms and began dealing with his valuables.

Gary had kept six packets of Swiss Francs and all but one packet of the Canadian Dollars in New York. The other currencies, except for one packet of each, which he put aside in case he needed walking around money while he was there, along with $20,000 US had gone to Zurich. Eric returned having dealt with his own fridge gold and cash. Then they took turns guarding the garage while the other bought their prearranged clunker cars and rented garages. Gary returned last. "Well we have three garages and three clunker cars," he said with satisfaction, giving Eric a high five. Both of them were grinning like Cheshire cats.

"Okay!!" Eric exclaimed emphatically, flopping down into Gary's favourite leather reclining chair in the living room, while still grinning widely. "Now we have the tools we need to solve the problem of getting away so long as we can just keep it from being stolen. Now the hard work begins, accumulating supplies and equipment to keep our ark afloat and safe from pirates on the high seas."

Gary nodded his agreement, reached into his pocket for a cigarette, paused and on a sudden impulse threw the pack into a nearby trash bin." Time I gave this up. It's a new world coming and life's going to be very different from now on! Besides, with Lynn onside we've got a team now and she's always hated my filthy habits."
Chapter 9

Friday February 17th — Day 4.

About one o'clock Gary phoned Jan. "Did you complete the silver transaction this morning?" he demanded.

"Yes Gary, the shipment went out at about 11."

"Good. All the cash got included?"

"Yes. And I am beginning to see some of your hidden agenda. There has just been an announcement by the Exchange Stabilization Department of the Treasury. Banks are not allowed to sell gold retail. You are awesome."

"Did they mention silver in their press release?"

"No just gold."

"Ah So," opined Gary, "they have just formally admitted to the world that the US dollar is trash."

"Yes we're having trouble completing any foreign exchange transaction. Letters of credit, anything. Foreign banks are putting us on notice that they will not issue guarantees of any kind until the situation stabilizes. Business people are up in arms but the average citizen is not yet affected."

"That means no more foreign goods being loaded I suppose. But I've got to hop. Lots happening! Thanks for all the help. Hold the paperwork there and I'll see you in a week or so. Lots of things to do in the interim," he repeated meaningfully.

"Okay. Thank you for calling. I'm looking forward to our next business date. We. I mean – I", there was a bit of a catch in her voice "very much appreciate your business."

"Gary" she continued "A week is a long time especially just now. Will you call me as things begin to evolve. Round about nine o'clock each morning if you can?" The anxiety in her voice was palpable. Before he could respond she continued "and Gary, please be careful to look out for yourself."

"Sure I will do that Jan. That's very caring of you and I'm grateful. More than you know!" he added.

Just as he hung up he heard her say quietly, almost whimpering "I'm frightened!"

Gary and Eric had been up since well before 6:00 am. It had got cooler overnight and the occasional drizzle of yesterday had turned into the odd flake of snow that melted on hitting the pavement. Eric drove Gary to the van rental place, and then left to arrange a tow truck to move the first of the clunker cars, Gary's 57 Studebaker. Next he picked up the van and welding equipment and was back at the house in plenty of time to receive the safes he had ordered. The three smaller ones he had the delivery driver place at the rear of the garage under a tarpaulin. The three larger models went on to pallets, with disguising plywood built around them, were placed in the back of the van.

They had planned to deliver the cars one by one, wrestle the safes into the trunk, weld them in place, fill them, lock them and then call a second towing company to haul the filled car to its garage. The hope was to break the paper trail by using two separate companies that didn't know about each other. One person would stay at the garage filling the next safe while the other would accompany the filled car to its final resting place. They had just dropped the empty Studebaker into Gary's garage. Eric turned to the driver, who was awaiting further instructions, "Excuse us for a moment. We have something to discuss."

Gary frowned and followed Eric a short distance away, beyond the driver's earshot.. "Listen!" he said "I was thinking that we have a problem controlling whether these guys see each other. No point in being so secretive if they all know what is going on. One of us will have to go with the truck doing the pickup to slow him down if necessary. It needs at least two to get that safe in the car, and one of us has to go with the drop off truck to make sure everything is locked and secure."

"Yeah. And someone has to load the safe, and should be here to watch the garage." Gary thought for a moment. "This is going to add more time, damn it. We might not even get all the warehouse safes placed today."

"Do you think it would be better if we used six towing companies for the six loads, and call them as we need them?"

Gary shook his head.

"Those towing companies often operate under several names. I do like calling them as we need them but towing guys say they will be there right away, and that means today some time. Maybe we could take that chance with the full cars, but use this guy to pick up the empty ones to bring here. Just don't give him the pickup address until we are ready"

"Okay. I'll handle the pickups and you handle the drop offs so the garage won't be unguarded for long." Eric went over to the patiently waiting driver , "We do have another pickup in Norwalk but I can't say exactly when, probably in just over an hour. If we give you 15 to 30 minutes notice can you or one of your buddies be there to meet me and pick up?"

"Probably. I expect so. Friday morning is usually pretty slow," he shrugged.

"How much do we owe you to date?" Gary asked. When the driver told him, he paid in cash with a $20 tip, making a point of requiring no receipt which seemed to delight the man. Gary was also quietly and inwardly delighted because it likely meant there would be no record of the transaction and that the same driver would be there waiting for the next shipment.

They completed welding the safe into the trunk and half filled it before calling the second tow company to pick up the loaded car. Eric would continue loading the van safes until Gary phoned to say his drop off was complete and that he was headed back.

Four and a half hours after the first clunker car had been delivered the last of them was in the last garage with its smaller safe, filled and welded into the now locked trunk. The three larger safes in the van had been filled and their plywood fronts been screwed into place, disguising them.

Eric left with the last tow truck. Gary returned the welding equipment and stopped by his bank to pick up cash, driving the van. When he cancelled his standby line of credit, he had also ordered all his investments to be sold, all personal and corporate accounts to be stripped except for one dollar to keep them open, and the resulting cash to be waiting. This latter yielded another fair sized bag of $20 and $10 bills.

Gary met Eric at the first of the public storage warehouses they had selected to hide the safes in. Wrestling the heavy safe on to a trolley and into the private storage cubicle proved so difficult that Eric decided to help Gary at the next public storage warehouse. It was then that Gary finally said, "Enough, we are going to get a heart attack this way. I'll find a moving and storage company for Lynn's safe, and they can move it with a forklift. So that relieves you so that you may as well get on with purchasing the tanker trailers and a place to hide them."

On his way to Orange, on impulse, Gary stopped at a truck stop, partly because he was hungry and partly because he had an idea. As he came up to the restaurant he saw a trucker ambling up toward the door too.

"Excuse me, sir," Gary smiled slightly, putting on his professional head-hunter face. "Do you have a moment and are you familiar with the area? I would like to ask you a couple of questions."

"I am reasonably familiar with Orange county. I deliver here a lot. What do you want to know?"

"What I am looking for is a small local trucking firm, maybe 15 or 20 tractors, that the owner has a reputation for honesty. It would be a great help to me if you know of such a firm?"

The trucker pursed his lips, paused to scratch his head, sucked in his teeth, said, "Probably Alpine would be your best bet, or maybe Habel over on Marsh Hill road."

"Would you happen to know if either of them also does storage?"

"Alpine has a pretty small building, but Habel has a larger old place, a bit ramshackle but, you know, they're ok. Reliable! It is part of a farm that the family has. Habel is growing through word of mouth very fast, but everything is paid for. All their trucks and everything I hear. Pretty closed mouth though. I like them, and I have seen a few things stored there. They have some storage racking."

"That's great. Sounds exactly like what I am looking for. Do you know the name of the owner?".

"Yeah, Chris Habel."

"Thank you very much. You have helped a lot."

After finishing his hamburger, Gary asked another truck driver the same question and got the same response - Habel or Alpine. He looked up Habel's landline number and address, keyed in the number and Chris himself answered. After some hesitation he said, "yes, they would have space for that kind of box."

Orange hadn't grown out past Marsh Hill Road yet. Gary turned left onto a dirt entrance driveway that intrigued him. It was not gravelled but it was flat,, smooth and level. It should by rights have been rutted by trucks going in and out. The truck yard though was gravelled, not in quite as good a shape as the road, but obviously they paid attention to details in this business.

It was evident, too that Chris was not totally out of the farming business because horses and cows roamed in the field beyond the chain-link truck fence. Gary noticed a tanker trailer sitting in the truck yard. After arranging and paying cash for six months storage, he casually asked if they used tankers a lot.

"Yes we have a couple of regular customers who use tanks." Chris shrugged. He was taciturn but sounded reliable.

"If you were buying a used tank how do you tell whether it is in good condition?"

"The tank should have a certification sticker. It has to be renewed every two years I think. I have a mechanic guy I leave all that to."

"Is your mechanic guy employed by you or is he an independent contractor?" Gary asked.

"Oh we are not large enough to have a whole lot of permanent staff. He has a shop just down the street."

"What's his name, Chris? I might need someone who knows tanks."

"His name is Roy Bryant. Don't remember what he calls his company but his phone number is 656-3456."

Gary noted the name and number and said, "Trustworthy, I take it."

"Oh absolutely. If he says something about anything you can bet it's going to happen. I've used him for years." For such a taciturn guy, Chris's recommendation seemed very fervent.

Gary thanked him profusely, promised that either he or Eric would be in touch soon and left then called Roy Bryant who assured him he could give him a few minutes, he wasn't busy just then.

Just as obviously as Chris' place was a farm and a truck depot, Roy's property had been sectioned off from a farm. What appeared to be his home was out behind the large Quonset hut he used as a garage

Roy turned out to be soft spoken, about five foot eight, slim with a wiry build, originally from Peru. The name Bryant didn't sound Peruvian. Gary thought South Americans were brown. As ebony black as Roy was he didn't look Peruvian either. They discussed tanks. Gary asked about the possibility of hiring Roy to give anything they bought a quick once over.

"Maybe," Roy said." It would depend on how busy I was."

"Fair enough." Gary said. "I wonder if you might know anyone in the area, or more over towards Easton, with a small space to rent that has a truck level dock. I have some office furniture to store while we move. I would only want it for a month or two."

After a moment's thought, Roy said, "Well, I know a guy over by Trambull who has an old building. Last I heard he was repairing it but he might have something to rent. You'll have difficulty getting a trailer into their docks, but a straight truck would be easy, if all you are moving is office furniture."

"That sounds great." Gary enthused. "Do you know his number?"

"I can look it up." Roy turned on his mobile and wrote down the name and number on the back of an envelope.

Gary flipped open his smartphone, called, got directions and made arrangements to meet at the building in half an hour. Which left him with just enough time to thank Roy and promise that he or Eric would be in touch soon.

Roy's description of the space in Trambull was apt. It was an old stone fortress of a building with loading docks close to the street so a trailer backing in would partly block the way while it was loading up. It was ground floor with a double loading dock which was a basic requirement for Gary. The place had a musty smell that wasn't too pleasant but he wrinkled his nose thinking that the air of dilapidation was just what he wanted plus the price was about half the rate for industrial malls.

'You've got to stop thinking like a f***ing accountant!' he rebuked himself "We are dealing in millions of dollars and anyway its inflating as we speak just like in Germany in 1922!' The money is irrelevant!'

He followed Mr Trambull into his office and they drafted a simple letter of agreement for a month-to-month lease. Gary paid him cash in advance which seemed to delight the old man, and received the keys in exchange. 'Another tax dodger' he thought, pleased at the idea. Trambull wouldn't be blabbermouthing about it and that was better security than having guards patrolling up and down outside.

On his way home he ordered the Trambull space to be alarmed with motion detectors, key entry point breach detectors, and an alarm notification system. Next he made travel arrangements for Zurich, paying cash at a local agency he had used in the past, vaguely surprised that it was still open and apparently 'business as usual'.

Chapter 10

Sunday February 19th. — Day 6

The flight to Zurich touched down punctually at 8:35 pm local time, having left New York at 6am New York time. In a fit of extravagance and some caution, Gary had booked first class seats. He had arranged through the lawyers in Zurich to reserve a hotel room and a rental van with a pull out ramp. Clearing customs presented no problems but when they went to pick up the reserved van the rental agency demanded a credit card as identification.

"I'm sorry, my credit cards have been blocked at the US end." Gary lied "but here is my passport and driver's license."

The agent shook his head "Well we can't rent to you then, sir. We need the security of a credit card."

"Sorry we need a security deposit. We swipe the card in advance. This is normal practice, sir. You should know that!"

Gary let his agitation show "Please, I have a problem here! Will you just take US dollars in cash?" He reached into his billfold and extracted a wad of $50 notes. The agent huffed and puffed, called his manager in who smilingly accepted as Gary counted out the requisite quantity and added an extra $100 for his 'dash'

"Cash never offends" he whispered to Eric "and there won't be any receipts or other data to create an audit trail either. We're in the 'black economy' now!"

It was late, nearly 11 PM, when they eventually reached their hotel. It was a stately pile of rocks obviously catering to the moneyed crowd with massive old portrait paintings, deep carpets and velvet wall hangings. Again they were met with a demand for a credit card but Gary felt on firmer ground here. At worst he knew that most hotels accepted cash and a passport. Not only that, but since this was an up-market one he presumed that lawyers would refer clients to it who tended to prefer anonymity, with discretion extending to the femmes fatales who were likely to accompany them. "We are an overseas customer of Credit Suisse. You have my reservation? I will pay you cash in advance for three days, and settle any extra charges daily." He pushed his passport and driver's licence across the counter with a sheaf of bills and an extra 'dash' to quieten the Desk Clerk. He then ostentatiously dropped another four $50 bills on top "It would assist us if you did not require to issue receipts, I can count on your discretion, perhaps? There are some agencies here whom I do not wish to alert to our presence – you understand?"

The Clerk gave an oily smirk. "This is Switzerland sir! We invented discretion!"

Gary dropped him another $50 and they were in!

Despite jet lag, the three of them immediately spread out to gather information. Lynn purchased several thick newspapers, rolls of plastic adhesive tape, and a city map, while chatting up the hotel shop clerk. Eric engaged the hotel Desk Clerk while Gary talked to the concierge. Later, they gathered at Eric's room to compare notes.

The main Zurich offices of the three largest Swiss banks were gathered a short cab ride away. Since Gary already had an account in one of the banks, Eric and Lynn each chose a different one to open their accounts. The plan was to obtain for each of them a larger than minimum sized safety deposit box in an attempt to excite the interest of Swiss bankers, making it easier to open an account at short notice. Nobody pays money for a box they won't use. Nor do they use boxes to store non valuables.

Gary briefed Lynn and Eric. "Opening an account at a Swiss bank is a real pain. They are arrogant and might deign to accept your money. You will spend most of the morning cooling your heels waiting to see a clerk who is entitled to take your name. You can avoid most of the rest of the hassle by casually mentioning to that clerk that you work as a head-hunter for my firm, dealing pretty exclusively with the world's foremost international banks in New York."

"Do they speak fluent English?" Eric asked.

"Definitely. Most Swiss are fluently tri-lingual or more. If you really want to make him pee his pants, you can mention that the market for private bankers for high net-worth individuals seems to be heating up. Do take a resume if offered, or have it emailed to your home address 'so you can 'be sure it won't get lost among all the other resumes we receive daily.' Just ask lots of interview type questions about what he has done. Be very slightly impressed. You both know enough about my business to wing it. Then just be a dumb American who wants to open an account and get a safety deposit box. I don't know how much good this will do us because the total world financial system is likely to collapse, but I would be surprised if the Swiss collapsed along with the rest."

"Now why would we want to open an account if the banks are going to fail?" Lynn demanded.

Gary, with his elbow on the arm of the chair he was sitting on, leaned his chin into his palm. "It's a long shot but the Swiss have been playing this 'secure centre for world banking' game for centuries, and it seems reasonable to bet they will find a way to do so again. It seems worthwhile to gamble a couple of thousand Swiss Francs to be customers in good standing. We will probably need it for trading purposes later. Another thing, you can offer credit cards as identification, but no swiping. We have enough of a paper trail with the Willis shipment to Zurich. We don't want to make it easy for someone in the US to see we were here by leaving a credit card trail as well. Use your passports along with cash instead."

They had also found nearby stores selling heavy moving dollies, as well as information about how to best go about finding short-term commercial space to rent. There appeared to be two largish chains of public 'U store' companies in Zurich.

Monday February 20th — Day 7.

Gary left early with the van to look for some commercial space to rent as a drop-off point in preparation for the gold and safes that would be delivered by Tuesday. They planned to store the safes at public storage in the same way as they already had done in New York. Eventually, he found a small storefront with a loading dock at the rear but the one month rental was astronomical. Probably about six months cost. When he objected he was told "It doesn't make sense to lease for only one month. Too much paperwork to make it worthwhile." He opted for six months rental as a compromise in case it might be useful later and used Lynn's newspapers and tape to cover over the store windows.

Eric and Lynn were off opening their bank accounts and purchasing the moving dollies to complete the gold hiding project. They met back at the hotel to drop their purchases, and left again immediately to make a round of the banks and become second signators, so that all three were able to access eachother's accounts and boxes.

At Gary's bank, a huge ancient imposing stone money temple, on impulse he asked the lady serving them if they still sold gold.

Behind her marble counter with its antique metal anti-robbery grillwork, she replied, "Yes, we can deliver certificates of deposit for gold purchased and stored with us today. If you want physical bullion there is now a one-week waiting period before delivery. By the way, I see you are from the US. If you are planning on using credit cards, American credit cards do not work today. The US just declared a Bank Holiday."

Gary and Eric exchanged significant glances. "What exactly is a ,Bank Holiday,?" asked Eric.

"The government orders all banks and financial institutions closed and not to do any financial transactions. So neither credit cards nor debit cards will work. We just learned about it a half an hour ago because it was only announced at 7AM New York time, and we are in different time zone here."

Gary pulled a worried face, "Oh, we were planning on using our credit cards for a vacation. What are we going to do now? Did they say how long the Bank Holiday would last?"

"They said for a week!"

"A week!" Even though he had been expecting this premonition of the impending collapse, his voice rose to a squeak. "That's impossible. It's unprecedented. Even in a State of Emergency that can't happen! Are you winding me up or something?"

He read the expression in her face "No, you're not are you!

What on earth is going on?"

"Are you exchanging dollars, bank drafts, travellers checks or anything else for Swiss Francs then?" Eric cut in.

"No, I'm sorry but we don't know what exchange rate to use."

Gary gripped his arm, drew him away from the counter. "Let's finish up here and go have a coffee and discuss what to do."

Outside Lynn said, "Is it just me, or is it just poor maths? You wanted to see what the Swiss were doing about the US dollar. Or any other dollar, come to that."

"Sure thing" Eric said, "Do you realise what this actually means? If the Swiss are not exchanging dollars it is probable that no one else around the world is either. All international trade is stopped, kaput! Anything to or from the US not now on a ship or in the air won't get past customs clearance. That's it! As of now, it's all over!"

Lynn interrupted, her voice pensive. "High in the mountains of upper Switzerland, guarded for centuries by Norwegian fish herders lies the secret: The Swiss couldn't care less about the American dollar. US bonds have just become junk."

Gary shrugged. "It is still an abstract to them. It is happening somewhere else. Recession is when your neighbour loses his job. Depression is when you lose yours. America's credit rating has just gone from triple 'A' to triple 'Z'. I think I need a drink. A good stiff one. I need to digest this, think it over. Let's go!"

Back at the hotel Gary sat down. "Do you think this changes our plans at all?"

Eric considered for some time. "The speed this is moving at is dangerous, but no, I don't think so. We just have to keep our cool, our planning has been spot-on so far. One change might be helpful though. We talked about using public storage in that little town on a lake about an hour outside Zurich. 'Rapperswill', I think you said. There are only two major public warehouse chains in Zurich. Taking one stash outside would spread our risk."

"Yes, or Stafa, another town on the way to Rapperswill, which is a bit larger and not quite as touristy. I like the idea. Judging by what the woman at my bank said, this is moving at lightning speed and it is becoming very urgent to get our other plans underway. We should try to go back tomorrow rather than Wednesday when we are scheduled. I think there is a flight leaving at 6PM, assuming that that Swissair is still operating. We won't be able to receive the safes and gold shipment, get it packed, stored, and also drive an hour each way to Rapperswill and make that flight. One of us will have to stay over and do Rapperswill and come back Wednesday as scheduled.

But which of us should stay? We both have things in New York that have to go forward urgently."

"So what am I then? Chopped liver?" demanded Lynn.

Gary blinked and said, "Oh. Sorry. Of course you are right Lynn. I was thinking of my little girl and the weight to be moved. I guess I view females as fragile things but that's rather dumb. You are as capable as any of us. The truth is that none of us could move that safe alone. We will have to have local help."

Gary paused for a moment, remembering them as babies and how very different they'd been. Lynn had loved being cuddled. From the day he was born Eric stiffened up and screeched if you cuddled him. They were still very different but he was so proud of them. He regretted that the divorce was largely his fault. His wife had been a good woman who had worked hard at the marriage. She had even given him custody so the children would get to know their father, because he had worked so much to provide for them that he'd seldom actually had time to see them.

'If only I hadn't been so rigid.'

Lynn said "I'll bet the lawyers referred by Ron Thompson can help us find a storage place out of town. They should know Switzerland."

It was a great idea and their luck was in. They saw the lawyer half an hour later. By then the secretary had found a storage place and booked a room at the Movenpick Hotel in Rapperswill for Lynn. The lawyers were able to arrange that Gary and Eric be second signators at the storage unit, by using a photocopy of their passports.

There was a flurry of activity as they rushed to get back home to confront the problems there. They were able to change their flight plans before other fliers realized their credit cards didn't work and tried to get seats. Being in first class made changing much easier. While they were at the lawyers, they arranged a number of legal affairs, including setting up a number of anonymous companies.

Chapter 11

Tuesday February 21st — Day 8

Entering the massive customs clearing room in New York at 8:30 PM, it looked as if ten Boeing 777 jets had just landed, all at once. The room was crowded to overflowing. A number of loud arguments were erupting at the customs gates and invariably the people doing the arguing were pulled aside to a separate area. When the person ahead of them in the queue was being processed, the cause became clear. The customs officer took the American passport from the businessman, looked puzzled, and searched through it with exaggerated care. He announced that the businessman was short of a paper. Gary turned to Eric keeping his voice lowered, "It sure didn't take these guys long to set up a cash rich business now that the banks have closed. They seem to want a bribe to let us back into our own country. Makes sense though, travellers from abroad are likely to have at least a little cash even if it is in a different currency."

The businessman erupted in anger as he realized what was happening. He began to shout that he was an American citizen and this was robbery. The immigration officer raised a hand, beckoned to two armed goons and pointed to the man. He was soon enough pulled off to a separate room, presumably for further investigation. The message was clear. Pay now or suffer bureaucratic delay. The more you argue and shout, the longer the delay. Gary reached for his wallet and inserted a $5 bill in his passport before handing it over. Five dollars wasn't much but it would be better to start small. Eric did the same. The customs officer riffled through his passport and asked "Anything to declare?" He stamped it with a flourish and waved him through. The fiver had mysteriously disappeared.

In view of the ease and speed with which corruption had infiltrated officialdom, Gary and Eric had become very aware of the risk of being mugged as they made their way to the car, which was parked in the distant and poorly-lit, long-term parking lot. But at least there were the two of them together and nothing untoward materialised.

The temperature was just at freezing or below. The streets were a bit slushy so there must have been fairly heavy snow that had largely melted while they were gone and the skies were still cloudy with an occasional flake of snow. It was a somber homecoming, America had become a dangerous place to be during their short absence. They resolved that they would both be there, armed, to meet Lynn when she arrived the following night.

Eric and Gary deliberately hadn't spoken much on the plane home, as they were well aware of the possibility of being overheard, a common way for secrets to get leaked. High-powered people often discuss things on planes, and other high-powered and smart people overhear them, add two and two together and gain dangerous intelligence as a result. Since they are high-powered, they may well have the wherewithal and inclination to act. Gary had been reading the paper and handed it to Eric, pointing out four articles, saying, "Day two of a Bank Holiday, Day eight of a crisis."

Eric raised his eyebrows as he read.

"The Road To Deposit Insurance

In June 1933, Congress enacted federal deposit insurance. Accounts were covered up to $2,500 per depositor (at today's value: $100,000). Other laws were passed regulating bank activities and competition, with the objective of limiting risks to banks and reassuring the public that banks were, and would remain, safe and reliable.

Latest year figures indicate that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp alone was directly insuring $2.7 trillion in deposits. FDIC total assets are but a small fraction of that, about $50 billion. An unnamed source in the FDIC said, "In the present circumstances, there are some straws we can desperately grasp at, and I grasp at them too, but that is just for entertainment. Our fate is not in our hands."

"Constitutional Crisis Brewing.

Article I, Section 8, Clause 5 of the constitution states that "the Congress shall have the power to coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures." Yet each of the twelve Federal Reserve Banks is a private corporation. The commercial member banks of the Federal Reserve System hold the shares. Worse, the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee, which sets short-term interest rates and influences the size of the money supply by buying or selling government securities, consists of 12 members including 5 Federal Reserve district presidents who have never been seen by the President or the Congress, but have a vote on setting the credit policy and money supply of the United States.

A challenge has been mounted that the money of the United States is unconstitutional.

According to Senator Herbert Johnson, he has "never seen Congress spend so much time on trivialities in a crisis. Our first job is to fix what is broken, not obfuscate by pointing blame elsewhere."

"OPEC Halts Oil Transactions In Dollars

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), joined by prospective members, discontinued all sales in US dollars.

Current OPEC Secretary General, Ashraf sihab-Joukhdar of Kuwait said, "At the moment, selling of oil in dollars has been completely halted. The US Dollar is an unreliable currency, considering its devaluation and oil exporters' losses."

Because the US has depleted its foreign exchange reserves fighting the dollar collapse, this bodes ill for the US. The problem is not confined to oil. It is affecting all US imports including from Canada, [which ironically is a member of the International Energy Agency, (IEA) OPEC's political opposite]. Russia, Mexico, China and other exporters, have announced that they have halted all sales denominated in US dollars."

"Whole industries line up with hands out to Washington.

With economic conditions deteriorating rapidly, banks, insurance companies, pension funds, the auto industry and even states, cities and counties are mobilizing their tens of thousands of lobbyists for an emergency handout after the Bank Holiday ends. Highly leveraged hedge funds, money market funds, and even the shadow banking financial companies such as GE Capital are all complaining that if they don't get money, the financial system, and America will collapse.

All credit markets have seized up. Meanwhile, Washington also has to wrestle with the 800-pound gorillas of Social Security and Medicare with trillions in unfunded liabilities."

It seemed to Gary that government was reacting as humanity normally does when it encounters a distasteful problem. First, deny and ignore the problem in the hope it would just go away, then anger, and finally reluctant management of the problem. In this case they didn't even have time to manage reluctantly. Of course government never had a problem with excessive time so long as their own bellies were full. But there was only so much food and oil in the pipeline in our 'just in time' world.

After dropping Eric off at his apartment and driving home, Gary did not do what he most wanted to do, which was to go to bed. He began with his computer, searching his own database, and several he subscribed to on the Internet. He looked for ships' brokers, pilots, fuel suppliers, and other classes of ship suppliers, those people who would normally have dealings or business relationships with captains of ships. He paid special attention to ships chandlers who act as the country store, supplying a very wide range of goods such as food and services to all ships.

Because he could not wait longer, he phoned Lynn, waking her at 5am Swiss time, and gave her an update on events in the US, particularly at the airport. Then he finally went to bed.

Wednesday February 22nd — Day Nine

Expert head-hunters charge obscene fees. The only way to be worth these fees is to find the right person, the first time, every time. Many years previously Gary had perfected this headhunting technique, which in theory went like this: if you wanted the best 'widget' salesperson around, the people best able to judge the qualifications of widget salespeople were 'widget' customers. So, all you had to do was ask the people who knew exactly how effective the salespeople were. Ask 'widget' customers, 'Who served your needs best in the last couple of years?'

Once a name came up twice, (there are some pretty strange one-on-one relationships) he had a good one, with positive references. Now the only problem remaining was to get that person to the bargaining table, because good people are seldom on the lookout for a change. They are already being well compensated, both emotionally and monetarily, if their boss has any acumen at all. Gary had developed some good, subtle techniques to tempt them to the bargaining table.

"Wolfgang, my name is Gary Alden. I worked with you on the Panzatta deal. Do you recall it?" It was 8:05AM, and already Gary was on the phone to Wolfgang Perl, a shipping broker he had previously done business with.

He chuckled at Wolfgang's broad brogue. "Yah, ah do Mon. How are you Gary?"

Gary would have loved to play poker with Wolfgang. Born of a German father and a Jamaican mother, he tended to unconsciously play the race card when things weren't quite going as he would like. Not that he was black, more a beautiful light brown, but he became 'jusa Poah li'll ol black boah' presumably to gain advantage. His normal British accent from down Essex way had developed a distinct lilt.

"Just great. I'm working on the early stages of a deal that could be trade related. As yet, I don't see any business for you, but there may be possibilities. I'd like to pick your brains for a few minutes. When would be a convenient time to talk to you?"

"The way the bloody world is going, now would be as good, or bad a time as any. What are you looking for, mon?"

"Well Wolfgang, I suppose this is going to sound pretty strange because not many of the details are yet finalized. I am looking for someone, or perhaps more of a specific personality type than anything else. I want to find a captain of ocean going vessels who runs a tight ship. Not really a tight ship in an authoritarian sense, but more in the sense of being very innovative or imaginative and getting things done. Probably a grizzled veteran, very honest, but knows exactly when, where and how to cut corners with no fuss or bother. Comfortable in pretty well every port in the world. Knows how to avoid the pirates in the Straits of Malacca and Southeast Asia, how to squeeze an extra few miles out of a bunker of fuel, how to create loyalty in a crew, how to trade for whatever is not available through normal channels. Someone who is pretty unflappable no matter what the circumstances. Possibly retired now. So in your experience who is the very best, most versatile captain you have run across in the last few years?"

Wolfgang ummed and aahed for a couple of minutes before inally clearing his throat and responding.

"Well the guy who comes to mind retired a couple of years ago, but I heard he took a short term contract afterwards. When he finished that recently, he swore 'no more'. I think he is reacting to the death of his wife. He doesn't seem to have a problem with people who have values other than his own, but he's bloody rigid in his own values. Honest almost to a fault but pragmatic. If the society he was dealing with requires bribes, I think he would, but only if there was no other way. Looks after his people and they would die for him, although he is pretty strict about some things. But, like I said, he has retired and sworn, 'no more.' "

"Does he walk on water too?" Gary asked softly. "What's his name?"

"Claude D'Antonio. Born in the Azores. Went to sea when he was 13. Highly intelligent, and considering that he is entirely self-educated, speaks English very well. Lives in Jersey, some small town. What do you want him for?"

"Well, the ideas I have are pretty vague right now, initially probably consulting as to what is possible and how to get the job done," Gary said evasively. "If we need someone, or something, I would expect he could point us in the right direction."

"That's for sure," Wolfgang enthused. "That guy has been everywhere and done everything. Knows everybody in the business."

"Thanks, I appreciate that. By the way, while I've got you, have you ever seen a sort of a junior version of Claude? Younger, probably not yet Captain, very honourable and resourceful, smart. Going to be a Claude someday but not experienced enough yet."

Wolfgang pondered, "Well, yeah. Kinda hard to tell since the younger ones have no track record, but there's one that I thought handled himself well, a guy named Bruce Nott. He was off the Corinthian. Notices things and is pretty shrewd. Seemed like a straight shooter."

"Wolfgang, I owe you big time and I expect you to collect if things go our way but everything's up in the air just now as I expect you are aware. How's business?"

"Bloody confusing mon. Mosly it's de financial situation. Nobody wants to trust nobody else's credit, and de bloody banks aren't doing anything. Everyone's afraid of de foreign exchange risk. Yo can't predict whether yo'all will get paid, or how much yo'all will get paid, even if yo do get paid."

"Everything denominated in US dollars is the problem?" Gary asked.

"Pretty much, but even if you suggest Euros, nobody moves because the situation is so volatile. Nobody can move anything if de banks won't release the documentation."

"Lots of goods sitting waiting to be shipped?" Gary asked, now very interested because of his trade plans.

"Never mind waiting to be shipped, full ships are anchored all up and down the coast. The dockyards are full of goods awaiting document clearance, so there's no place to put the goods, even if they wanted to unload. Those dockyards fill up bloody fast with nothing moving out. Just in time delivery has gone out the window, closing a lot of businesses because they can't get supplies."

"Same situation around the world?" Gary asked.

"Far as I know. Nobody is moving bloody much anything, anywhere with banks closed around the world," Wolfgang complained. "You heard that the banks in much of Europe closed this morning in a Bank Holiday?"

"No, I hadn't, and that is damned interesting. In a round-about way it might work alongside what I want Claude for. Do you think you and I might be able to set up some counter-trade, international trade of goods for goods, no cash involved?"

"Hmmm, Maybe. Those kinds of deals can be bloody tough, but it is a thought. Umm, yes, definitely a thought," mused Wolfgang.

Counter-trade or international barter is difficult because no money is involved. Not only do you have to find someone who can take the quantities of product you have, but he has to have something you want in sufficient quantity to satisfy you in return to complete the barter. And you have to be able to trust each other. Once you agree on the value of what both you and they have, then things usually move quickly.

"Tell you what, see if you can get a handle on what sorts of goods are sitting in containers right now. Nothing very specific, just a good idea of what may be available for trade so we can rough out some preliminary plans. Think we could meet in the next couple of weeks?" Gary asked.

"Yeah, that might be an idea. I might as well be doing that because I'm not bloody doing anything much that's productive now. Just chasing ma tail. Okay, I'll try to get a list of what is sitting in the yards and along the coast. Shouldn't be too difficult."

"Okay," said Gary. "What sort of contacts do you have in other ports offshore? Do you know anyone you would trust to act as a counter party in a trade deal like this?"

"A few," Wolfgang admitted. "I'd have to think about it."

"Great," enthused Gary. "It's still early days. But that's exactly what we need - information to make plans with. Talk to you in the next week or so."

After hanging up, Gary started files on Claude D'Antonio and Bruce Nott, recording as much detail as possible. He continued to farm his database, with the drudgery of phoning each name on the list he had dug up. To each he asked the same question. "Who do you know that fits these qualifications?"

At the end, he had a list of five different names of captains, and three juniors. Claude's name had come up the most often, seven times, and his file was growing thicker. Ah ha, Claude me boy, you I want – big time. Them as what knows have voted you beauty queen in this contest. I don't have to know another thing about you.

Nevertheless, he began a detailed check on Claude's (born Claudio) background. By the time he finished he had a thick file containing information on his children, data on such things as his house type, and probable resale value, and a massive confirmation of Wolfgang's first opinion. Honest, trustworthy, smart and adaptable, he was a leader of men. He had fathered three smart children too. His eldest, a daughter, was a surgeon of merit, and she had married a well-respected doctor. The other daughter was a dentist. Only a younger son had followed him to sea and that son was on his list of the three up-and-coming juniors.

He also discovered that Claude had listed his house for sale in the last few days. Probably triggered by his wife's death. He was definitely in the mood for some kind of move.

Gary phoned him and was lucky enough to catch him in.

"Captain Claude D'Antonio? My name is Gary Alden. I understand you are one of the most knowledgeable people in the marine end of shipping, or as related to cargo ships. Given the recent developments in the world, particularly here in the US, I may have something interesting to say, in the form of a job that needs doing."

"Mr. Alden, I'm retired now. Worked longer than I expected. I settle down now. I think I pass, thank you!"

"I can understand your desire to settle down Claude, but I think my project might be of interest to you, particularly as it regards the recent violent changes taking place right now in the world order of things. Believe me, greater violence and disruption is coming, and imminently so! I might hope that you, and your family, among some other people that I am in discussion with, can put together a corporate plan for escaping the worst effects. But initially there is a little travel, only as may be required for consulting purposes, and it pays cash. If you want to bow out afterwards that's agreeable, but your knowledge and experience is desperately needed immdiately now!"

"I'll tell you what," Gary continued, starting one of his standard methods of bringing a candidate to the bargaining table. "I was planning on being down your way, even as early as tomorrow. Would you be able to meet for lunch, or maybe dinner would be better, if the conversation continues? Talk is cheap and there's plenty to talk about, I can assure you.. Since I'm not familiar with your area I would prefer you picked a suitable venue. Something nice, maybe a high-class steak house, where we can converse privately? Do you know of a place that would be suitable? "

"Well that's some pitch, Mr Alden! Maybe you're right, too. Talk is cheap," mused Claude. "I've been watching what is going on. I'm no fool and I'm seeing some very disturbing things beginning to happen. The world is changing fast and in some bad and quite alarming ways. Yes, I might be interested in what you have to say but I want to know a great deal more about you and just what you are up to.. I'm not promising anything. But I will listen."

"I'd be amazed, and probably suspicious if you embraced me with as little information as you have just now," Gary responded. "There is a lot of water to go under the bridge yet and we will need a lot more details about each other than Trump's Twitter feeds! Can you suggest a venue?"

"I went out to my local mall to do some shopping this morning. I was astounded at how many shops were closed. Even grocery stores. Nobody is stopping at cash registers on their way out. Maybe we wouldn't be able even to find a restaurant open. I think nobody has any cash. Why don't you come by here for tea instead?"

They arranged a 2:30 meeting the following afternoon, and Gary took Claude's directions.

He started for Eric's on their way to meet Lynn at the airport. As he left the house, he thought he heard a gunshot, probably a block or two away. He dismissed it as kids, maybe with firecrackers, or a backfire. The traffic was light, the streets almost eerily empty so after picking Lynn up at the airport, they stopped for a time at her apartment to prioritise their plans. "We will have the hangar rented by tomorrow and I will have it alarmed immediately," Eric reported. "There are already two guards on duty there, giving 24/7 cover."

Gary gave Eric Roy Bryant's number so he could check out tanker trucks, Eric's next job.

"Exactly what do you want in the way of pharmaceuticals?" Lynn asked. "I have to get started on that job."

"There must be some packaged recommendations for starting up a small hospital, and a pharmacy, both in terms of equipment and the drugs they need." Gary gestured. "In fact if we could get a now functionally working hospital like a bankruptcy, it would be a godsend. In a worst-case scenario, the army publishes a manual that includes a complete listing of the equipment and drugs for a field hospital unit. If you happen across a list of drugs that a vet would use, grab it. Many of the drugs used on animals are the same ones used on humans. The important thing is to remember that we expect to be going into isolation and even if the drug companies can continue producing stuff, which I strongly doubt, we won't be able to get our hands on more. Besides which we will likely have some animals to care for!" he added portentiously

Later, Gary began the work of assembling a database for his next search for a specialized person, someone to arrange security for the community.
Chapter 12

Thursday February 23rd — Day 10

After completing his database, Gary began the search for a security officer for the community, someone capable of strategising positive outcomes using unconventional or often limited resources. His search was rapidly narrowing down to a senior officer of the various Special Forces, US SEALs, British Special Air Services, or the Israeli Army Sayaret Mat'kal.

Later, he turned his attention to Claude.

Outside, the clouds were breaking up, and the temperature had risen to about 40 degrees, so the slop on the streets was largely gone. Gary located Claude's two-story brick house with a wooden veranda, and parked his car outside. Picking up his binder and prepared briefcase, he rang the bell. It was 2:25 pm. He was five minutes early.

Claude answered the door, ushered him through the living room to the dining room, which had a combined kitchen and dining room at the far end of the house. Seating Gary at a large, oak kitchen table, he turned the kettle on for tea. Claude was two or three inches over five feet, slim and trim for his age. He had a full head of snow-white hair, a full white handlebar moustache and an olive complexion. Judging from his exactly trimmed moustache, and the general neatness of the house, he was a bit of a perfectionist. Everything was just-so shipshape. Despite his diminutive size, his erect posture gave him an aura of command.

Gary started off with a discussion of the unfolding financial crisis.

"You can't even go to a shopping mall anymore," Claude complained. "Those shops that are open have nothing interesting left on their shelves. Robbers have now become so bold, they accost you in the open street." Claude remained standing in the kitchen near the teapot.

Gary leaned forward. "That touches directly on why I'm here. All those closed stores represent two things: unemployed people who were barely employed before and have few resources to fall back on, and no new supplies being delivered to these stores even if people had the money to buy. The financial system around the world is crumbling. Governments are in total disarray. The rule of law is breaking down."

Claude nodded. "People are panicking now and becoming paranoid. Panicked, paranoid people can't be reasonable, things are becoming very dangerous, especially out on the streets."

"Exactly." Gary was becoming more intense. "I think we have to create a small community of hand picked, like minded people. People we can get to know well enough that we can both trust and can predict their actions to some degree, and therefore know just how far we can trust each other for our future safety."

"I do have the welfare of my family to consider here."

"I concur. There is probably nothing superior to your own immediate family," Gary agreed. "But how many immediate family members are we talking about here? Half a dozen in a place where the locusts bearing down on us number in the millions? Doesn't a remote place where few locusts exist, and a family, or community of up to maybe 300 or so people sound more attractive? A community picked for its skills to survive; a small town, which despite some upheaval, is closely knit and is pulling all its resources together in order to survive."

Claude cocked his head a bit. "How would you organize a community like that?"

Gary drew a deep breath. "It seems to me that we have two choices now – complete anarchy on the one hand, or else a self-regulating community on the other. That implies a good deal of true democracy. In our so-called parliamentary democracy", he continued "the village idiot's vote is notionally equal in power to the most intelligent and informed. In a smaller group, the village idiot still has a vote and a voice, but everyone knows everyone else well enough to compensate for the others in the group. We need a variety of skills moving toward similar goals. We need the resources to make the community self-sufficient. In the current turmoil, we think we can get much of what we need cheaply. As long as we have hard currency, that is and hard currency is whatever we have that we can barter with or buy for what we want. Gold and silver, jewellery, even valuable works of art are always going to be good, like the Nazis did at the end of WW2"

Claude frowned. "Those are big goals, my friend! How do you think that you will put it into practice?"

"There's no way we can achieve 100 percent operational success." Opined Gary "But even if we can only put together a fraction of what we would ideally want, it would be a whole lot better than being at the mercy of the jungle that's facing us out there right now."

Claude's lips thinned and he nodded. "There's some truth in that." He turned, poured the tea into two big mugs, brought them over to the table and sat across from Gary.

He smiled inwardly. He was sure that there were more delicate teacups available which would have come out if Claude's wife had been serving and he could even see some in the china cabinet against the wall at the stairway going up to the second floor.

"By carefully selecting the people we want" he continued, "we can cover most of the bases, and we can always invite any others with specialist skills that we may need, for instance, medical stuff. We will need your daughters and their families."

Claude looked at Gary sharply.

"Yes, Captain D'Antonio, I've done considerable research on you. I don't know everything, but I do have enough to know that you are exceedingly versatile and therefore would be very valuable to us. I intend to treat you as such." He looked directly at Claude, continued emphatically "Since life is not a stable thing, even if we thought we had everything we needed today, by tomorrow we'd be bound to find that there would be something else that we hadn't allowed for. We can possibly get these things by force of arms or plain robbery or we can trade for them." He frowned pensively "I think we will somehow have to set up a trading mechanism as we go along."

Claude leaned back, made a tent of his fingers "What's to stop me from getting on your boat, and then getting off at the next backwater location that I might like the look of?".

Gary rolled a shoulder. "Not much. It does maybe sound appealing at first glance. But you'd be subject to the vagaries of local conditions, politics and resources. Anyone who is visibly wealthy is going to be a target in poor countries. Sipping pina coladas in your hammock is great for a while, but a steady diet of it gets pretty boring."

Claude nodded. "I've been getting restless with nothing to do. Crime is rising here. I put my house up for sale. What are you proposing?"

"As a first step in setting up a community, we need a ship to transport people and cargo. Later we'll need it to transport things we trade for. We hope to have a bit of time in which to pull together the beginnings of the community, but we must be very careful and even, dare I say it, ruthless about whom we select. When we decide on the destination, we'll know better which skills and items we need to trade for. At the same time, we may be able to trade here, and make enough profit to keep the process going."

Claude nodded. "Then, we sail off into sunset."

Gary leaned back in his chair. "You know ships and shipping. You probably know which company with good bottoms is way over extended financially. We also know that the banks and other financial institutions are, and will be, repossessing all sorts of assets and trying to dispose of them for cash. They'll end up selling them for pennies on the dollar. Voila! We have our ship at prices we can afford."

Claude chewed on his moustache and looked at the ceiling. "You will probably need a 15 to 25,000 ton general cargo vessel."

"Yes, my thoughts run along that line. A ship with container fittings, and self-load capacity I suspect," agreed Gary. "I presume you can rig containers to house people and animals for a five to eight day trip without undue discomfort?"

Claude nodded. "Animals?" he mused "They went in two-by-two"

Gary allowed himself a brief chuckle. "The elephant and the kangaroo! Only remember that the Lord said 'a fire, not a flood next time'! Can you imagine where our social system is going to go from here? We don't see this as a short-term infrastructure disruption, so we are preparing a multi-generational survival plan.

We are currently concentrating on those things, like rice, meat and milk, to carry us over till we can become self-sufficient. In essence, we must become producers, not consumers as the US is currently structured. Aside from that, the world is running out of fossil-fuel options and we haven't got enough renewable stuff yet on stream to make up the difference. We can't clear shipments of either crude or refined oil products now either, because of the financial disruption. But we can, and will need to use animals as beasts of burden when fuels are not readily available. Especially in an isolated area such as where we are planning to go."Gary explained.

"Ummm," Claude agreed. "We can probably keep people and animals fairly comfortable, if the weather's good. We could do it. Not much exercise for animals on board ship, though." he added pensively.

"I have a list of good veterinarians and some indication that some have had experience with seasick animals. I haven't done any recent research on them though, and the list is a bit old."

"You really have done your homework, haven't you!" Claude looked astonished. "How long have you been at this?"

"I first became aware that the financial system, and the US in particular, was headed for a brick wall as far back as February, 1997, I suppose it was. I began to make some preparations in a speculative sort of way, more as a kind of hobby than anything else. Perhaps it was to take my mind off the way my marriage was going down the pan too."

Gary winced at the memory. The agonising moment when he realised that she was seeing somebody else.

He coughed to cover a sudden pang of grief. "In the twenty odd years since then I've sharpened up the ideas and I've become aware of many more complicating factors that are coming into play now - especially population growth on the one hand and global warming on the other. Particularly during the last few years, and especially since the 'dot-com' bubble and the 2008 financial crash that followed it the rate at which the system is heading toward the cliff edge has been accelerating. Rather like the Brexit disaster has proved to be"

Claude nodded in agreement "Our British cousins sure made a pig's ear of that one, didn't they just!"

Gary frowned, shook his head in a grimace, looked down and picked up his binder.

"One big concern I have" he continued sombrely "is that even while the ship is being secured, victualled and fuelled, we are going to see worsening violence and other negative conditions before we can get away. We are going to have to collect the people, skills and goods we need against a backdrop of violence and anarchic breakdown of law and order. Anyone such as we are, who is suspected of having something, anything, is going to be a target. I'm all too aware that we won't just be at risk from rogue bandits. If officialdom reacts as it has in the past, those in power will use the name of the power of the law to steal and pillage. So, we'll have to be extremely careful to remain under the radar and not come to anyone's attention. Moreover, when someone eventually, accidentally does notice, we have to have a strategy in place to protect ourselves and a plan to make our getaway for when they do arrive. Because they will come with guns in their hands and they won't have any compunction about using them"

Claude heaved a big sigh. "I've seen that in third-world countries where fighting and lawlessness exist. There are things you can do to avoid violence but you can't eliminate it. It's always dangerous and the world is awash with guns!"

"And now we have the pernicious hazard of social media to worry about. We have to keep off the internet as far as possible. Information leaks like a sieve now – it's almost impossible to keep anything private. It sometimes feels like people 'out there' know more about my affairs than I do myself and" Gary shook his head dolefully "I take quite a lot of trouble to keep a low profile – you know – avoiding the likes of facebook, Linkedin and that sort of crap, use secure servers, encryption as far as possible. Just sensible precautions but ever more important right now because you can bet somebody's listening in wherever they get the opportunity."

"Claude, I can't think of any part of the planet that is not going to have some danger. If you find a place where you can sip your pina coladas, eventually someone is going to covet your wealth. In fact, I think your present relative wealth is largely now a dream. All of the pension funds and financial institutions paying pensions had invested in stocks and bonds, and they're both in the crapper. There appears to me a great danger that bonds will be repudiated. Where's the tax money coming from to even pay the interest, never mind trying to hold a country together? Where's the stock market today? Let's assume it doubles from here. That would bring us back to half what it was a month ago."

"I'm no financial genius but I've been worrying about those things. Here and now I have a roof over my head and I'm comfortable within our community. One does not give up known for unknown at times like this." Claude spoke slowly.

"Why don't we try this then. You go ahead as a local consultant on the preliminary phases. Spend your time and effort as if you were joining us. Plan what you would do if conditions become as we see them, but stay flexible because for sure there will be major differences between plans and reality as the situation develops. Then if you come up with some ideas, we can discuss them and plan accordingly. Start first by finding an appropriate ship and provision her with everything you can get and think you need," Gary said. "I'll bankroll the operation."

"And then?"

Gary leaned forward again, elbows on the table. "Start by quietly recruiting crew. Choose people you would want to have at your back in dangerous situations. Pick up as many varied skills as you can, especially cross-trained people, engineers, electricians, seamen, fishermen for food, whatever, so we can be self sufficient. Bear in mind, we have extremely limited resources for the size of game we are playing, but don't stint on quality if it means long life and simplicity. We want to build a community that will last."

"What happens if I decide not to join you?"

Gary rubbed his forehead. "If at 'sailing into the sunset' time, you have been presented with a better option, at least we'll have had the advantage of your knowledge and experience. If you prefer that you and your family join us, we would welcome your son, daughters, spouses, and their children. Otherwise, it's strictly skills we need, providing that the person is the sort of person we can trust."

Claude said slowly. "That seems very reasonable." He studied his mug of tea for a while. "Right now I don't see a better offer on the table. What's next?"

Gary dug in his binder and pulled out a series of printed sheets, and passed the first one to Claude.

"Here is a list of possible needs for a self-sufficient community. It's neither complete nor necessarily a list of 'must have' requirements. It is simply random thoughts of things that might be useful to get a train of thought going. One thing it doesn't do very well is to consider what might be needed for trading purposes once the community has been established. To some extent, that will depend on where we locate, and what items will likely be in short supply at nearby trading ports. I'll leave that for you to consider in your planning. Add or delete as you see fit and build it into a proper database with the ability to carry out rough costings. We will discuss the results later. However, you probably know more about such things than we do."

He handed over the next sheet. "This is a list of people who might be considered for your position, and the juniors are possible future captains. These people have not yet been investigated and I neither recommend, nor reject them. They may be useful."

Claude glanced over the list and exclaimed, "I know every one of these men. They are all top notch. Your homework is astounding."

"We're very interested in the younger people because the community needs genetic diversity as well as skill diversity and redundancies. Over time us old fogies will die off, but in the short term, our experience is essential."

Claude's eyebrows lifted "I hadn't seen this as any kind of permanent settlement you are planning, at least not on such a time scale. I can't imagine anything beyond an initial couple of-months or so. There would be just far too many unknowns in play. But I admire your perspective! It is true that us 'old fogies' as you call us don't have the energy to build a community from nothing but we do have knowledge." Claude waited expectantly for Gary to continue.

"I do have a list of possible destinations which I've not brought with me. As much as possible we didn't want to influence you or stifle fresh ideas. Generally, our thinking has run along the lines of finding an isolated location with favourable weather, good soil and growing conditions, deep water access for this trip but more importantly for future trading, and of course, near potential trading partners. We think that in the world of a month ago, there's likely to be some isolated areas that weren't viable because of their small size, but for us would be ideal. We had thought an abandoned mine with a dock might be suitable, if there were a fertile valley close by. There would likely be abandoned buildings we could use as shelter while we got organized. So far, we've not found anything that ticks the boxes , principally because most mines concern themselves with rocky venues, and therefore, seldom good soil. The same holds true of most islands we might consider. Usually poor soil"

Claude looked at him quizzically. "You say 'we'. Who's 'we'?"

"Primarily my son and myself, although I do have a daughter who is rapidly coming on side as circumstances make the situation more real for her."

"You couldn't have convinced me that this situation was a possibility a month ago," Claude chuckled and shook his head. "Events can teach you quickly, and your plans make sense now. I think we need your Noah's Ark."

"I'd like to leave you in charge of recruiting the transportation group. Use your common sense and experience on everything else. We need recruits to multiply our efforts and reach critical mass quickly. One thing I must emphasize," Gary gestured to add emphasis. "Particularly our ultimate plans must remain absolutely secret, even from your children for now. Nothing is in place, so if the wrong persons learn about our plans, everything could easily blow up in our face and we would lose everything. I believe Washington, or maybe Franklin said, 'The only way something can remain a secret if two people are involved, is if one of them is dead'."

"I recognize seriousness of the situation well enough," Claude said frostily. He was sitting ramrod straight, glaring at Gary.

"I had no intent to offend you, but I did have to emphasize the seriousness of the situation and obviously you do. With that over, there appears to be one more major thing to discuss immediately. The resources to do the job if you still want to go ahead?"

Gary picked up the briefcase and laid it on the table. Working the combination locks, he turned it half around, and snapped one lock.

"I'll leave it to you to set your own salary. Incomes have gone down pretty dramatically recently, but this is the most important job for humanity that you will ever have done. Personally, I've been drawing what I needed on a daily basis. The rest is for expenses as they arise. I ask only that you use your best efforts, and provide a full accounting. We can probably rake up a million dollars for the ship if needed. However, if it does top a million, something else will suffer." He pushed the case across the table .

Claude frowned, looked thoughtful, and said significantly, "How much is in there?"

"Two hundred thousand dollars," said Gary briefly.

"Why so much? You brought it with you. You're pretty cocky. Is it legit? What are you playing at?" Claude was very squinty eyed.

"Yes, it's legal. I made it in the stock market betting that recent events would in fact occur. They did. My next bet was to pull it out in cash, because I expected a Bank Holiday. That occurred as well. We're short of time, and I had to prove I was serious. Moreover, what I've told you tonight could ruin my future, and even possibly endanger my life and the lives of my family. So perhaps you can forgive me for being a bit uptight on the secrecy issue. I believe you to be an intelligent, practical but honest man, a man true to his own values. Once I had reached that conclusion, right or wrong, when you compare what I've risked in simply talking to you, with $200,000, the money becomes almost insignificant."

Claude snapped the other lock and revealed a classic movie shot of a briefcase full of cash. He leaned back and studied the high, wall-mounted pedestal with a couple of porcelain angels on it for a few moments. Then he leaned forward and placed his arms on the table. He looked grim. "Okay, I am with you for first phase anyway. You can rest assured on the secrecy question."
Chapter 13

Friday February 24th — Day 11

Next morning, Gary doggedly continued the hunt for his security officer. The results were both satisfactory and unsatisfactory. He was getting less responses and there was no clear winner as there had been for Claude. That was not entirely unexpected, given the secrecy surrounding all special operations units and the fact that his targets were spread around the world. It just made his job immeasurably more difficult.

At one point he thought he heard another sound that might have been a gunshot. He went to the window to investigate, but saw nothing. Since he'd never heard of such a thing in this neighbourhood, he again dismissed it as kids playing, or backfires, and went back to his search.

Later he put his search decision on hold and called Safe-Tee Corp to enquire about the large office safe he had ordered. They told him it was ready, but delivery with the banks closed would be a problem. He left this in abeyance for the moment, and found a used office furniture company nearby that was miraculously open. He purchased, sight unseen, two old wooden oak desks, several chairs and old filing cabinets. Again delivery was the problem.

He called Chris Habel, the trucker in Orange. Due to the Bank Holiday Chris was happy to oblige because Gary was offering cash payment, and he wanted a few dollars to give to his drivers to tide them over the weekend. He agreed to come to Gary, pick up the cash to pay for the office furniture, and to pick up both the office safe and the furniture, for delivery early the following morning to the old Trambull building. Gary volunteered an additional $500 cash advance against future deliveries. Chris was so effusive in his thanks that it was very clear that he really cared about his drivers. An honourable man of loyalty, one who would try to do the right thing, at least as he saw it.

He arranged with Willis to deliver the cash and silver they were holding for Saturday morning at 10AM to the same Trambull address.

Claude checked in routinely. Then Eric Skyped him late in the afternoon. "The hangar rental is a done deal. I contacted Roy Bryant, and he's a gem, smart, but not talkative. He's slow but very thorough. Are you thinking of recruiting him?".

"Yes, the idea had crossed my mind. He seems to have lots of skills in repairing and maintaining almost anything, and the way I found him was that one of his close-mouthed customers raved about him."

Eric responded, "He picked out the one bad tank in the lot instantly, and gave the others a thorough going over. He also knew of two more which I also purchased. How was your day?"

"I was able to locate three senior special service officers names. The Israeli was not as well recommended as the other two, so I effectively eliminated him despite my personal opinion that he was probably better trained in strategy and execution of detailed, odds against plans and operations. The two remaining, a local retired navy SEAL, and an ex-SAS officer from Britain, were something of a horse race. The Brit seemed better suited to the job we foresaw needing to be done, but he had two minuses. He didn't seem to be as brilliant a strategist as the SEAL, and getting him and a fully equipped crew into the country could present major problems.

"Have you decided anything yet?".

"I decided to put the problem aside until early in the week, so that we could evaluate the world travel situation. If that becomes unduly difficult, the local choice might be the only one available. However, a mistake in the selection of this person could be very dangerous, and potentially fatal."

"Agreed!". Gary nodded at eric's oscreen face on his tablet. We sure don't want to make a mistake with that one."

Gary continued to bring him up to date, "Chris Habel, the trucker who recommended Roy - he's another one that's possibly also worth recruiting if we need his skills - stopped and picked up cash for the furniture I bought as a cover for storing the safe."

"Yes, that's good and I'm going to need some tractors to haul all these trailers I have been buying."

"Claude checked in by phone with the news that one of the ships they had discussed was likely to be available. "It has a financially weak lessee with problems covering its own cash flow. Claude thought that possibly he might be able to purchase it for as little as half a million dollars, and would need another quarter million for minor repairs, provisioning, and fuel."

"Wow, That I gotta see! Half a million? Is that all? Where's he stealing it from?"

"Yes, my reaction exactly." Gary said. "Claude thinks this is as good a deal as he is likely to get, and by the way that includes a certain amount of dash to oil the wheels, so I agreed, providing it will meet Lloyd's of London standards. He thinks it has had a recent inspection so I told him cash would be available by Sunday, and that ownership would be factored in through one of the Swiss companies we set up in Zurich. By the way, we have got to get you and Lynn to meet Claude. I hate deciding on someone by myself for the community even though Claude is pretty much a done deal, and appears to be working out. Still, I think we should meet socially. We both think Roy is likely to be a good addition, and if we can't get a third or fourth opinion then it may be possible to go with only two opinions. But one opinion only is going to create problems for sure. How many marriages end up in divorce? Do you think you might be available, say Sunday afternoon if I can arrange to meet with Claude?"

"I think I could get away Sunday afternoon for a while."

"Okay I'll try to set it up," said Gary. "We need to get as many eyes looking as possible to interview the Special Forces guy, before we take him on board. Will you be at the Trambull space to receive silver and cash tomorrow morning? I'll try to get Lynn to come."

Eric took Chris's number. "I need Chris' tractors right away. I'll be at the Trambull space, but late. I have a couple of stops to make first."

Almost immediately Lynn also Skyped, her face excited, beaming onscreen. "I found a small hospital in Connecticut has bitten the bullet from its cash flow problems, overbuying new equipment. Both it and its pharmacy are up for sale by a lender that appears to be in trouble themselves, and desperate. The equipment is modern, and quite extensive."

"That's fantastic, exactly what we need. Who is the lender?"

"I haven't got that yet, but it should be easy."

"Good you get that and I should know them, or at least be able confirm that they are in trouble too. By the way, can you be available tomorrow morning to come with me to receive a silver and cash shipment?"

"If you think it's important, yes."

"Same as Switzerland. We should all know details about the assets." Gary then repeated his conversation with Eric.

Because he had been consumed with the purpose at hand, Gary decided to unwind a bit, and fixed himself a nice meal. Usually, he didn't drink alone, but tonight he poured himself a glass of good cognac for sipping as he settled comfortably in his reclining chair in the living room, to read. He hadn't even glanced at the news since that fateful Tuesday, a week and a half ago. He looked at the headlines in the 'NYT Online' and blinked.

Food Riots in Los Angeles. Stores looted.

He looked at the date. Today's date, happening now! He'd been too preoccupied with his own agenda to notice what was happening in the world around him. Suddenly apprehensive, he got up, checked his doors were locked, and set his garage and perimeter alarms. Returning back to his chair, he studied the article more closely.

Food Riots in Los Angeles. Stores looted.

A protest over bank closures and a lack of food in stores lead to a riot in which most of the major stores were looted. The protest started outside district Federal government offices where an estimated 10,000 protesters gathered. Later, looters battled with police who used water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets to force the rioters back. This is the third such riot across the nation in the last two days.

Police have expressed apprehension about the coming weekend.

The news feed was reporting on something that had happened last night, Thursday, of a Bank Holiday that started on Monday. Not only were people living 'hand to mouth' as a way of life but obviously 'just in time' delivery was contributing to the problem. After only three days food riots were in progress. Not that these people were necessarily out of food but if they were rioting it must be of some concern. Or maybe it was simply that people resisted any change that appeared to be negative.

Gary knew that change often brings civil disruption so he'd studied civil disturbance as part of his research. Historically, contrary to popular belief, the very poor never riot. It was speculated that there were several reasons for this phenomenon. Truly poor people lived so close to subsistence level that they did not have sufficient excess energy to riot. They were lethargic physically and mentally. It was only after they achieved a more nutritious diet that they lost both the physical and mental lethargy. Secondly, they'd lost their self-image and accepted 'poor' as their station in life. Most importantly, the truly poor did not have much to lose. How much worse could their life get? Since most had never known a better life, they didn't realize or couldn't imagine how good life could be and how much they were missing out on.

Middle class people were at the opposite end of the spectrum. Well fed, they had energy to spare in plenty and could be aggressively acquisitive. They'd tasted a small slice of the pie, and wanted more – not less. When danger threatened their way of life they knew exactly how much they had to lose, got angry in an unreasonable 'road rage' sort of way, and defended what they had. The only successful organization of the 'poor' known was the Coalition of the Poor in the US, and their marches had included many grossly obese people. Hardly poor in normal world terms.

People in the US had been trained to agitate to achieve their ends. Government had quickly learned to include one draconian measure, over and above what they actually wanted. People would scream but be distracted from the fact the whole idea was bad. Government could give up that draconian measure, and achieve all the other goals they wanted. QED

Another headline caught his eye.

Police unable to respond to any but serious crime.

Suddenly the sounds he'd thought might have been gunshots assumed greater importance. This was normally a very quiet residential area. So far as he could recall, no sirens had followed the gunshots. So serious crimes are limited to murder, are they? If they missed you, no harm done, and we don't respond, he thought. I'll bet the cops are filling out the paperwork only, and waiting for normalcy before even carrying out any investigations.

A third and even more ominous headline drew his attention.:

AFT takes credit for a seventh explosion

A letter, on letterhead of the gang 'Americans for Freedom against Tyranny', was dropped off at this newspaper today. It was the seventh letter received taking credit after a series of 15 bombings, targeting bank Automatic Teller Machines.

Gary thought, 'someone obviously has a big, long standing beef against banks. This one has been festering for a long time. You don't get organized enough to get explosives and blow up 15 ATMs in four days. It must be an opportunity thing, someone pushed over the edge that had been prepared, but indecisive. Bunch of stupid nut cases. The bank closures are strictly government ordered. There's no doubt that the banks are joined at the hip with government, and that they're a slimy bunch, but this is one that can't be laid to the doorstep of Big Five

At least Isis haven't yet got in on the act but all it will take is bombing a mosque!'.

Other headlines:

Child dies. No funds for drugs.

And:

Crisis costing $1Billion per hour; Economist

And another:

Child kidnapped from private school. $1 million cash ransom demanded.

An article:

Teamsters threaten wildcat strike.

"The bank closures have shut down most independent truckers because they cannot buy fuel. Teamsters Union members are determined to stand by their independent brothers "by creating slow moving blockades on all major routes across the nation to hinder goods getting to market unless normalcy is restored forthwith," said Teamsters president, Allan Wilson, today. "We expect to receive our pay checks Friday."

Looking over the previous day's newsfeed, the front page was entirely given over to a political debate.

'Frightened Political Parties at odds over Solution to Crisis'

Secretary of the treasury, Tom O'Malley, in a speech today, said that the nation would have to get back to old-fashioned values like living within its means. "We've been paying out one third of every dollar we receive in revenue in the form of interest on loans. That means that if we had no loans, we could increase services by 50% over existing levels, or reduce the tax burden. We must tighten our belts and cut the debt drastically. We are no longer invincible. The US dollar is no longer as safe and sound as a dollar ought to be!"

Majority house leader, James Snow disagreed. In a comment to reporters, he said, "The first thing we have to do is to increase the money supply so people can spend and get the wheels back under the economy. We must lower taxes. If that means borrowing, so be it. We can outgrow our problems.........."

With President Trump no longer having a majority in both Houses, and frightened legislators galloping off in all directions, it appeared a consensus would not arise immediately.

"My God," Gary muttered to himself. "That Vice President of the Bank of International Settlements who said 'If the US dollar collapses, it will take about five days for the US to collapse, and another five days for the rest of the world to follow suit', was not far off the mark. The only thing that seems to be holding this together is that everyone expects things to magically return to normal when the banks reopen Monday." He shook his head in disbelief and sorrow.

He phoned Lynn, and mercifully she was home. "Are you alright? Have you been reading the papers and noticing the skyrocketing increase in crime?" he demanded.

He could hear the anxiety in her voice. "Yes, what do you expect? It's scary even to come into the apartment building, and once you're in, you still don't feel safe. Even in the elevators and hallways it feels like they are all strangers and staring at you. Our door security is good, and it has been tightened up, but I'm still putting a big chest up against the door before I go to bed. One of the neighbours told me we've had an apartment invasion and robbery last night.

"Lynn, for goodness sake why didn't you tell me?" Gary demanded. "I was so involved with what I was doing I didn't notice how bad it had gotten. While we did predict most of this, we just didn't expect it to get so dangerous so quickly. We are going to have to get you and Eric to somewhere safer right away. The only place that comes to mind" he continued before she had time to interject "is here with me because of the security features I installed in the house. But I want to discuss things with both of you first. Maybe we can talk about it tomorrow while we're waiting for the silver to be delivered. Perhaps you should get some help and start packing just as soon as you can so we can get your stuff loaded into a container. We can store it at Eric's hangar."

"Well, I'd sure like to get all this cash out of the fridge crisper drawer, anyway. It scares me witless every time I go for a bottle of milk"

"We're certainly going to need that cash if Claude okays buying the ship we've earmarked, so pack it all in the accountant's briefcase. I'll take it when I pick you up tomorrow morning. Keep by a packet or two though to cover your own emergencies,"

"Oh, the banks are scheduled to open on Monday so I can get at my own money anyway then."

"I'd doubt that you would be able to get at very much of it though. Probably they'll only allow a small amount to be withdrawn. That's why I wanted you to collapse your 401K, and pull out as much as you could in cash from all of your accounts."

"Oh." Lynn sounded crestfallen. "I didn't have time to do that, what with flitting off to Zurich, and work, and everything else I had to attend to."

"Oh well. We will just have to get by without it. You'd best forget about that, at least for the time being" Gary changed the subject. "What about work? Do you feel safe there?"

"Yes, once I get to work I do. It's the getting to and fro that scares me. Especially as I'm young and female. I've taken to dressing up in a hoodie, jeans and 'bovver boots'"

"Okay then, Eric or I will try to make ourselves available as armed guards to escort you to and from work, or for groceries, or whatever. Would you like to learn how to use a weapon?" Gary asked.

"I've been thinking about what's happening. It's like emigrating to another country. They have different language and customs and maybe a different religion. Unless you adapt to the new circumstances you can't survive. I think I need to know more about guns," Lynn conceded.

'Good girl!' he thought, smiling inwardly and counting her immediately as becoming a full member of the team.

"Okay, I'd like you to phone NRA affiliated gun clubs till you find one that gives basic firearms training and hire the instructor to give private courses for you and whoever else needs it." Gary changed the subject. "One other thing. Can you be available to meet our new ship's captain, Claude, on Sunday afternoon?"

"Well that's going to cut into my packing time," Lynn teased.

"Okay, you got me there," he grinned back.

Later Eric called to announce he was home safely.

"How did it go?" Gary demanded.

"I met Chris Habel. Hired him for tomorrow. I didn't talk to him long, so I don't have a solid opinion on him. He seems to be a smart businessman and probably trustworthy. What did you do to him? He seems to think you walk on water."

"Nothing, just advanced him $500 cash to help his drivers. I'll bet they return the favour. Says something about him."

"Whatever, you can do no wrong."

"Do you need money for tomorrow?" Gary asked.

Eric was silent for a moment. "I'll need about $200,000 total tomorrow. I could probably use another hundred thou or so. We'll collect the first load at six AM. I had to bribe the guy $1,000 per load so he would fiddle the books so that we were an 'approved' customer and he could load us. The load, and the payment will go on somebody else's account."

"Lynn wants that cash out of her crisper so that it's available immediately for tomorrow at the Trambull space."

"Okay, I'm on that, too. Leave it with me Dad"

Gary called Claude to set up the Sunday meeting. When he asked if there was something he could bring, Claude chuckled and asked if he had any tea as his own box of teabags was just about empty. Gary offered to bring a few ounces of Jasmine tea, a favourite of Claude's, and a pound of English tea, his usual fare.

Gary next called his local wholesale/retail meat butcher and caught Bill Cave, the owner, still in because the store was open till 9 on Fridays, even on a slow Friday as this one was apparently proving to be. "Bill, it's Gary Alden. How has business been this last week?"

"Pretty slow. Nobody has any cash to buy expensive meat and they're mad as hell about that. I let the staff go early," he groused.

"You have a lot of beef hanging, ready to cut up?"

"Three or four sides hanging, and a dozen ageing."

"How many sides of beef can you get into a 25 cubic foot, deep freezer?" Gary asked.

"Depends. Usually one and a half to two."

"How about pork? A lot of sides hanging?"

"Probably six hogs. What are you driving at Gary?"

"I was thinking about buying a considerable amount of meat and freezing it. What sort of discount can you give me on several sides?"

"Four or more sides, 20 percent off," Bill quoted.

"Is that cut and freezer wrapped or is it flash frozen too?"

"However you want."

"Okay, net, how much a pound for cut, wrapped, and flash frozen beef and pork, large order?"

"$1.89 for grade triple A beef. $1.69 for pork," Bill answered promptly.

"Fine. If I take 16 sides of beef and six hogs, when could you deliver?"

"Wednesday or Thursday. I have to cut it up"

"Can you get 1000 pounds of roasting chicken? And what price would it be?" Gary continued.

"Yes, I can get it. I haven't talked to the poultry people since Wednesday, but around 89 cents a pound. I'll have to see the price tomorrow to firm up on that."

"Okay, add 1000 pounds of chicken to the order," Gary decided. "Chicken giblets outside. Everything freezer wrapped and deep-frozen. If you drop by my house later tonight, with some paperwork that confirms our agreement, I'll give you a cash deposit of $4,000. But I want to stress, if you can't replace your stock, you're sold out."

"I'll have to order the chicken. I don't carry that much frozen stock since I can get it on very short notice. I sell mostly 'never frozen'. That is over 200 chickens, about 22 cases."

"How big are the cases?" Gary wanted to know because he planned to buy deep freezers and needed to know how many.

"Oh a bit bigger than a computer monitor, maybe the size of a 20 inch TV."

Gary and Eric had originally planned to buy up to 25 large chest type deep freezers, load them into a container, and rig some kind of portable electrical generator to keep them running. That was before they had gotten quite so cash rich. After he put the phone down, Gary started to think about how that was a very awkward way of going about things. He had lots of money to play with given his new-found wealth. He should be looking at refrigerated containers. He at once went got online to get an idea as to the price of new reefer containers. With this in mind, he started reconsidering his meat requirements.

Seeing that 9 o'clock was approaching fast, he pondered for a moment, then pulled out $5,000 from his stash. As well, he began his preparations for the morning, pulling out a large old tarpaulin, and a sturdy chain and lock from the storage unit at the end of the garage, loaded them into his car.

A half-hour later Bill Cave rang the doorbell and Gary let him in. Bill had massive, hairy shoulders and arms. He even had hair peeking out of the back of his collar. Gary had caught him one slow afternoon with a rolled up sheet of newspaper burning the hair off his arms. He at once produced a written quotation with all the specifications Gary had demanded.

Gary went to get the cash. As he was counting it out on the dining room table, he said, "I've been thinking about the chickens. I don't know how much space you have, but I'd like to get another 44 cases, or 2,000 pounds of chicken. Since I don't know exactly which day I will get my refrigeration, can you store them for up to two weeks in your freezer until I get myself organized?"

"What the dickens are you going to do with so much meat?" Bill demanded. "Umm, yes, I guess I could store it."

Gary evaded the question, "Okay, here is an extra $1,000 deposit on the additional chicken. But please order it tomorrow for delivery by Monday."

"Why? We can easily get chicken any time."

Gary said patiently, "I expect the price to go up, and I want my supplies purchased and not subject to price fluctuations and availability, so I want them in your freezer. Humour me, it's important to me."

"You're the customer!" He shrugged his vast shoulders. "But you have to admit this is a bit unusual."

"Sure! I know that I do, but I have my reasons. I'll aim to get it back out of your freezer some time next week."

They shook hands, Bill clapped him on the shoulder and Gary coughed.
Chapter 14

Saturday February 25th — Day 12

It had snowed overnight and the roads were a bit greasy . The traffic on his way to Lynn's was unusually light for a Saturday morning. It might be that either people couldn't buy fuel or go shopping because of the Bank Holiday, or there weren't as many people working, and therefore didn't need to travel. Either way it had ramifications. Along the streets some areas had lots of garbage piled up, others none. It appeared that public services were erratic at best. Many commuters would be unable or unwilling to go to work, perhaps because they were rebelling against not being paid, or because they simply didn't have the cash to buy gas to get to work.

Gary made a mental note to get back to Wolfgang ASAP to set up both international counter-trade, and local barter contacts.

He picked up Lynn to find that Eric had taken her cash with him the night before, arriving at the Trambull space a few minutes before the safe and office furniture delivery turned up. Chris had sent along a forklift for them to nestle the safe up against some pipes in one corner. After the inquisitive truck driver had left, they chained and locked the safe to the pipes , moved the furniture in front of it and draped a tarpaulin cover over to conceal everything. The Willis gang were scheduled to arrive next. Gary grunted with satisfaction. 'The Brits have a saying that what the eye cannot see the heart cannot grieve over' he mused.

Willis arrived, dropped their load of silver and cash, and left, tramping through the slop which had formed since temperatures had begun to rise.

As they worked putting the boxes of silver into the safe, Lynn soon started to complain, "This stuff sure is heavy. Whose idea was this anyway? I'm going to have backache for a week because of all this."

"Yes, there's a lot of weight here," grunted Gary as he thankfully hoisted the last box of silver into the safe. "40,000 ounces is over a ton and a quarter of metal. Nobody's going to move this safe easily and it isn't even half full yet. There's still enough room left for over three million in cash." Next, he counted out half a million dollars, an impressive bundle of bills in its own right but placed the rest of the bags of cash inside, closed and locked the door. He slid the filing cabinets back in front of the safe, and the furniture alongside it, covered the whole pile with the tarpaulin again and stood back to check that all was hidden and secure. Only then did he stop to mop his sweating brow.

"Thank goodness that's done and dusted. I didn't realise how much hard work it is to own a fortune!!"

"What's that silver worth again?" Lynn asked.

"Well it's worth 40,000 ounces of silver, or at least that's what we think it will be worth. In terms you might relate to better, we think it will ultimately purchase what it would take $40 to $80 million dollars to purchase today. Remember that the purchasing power of the dollar has been going down steadily. At the end of WWII a cup of coffee was a nickel everywhere. How much is it today? We think that silver will briefly reach a purchasing power of $1,000 - $2,000 an ounce in today's currency."

"Forty to $80 million," Lynn said, putting her hand on her back and pushing to straighten up. "I feel better already."

They both jumped in response to a sudden loud banging on the door. Gary peeked out and then opened it to let Eric in.

"Running a bit late, are we? Any insurmountable problems?"

"Not really." Eric shrugged. "Problems, but not insurmountable. Sorry I'm late; I broke up a rape attempt right out on the street just a couple of blocks away from here. The bastard didn't seem to fear any reprisal, and was really mad when I broke it up, as if it was his God-given right to abuse the poor woman. Right there in the slop and snow! Anyway by the time I pulled a handgun on him, she had fled the scene so I just told him he'd got ten seconds before I started shooting. I was a bit amazed just how fast that made him do a runner!"

He laughed at the recollection, continued with the anecdote.

"The rest of the loads should go much faster now. We just made it six tractors hauling six trailers. That makes the next run the last pick up. Chris has agreed that only he'll know where the trailers are to be stored, although I think he's mighty curious. The other drivers will drop their trailers in his yard. He'll personally stow them at the hangars, one by one.

Did everything go OK here?"

"Yes sirree! We haven't been idle, believe me. 40,000 ounces of silver present and accounted for. We also have nearly four million dollars in the safe. I also have half a million here as down-payment for Claude's ship. I'm going to arrange a 24 hour armed guard watching the house from here on. By the way, I bought meat and changed the plan from having a Rube Goldberg set-up with large chest type freezers and a generator, to having refrigerated containers instead."

Digging a paper out of his wallet, Gary interrupted himself, "I guess you are in a hurry, but here are the alarm codes for this place. I thought you'd better have a printout"

"We're way behind, but I think we'll make it up. Are you going to the hangar to check everything out?"

"Yes I'd hoped to. Will that be okay with you?" Gary turned to Lynn.

"If you think it's important, yes" She nodded, then wrinkled her brow. "I have to do some shopping though."

"Shopping? Well if you must - but I'd rather be with you if you're out and about in a public place," Gary said recalling Eric's altercation with the potential rapist. "We'll do some shopping on the way home then. I need some things too that we might be able to find if things haven't completely fallen apart by now."

Turning back to Eric he said. "Have either of you thought of anything better than moving into my place for mutual protection?" They both shook their heads. "Okay, I guessed you wouldn't so we'll pack your stuff into containers, and store them in the hangar. Pack just enough to get by on in suitcases. We'll probably have to move from my place too, to avoid the taxmen and gold authorities" he wrinkled his nose "and more likely, the local gangsters who are going to be presiding over what remains of 'USA Today' any time from now on. Not being there when they arrive, as they surely will is one good way of keeping ahead of the game."

Eric shook his head. "Be careful. This is all getting very scary!"He hugged them both, almost lifting his sister off her feet. "Specially you, little one. Get your pa to show you how to use that pistol we talked about. He looked over his shoulder as he left. "you too, Pa! You're the only parent I've got left!"

Lynn finally burst out with something that had been simmering inside her. "Whatever do you want with all that meat? Or do we run out of beer and become blood thirsty? Or what else?"

"We think that foods, particularly protein foods, will be in exceedingly short supply. I recall someone from the USSR I met after it went down. He told me that he had traded a full stereo, TV stand, and bookcase console set, for a kilo of beef roast. He had two elderly and infirm parents who needed the protein and he had planned on sharing it with them. Well he got to cooking the roast, and it smelled so good, he cut a little slice off to taste it. That tasted so good he couldn't resist and he sliced a bit more off. Pretty soon the roast was gone and he was having guilt trips over doing that to his parents. "He shook his head sombrely. As well as that, we will have a lot of people to feed if we are going to get the ship out to sea, both during the trip and while we get settled wherever that may end up being. There won't be a grocery store available that's for sure!. We need lots of food."

They locked up, set the alarms, and left for the hangar space. By this time, the temperature was above freezing so that much of the overnight snow had already disappeared.

The old air force base had all its buildings crowded near the gate end of the field. An old three story administrative building and its parking lot were first on the right, followed by a series of massive hangars in a row. At the security gatehouse they entered the guardroom and asked the guard on duty about the hangar.

"I'm sorry sir, I'm not allowed to let anyone in there."

"The man who rented this place, is my son and I want to go in there." Gary said.

"I'm sorry sir, my instructions are very clear. I am not to let anyone go in there that I do not have direct authorization for." The guard was polite but adamant, stood to attention and cocked his rifle

Gary reached into his pocket and held out a $20 bill. The guard just sat there, and made no motion toward accepting it or opening the chain-link fence sliding gate.

Gary smiled and said, "I really think your attitude is wonderful. Those instructions were exactly what we wanted, and you have followed them superbly. No one, but no one, is allowed to go in under any circumstances, except the four people who will be authorized, or people who directly accompany them. I want you to take this $20 as thanks for refusing to be buffaloed. We'll wait till Eric comes and authorizes us. How many guards do you have servicing this site?"

The man relaxed a little but still held his place, blocking them from the entry. "We work two per shift, sir, with one patrolling the airfield perimeter and buildings, and one guarding the gate at all times. We take turns patrolling. Ten guards in total for 24/7 coverage." The guard eyed the $20 bill. "Do you really mean that sir? Are you going to wait for your son to authorize you?"

"Yes, I just wanted to know how good the security was. I don't even have the alarm security codes for the building. Take the $20 as thanks for a job well done."

"Thank you sir. I really could use that with the banks closed like they are just now."

"Among the ten of you guards are there any who you think might be bamboozled by one tactic or another?"

"No sir. Well, maybe one." he said on reflection.

Gary took out another ten, $20 bills. "I want you to contact the other nine guards and give them each $20. Impress on all of them how fanatical we are about security and secrecy, particularly the guy you don't completely trust and I'd like to have you do it as soon as possible, by phone if necessary. I'd imagine they need cash too. The extra $20 is for your trouble and the job well done. Can you do that for me?"

The guard nodded enthusiastically, "Nobody ever paid us extra for doing our job before."

Gary grinned "I'm paying you for extra quality. The sort of quality one seldom seems to get anymore. I'm pleased enough to think of it as thanks for a job well done. We'll go and wait in the car."

"Thank you very much sir. I'll get on to the others right away."

Gary turned to the door and then stopped. "Do you have our phone numbers in case of problems?"

"Just your son's phone number. Do you want me to have yours too?"

"Yes, in case you can't get hold of Eric, I want you to be able to call my mobile at any hour, providing it's a problem you can't handle yourself. I don't want to be woken up just for a report, but I do want to be contacted in case of fire, or any serious problem that you can't manage by yourself. And I want the fact that we are renting space here to be strictly confidential. If any guards come in before we leave, I'd like to meet them too, so they know our faces." Gary handed him his business card and he and Lynn went back to the car.

"What is this, some kind of prize show, the way you're giving away money?" Lynn asked.

"Not if I think it will buy some loyalty. Guards are pretty much at the bottom of the heap, and everybody treats them like that. They almost never get any praise, so the money is just reinforcement for the praise I gave him. It says the job they are doing is important. Nobody ever gives them extra money, so it's really high praise indeed. In any case it gets things done, and that's the reality of our new world."

A few minutes later, Chris rolled up with his truck and Gary and Lynn climbed into the cab.

"Eric should be along in a few minutes. He was just settling up the bill."

"Good," Gary said. "Things are getting so hectic that time is at a premium. Everything needs to be done yesterday. How's business doing?"

"Well we don't usually do much on the weekend so the drivers were glad to get the extra cash."

"When do you expect to get the rest of the trailers transferred over here? That's a lot of work for you personally and we really appreciate it,"

"I'll get most of them over today and the rest tomorrow morning, if thaat's Okay with you guys."

Gary frowned. "The crime rate is really getting bad and we think it will get worse. We want all this secrecy because if it's not known there's something here to steal, it makes it that much less likely that theft and vandalism will occur."

"It's pretty quiet around our neck of the woods but I suppose you're right. What people don't know about they won't think of stealing."

"How did you get into this business?" Lynn changed the subject.

"Oh it was pretty strange" He shrugged his shoulders. "I was a veterinarian out west in cattle country and my father got sick so I came home to run his small firm. Somehow I just stayed after he died. Mother was also sick and died a couple of years later, but I still live there on the old farm."

"You're married, I take it." Lynn said.

His face lit up. "I sure enough am, miss with three wonderful kids and the lady I adore!"

Eric drove up, they all got out to greet him. The uniformed guard doing the patrolling also was back, so introductions were made all around.

Eric said to the guards, "We are the only four people with unrestricted access to the site. I'll take them in with me now but from here on in you admit any of us at any time. OK?"

Gary led the way into the building, and had the security officer show to turn off and reset the alarm system that Eric had arranged for. Chris drove into the building, backed the trailer into place, and then left to pick up the next one.

"That's gasoline isn't it?" Lynn said. "Are you thinking of storing our clothes in here with those tanks of gasoline? Everything's going to reek of it before long."

"Yes, gasoline and diesel fuel," Eric said. "Not to mention the fire risk, either!"

Gary piped up. "That's a good point. The clothes and stuff will air out, or can be washed. We have food coming and it won't air out. It'll be ruined. Do you think the hangar next door is for rent?"

"They offered it to me, as a matter of fact. I can get on to that next week," Eric said, weariness beginning to show in his voice, "and I think it's okay regarding contamination. These hangars have been vacant for years. I didn't even consider it because we have so much space here already."

"Maybe we should look at more tankers of gasoline then," Gary thought out loud.

"What are you guys so hepped up about gasoline for anyway?" Lynn demanded.

"It's pretty simple," said Eric. "Right now around the world, as we saw in Zurich at the bank, nobody's taking the US dollar. The US imports two thirds of its fuel requirements. Somehow that has to be paid. If it can't be paid because no one will accept the dollar, where'll the US get its fuel? Our own oilfields are not nearly enough to supply us, so there'll be shortages. Long line-ups at any filling station that can manage to get fuel itself. What little that might be available is going to be priced through the roof. At a minimum fuel may be rationed. We expected shortages so we've grabbed some while supplies are still easy to come by. It helped that we had hard cash to buy with while every one's attention was focused on greenback dollars. But their attention will soon turn to fuel supplies as the pipeline of oil coming into the US gets turned off and countries refuse to sell more to us unless the US pays in goods, or their local cash in advance. No more credit deals, I'm afraid."

"Not only that," Gary added, "but there is something called 'peak oil'. The world has just about pumped dry the fields that we know about, and we're having a devil of a time finding enough to keep up with the amount we are pumping now, never mind countries like China and India who are using more and more all the time despite their supposed rush towards renewables. The undeveloped oil areas (remember Deep Water Horizon and the blowout?) take lots and lots of money, time and very advanced technology to develop. And the alternative energy sources are not coing on stream anything like fast enough. That was a problem even before the Trump Factor got into it. Imagine if every car in the US had to be scrapped and a new electric car bought? It doesn't stop at cars and trucks either. For instance, ten percent of California's electricity is consumed in just moving water. With changing weather patterns bringing drought to some places they will not be alone in needing water to drink, especially since so much electrical generation relies on 'Big Oil'. The more you think about it, the uglier it all gets."

"What about the National Strategic Petroleum Reserves? Can't they be used?" asked Lynn.

Gary shook his head. "Well even if they were full, which they probably aren't, they wouldn't supply the US imported fuel requirements for a month. They are strategic military reserves, the man on the street is not going to get any. Long before the average guy gets his hands on fuel, the farmers must have priority to produce and distribute food or the nation will starve. Of course various authorities will get their greedy little paws on any available supplies because they're on 'official business'. How do you think the police or firemen in any city are going to respond to calls if they have no gas for their vehicles? Can you imagine fighting a fire on bicycles? The supply of oil will not go to zero because we do have our own oilfields, and fracked gas as well. It takes a long time and a lot of energy to get a new source up and running, decades under our current regulations. In the meantime, our problem is going to rear its ugly head in a month or less from today."

"Come on, let's get going" Eric was growing restless. "I'd hoped to do some shopping too. Why don't Lynn and I see what we can get, and I'll deliver her home. Do you need us to get anything for you?"

"Ok, That works for me. I have some other things I want to check on. If you run across any fresh vegetables, buy at least twice as much as you think you need. I'm taking some to Claude's tomorrow. Spanish onions too. If you find milk or bread, buy 10 times what you think I'll need, I can freeze what I don't use immediately. I can pick it up tomorrow. Is that okay with you, Lynn?" Gary asked.

"Sure." There was a hint of tiredness in her voice, too. 'The pressure is beginning to tell on us and there's going to be a lot more before we are anything like done' worried Gary' He felt his shoulders sagging, shook himself "I've got to hold all this together' he mused 'I can't afford to show how tired I feel'.

They locked and alarmed the hangar. Back at the gate guardhouse, to show how important the $20 cash was to the guards, three of the off-duty officers were already present at the shack to pick up their cash. 'It helped' mused Gary 'that,they were able to meet with them and so become recognised faces. They now knew personally five of the ten guards at the site, all of whom had been cautioned about the importance of secrecy and high levels of security.

"We can't do any more here now, time to get going" he said, more to himself than to Eric and Lynn.

Chapter 15

Gary took the scenic route home since he wanted to get an idea about the level of crime, and an impression of how social disruption was proceeding. Shopping centres seemed nearly empty for a Saturday afternoon, except there were a lot of people hanging around the front doors. Obviously 'wannabe muggers'. Those few drivers still on the road seemed tense and drove accordingly. Road rage seemed to simmer just under the surface. 'The atmosphere is sure electric', thought Gary. 'This could get ugly fast'. The power was out in a couple of areas that he passed leaving the traffic lights malfunctioning. At one such corner a fist fight was in progress next to a fender bender as Gary ignored the scuffle and eased past.

About three blocks from the house he noticed another altercation taking place on the sidewalk ahead. My god, crime is getting blatant, he thought. He saw the flash of a knife and slowed. A woman was under attack by three thugs.

"Shit, that's Jan Kerr!" He swore and slammed to a stop. Reaching down he pulled out the .357 magnum he had stowed in a hidden compartment for under the dashboard. Jumping out, he yelled over the top of the car, "Hey. Knock it off."

One of the three, the one holding a knife facing toward Jan, obviously the informal leader, turned and took a couple of steps toward him. "Get the fuck out of here or I'll kick the shit out of you too. This is my chick as of right now!"

Gary lifted the pistol from his side where it had been concealed by the car, and steadied it on the roof, aiming directly at him. "Well, I don't like how you're treating 'your' chick mister so you'd better get the fuck out of here. Now!"

Far a long second the thug, a big ugly brute of a man took another step, in part aggressively toward him, and partly diagonally toward the safety of a lamppost, to Gary's immense relief because it removed Jan from the line of fire. "You wouldn't dare fire that fucking thing around here," he yelled.

Gary took careful aim at the curb to the side of the thug's feet. Calling on his old billiard skills as to where the ricochet might go, he blew away about a yard of concrete. Behind the ear-splitting 'boom' of the discharge, the heavy calibre round, ricocheting away amid fragments of concrete, whining into the distance, concluded the argument.

The man turned and ran, his knife clattering on to the tarmac in his panic. Seeing their fearless leader in headlong flight, his two lesser compatriots dropped Jan's arms and fled along with him.

Gary hurried over to her. "Jan!"

She was staring at him in wide-eyed shock. "Gary! It's a miracle you showed up. They were going to kill me."

He grabbed her by the arms as she staggered. Her face was chalk white, she was on the verge of fainting. "Your arm's been cut! I should have shot the bastard."

Jan looked down at her blood soaked sleeve in shocked dismay. "I didn't notice. I think I'm okay." Then she blacked out. He caught her as she began to fall. Glancing around enough to see that the gang had ducked around a corner and were out of sight, he bundled her into the passenger seat of his car, threw her bag of groceries into the back.

"I've a first aid kit at my place, a couple of blocks away" he said, more to reassure himself than anything else, started the car, revved it up far too loudly, jammed it into gear and squealed down the street.

He carried her, still semi-conscious into the house, directly to the bathroom and somehow got her coat off. Blood was beginning to congeal around her blouse and the wound. To his immense relief, it looked as though it was relatively minor and evidently hadn't cut into anything important. He grabbed the first aid kit, and wet a sterile bandage with alcohol. "This may sting a bit," he said and began to sponge the blouse loose from the wound. "We're going to have to get your blouse off that shoulder to get at the cut. So far it doesn't look too bad. It looks as if your coat took most of the force."

Sponging and lifting the blouse from the cut, he got it free, and then down from her shoulder. He finished cleaning the wound, and then sterilized it, making her gasp with pain. Taking a large adhesive bandage, he carefully applied it a bit at a time, squeezing the edges of the gash together as he went.

Looking over his finished handiwork he glanced down and saw the gentle curve of her breast disappearing beneath her bra. Turning his head, he found himself about six inches away from her face, looking at her wide eyes and parted lips, and breathing her perfume. He leaned forward and kissed her tenderly and found her responding passionately. Soon clothes began to loosen. Gary picked her up.

"Don't, you will hurt yourself."

"Don't worry, I won't."

"Where are we going?"

"To the bedroom." As a response, she buried her head in his shoulder.

Later, during the afterglow, they were lying, loosely entwined, occasionally kissing softly and breathing each other's air.

"I noticed you from the first," she said softly, "but you showing up the way you did today – I guess, it was fated to be."

"Well, there's nothing quite so life confirming as the act which creates life, especially when you were facing death. And I noticed you too, although I must say you look even more beautiful this way than you do in your banker's suit," he grinned. "But a smart, beautiful lady with a great personality, what's not to like?" He sat up suddenly.

"Don't go."

"I wasn't. I was looking at your cut. Looks like the bandage hasn't moved, although it should have, as passionate as we were." He resumed his former position idly tracing a line up and down her ribs, her breast, and her back with is hand.

"I wondered about your hidden agenda when you bought gold in the way you did, and then silver, but as time has gone on, I've begun to think you are psychic, and can foresee the future. What do you see in store for us?"

Gary snorted. "I'm certainly not psychic. All I did was to look at what similar circumstances produced in history. I can't foresee the future so I don't know what will come of us. I'm painfully divorced and I've always been pretty shy. Every time before, when I got to that question, and it has happened a couple of times, I've always run from it. While I'm still a bit nervous with you, I don't seem to be bolting from the corral, so to speak, so maybe I'm ready."

"I'm divorced too. I know what you mean," she said softly.

"No kids?"

"No. It never seemed the right time, the right partner although I could like to have some before my biological clock stops altogether."

"My two have been such a joy to me that I've often said the only reason I would re-marry is to have more kids. But as far as times go, what's happening around us is going to get worse, much worse. Sheer survival is going to be difficult enough, never mind babies. But maybe one day, when things look more settled. Who knows?" He grinned. "How many kids do you want?"

"I'd like three but I am not 18 anymore. I don't know how my body would react."

Gary suddenly sat up in surprise. "I don't think I've ever discussed the size of a potential family with a woman before. Certainly not this early in a relationship. And we're going to be busy trying to escape from this mess, so we'll have to run every minute of the time we have. Something I should be doing right now!"

Jan cupped the back of his head in her hands and said, "I don't want you to leave now." Drawing him down to kiss her, she silenced his concerns in woman's age-old way.

A lot later on, he glanced at the clock on the nightstand and said, "I have to make a call before the stores close." He slipped on his robe and went to find Bill Cave, the butcher's number.

"Did you get the chicken?" Gary demanded.

"Yes. No problem, sixty cases. They're here now."

"Great, Bill. I just called to say that I'll definitely be able to take the frozen stuff early. I still don't have my schedule, but you need not worry about freezer space. I expect to be able to take it off your hands by about Thursday. Is that Okay?"

"Yes, that's good. I may work on cutting some of the meat tomorrow when I'm not likely to be distracted."

Back in the bedroom, Jan was sitting with her arms clasped around her knees. Gary slipped the robe off and crawled up the bed to kiss her. She leaned back and it soon turned into an intimate tender kiss. Gary looked down at her and said, "Before I was so rudely interrupted, I was about to ask if you would like a coffee or tea, and maybe something to eat."

"Definitely. But I think I'd like to shower first."

"Yeah me too. You shower, and I'll get the water boiling and pull out a few things for dinner. Then I'll shower. Coffee, tea, juice, milk or what?"

"It doesn't matter. I think I feel like a tea. I drink too much coffee at the office."

"Tea it is." Gary slipped on his pants leaving the robe for her. He started the kettle boiling and cleared a bit of space in the fridge for Jan's few perishables. He pulled out some pre-made Thai spicy noodle sauce, and started defrosting it in the microwave.

Just as the tea was about finished steeping, Jan came out dressed in the robe. "Umm, smells good," she smiled, accepting a cup and sitting down at the breakfast nook table. Just as the doorbell rang.

"I wonder who that could be? I'm not expecting anybody," Gary said. "Who is it?" he yelled.

"Just me," Eric's voice came back. "I decided to drop off your stuff on the way home."

Gary let him in. Jan looked as if she thought being out of sight was the prudent thing to do, but before she could move to get up Gary motioned her to stay, and let Eric in. Clutching the robe tight around her she shrank back into her chair.

"Jan, I'd like you to meet Eric, my son. Eric this is Jan Kerr. We met about a year ago at the bank, and she was the one who handled our overnight loans and bullion purchases." Gary conveyed the essential information casually. Eric smiled tentatively toward her, nodded his head.

"Took you long enough" continued Gary. "Did you have to go to many stores to get all this?

Eric shrugged his shoulders, still eyeing Jan from the corner of his eye. "It took forever! I think we hit every grocery store along the way."

"Hi, Eric." Jan rose and demurely extended her hand.

"Hello - er - Jan, nice to meet you," Eric mumbled. "I'll get the other load of groceries and be on my way." He disappeared out the of door but only a few minutes later was back dropping off a huge load of plastic shopping bags on to the counter.

"Would you like to stay for dinner?" Gary asked. "I was thinking today about Thai spicy noodles, and my taste buds got all set for them. There's plenty."

Eric shook his head, raised his hands deprecatingly "No, I don't think so right at the moment. I have too many things to do and the car is loaded and outside. I have to get my own groceries in too. I'll take a rain check if you don't mind?"

"Yes, of course! Jan was attacked today" he explained, indicating her plastered arm "which I fortunately interrupted. I think it was her bag of groceries that attracted the bastards. When people start to get hungry, I guess they will soon start doing crazy things. So you take care too, son.".

"I've got a shotgun in the truck. Something to scare trouble away with. I can look after myself, oh my Father!" He grimaced meaningfully and let himself out.

After Eric had departed Gary pulled out a pot and started to fill it with water for the noodles. Jan came up behind him and brushed his arm with her breast. "That son of yours seems like a nice guy. Can I help with dinner?"

Gary swung the bags containing milk over by the cellar door. Then the bread. He took out a head of lettuce, and miraculously, a large bag of tomatoes, and put them on the table in front of Jan to open up. The rest of the bags he inspected, gathered up and then took the lot down to the pantry, where he put them away.

He busied himself preparing dinner and was also able to find a candle, stick it into a long-stemmed wine glass and light it so that the room lights could be turned down on the dimmer switch. He found another couple of glasses, poured and passed one to her. They clinked them together in the flickering candlelight, big eyed in the mellow light.

Later they talked about her work. "Do you expect the bank to have to call many loans?" he asked.

"Oh yes. I've been working all week just reviewing accounts. I'd guess we might call, or demand more security on almost all of our loans now."

He blinked as this factor that he had forecast and strategised about was actually falling into place. "Do you think that other banks will be doing the same?" he asked.

"I don't see why not. They will all have the same problem. Risk has suddenly skyrocketed."

"Yeah, I guess so. Oh, by the way, I just thought, you know those forms for government that you fill out when you purchase bullion? How often do you send them in? Daily, monthly or what?"

"Monthly," she shrugged. "Never gave it much consideration. We let then accumulate as long as is considered proper and then file them online with a copy to the company's auditors along with our reinsurers.

"God, I wish there were some way mine could get lost for this month end, and only wind up going in after the deadline.. With the government about to make gold ownership illegal, I could sure use the extra time."

They had almost finished the wine in an amiable silence on the couch in the living room before she spoke again "I can't promise anything but I may be able to pull something off. I'll let you know as soon as I possibly can. That's a promise!" she added with a sudden, vigorous nod of her head.

"I'll drink to that, then" clinked his glass against hers and drained it.
Chapter 16

Sunday February 26th — Day 13

Sunday morning after breakfast Gary explained that he had a meeting to go to and delivered Jan home. He mentioned that he'd like to arrange a get together with Lynn and Eric as soon as possible so they could get to know each other, excusing himself, giving her a quick hug and departing before she had time to contradict him.

He bustled back to the house whistling all the way and loaded the trunk for the trip to Claude's. Next he drove to Lynn's and picked her up. At Eric's, one of the first things Eric said as they stood inside his doorway putting his coat was, "This lady in your life is serious?"

"Yes" he paused, "but I've been attracted to her for quite a while now." He met his son's eye cautiously. "Eric, it's been a long time since – since..." he found he couldn't find the words, for the lump forming in his throat. There was still too much pain and his children had been caught in the middle as they always are when a marriage comes apart.

"Despite my busy life I'm lonely and we seem to hit it off in a way I haven't felt since..." Again he couldn't finish. Cleared his throat with a deprecating cough, looked down, uncertain how Eric would respond. "I want you both to meet her."

It was Lynn who asked the question. "Are you thinking of marrying her"

There was a long, uncomfortable silence before Gary broke into it.

"Well it is early days yet. Probably yes I would. I haven't asked her though. She might not be interested."

'Very astute question,' he thought! Gets right to the crux of the matter." Gary blinked in shock. Probably?! Are you falling in love, my man?

"What is she like?" Lynn asked.

He blinked. "That's some question you're asking of your old dad! She's good looking, intelligent, and easy to get along with. Up until now I'd dealt with her mostly on a professional basis. She was the one who handled our bullion purchases at the bank and I found her to be top notch – discreet, flexible, a thinker, right on the ball when it comes to detail. She does know about how much money is involved but not about any of the steps we have taken since then. I had a bit of a job keeping her away from the vegetable crisper in the fridge." He grinned.

Eric interrupted. "I have a lot of things to do. Maybe I'd better take my car, leave Claude's early, and drop in at your house later."

"Okay, but give me a go/no go on Claude before you leave. I have to set up most of the rest of the plan soon. If we're going to go ahead then the more time Claude has to think about what we have to say, the more effective he can be."

They parked the two cars at Claude's. After Gary gathered up his packages out of the trunk they were admitted and introduced all around. Again they sat at the dining room table, chatting and drinking tea.

Eventually Claude said something about the security guy, and Gary responded, "Do you ever run into Navy SEALs or British SAS people in your line of work?"

"A few SEALs in cases where a ship was leased to the Navy on short-term basis. Maybe some were covert operations, they were very professional and not inclined to give anything away" he added pensively.

"Did you ever run across a Wayne Buckley?"

Claude jerked his head back a bit and then shook it. "More of your research, eh? You astound me. Yes, I know Wayne. Fished him out of a dodgy situation one time. They were in a rubber dinghy that had lost power with an armed speedboat coming on fast behind them. He kept in touch ever since. Seems to think I saved his skin or something." Claude smiled. "He's top man and seems to have gone far."

"Would you trust your life with him though? What sort of guy is he?" Gary squinted his eyes a bit and cocked his head slightly.

"If he were on my side, no question. If he were against me I don't think my life would be worth two cents." Claude drew a deep breath. "He's a very proper trooper with rigid ideals. If he gives you loyalty, his life is yours. His loyalty was toward the United States. He's very imaginative and improvises a lot. Makes him even more unpredictable than he has been trained for. Thinks really fast. Assesses situations accurately. A real catch if you can get loyalty. Otherwise, I don't know."

"Any way to get his loyalty or assess whether his loyalty remains with the US?"

"Probably difficult," Claude frowned. "He's not stupid and very, very loyal. I might be able to get a straight answer out of him. If I probed hard enough."

Eric interrupted, "From what I see, the big problem is that in any situation the security forces are the most dangerous to the leaders and the community. They're organized, trained, and equipped for mayhem. I think once people see that we're successful they're going to want what we have. We're bound to be attacked by individuals or gangs, which may include countries. If the group or country is not the United States there seems little problem with his loyalty. Only if the country is the US do we have to watch where he lies. How likely do you think it is that in the initial stages of our approach that he might think it a good idea to adopt an undercover or sleeper role, still loyal to the US, but appearing to be loyal to us?"

Claude frowned. "That's a possibility. I think in early stages it would be unlikely he would know enough details to try to be a sleeper. He wouldn't listen further unless he suspected major chicanery. You plan for him to be part of the discussion on our eventual destination, don't you?"

"We'd always planned that everyone would have a voice about where we would physically wind up. That's where they may have to live possibly for the rest of their lives. Particularly those people who are already on board which boils down to the leaders," Gary said. "I'd expect, or hope, that before a definitive answer to that last question was arrived at, that we would have our security arrangements in place. However, since talking to you I now have a much better idea how to approach Wayne. I think from the information you have given me I can largely bypass the sleeper issue and if he turns against us later then it's also possible for anyone else to do that as well, isn't it? I feel safer with the issue now. May I also use your name as being associated with the effort should I think it wise?"

"Of course." Claude nodded his head in vigorous agreement. "If it ever comes to it" he added.

"Okay then, we have three possibles on our shortlist at the moment, but as of this conversation, Wayne is leading" He turned to his daughter. "Lynn, you have been sitting there saying nothing. What are your views on this?"

Lynn shrugged, "You've been a head hunter for long enough that if you think you can bring him aboard without him being a sleeper, then I don't see any other issue to address on the subject."

"Thanks" he smiled. We're settled on that one then, let's move on."

"Claude, anything new on the ship?"

He leaned back, fiddling with his teacup. "Not since I spoke to you."

"You mentioned a half million price tag and I said I could have the money by today. Are you sufficiently prepared yet to need it?"

"Possibly. Counting out hundred dollar bills on the fender of a car makes eyes pop and they start thinking what to spend it on before they even own it so I might be able to do the same thing with less than that half-million. Maybe you've brought it along with you in that bag." His eyes twinkled "Did you?"

Gary nodded. "Yes and I agree with your fender analogy. Nothing like cash to get peoples' attention."

Claude frowned again. "I have run across a rumour of another ship. It may have been pirated but if you're not too worried about the legalities I'm pretty certain we can get a hold of it. There's small 10,000 ton tanker in Singapore loaded with fuel distillates. They're asking two million $US. From what I know, the cargo alone is worth more than that. You seemed very interested in fuels. Are you interested in something like this?"

"Wow," Eric grinned widely. "I think the answer is 'yes, probably'. Right now we don't want any attention from the authorities. Later on it may be okay but not just at the moment. However, the fuel could be critical to our success. Even if it were only as goods for trade it'd be worthwhile. Can you find out more?"

"I have a couple of questions," interrupted Lynn. "What exactly are the distillates, and do we have a free two million to spend on them?"

"We can swing the two million if the pick-up of the cash is here in the US, but just barely," Gary said. "Distillates are usually gas, diesel fuel and heating oil. Do you have a closer idea of exactly what the cargo is, Claude?"

"Only second hand. Gas and diesel were mentioned. You know how rumours are. By the way did you know that the President was to address the nation shortly? I think we should watch," said Claude.

"No I didn't," conceded Gary, "Glad you told us. We need to know what's going on out there if we are to stay ahead of the game!". He eyed them one by one. "Back to our distillate tanker. Does anybody have an objection to Claude starting to sniff around?"

No one said anything, just their heads shaken as Claude turned on the TV. The Oval Office. The President facing a battery of cameras, his demeanour dark with all the troubles of America that weighted upon him. 'At least we are post-Trump now and we can have hope for something sane to consider and not just those ludicrous Twitter Tweets!' he thought as the camera zoomed into closeup.

"My fellow Americans. I speak to you today with a heavy heart. I speak of economic terrorism in our financial markets. At this moment, America is under siege with the most diabolical scheme ever uncovered. Today we are a country awakened to a profound danger! We are a nation at war, a war of economics and economies that threatens to undermine us in the most profound of ways by devaluing our mighty US Dollar, the World Cornerstone Currency. The US Dollar, 'our US Dollar' the universally accepted 'Greenback', trusted everywhere is an expression of World Trust in the strength of our Great American Nation and our American way of life!

"Yet, this I promise you all, no scheme of an enemy, no crime even of a consortium of enemies will ever prevail over us.

"In the normal course of our generosity toward the rest of the world, and in normal trade flows, we have availed the rest of the world with our largesse. US dollars are sought and used worldwide and always have been since The Declaration of Independence on our most celebrated Fourth of July. We have generously provided assistance, and lent countries around the world our dollar for their use and under our guarantee of American Strength and stability."

He paused for effect, gazed unblinkingly into the press cameras

"Our enemies have amassed a significant quantity of US obligations. Together they have sought to destabilize the United States by unexpectedly dumping these obligations in concert, in an attempt to drive us into oblivion. America has now entered a fierce struggle to protect ourselves and the world from a grave danger. The United States did nothing to deserve or invite this threat."

He paused again in a pose of profound solemnity.

"These sacrifices that we make are those of the highest calling – the defence of our nation and the peace of the World. Overcoming evil is the noblest cause, and the hardest work. The objectives we have are worthy of America, worthy of all the acts of heroism and generosity that have gone before in our Nation's name. Yes, there is work ahead, work that will demand the utmost of every American. By our actions, we serve a great and just cause.

"I have today ordered that every government department immediately cut spending by 50 percent. Where such actions result in default of our role of Policeman to the World, and other World Issues, we will withdraw our military bases, regardless of our previous generosity and the disruption that local reliance on that generosity may cause. We cannot be expected to continue to shoulder the costs of keeping peace throughout the world alone.

"At the same time, I have ordered immediate tax cuts across the board in an amount of Thirtythree and one third percent for both all American individuals and all American corporations.

"The Bank Holidays ordered by our treasury have caused considerable hardship but we are Americans, and when the going gets tough, the tough get going. That is a picture of America. People in these United States are proud of their honourable conduct and freedoms. We will all make sacrifices in order to maintain and strengthen them.

"Immediately, effective at the opening of business tomorrow, I have ordered some of the restrictions of the Bank Holiday lifted. Individuals are permitted to withdraw up to $1,000 per week per institution of existing balances. Corporate current accounts will operate as they did previously in order to continue the normal flow of business, and to meet payroll needs.

"In order to keep jobs in America, all import duties are immediately doubled. Exceptions will be studied on a case-by-case basis, and rescinded where it is in the interests of America to do so.

"I have ordered that all debt obligations of the United States be converted into 30-year bonds at a rate of two percent per annum. All 401K and other pension plans are temporarily ordered to pay interest only on their holdings, which will result in some slight decrease in their immediate payout.

"Under the Foreign Exchange Stabilization Act, all foreign exchange and gold holdings are immediately converted into US 30 year two percent bonds at the price that prevailed at noon Eastern Standard Time on February 1st of this year.

"Once again we will apply the power of our country and its citizens to maintain our freedoms against evil.

"People of this country take pride in their freedoms. Our country has a tradition. No one who sacrifices will be forgotten by this grateful nation. We honour their sacrifices to America, and we pray they and their families will receive God's comfort and God's grace in return.

"Our financial system has performed superbly over the years. That is why so many people and nations want our dollars and our way of life. Americans must and will defend that way of life with all the resources we can muster. It is the American way.

"May God bless our country, and all those who are called upon to make sacrifices to defend our country and our freedoms! Good day to you all, my Fellow Americans!."

During the speech there had been silence with the only communication being exchanges of glances, particularly between Gary and Eric.

Gary broke the following silence, switching off the TV screen before it morphed from "God Bless America" into the inanities of advertising.

"Right. If we all hold our breath the Titanic will get lighter but it won't sink. But we are not giving up any of our freedoms?.

He looked around with an expression of sardonic amusement. "The capitulation is complete! If you can prove your rare gold coin is worth more than the face value of the metal then the Treasury will confiscate it and you get in exchange a worthless IOU that pays two percent in 30 years."

Gary felt like he was sucking on a lemon. "If international trade wasn't dead before, it sure is now. All those countries with US obligations up to their Ying-Yang are not going to be happy with this haircut. But it's okay; he'll make a short prayer that everybody will receive God's comfort and grace. That is now the official American way."

Claude mused, "My pension goes down I guess. How much you think?"

"I'd think by at least two thirds. Mostly they were getting about six percent on the longer bonds and a fair return on whatever equities they had. What remains of the market, particularly the bond market, will definitely fall hard and fast tomorrow so the equity return will be negative. The interest rate will now be two percent, so knock off two thirds on that part, and then there is no payout of principal, so knock off a bit more. Two thirds is conservative. That's the slight decrease he referred to." As an afterthought Gary added. "I guess we don't have to worry about inflation though."

"Why?"

"Inflation is too many dollars chasing too few goods. What the government hasn't taken away, the banks will. There won't be any money to inflate with. I'll bet our local taxes won't go down though. There'll soon enough be a lot of houses being repossessed through non payment of taxes."

"You guys are a real bundle of joy, aren't you?" Claude said sourly.

"Sorry," Gary responded with a contrite shoulder-shrug. "The thought just popped out. On the other hand this is just the beginning. There'll be worse, much worse to come. You're in the position that you can probably come out with a whole skin. This is only the 12th day after the crash. It'll take some time for this to sink in with the general populace. By that time hopefully you'll be on a ship, with armed guards and essential assets, safely off shore away from the maddened crowds."

Claude paused to draw a deep breath. "Okay, it looks as if there are no other options now. We'd better get this thing rolling."

"Hey," Gary said. "Two weeks ago you were just listing your house for sale because the crime rate was climbing. We've come a long way in a very short time, haven't we?. As long as we can stay ahead of events we'll come out on top."

"That's the only thing that keeps me from slitting my own throat. We have a plan, some hope, and so far it seems to be working."

"That's all one can say," Eric said. "So far it seems to be working. New problems will arise but we have to keep struggling on." He stood up, gave his father and sister each a brief hug. "I have to go now but I won't be long."

Gary accompanied him to the door. Eric glanced significantly sideways at Claude and nodded once. When he returned to the living room Lynn also discreetly signalled that she felt Claude was acceptable.

Once Claude, too had taken his leave, now with an air of urgency about him, and Eric had returned they went into a deep family conference. Gary opening up to them the details he had so far begun to think out about past events, future plans, forecasts and possibilities. Eventually, they had pretty well talked it all out and it was time for them to leave. In parting, Gary had also guardedly hinted to his son and daughter the possibility that Jan might now have become involved.

They picked Jan up and went back to Gary's. They chatted for another hour till Eric came, and soon the banter among the Alden family turned into a general laugh session between all four. It looked to Gary like Jan might fit well.

Eventually, because everyone had to get up early the next morning and they were all by now emotionally wrung out. Eric drove Lynn home.
Chapter 17

Monday February 27th — Day 14

In the morning Gary drove Jan and Lynn to work through eerie, empty and almost traffic-free streets, dropping Jan off first so he had a chance to talk privately to Lynn. "I know you've just met her but do you have any impressions of Jan?"

"She seems like a nice lady."

"You say that in a way that is damning with faint praise," Gary said slowly. "The point is, knowing her a very short time, did you see anything that would make you doubt that she was someone you would trust with your life?"

"Dad, I wasn't thinking quite in those terms. I have a friend she reminds me of a lot. People would say my friend is moody, but really, it is more that if something is bothering her – then look out! Right or wrong, she'll fight to the last drop of blood long after it becomes unreasonable to fight. She might be hard for you to live with."

"I'm really pleased you told me that," Gary said and paused to consider. "I hadn't noticed it but there is already some evidence that you might be at least partly right. She decided that we were fated to become 'an item' and acted at once on that basis. And also" he added pensively "she has climbed quite quickly in the corporate world and you don't get to where she is, and doing what she's doing, by being wishy-washy. If she's that way it's become my personal decision as to whether I can live with her. Or not!" He pulled an uncertain face. "That aside it's a community decision if these traits are good or bad for the community. Only I don't actually know who our putative community will turn out to be comprised of."

"She seems like a smart lady Dad. I don't think she would make many mistakes. On that basis I'd vote for her. For you I was just concerned that you might not have seen that side of her personality, although I wouldn't have said so if you hadn't insisted."

"Personally, I've never had a big problem with people who were willing to stand up for their opinions or values. Circumstances often modify the extent to which one can defend these positions, but if you know the consequences and ramifications of your actions and choose to go ahead anyway, then I think that is Okay even if your view opposes mine! In this case, I see the big danger as being that a situation might arise where we come to loggerheads and she might become vindictive afterwards. That could badly damage the community, never mind what it might do to me!."

Lynn pulled a face, drummed her knuckles on the table, coughed, paused before laying her hand on his arm.

"You know what, Dad – and don't take me wrong because I'm a chip off your old block – but I sometimes wonder if you are a bit 'on the autistic spectrum'. You remind me in some ways of the principal character in one of those 'soaps' that were so much in vogue a few years ago. She was a detective in a Scandinavian melodrama – forgotten her name now but it was about the bridge between Denmark and Sweden. Totally focussed on operational outcomes to the extent it over-rode her personal life. Rather like you are being just now. I don't see your Ms. Kerr as being vindictive, as you call it, except if she's pushed into a course of action that conflicts with her principles. I see her as a quite principled sort of person."

"Hmmm!" Gary wryly thumbed his nose at Lynn. "Autistic is it? Well, perhaps I am so in which case should I decide to push ahead with her – which you can take as a goddam certainty, we as a community will have to watch out for that stubborn trait in either or both of us." He grinned and abruptly changed the subject. "What did you think of Claude?"

She smiled back at him "Claude's really wise in the way that grandpa was. I think you've found a wonderful person in him."

He stood up, blew her a kiss in dismissal "Gotta go! Catch up later! And be careful how you go, Lynn, I've only got one daughter!"

'So far' he said to himself. "Christ, Alden, it begins to feel like you are in love! Hmmm. didn't think autistic people could ever actually do such a thing.'

He decided that while he was downtown and since it was not yet 8AM, it might be smart to check on 40 foot ocean going steel containers, so he pinged Chris to see if he knew a place to buy good used containers.

"Try Containerhaus over in Jersey. They do a lot of container trading."

"Do they do refrigerated containers too, Chris?"

"Not too many reefers around on the used market so far as I know. I'd be afraid of used refrigeration systems anyway. They don't last that long. That box in front that contains the automatic refrigeration system, its gas motor and its gas tank gets bounced around a lot. Anyway, since you asked, they can tell you if they have any, or if they haven't where you might look."

"Great! If I decide to buy several of them, may I store them in your yard? Normal rates."

"Sure, but I only have a limited number of flatbed trailers capable of hauling containers, and I don't have any roll-on roll-off trailers."

The Containerhaus yard was unmissably huge but it took Gary a while to find the main entrance. From the outside it looked like one continuous container half a mile long. They were stacked five high all alongside the perimeter fence. Once inside the yard though, there was more open workspace where the containers had to be inspected and sorted according to their quality. Judging by the few trucks and trailers in the yard, they weren't doing much business though, which suited him just fine. Only the area where tractors dropped off containers was active. When he remarked on the size of the inventory, the on-duty shipping clerk told him that most of the incoming containers were on a consignment basis, and were not owned by them. A five high container forklift was busy moving containers to the edges of the closely stacked storage areas.

Gary viewed and purchased, subject to inspection and acceptance by Roy Bryant, 14 dry cargo containers at $1500 each. In addition, contrary to Chris Habel's assertion, they had a large number of refrigerated containers. Thinking that he might be right about used refrigeration systems being suspect, he opted instead to purchase six new reefer containers at a cost of $15,000 each. He also noticed five flatbed and three roll-off trailers that they were willing to part with and purchased them too, again subject to inspection. He left a deposit of $90,000, more than covering what he actually needed as a gesture of goodwill.

"Cash never offends!" he quipped to the shipping manager, "but I'll need an invoice and shipping manifest Four of the dry containers, four of the reefers and three of the trailers he arranged to be picked up immediately after inspection, and the balance cleared and paid for within a week.

He called Roy to arrange an ASAP inspection to which he replied that he was able to commit to first thing the following morning. Gary also asked him to find out where one could get a container lifter to off-load full containers from the flatbed trailers and so free them up for a further run.

Back at home, he took time to familiarize himself with Wayne's file, and update it with the new information Claude had given him. He looked up Wayne's address, and located a nearby Radisson Hotel which he thought should be suitable, phoned to make sure the bar and restaurants were open. Next he called Wayne but got an answering machine. He cursed inwardly but decided not to leave a message. Not my day, he thought drily.

Just then the house alarm went off. Gary grabbed a pistol from his desk drawer, cautiously peered outside, then slipped out the front door. Two hoodie-wearing thugs were attacking his armoured garage door with a metal pry bar.

He levelled the gun at them, then spoke in as quietly menacing a voice as he could muster, "This gun shoots bullets at 2000 feet per second. Do you think you can run any faster than that?"

They dropped the bar and took off at a dead panic-stricken run, squealing at him not to shoot. Gary fired one shot into the air before levelling the gun again, serving to increase their speed and afterwards diving around the nearest corner

'Crazy kids,' he thought. 'Immortal, indestructible and infertile. Oh well, I hope getting 'shot at at this address' serves as a deterrent to any others who might be getting any big ideas'. He went back inside and turned on the perimeter alarm which he'd forgotten as he came back in. While he was at it he checked that the garage door had not been damaged and then went back to his round of phone calls.

He called Nils Jensen at Foremost bank as he had earlier promised.

"Gary. Great to hear a voice that's not screaming or panicking."

"Is it that bad?"

"I share this with you confidentially. We're pretty much shut down," Nils was speaking sotto-voce into the handset, Gary wondered if he was holding a handkerchief over it.

"Everybody's pulling everybody else's line of credit and at the same time calling in their own loans. It's become impossible to do an international transaction of any kind. Buying power only comes about as a result of producing something you can sell. If you can sell something, you can automatically buy something else. If you have nothing to sell, you can buy nothing either!

Wal-Mart, and everybody else who relies on importing stuff from China and all these low cost nations are out of business. They will have no products to stock their shelves as soon as whatever is now on a ship runs out. We can't even deal with our own branches in places like oil exporting countries. We don't have the foreign exchange here to transfer to them, and nobody's taking US dollars for anything by now. So, they can't pay for cargoes of goods, and especially oil, which is going to hurt the US a lot and very soon come to that. Better top up your gas tank now, my friend!"

Gary smiled to himself and thought, Despite his job of moving millions and billons around, he still thinks in terms of one, two, three, many! Reduce everything to the simplest terms to view the logic, and then just add zeros. That was common among traders. They even called a one million trade 'a dollar'. "Yeah, and keep a few barrels full of fuel in your garage for later. I hear the banks may be pulling some corporate lines of credit?"

"Never mind corporate. We're pulling lines of credit to about half the banks we are dealing with. Some are pulling ours."

"Half the banks!!" Gary was aghast. "If it's half the banks then it must be 90% of the corporate loan accounts being called all at once. That's just impossible. Its collapsing around our ears and even faster than I might have expected"

"Don't forget, the banking system is the problem. In normal times the banks just take deposits, or borrow from people who have the right to take out their money in a maximum of 30 days. Then the banks turn around and lend it out long term on say a 30-year mortgage. In times like these they are caught in a bind. People are demanding their money today, but the banks have it all loaned out for 30 years, or some other long term, so they can't get their hands on it and all they can do is call in every loan they can. Only they won't get more than a trickle and this is one big flood. Biggest I've ever experienced that's for sure" He sounded dejected. 'More like resigned to his fate' Gary thought. "His voice tells me all I need to know!"

"Right," he said, trying to sound brisk and businesslike "The Fed does not print money. They can only lend it out to create credit due to the multiplier in the fractional reserve banking system. If the banks won't borrow then they can't lend it. As I recall, the head of the central bank said in testimony before congress in 1934, 'We tried to increase money supply in 1929 and '30. The windows were wide open. We even tried lending 100% and they only had to pay back 98, a negative interest rate. But we were pushing on string'. People think the government can simply print money. It can't. It can only create credit by quantitative easing if the banking system is operating normally. Only now it isn't. Bigtime!"

Nils was emphatic, "Because the dollar is not just American anymore we can't simply seal off our borders. The dollar is worldwide. We've made things worse by outsourcing many of our jobs and production to third world, cheap labour countries, and now we don't even have the machines needed to produce what would be needed if we were to become isolationist. They're all in China or somewhere. If companies like Wal-Mart or manufacturers, can't get supplies that are coming in by ship they're out of business. The banks have to seize everything to stop losing money no matter what else happens."

"How long do you think we have before banks start failing?" Gary asked.

"The action that the government took in limiting withdrawals should hold it off a bit, but without that, I'd have said by next week the banks would start failing. Right now I can't say. It'll depend on how fast it takes for the ordinary guy to panic,"

"That's not helped by our current outlook on life," Gary mimicked. "The average little government welfare lackey who has untold rights, no responsibilities, and needs his government to solve all his problems, has this idea that 'if I want something, I need it. And if I need something and can't get it by myself, then somebody should give it to me, preferably the 'gummint'. As if the 'gummint' wasn't all us taxpayers who have to actually stump up the wherewithall pay for it. Looking at how crime has skyrocketed in the last week while the banks were closed, it's a very short step to 'and if somebody doesn't give it to me, it is my right to take it'. Did you hear that the police are now only going to respond to what they call serious crimes because they were swamped? Sounds to me like if there's no blood on the sidewalk, there's no response."

"I'm seriously thinking of packing up and moving to Canada," Nils said thoughtfully. "I worked there for a few years and I liked it."

"Better do it fast then. By your own words you may have as little as a week to do it, in" Gary teased. "Anyway, I called to say good luck. I really enjoyed our relationship and thanks for all your help!" After hanging up he thought, 'Seriously thinking of packing up and moving to Canada? He's right in the thick of it, and knows what's going on. Why isn't he doing something? How can a person so brilliant about one thing be so blind to another? Bankers have their noses so buried in their Forex trading portfolios that they can't see the rest of the world around them..'

He tried Wayne Buckley again, and this time his luck was in.

"Wayne Buckley?" asked Gary.

"Yes."

"My name is Gary Alden. You don't know me but I am a professional headhunter. I'm contacting you because your name has come up as being an honourable and able handler of men, as well as being a strategically minded tactician, if that makes any sense to you! On that basis alone, I am wondering if you might consider doing a job that I think is unique, in line with your portfolio and skill set and very exciting into the bargain." There was a sound of indrawn breath on the other end of the line but before Wayne could reply he continued "And can I ask whether you are currently committed to any formal contracts elsewhere for your services?"

Wayne's response was terse but not, Gary thought, outright dismissive "No, Mr Alden although I must tell you that I'm officially retired. That said, though" he continued, "I keep my eyes open in case something attractive does turn up. What kind of work do you have in mind?"

Gary said. "I'm surprised that someone hasn't snapped you up as soon as you became available. You must be in the process of selecting out the propositions you are undoubtedly getting right now. Forgive my impertinence but can you tell me why you might already have rejected what were obviously going to be good offers? Give me an idea as to your thinking,"

"Hmmm! I suppose there are two reasons." His voice sounded intrigued now "Firstly I want to be more entrepreneurial, more in charge of my own destiny. The second is that the fu...ah frigging world is changing in ways that I don't like. The United States I served during my career is not the US of today and things are changing very rapidly and in what I think is a very dangerous way.!"

"Well, Mr Buckley, - 'Wayne', what you have just said makes me very excited. I really believe that what we, our consortium \- is trying to achieve, is, if anything over idealistic. Our vision may be too much so, but you are the sort of person who can bring pragmatism into our decision making. If something comes out of our dialogue here and I can persuade you to consider going along with us, then I would certainly leave you in charge of your own remit – one thing I am not is a 'micro-manager'!" Gary hurried on. "I'd very much like to meet with you soon. Today if possible, and then if we have common ground as I hope we will, I would also like you meet with the other key people we will be working alongside. In any event, would you have some time later this afternoon for a coffee or a drink?"

"I suppose so." Ascerbity returned to Wayne's tone of voice. "What the hell is all this about? and why are you in such a goddam hurry, I feel like you're trying to railroad me Mr Alden?"

Gary responded. "Well, first of all as I said I'm very excited. The consortium wants to get our core people on board and working as a group as quickly as possible. In the past two weeks the world has changed dramatically and we expect that rapid change will continue. So there's a great deal of time pressure on us. Please take that as an apology So, if I can persuade you, where would you prefer to meet? Somewhere, maybe a restaurant or bar where private conversation is possible? Or a hotel. The Raddison is near you isn't it? I've never been in that particular hotel. Would the bar or the restaurant be preferable for a quiet conversation?"

Wayne paused. Made up his mind. "The restaurant would be better. We can get an isolated table back in the corner if we do it before 17:00 hours when the restaurant starts to fill up. How about 15:00? Will that give us enough time for whatever it is that you're trying to sell me? Oh, and wear a carnation in your buttonhole!"

"I know these sessions," Gary laughed. "If everybody gets excited, there's never enough time. Nevertheless, I would hope to keep it to basics to see if you want to take the next step, meeting the rest of the executive. Just give you the concept so you have time to think, and hopefully come up with some new ideas on your own account, new ways of looking at things, and concepts to bring to the table. Sometimes people get fixated and don't see the forest for the trees. Okay, Raddison restaurant at three PM it is?"

Wayne sighed audibly over the phone. "This better be worthwhile!"

"I promise you it will.!"

Gary called Eric and gave him a quick rundown on what had happened this morning and asked him, "What did you think of Jan and Claude?"

"Jan's a good looking lady and seems to be smart. Claude is one of those wise old birds that should be smoking a pipe in his rocking chair to fill out the picture. I just don't know if he is long enough for his feet to reach the floor. They get my vote. I gotta run. I have to get that second hangar deal completed and I think I have found some more fuel tankers."

About 2PM he headed out to meet with Wayne. On the way he noticed two bundled up ladies standing in front of a garage with various articles placed on the driveway. Large signs proclaimed "Garage Sale." Since the weather was clear, and the temperature was just over freezing, that was okay. But a garage sale on a business day? In February? Gary shook his head. These people weren't just getting rid of junk. They needed money badly. Probably some combination of bank holiday, bank seizure, unemployment, and possibly rent coming due.

The Raddison was much like chain hotels everywhere. A bunch of strawberry boxes piled on each other around a sparkling entrance and driveway. Gary walked into the restaurant and looked around. It was empty except for a person watching attentively, seated back in a secluded corner. Gary guessed him to be about five foot nine or ten, built as solidly as they come, reddish blonde hair in a crew-cut and with a neat goatee beard. Gary ignored the waitress hurrying over to seat him and walked directly back to Wayne. Putting out his hand Gary said, "Wayne Buckley I presume? Sorry, I couldn't get any carnations!"

Wayne rose and they shook hands. It was only when he moved that an attentive observer would see the muscles ripple under his skin. 'However, you'd have to be pretty inattentive not to realize that messing with this man might not be in your own best interests' thought Gary. He was a solid, densely packed bulldog of a man. His handshake was incredibly gentle, as if he were afraid of crushing lesser mortals fingers by accident. Gary's interest was piqued because the accepted norm was a firm handshake.

The waitress who had followed him thrust an A4 sheet of cardboard at him, "Would you like a menu sir?"

He took a fleeting glance at it and ordered a toasted bacon and tomato sandwich with a large glass of tomato juice. Wayne shook his head, indicating his own almost-full glass..

"Been waiting long?" Gary said to get the conversation rolling. "I thought I was a couple of minutes early."

"You were, but I got here at 14:45."

"When we spoke on the phone you mentioned something to the effect that the US was changing in ways that you did not like. What exactly did you mean? Were you referring to events over the past couple of weeks or perhaps over a longer time frame?"

Wayne leaned forward, putting his weight on his forearms on the table. "Appointing myself master of the obvious I think this country is moribund through and through, but fucking well particularly corrupt at the top. The US of A is rotten to the core like the Roman Empire before its descent into oblivion. Is that what you expected me to say, Mr Alden?"

Gary pulled a face and grinned. "I happen to think the same way. I think the events of the last couple of weeks are simply the results of the seeds of disaster that have been sown over the past decades and maybe climate change is the latest one to start germinating"

"Yes, I agree too. It's a fucking slow motion train wreck in progress," muttered Wayne.

Gary frowned mentally. 'This is far too easy,' he thought suspiciously. 'If it looks too good to be true it probably is. I think I will just stay on philosophy as much as possible and avoid details until you show whatever hand you are hiding behind those sharp blue eyes'. Smiling mildly he said, "What parts of the situation bother you most? Why do you say 'the US today is not the USA you served'?"

"Patriot Act II has brought us much closer to Stalinism than I ever believed possible in my worst nightmares. It was passed without anyone, especially those voting on it, being able to even read the document they were voting on. This is damned well no longer the land of the free. There are too fucking many people who think that freedom is free, excuse my language! Citizens must be vigilant. Then last night in the president's message every department gets cut by 50 percent. So far as I know my pensions come out of each year's appropriation and aren't funded in any way. So I'm likely to take a 50 percent cut in my pension. Fine way to treat someone who offered his life for his country. 'America always remembers those who sacrifice for her', indeed!"

"Ah yes Patriot Act II. That's but one of the many reasons you and I are meeting." Gary paused as the waitress brought his meal to the table.

"And you've connected up the dots in today's picture?"

Gary looked at Wayne and said intensely, "Yes this is a gigantic financial tsunami destroying the world fiscal system as it rolls around the commercial centres.

Wayne nodded emphatically in agreement "And today we are totally reliant on the gigantic financial online, instant, cloud driven invisible machine. If one small part stops functioning the whole lot seizes up and waits till it gets fixed. It crashes! If the computer goes down we have to wait till it's back up online before we can do the simplest transaction. What is more, Americans think they have a strong individualism and not a lot of mindset for collectivism, but they now rely on their leaders to give them a simple, sound-bite twitter solution that makes all their problems, including the heartbreak of psoriasis, go away. Only, in reality there is neither a simple nor a 'one size fits all' solution"

Wayne's instant grasp of a new concept so far outside his field of expertise impressed Gary immensely. But it still sounded too good to be true.

"Exactly. The good old USofA, and the whole world, for that matter has mortgaged its soul more ways than I can tell. We have squandered our birthright. Sooner or later the day of reckoning had to come. After the events of the past couple of weeks we think that day is now upon us. That means we're going to have to be very innovative and move very quickly if we are to ride the wave that's coming and not drown as it passes over us."

The waitress brought Gary's sandwich, he took a bite as Wayne broke in.. "So just how many people are involved in this survival plan of yours now?".

"Initially it was just my son, Eric and myself doing the research and forecasting. As events unfolded my daughter Lynn also became a participant. Subsequently, we recruited one Claude D'Antonio to handle the transport end of things. Otherwise, at this point, there is no one else who is aware of our intentions, although that will soon change."

"Captain Claude D'Antonio who lives in Jersey?"

"Why yes." Gary put on his best surprised face, eyebrows raised.

"Well if he's aboard, I'm aboard," declared Wayne with a burst of enthusiasm.

Gary acted surprised again, but didn't quite know what emotion to show so he continued in an effort to keep control of the conversation. "Basically we are thinking of entrusting a very critical function in the community to this position. No one, myself or anyone else, should decide alone that some one new person is to be let in on this. We have find a way to reach consensus. In theory we'd prefer that each person in the growing community have a voice and opinion on the suitability of each new person that joins us. After all, we'll each have to live in close proximity together in maybe stressful circumstances.. It's not that we are looking for people who think like we do - in fact, diversity of opinion is essential. We need rebels. But we do have to be able to trust or predict how every other person in the group might react in a tight spot."

Wayne nodded emphatically. "I can see why you describe yourself as a 'headhunter', Mr Alden. What you say chimes with me. We emphasized disciplined individuality a lot in the SEALs. Everybody has to rely on everybody else, while being a whole person themselves. So where do you see me fitting into all this?"

"In any society, large or small, government exists for only two purposes," Gary punched up his tablet and lined it up with the edge of the table for Wayne to see. "The first reason for a government to exist is to provide a framework for the society to successfully operate on. A Rule of Law. The second is to protect the citizenry from enemies who might do them damage in some way. There are no other valid reasons for a government to exist. It should not be there to take from 'Peter' to give to 'Paul' while skimming a percentage off for itself. As I see it, your field would be the second part. We think a community can be viable only if it has mutual goals, support, and protection.

Wayne pondered for a moment, studying the tablet "You sure don't think small, do you, Mr Alden!"

Gary cleared his throat, nodded and continued. "There's a critical level, or a critical mass below which things will not work. I don't feel small has as much to do with it as practicality. Either we do the job or we don't. Going only half way is a total waste. I could have taken my investment winnings and retreated to the wilderness, done the survivalist bit but sooner or later I was going to need company, I might get ill, have an accident or just get plain lonely. It wouldn't work except in the short term."

"It is True 'Man liveth not on bread alone'." Wayne's brow furrowed and he looked down at his hands. "But on the other hand, the critical mass of people and skills that you speak of in a technological world is likely to be a large one. It could be dozens, possibly even a couple of hundreds of diverse individuals. Is that what you have in mind?"

"Agreed. Yes it is exactly that! For a sustainable community, our 'Noah's Ark' we may have to go backwards to simpler ways and use renewables. Horse and buggy, not 'Model T Ford" Gary leaned forward intensely. "We need defense and security but only to the extent of warding off any hostility we may be threatened with. We need to be seen to have enough prickles to intimidate an aggressor. That's why I wanted to give you only an outline at this meeting. You're a strategist, and I don't want to impose any boundaries on you that exist only in my mind. We made a forecast of what events might transpire due to forces we observed over the past years. We positioned ourselves accurately enough that we were able to amass some resources during the crash that is just now happening. Not a lot in terms of the numbers government and big business throw around, but for an individual or family, more than adequate. We felt we could use these assets in such a way that their effect would be greatly multiplied.

First, we'd like you to contemplate our assumption that violence and desperation will continue to escalate as society crumbles at the edges and then form your own opinion what measures would you take next? You can call on some, but limited resources in a financial sense, and only a few hand guns in a military sense."

"You're pretty vague as to how much money I would have at my command, Mr Alden!"

"To a large extent that's intentional because of how we see things developing." Gary said slowly, "For the balance, resources can be allocated as events direct within our limited resources. Claude is just in the process of acquiring a multi-million dollar asset for a fraction of that amount. An asset that I think is essential for us to go forward. People still think in terms of dollars and to some extent we still must, but in a situation where you're starving because no food is available at any price, how much value are dollars? Food's the valuable thing. Your forecast of coming events should give you an idea of whether food or dollars might be more valuable, and how to get stocked up on whatever is more valuable, so you can trade for what you want and need."

"How much does this job pay?" demanded Wayne.

"I gave Claude a quantity of cash and a job to do, and told him to set his own salary. Until we get this thing organized I expect him, myself, and my family for that matter, to take what they need to live comfortably and safely, and use the balance to increase assets for the community and incidentally for themselves. In this financial tsunami we think paper money will become valueless. If the community is successful then the money is incidental. If it's not, it's me personally who bites the bullet. You've invested some time. That's all."

"That's an odd way to run a business." Wayne frowned and twisted his fingertips together as if he were tearing a small piece of paper to shreds.

"We go back to something you said on the phone. I commented that honour seemed to be lost and you agreed. This isn't a business venture although we do have to be profitable to stay alive. This is about building a tightly knit community for our mutual benefit and safety. A community based on humanistic values. This doesn't mean that everyone owns everything nor that individuals are not rewarded in relation to their contributions, or that we aren't responsible for our own actions."

"Sounds like true democracy in action," Wayne observed as he leaned back, still not taking his forearms off the table.

Gary paused for another bite of sandwich and a sip of juice. "The circumstances existing last month, or last year, are gone forever, and who can say what will be reasonable next year? I simply expect you to be honourable and reasonable in the circumstances, bearing in mind all the contributions others make. Right now we're building an infrastructure. Personal profits will come later. If you want to be a nine to five working stiff with the so called 'security' that entails, and a regular pay check denominated in present day dollars, then we can discuss that. If you want to be a leader in charge of your own destiny it requires a different kind of thinking. If you want a big salary it's up to you as a leader to arrange the value to justify it."

Wayne drew a breath while pausing. "Ah! Fucking well put up or shut up is it?. You're right. This is a changing world and changing my thinking at this stage in life isn't going to be the easiest thing, but it seems just now to be the only viable alternative. Okay, what's the next step?"

"We have to get you and everyone acquainted and firm up some immediate plans. Unfortunately, I think time is exceedingly short so we'll have to move fast and make some snap decisions without really sufficient data to be certain of them. I'll try to set up a meeting for somewhere for tomorrow night. Are you free tomorrow night?"

"Yes, anytime."

"Okay. I'll call you later tonight as soon as I get everyone onside," Gary said as he stood up and they shook hands and left some money on the table for the bill.

`Chapter 18

As soon as Gary was in his car, he phoned Lynn to coordinate her pickup from work and to arrange for the meeting the following night. She told him,"I've found the financier for the hospital that is for sale. It's Medical Venture Capital, here in New York."

"They must be small. I don't recall ever seeing that name. Maybe they might be in trouble too, I hope. I'll do some financial investigating before we make the next move on the hospital. You carry on locating pharmaceuticals. I'll pick you up about five. Stay inside for safety until you see me."

He next picked up Lynn and a very subdued Jan while they escorted Lynn to her apartment.

In Stamford, the new Union Bank of Switzerland building caught his eye as it always did. They had built a trading centre as big as two football fields. Right across the street, the Royal Bank of Scotland had built their new US headquarters. Numerous hedge funds and Fortune 500 companies had located their offices to Stamford and various parts of Fairfield county changing it from a sleepy, gritty manufacturing town, into a new and growing financial centre. They Turned onto an uncannily empty Broad Street, usually clogged with traffic at rush hour.

"Where are the buses?" Jan suddenly exclaimed. Normally long lines of them added to the general traffic mayhem.

"Don't know. Probably the drivers are refusing to drive, either because of no pay or because of the increasing crime, or perhaps the Transit Authority feels it can't protect them and pulled them off for safety reasons," Gary shrugged. "Are you going to stay at my place tonight?"

"That sounds like a good idea. I'm getting paranoid about being attacked. I'd feel better being with you." She smiled at him.

"Yeah, I like having you safely beside me too," he grinned back. "How's the shoulder?"

"You are a medical marvel Dr. Alden. I don't even notice it any longer."

"What's that big watch thing you have on your right arm? "Oh, that's my pedometer." she said proudly. "Everyone who is anyone has one. It counts how many calories you have used during the day by counting the number of steps you take."

Gary grunted. He disliked showy toys. The way things were going, with food in short supply, how many calories you were able to take in were far more relevant than how many you might have used up. A small corner of his mind followed this train of thought. Mental note: get started on the business of trading for goods instead of simply buying things, soonest.

Back at his refuge of peace and tranquility, Gary broiled steaks to perfection, or nearly so, prepared what he called his 'world famous rice pilaf' and a tin of asparagus tips. As they sat down to dinner he eyed her quizzically, "You look a little frazzled, Jan. I've not had time to ask you how your day's been??"

Jan pursed her lips, reached over and squeezed his hand. "If this calling of loans goes on, we won't have a bank left when we are finished. We sent out notices this morning on way over half our loans and I hear they've done the same on 90 percent of credit cards and personal lines of credit. Incidentally, I downloaded all the files regarding your transactions, deleted the originals and put them on a flash-drive to give to you."

"Thank you., that's my girl!" He gave her a hug. "That is a tremendous relief. I was wondering how I could possibly cover my tracks and you've done it for me.

Are you calling interbank lines of credit too?"

"I don't know about our foreign exchange and interbank loans but we're calling everything else on the slightest pretext. Where will it all end, I wonder?".

"I would expect a lot of banks to go under, There are far too many for the guarantee insurances to cover the accounts of their depositors. It'll be completely manic when they start to trade. Do you know how international banks are doing?"

"I was talking with Swissbank in Zurich today. The guy sounds like he could lose his job, though I don't think there is a chance his bank would fail. They are part of the big three Swiss banks but they are covering their asses, although not to the extent that we are."

"Too big to fail, eh! But if a lot of the loans you are calling don't pay 100 cents on the dollar, and if a lot of smaller banks go under owing you money, won't that force you into bankruptcy as well?" he asked, knowing full well it could.

"Oh no. We got over the 2008-9 crash, never mind Lehman Bros. We're big enough that the government would bail us out in a worst case scenario, but I wouldn't be affected. I have to work out the loans of my clients. She changed the subject with a shrug. What's your meeting tomorrow about?".

'Ha,' thought Gary. 'Bankers can afford to take stupid risks because the treasury will bail them out. Sorry love, but it can't possibly take on the hundreds of trillions of dollars of debt that is now coming down the tubes. One bank, yes, but not the entire financial system.'. Instead, he replied. "Strategy session. An attempt to coordinate the information we have and assess possible futures."

"You seem to be leaving me out of some important parts of your life Gary Alden. Don't you count me among your so-called strategists? "

"Well in the immediate future I forsee Armageddon. Lots of blood on the streets and in the middle of it all we have become 'an item' and suddenly I've got scared as hell. Scared for my Eric and Lynn and now scared for you. Particularly as it regards how timid I actually am, I've been struggling with the idea of asking you to marry me, and this is all just way too fast. Yet the situation demands fast action. I firmly believe that marriage is 'till death us do part' and I want 'us' to work, especially if kids are involved one day. It's just going altogether too fast!"

"My God, Gary! Just give me one simple answer to one simple question" She looked directly, almost hypnotically into his eyes, reached across the table and placed her hand on his.

"Do you love me?"

"Yes!

"Well, that's alright then, isn't it. Kiss me Mr Alden, I think you just proposed to me and I just said "yes!"

He threw his arms around her, kissed her mouth then whispered into her ear "an army marches on it's stomach. Let's go get some dinner!"

"How much has the financial world already changed since it's begun to crash?" He waved his fork in the space between them. "The average guy is going through the motions, waiting for normalcy to return. He has no idea how dramatic the changes are, nor where the world might go from here. He thinks now that the Bank Holiday is over, that he sees light at the end of the tunnel. He doesn't know it's the headlight of an oncoming freight train and that the banks and the financial system are the problem. The rate of change, already blindingly fast, is going to accelerate. You think that crime is bad now, just wait till people start to get hungry."

"The banks won't just disappear. The government couldn't allow it." She shook her head a bit belligerently. "Society would collapse."

"I'm afraid so. In every collapse of an empire I have been able to study there have been great numbers of deaths, even in the most recent example, the collapse of the USSR. In the three years between 1991 and 1993, the average life expectancy of a Russian fell by five years.

"Imagine it for a moment. Normally, even when there is a catastrophe and many die out of a population of millions the average lifespan will only change by a fraction of a day. How many people had to die prematurely to lower the average lifespan by five years? What percentage of the total population had to die to lower the average by eight percent? Not only old people died but young people too. Admittedly, they had wars going on in Chechnya and Afghanistan at the time. The government was over a year behind in paying pensions, which by then because of inflation and currency debasement, would only buy a loaf of bread a month. Soldiers were selling their guns for food. All that despite the billions the rest of the world gave them. They died like flies. The currency was worthless. As memory serves, the Rouble fell from something like four or five to the dollar to, I think it was about 8500. Just like in Germany in 1922."

"Is that where your gold and silver comes in?" she asked.

"Partly. The Russian government had been selling its gold reserves on the open market at the then regular world market price of US$12 per gram. Then they smartened up and started selling it on their own black market at US$20 per gram. That gram of gold which I think had previously sold for about 50 to 60 Roubles, was now fetching 160,000, if anyone would by then actually be taking Roubles for gold.

In the rest of the world the price had actually gone down. All this happened in the space of a few months. That was, at a time when the US, the World Bank, the IMF, and the rest of the world was pumping billions into the USSR in an attempt to rescue some of the people, and prevent the collapse from spreading. Despite how horrible it was, less people actually did die even though they had a pretty rough time of it so the effort did do a great deal of good. Recently the US has been alienating more and more of the world. Who can, never mind who wants to, rescue the US? It's simply too big."

"That's unbelievable. Are you sure?" she had ceased eating but was still holding her fork straight up.

"Of course I'm not sure. 'History does not repeat, but it rhymes', to quote somebody. No matter how it goes, the outcome does not look pretty."

"So what would you suggest?" Jan shifted forward in her chair.

"Well, in your case, or our case as we're together, I'd suggest the most valuable resource you have is your Tablet, address book, your various contacts and databases. Trade is going to fall dramatically because the banks will either fail or no longer extend credit to each other. Because many of the names on your list will fall silent and no longer be contactable, you need a huge list of people everywhere if you are to have much of a chance to find enough still functioning in carry on trading at all. In Russia, during its crash, no one had any money even if money had value for purchasing food. Those that were not just out to rip other people off were trying desperately to trade whatever they had too much of, for whatever they needed." Gary sipped more wine.

"The problem in Russia was that there were so many people trying to steal, who didn't have what they said they had, that you couldn't trust any stranger, and even those you knew, just a very little bit. Not only will your contacts be valuable for information as to what's available and what's needed, you might be able to trust them just a bit, enough to get a deal going. One deal a year, on a shipload of goods will be enough to keep you in very fine style. I would be assembling a database of every name and contact information of anybody that ever did business with your bank. Who knows how valuable it'll be and information is very small and easy to carry whether you ever get to use it or not," Gary emphasized.

"That sounds reasonable. Anything else you would do?" Jan asked. She held up her glass and waited patiently for somebody to refill it. Since Gary was the only one there he poured them both a generous aliquot "Well I'd put top priority on this over and above your work. You may have less than a week to assemble this data, download it on to an encrypted file, make a copy or two, salt them away among your things and then wipe off the originals so they can't be followed up by anyone else. The other thing I'd do is to collect the name of every principal, and product information, on every loan the bank is calling. These people are likely to be desperate to save their businesses or themselves, and some deals may be available. At least you'll have one end of the deal, who has product available at a discount. Then it will only require the other end - who needs what."

"Good Lord, you think of everything, don't you?" Jan's eyes widened.

"Far from it. I just play the odds, like a fisherman. Fish where the fish are, and you're more likely to get a bite. It pays to keep your eyes open for things other than what you are looking for." Gary was in full stride.

"What do you mean keep your eyes open?"

"One of my heroes is a guy named Mark Rich. I don't know how many of the stories are true, but I do know he's rich. Apparently he was born and raised in a poor area of New York. He got into the commodity trading pits in the market, and did quite well trading his own account. Then he realized he could do better with better information. So, he bought an oil tanker. The captain's real job was to report on who was loading what for where. From this information he had an edge, and did even better personally."

"Smart guy. Knowledge is power." Jan recited.

Gary puckered his lips. "One day, in September 1990 I think it was, when Russia was collapsing, Mark was apparently in St. Petersberg on other business. He happened to go down to the docks. At the time, transport, particularly rail transport, was all screwed up in the USSR. They used to have central control, so somebody made sure that empty rail cars were sent to where they would be needed. When central control broke down, nobody paid much attention to an empty rail car. It just sat and rusted where it was. Thousands and thousands of rail cars were piled up in Eastern Siberia, whereas Moscow and St. Petersberg had none. Anyway, he was down by the docks and he noticed this huge pile of potatoes. He asked the port supervisor, what was going to happen to the potatoes?"

"Did they come in by boat?" Jan asked.

"Probably, likely from the Ukraine. Anyway the supervisor shrugged, and said, 'I guess they're going to rot. It will freeze soon, and we don't have rail cars to ship them to where people are starving'. Mark said, 'Okay if they're going to rot anyway, I can have some ships in here within two days.' Note the plural, ships. That's how big the piles were. Mark agreed to pay the supervisor some minuscule amount per ton to have the potatoes loaded aboard those ships. To the Russian it was a huge amount of hard cash in total, and crime was common as a measure of survival. So the supervisor did it. Disregarding the morality of what Mark did, now comes the interesting part. What do you think he did with the potatoes?"

"I don't know." said Jan, "Sell them to supermarkets?"

"Nope, for a couple of reasons. First they were probably bruised from being dumped as loose potatoes into the cargo hold of a ship so they were not very saleable. Secondly governments frown on transporting bits of dirt and the attendant foreign microbes into our food chain plus they had to be processed rather quickly because bruised potatoes spoil pretty fast."

"Animal foods," guessed Jan.

"Nope again. The foreign parasite problem keeps them out of the food chain, and there is not a large black market for bruised potatoes."

"I don't know. What, then?".

"He had them thoroughly washed, crushed, and made into alcohol, a process that does not mind bruises and kills microbes. Alcohol is saleable anywhere at good prices. Now I don't know if he actually did this, or even if anybody ever did this, but it sounds like his kind of deal, and it does demonstrate that keeping your eyes open and using a little imagination can be very profitable."

"That's amazing. What other kinds of deal did he do?" Jan was leaning forward avidly.

"Well, another story that is attributed to him was that he found somewhere in Southern Asia, the Philippines I think, during the rioting when Marcos was being deposed or something, 38,000 tons of raw sugar sitting, going to rot. Got it for pennies. Again he sent in a couple of ships and loaded it onto them. He sent it to a sugar refiner and had it refined on a tolling basis. The refiner took their payment in sugar. Now he has a product that won't spoil easily. He found out that some hood in Eastern Siberia had gained control of the sugar market for pretty well all of the State. I don't know if the hood was not a good mathematician, or he simply liked easy numbers, but he established a simple retail price for sugar. US$10 per pound. "

"Ten dollars a pound!!"

"Yep. Mark traipsed around to visit the hood and suggested that the hood buy or he would sell to the competition and break his corner on the Siberian sugar market. The hood bought at a high price, or rather he had available a quantity of an obscure brand of aviation fuel which he was willing to let go for pennies on the dollar. So our hero has taken thousands of tons of something he paid pennies a ton for, and sold it at dollars per pound. He traded that for aviation fuel at pennies on the dollar, which he transported to St. Petersberg, where there was a shortage of that particular type of fuel, so again he got top dollar. He took payment in alcohol, vodka as I recall, which is saleable anywhere. There are any number of smallish, imaginative trading firms around which do that sort of thing, putting up little or no money, and making huge profits."

"That's really exciting," Jan exclaimed. "I want to think about it."

"These deals are not easy to complete because they usually require a lot of time. But with patience, imagination, and knowledge, the profits can be staggering. Ideally, you put little or no money up front or at least until you have the other steps in place. Your contacts could also prove useful in the next round, disposing of the product at good prices." Gary shrugged. "So it behoves you to get whatever databases you can, just in case they might prove useful." These were the counter trade or international barter type of deals I want to work on with Wolfgang.

"Umm." Jan was deep in thought.

"I have to make a couple of calls, Jan. I'll be a few minutes. Would you clean up here a bit?" Gary asked, rising.

She looked at him blankly for a moment and said, somewhat reluctantly, Gary thought, "Okay, I can do that while I'm thinking."

"Don't get in a rush. I'll come and help as soon as I'm finished," and he went into his office study and closed the door.

He called Claude, and caught him just in, about to sit down to dinner.

"How did it go today?"

Claude sounded pleased, perhaps with himself. "I hoped to have the paperwork finished today. If I get signed up tomorrow we'll own a 25,000-ton, self-loading general cargo ship with container fittings. The people financing the deal had their loans called this morning. The cash on the fender trick worked a charm. I left them hanging on the hook at $400,000. Then I put it all back in the bag, slowly. I thought maybe they were going to cry."

Gary laughed in delight. "Perfect execution."

"Famous last words, but if we get clear title, I don't care what they do with cash or their books. I could see wheels turning in their heads. I hope they won't wake up from whatever dream they have of that cash before they sign."

"Which ever way it goes I am sure you will have done the best possible job," Gary said. "I thought $500,000 was a steal but $400.000? I don't know what is greater than a steal. Grand Larceny maybe."

"I have more news," Claude continued. "I was talking to someone who should know about the Singapore tanker. He thinks probably that chicanery is involved but the ship hasn't been pirated. We might able to get clear title. I think it's worth following up on."

"Absolutely great. Do whatever is necessary. Charter a jet if you have to!. But be very careful you have a way to get back. The financial system is going to blow up soon. Banks around the world are panicking. Don't trust any financial institution for more than 30 seconds, and even that's risky," said Gary.

"Is it that bad?"

"Well it's not written in stone but all the signs are there. Every banker I've talked to, including my girlfriend who I want to talk to you about in a minute, is quite disturbed. It looks real grim. Banks may start to fail as early as next week. Anyway my news is good news/bad news. I met with Wayne this afternoon."

"Were you impressed?" Claude asked.

"Yes very. He's damned smart. What puzzled me was how anti US he was. Almost as if he'd been briefed. The reasons he gave sounded legitimate and I certainly agreed with all of them. I think I was fairly careful when I was searching him out but in the end, both he and the people I was asking are often part of the espionage/counter espionage world and they pick up on clues pretty fast. As the interview went on I felt more comfortable but it was just a bit too easy. If things don't go the way I expect them to, I am usually not considering some factor that I should be. Everything in his story hung together but I'd like to arrange a meeting with all of us to get more eyes looking, preferably tomorrow night. Are you okay with that?"

"Yes, I can make tomorrow," Claude answered.

"What I'd like to do is set a time, say 7 o'clock, at your place. We'll arrive half an hour later. That will give you a chance to talk with him. I'd like your opinion as to whether his switch in loyalties is real. Essentially he is saying the US of today is not the US he served. I agree but I expected more resistance from him. Either we have hit him at exactly the right time or he's being not truthful. I think you have a better chance of judging how real this change is."

"Yes," Claude agreed, "I be best one for that job. I'll try!"

"If I didn't have access to your knowledge but all things considered, I'd probably vote for him anyway. I would feel a lot more comfortable with that vote if I think you're comfortable too. Do you need us to bring anything?"

Claude said, "Do you have coffee? Wayne swills it by the bucketful. I have none."

"Yes I have a pound of very nice coffee I can bring. I have told him that we are thinking of a self-sufficient community, that his job would be to protect us from enemies, that I had given you a sizable sum of money and sent you out to buy an asset for the community. I said I'd told you to set your own salary. Other than that I stayed on philosophy for the whole time and tried to not give him any more solid detail because I was suspicious. I left him with the problem of setting a strategy for the community protection. When I come in I would like you to give me a nod if you are comfortable about his loyalties or a shake if you are not sure. Okay?"

"Sounds workable to me," said Claude.

"The second thing I wanted to discuss with you is my girlfriend." Gary briefly described how he met Jan, and subsequent events, including possible marriage. "I hope it's a policy that new core members who might gain access to dangerous information, be vetted by the existing members. I'd be very interested in your opinion of her. People don't think straight when the issue becomes all entangled with the infatuation thing."

Claude paused to consider. "I know why you want to check your girlfriend. That's perfectly in character. Okay we find some way of casually meeting her, same as Wayne's girlfriend Mona, who I have met. Same thought has occurred to you?"

Gary nodded, forgetting he was on the phone. "Yes it has. What do you think of her as a core member? I think we all might have to move to a common place for mutual self-protection. We can't chatter about common problems in front of a non-core member. I don't like us so spread apart and vulnerable individually where we would not be as a group."

"She's little bit different. A nurse, seems like smart lady, and close-mouthed. I think she has a child, teen-age boy. He's a bit wild from what I hear."

"Something altogether. I checked with a vet who thought moving animals by sea might have a problem with diarrhoea. In turn salmonella is often part of diarrhoea. Salmonella can be fatal to humans. When you're fixing the ship can you bear in mind we have to flush that waste over the side, or at least keep it out of human contact?"

"Yes, should be able to do that,".

"Okay, Claude, I'll get back to you later on then. Got some calls to make."

He called Wayne and set up the 7PM meeting at Claude's house.

Next he called Bill Cave the butcher, and arranged to back up a couple of reefer containers to slaughterhouses. He wanted an additional 60,000 pounds of frozen chicken loaded into the front of one reefer with Bill's shipment of butchered meats loaded into the back of the same container. The other reefer was to be loaded with red meat, 50 percent beef, 30 percent pork, and 20 percent lamb, mutton, and/or goat, as availability dictated. He wanted whole sides plastic freezer wrapped and frozen. He wasn't very worried about legal road transport weights, as he did not expect to be transferring them far by road, simply that the containers be filled to the maximum that could be safely stored.

When he had finished he went back out to the kitchen where Jan was just putting away the dishes.

"I told you not to get in a rush and I would help you," Gary said walking up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her neck. She leaned back against him.

"I was thinking and didn't notice what I was doing," she said, acting aggrieved.

"You're incorrigible," she laughed, putting the dishes down, turning, wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him a big wet kiss.

Eric phoned. "I have six tanker trailers lined up for inspection tomorrow. I'll be using Roy Bryant as soon as you get finished with him. Those cash payments sure work magic everywhere. The second hangar is leased and I've ordered it alarmed tomorrow. I have a line on some 55-gallon steel fuel drums. I'm about out of cash. Where do you think is the best place to go first?"

"The clunker cars I would say."

Just then the house alarm went off.

"Ooops, gotta hop. I just got an alarm here. Probably some kids taking a shortcut. Call you back later"

He went onto his office study and switched on his infrared detectors. Five blobs were coming across the lawn towards the house. Jan came into the study. He took a pistol out of the desk drawer, stuck it in his waistband, turned on the P.A. system, the floodlights, and a controllable searchlight, which he played across their faces to blind them. He keyed the P.A. system and said. "You guys are trespassing. Get to hell off the property or I start shooting."

One of them shouted something unintelligible.

Gary keyed the P.A. system again. "Sorry I can't make out what you're saying. These are your choices. Off the property in 30 seconds or I start shooting." He then flipped off the lights.

They milled about indecisively but showed no sign of going.. Gary said to Jan, "When I say 'now' I want you to flick on this switch. Okay?"

She nodded, her body tense.

Gary went to the front door flipping off lights as he went so that he would not be back-lighted. Unlocking the front door he said "Now," and opened it. The floodlights came back on. Gary again carefully aimed to consider where his ricochet might go and fired at the stone wall surrounding the house. The gunfire and the ricochet had all five over the fence in a flash.

He came back in, reset the alarm and laughed. "I wonder if any of them peed their pants?". He went in and shut off the floodlights. Jan still looked tense, biting her lip. "Don't worry. I was just trying to get a reputation locally for shooting first and asking questions later. Anything those five had with them was unlikely to get them in here. That decorative ironwork on the windows would take a large truck with a strong steel cable to pull off. The doors are steel with an oak veneer. You're pretty safe in here."

Jan still looked concerned. "This is the second time in less than a week I've heard you shooting and bullets whining away all over the place."

"Ah, but the ricochet was intentional. I shot where the bullet was sure to ricochet and the sound makes it much more scary."

"Well it works! It scared the hell out of me." Jan shivered and Gary gathered her up in his arms.

"Don't worry. No one can be 100 percent accurate with a handgun but I'm far better than most. I spent much of my childhood shooting possums. The game was to go out with 10 shells and aim to come back with 10 tails. I did it most nights after I'd bedded down the cows. Always know where the bullet might go accidentally, "Come on. Let's go to bed. We have to get up early anyway and we're going to have a heavy day tomorrow for certain.

But first I have to call Eric to tell him we're okay. He knows the alarm went off."
Chapter 19

Tuesday February 28th — Day 15

After dropping Jan and Lynn at work, Gary spent much of the day buying things and directing Chris where to drop containers next. Roy was hard put to keep his inspections ahead of the purchases of the Alden family. Late morning after inspecting enough trailers and containers to get Gary in business, Roy left to inspect tankers for Eric, before returning to Containerhaus to finish his inspections there. Chris and his crew immediately began transporting the new tankers over to be filled with gasoline and diesel fuel.

Gary contacted a sugar refiner and made arrangements to fill a dry container with 44 pallets of 2kg bags of sugar. The pallets were stacked two high in the container and weighed just less than one ton each, so the container was over the legal road weight limit, but just within seagoing limits. He did the same thing with bags of rice which had been specified for longterm storage and hopefully could be kept indefinitely up to around thirty years ('enough to see us out, anyway' he observed drily). Chris' crew picked up and dropped off containers thither and yon, including two reefers at slaughterhouses for the ordered meat.

Gary was so busy wheeling and dealing, dropping off cash and deposits to pay for all his deals that he barely had time to contact a dairy. His request for a container full of fresh milk was met with a shrug. The transportation problems, the bank actions and the labour issues had them in total disarray. Even the offer of cash payment would not budge them although they were obviously interested. However with cash in advance, they agreed to a container of fresh milk in two days, chilled within a degree of freezing. They had no powdered milk to offer. Gary tried other milk processing plants till he found one open with some powdered milk on hand. He at once, hoping for the best, ordered two container loads. Aside from personally detesting dried or evaporated milk, finding enough potable water to mix it with could be a problem later on.

Last night he had asked Jan to find out what she could about Medical Venture Capital, the financier of the hospital Lynn was looking at. When he called to make arrangements to pick her up after work, he reminded her about it.

"Oh, I haven't had time to do any personal stuff today. In fact I have to work late tonight. Pick me up later. We have to follow up on a huge number of loans. There aren't many staff who can get in to the office either these days and there's a limit to what can be managed online, working from home"

"I have a meeting and I don't know when it will finish." Gary said. "I'll tell you what, though? If you'll contact your venture capital people right away to get whatever they have, and print out a couple of current credit notes, I'll pick you up on the way home but it may be quite late. I really need that data and I need every detail I can get."

"That's so far okay my lover boy, if you don't mind!. I could work here all night and still not be caught up with what I have piled up on my desktop."

He called Lynn and they arranged to have dinner at the company cafeteria which was still open and drive directly to Claude's. Gary took advantage of the unexpectedly free time to contact a flourmill he had researched previously. He wanted a container load of nitrogen pack flour. He knew that flour contained a 'B' vitamin that slowly oxidizes and turns rancid over time. Inerting with nitrogen stops it so that rather than a one to two year shelf life it can be stored almost indefinitely, providing that the weevil eggs have been smashed by using an entoleter, a rapidly spinning drum with spikes.

The mill manager protested that they didn't keep anywhere near a container load of nitrogen pack flour in stock and that delivery would take at least two days. Gary abruptly decided to purchase two rather than have one grossly overweight container on a promise they would have both ready by Friday noon. He noted the two dry containers on his growing inventory and the need for more cash deposits to be on hand for tomorrow.

It was not quite five pm when he parked up to wait for Lynn to come down. He used the time on his cellphone to try, and luckily was able to contact a mid-sized speciality bakery that was open. He ordered a container of heavy breads, in case the community would have no on-board facilities to bake. The bakery manager was highly dubious, especially with a new customer, but because Gary was promising cash up front , agreed to order the ingredients overnight because they could always use them anyway. His credit card still had sufficient to cover it and delivery was promised for Friday morning'. Despite how fast he was moving Gary was not at all happy with the limited amounts and variety of food he was able to source, or likely to obtain with so many businesses closing. Not only that, but he was having to pay top dollar for the food he was purchasing, albeit 'top dollar' was rapidly becoming euphemistic.

An exhausted Lynn eventually came down and they went for dinner. "I think I can source a complete range of drugs and other medical supplies if we can find someone to sign for them. When will you let me know about the hospital?"

"We can sure use the hospital equipment if we can purchase it because we will be in isolation," Gary said. "Hopefully, we'll have some financial data tonight if I can get Jan off the business of saving her bank. She has this stubborn bee in her bonnet and still hasn't realized in her heart just how serious things are. She has this vision that if she can just save her bank her world will return to normal. I think the bank is her 'security blanket'. She says not too many staff are coming in these days but she's still trying to do her bit as normally as she can, out of habit as much as anything."

They arrived at Claude's house almost simultaneously with Eric, who'd grabbed a burger at a fast food drive-through that he had found open. The temperature had been falling steadily all day and a few flakes of snow were now drifting through the patches of fog.

"Got the tankers filled but the wholesale price of fuel has gone up by 75 cents a gallon," Eric said.

They entered Claude's house and Claude immediately gave Gary a vigorous nod of approval for Wayne. Gary had come in with his pre-assembled load of stuff, his tablet and laptop, his briefcase of cash, and the coffee for Wayne. They got settled around the dining room table, while Claude started water boiling for coffee.

Gary smiled, "Well Wayne, I hope you have a bit more information for us! Before we start answering questions, I'd like to hear your assessment of the overall situation, albeit you have only had a few hours to think about it."

"Hmmm!" He shrugged his shoulders emphatically "There is an old adage that goes along the lines of 'If you will probably lose the fight that is looming, don't be there when it starts'," From what I surmise about your plans I think you're headed in the right direction by trying to find an isolated spot and set up a self-sufficient community. Recognizing what's happening, or can happen, allows us to prepare and gain advantage or at least avoid some of the losses that are bound to occur. I think the systemic problems in the US are now irreversible. There's desperation in the air. You can smell it and feel it. Desperate men in high places are scrambling to save whatever they can for themselves as their kingdoms crumble around them."

"So far, in theory at least, we're in complete agreement," Gary said slowly. "So where do you think would be a good spot to avoid conflict? What things do you think are most important to carry out these goals?"

Wayne rolled his eyes cielingward before replying. "Firstly, establishing positive morale would be the most important thing of all. Willing people are extremely inventive if they are allowed to be. Secondly, you should have a variety of skill sets. Then, thirdly you must have at least the bare minimum of tools to put that knowledge to work; so your people can be effective. But lastly, though maybe the most important overall, conditions have to be conducive to the success of your venture."

"What do you mean, 'conditions have to be conducive to your venture'?" Eric cocked his head slightly and frowned.

Wayne drew a breath. "Essentially, I mean locations where man does not need supplemental things like technology in order to live. Generally, places where mankind has survived for millennia would be a good starting point. They were successful because conditions such as available food, water, and ability to take or make shelter, were enough to carry on."

"Do you know of any such places now?" Lynn asked. Cautiously.

Wayne leaned back in his chair, swivelled a bit to look directly at her, hooked one arm over the backrest while keeping his other forearm on the table. "I know of any number. Unfortunately for this discussion, most are like the east coast of Japan. It has a good delta to survive on. It was so good that the population had reason to grow and now, the population density makes such a location is now unsuitable for our purposes. Or you might think of Switzerland with high mountains throughout. For people dug into the mountainsides it's fucking uninvadeable because even today a ground force, including tanks, would be vulnerable to big rocks being rolled down onto them. Or Great Britain surrounded with a huge moat of water, making invasion difficult. Moving from the general to the specific what's needed is a smallish area that's suitable for survival but where communication is difficult. There should be some barrier such as high mountains surrounding the area, but the remoteness and the small fertile area for growing food make it uneconomic according to economic logic in today's supermarket driven world."

"So - do you have any such likely candidates in mind?" Eric continued.

"I believe I know of several possible places, just look at a map. Any place that has no towns or roads is pretty isolated. Or look for areas where there is no cell phone coverage. Then ask why they have no towns or roads. The mountains on the west coast of the Americas could be good but earthquakes and changing weather patterns might be a problem. There are isolated spots on the east coast, particularly Canada and South America, but usually this means poor growing conditions. There is a great deal of lightly populated coastline between Guyana and the Para province in Brazil, all near the equator. The north coast of Australia or Queensland is a possible but Oz is only eight percent arable land, and surprisingly is the second driest continent after Antarctica, which would be safe but..." Wayne shrugged and grinned. "I'm sure there are others such as Pacific islands, but uninhabited islands seldom have good soil which is why they are uninhabited. Besides, low-lying atolls like the Maldives are going under as sea levels rise because of climate change"

Lynn interjected. "Where would you see your skills best utilized if you were part of our group?"

Wayne took his arm off the back of the chair, swivelled a bit more, and smiled. Gary had noticed him checking her out a couple of times. "I'd think the use of my knowledge would be the most effective thing to do. I'm a military strategist and a teacher. As a strategist my job is to figure out what an enemy is going to do and take countermeasures. Or perhaps it might be called doing the unexpected which throws all their plans out the window. I'm very good at that sort of scenario. As to teaching, the learner must understand the larger objective first. Then they can more easily understand what's being done and why. Once they know this they can be inventive with the 'how'. Some ideas will be more suitable than anything that I may come up with. That doesn't mean that everyone has to know everything but they do have to understand in which direction we are pulling as a group. I would have to share my knowledge to others so we all act in unison even if the circumstances change."

"Can you teach me to strategise?" Lynn asked.

"Strategising techniques can be taught," Wayne replied. "You strategise now, just not militarily. Have you reached most of the goals you set for yourself many years ago? In the fullness of time how good were those goals? If the goals were good and you have made substantial progress toward, or met those goals, then you strategise well already."

Claude added, "If you changed your goals when you gained more experience then your analysis of what were good goals for you was faulty. Everyone changes mind at least a little as they get experience and more information."

Wayne had turned his head to listen to Claude but Gary kept his attention on Eric and Lynn sitting to his right. Lynn felt his eyes on her, looked at him, shrugged slightly and nodded yes. Eric became aware of this byplay and deliberately, but almost imperceptibly, nodded 'yes'. Claude, who was sitting somewhat directly across from them, seemed to be aware of what had just happened.

Gary said, "I think we've reached a consensus. We'd like to have you join our group as a core member, Wayne. We have a number of urgent jobs to do right away so we can get the group working together effectively, quickly. We, as a group, have to decide whether to invite a couple of people for the community. You have a lot of information to absorb as to exactly what our position is and where we think the world will go from here. Then you can formulate your own opinions and strategies. Would you be interested to join our community?"

Wayne looked surprised. "Once you get to marching you fucking tramp right along don't you? A little over 24 hours ago I'd never heard of you."

Claude laughed. "You learn to respect his research. He continually astounds me."

"As I said before, 'If Claude is in, I'm in'." Wayne declared. "But I do need a lot better handle on what you are doing."

Gary grabbed his briefcase, "Well, first to induct you into the group. You need some tools with which to do the job," and he worked the combination locks. He turned the case to Wayne. With a questioning look at Claude, Wayne snapped the latches and opened the lid. "How much?" he said.

"Two hundred thousand dollars. You decide what it is to be spent on. All I want is a full and complete accounting. That's all. We do have more funds but at the rate Claude, Eric and I are spending we may run short soon." Gary grinned at Claude. "In fact one of our immediate goals is to spend it quickly while paper cash is valuable to people. Bankers used to value things like bank accounts and credit cards but the recent Bank Holiday makes cash much more appealing and very effective. We don't expect to have much paper cash shortly, we're spending it quite quickly on things we deem to be vital assets."

"What the hell will take the place of what you call paper cash?" Wayne asked.

"Actually I call it "fiat", something that has value because the government says it has value. I expect there will be efforts to prop up the idea of fiat, or paper money but I expect the real storehouse of value will be in commodities. Food for instance," Gary said. "Claude, any progress today?"

He smiled, evidently pleased with himself. "Yes we're the proud owner of a 25,000 ton dry cargo ship. I haven't decided what to call her yet. Do you have any preferences for a name?

She cost us $450,000 in the end. As well I think I have to go to Singapore to take delivery of her" he added.

Gary grinned "that's fantastic. Recruit somebody and get started bringing her up to snuff, especially if you are going to be gone. Buy fuel, every gallon she can carry. Fuel prices are going up by the minute. Eric just told me ordinary gasoline at the wholesale level here in the US is up 75 cents a gallon today.

I don't think anyone really cares what the ship is named just so long as it's not attention grabbing." he added.

It had fallen silent as they eyed each other cautiously but nobody seemed to want to add anything.

"Right then !" he said firmly. "Time to get on with our plans, then. Jan, you come with me,.Lynn, you go with Eric and will you drop Jan off home later. When we are all done, Claude, will you ride with Wayne so you can fill him in on the finer details we haven't been able to cover".

"And the other person who needs to pass inspection being my girlfriend?" asked Wayne.

"Yes! Absolutely! Everyone with access to critical information, male or female, has to be vetted by us as a team, especially while we are still in New York and vulnerable to any kind of leak. Careless talk costs lives!" he quoted sombrely.

"First you have to decide whether you want her by your side permanently because there won't be any going back from here on in. Or can she somehow remain a non-core member without access to details, for long enough that we can get underway to where ever it is we are going? I can't think how that might work without endangering either her or our whole shebang!

Once we are underway, the details need not be so much of a secret. I don't think you're living with her full time, are you, so you have some decisions to make, about yourself, her, and her son before this becomes a question that requires solving,".

"Her son!!" Wayne blinked and looked at Claude. "I see what you mean."

"Well it's short notice but the circumstances are rushed. Does anyone have any objections to that plan? I can call Jan and try to set it up," said Gary.

Wayne said. "Those plans are okay with me." Claude nodded. Lynn and Eric looked overjoyed. Gary flipped open his phone, and dialled Jan at the office.

"I have friends coming over to my house." he said with peremptory brevity. "I need you to come over and meet them and see what you think of them. Are you free tonight?"

She laughed, "Of course I'm available. When have I ever not been?"

"Okay, I'll pick you up in about half an hour. Don't come outside till you see me arrive. Things are getting ever more dangerous out there"

"I'll be ready, and I'll bring the file on Medical Venture Capital with me. We're part of a syndicated loan to them so it's quite extensive."

"Great! Okay. Til then. Love!"

"Okay we're done" he announced. "Have we anything else to do here?"

"Good, then! If you, Wayne and Claude follow Eric, he knows the back way around. It may be safer – and believe me we've all got to start thinking that way from now on.

Wayne looked at Gary in a very speculative way with a half smile on his face, and snapped the briefcase shut. They paraded out to the cars, warmed them up, and set off.

Gary picked Jan up and drove home. Once inside with their coats off, and introductions finished, Gary led them on a tour of the house, emphasizing the security features. When they got to the basement and the pantry, Wayne's eyes widened in surprise.

"Shit. You've got to have a ton of food in there."

Gary nodded. "It all started off with a fairly simple idea. If I used a tin of peas I bought two. If I used another tin of peas I used the oldest tin, and replaced it with two new ones. Because I was using peas at this rate I knew I would probably use them again in the future at this rate. At the end of the year I took inventory of what I'd used. Thereafter I looked for specials and mostly bought by the case. It works pretty well for everything except for milk and fresh vegetables."

"Just like a bloody banker! Why the need for two large deep freezers?".

"Hmmm! I keep milk and bread frozen in the one. In the other I keep meats and so on. The shelf life isn't as good as I would like though. Long storage gives the meat freezer burn. The plastic covering bread is not right for freezing and it tends to dry out. Milk solids are prone to separate so you have to shake or stir well".

Back upstairs Gary pulled out coffee and tea ready for the water that he had plugged in on his way through the kitchen. Jan insisted on doing the honours and Lynn stayed with her. The men went into the living room to make small talk about everything but what was on their mind, the continuation of the meeting at Claude's.

"What do you think of my security system?" he asked by way of an aside.

Wayne said, "One of the better home systems I've seen. Of course it could be a lot better, armed guards for instance, but in an unobtrusive way it's very good."

Gary mentally slapped his forehead and resolved that tomorrow there would be armed guards, which, for all his talk of safety had never occurred to him.

The women came over with the beverages and Gary steered the conversation towards Jan's job and the situation with the banks. Then he tried to stay out of it as much as he could.

While describing the difficult job of being a banker Jan mentioned that there had been several brawls and near riots at their branches, with people enraged that they couldn't get at their money. Added to the number of disgruntled clients they were foreclosing on, and the bankers were constantly walking on a knife-edge. Both Claude and Wayne seemed interested, asking a number of questions which spurred Jan into elaborating more. An hour later, with just about everything talked through Claude insisted he was tired, a cue for everyone to gather up their things and head off home, anxious at the lateness of the hour and now the omniprescient risk of trouble on the streets.

"So what did you think of all that? I'm talking about some pretty close relationships with them," Gary asked Jan.

"That Wayne is real sharp. It took me a while to notice how searching his questions were. You said he was a navy SEAL? Cream of the crop obviously, probably within the SEALs too."

"And Claude?" Gary continued.

"Claude's one of these quiet guys but very little gets by him. Smart too. I liked him."

"If I, or we, were to enter into some kind of arrangement with them, how comfortable would you feel living and working in close proximity with them?"

"I would love to be with Claude. Wayne? He's a military man and doesn't think as people on the street do. In matters military I'd think he'd be superb. I don't think I'd want to be married to him. The military would always be a mistress I couldn't compete with."

"And what makes you think I will be different? I get all involved in whatever project I'm working on at the moment. It's been suggested more than once that I'm borderline autistic" Gary demanded.

"Yes, my love" she gave him a quick hug and a peck on the cheek "but in the end you'll be married to me and I'd know you were working for me and the family. With him he's married to the military and would be working for the military. I'd just be a mistress he visited occasionally, if you know what I mean?" Jan shrugged her shoulders, took his hand and played wiyh his wristwatch, bantering about until his cellphone phone beeped an interruption.

It was Claude. "How did Wayne react on the drive over here?"

"He thinks you're awesome. He's already bubbling over with plans. I reckon we're all of us going to need to move in together soon, create a secure HQ. He agrees that we're terribly exposed."

"Yeah, I talked to Jan and she thought Wayne would be militarily brilliant but that she wouldn't want to be married to him because of the lifestyle he likely lived. Only she's going to marry me instead" He couldn't quite suppress a rather smug giggle.

Claude paused, "That's quite insightful. I thought your lady was very smart but not necessarily street smart, and maybe bit stubborn. Perhaps I'm wrong. You're gathering some very intelligent people around you. She's smarter than average by a long way. If she were my wife I'd vote for her as a core community member. She'll do the best she can at any job she undertakes, and you could not ask for more than that."

"Thanks Claude. I owe you one." he said with a deep sigh of satisfaction, tinged with relief.

**********??????????????

'Let's just give it a bit of time and see where we go from here' he decided.

"Well" he said, "Claude seems to like you and thinks you are a pretty smart lady. By the way, did I tell you I asked Eric and Lynn to move in here? It's far too dangerous getting into and out of those apartments. Can you live with that?"

"Well, it sort of rules out making love on the kitchen table doesn't it?" She grinned at him.

"Where would you put them?"

"One in the rumpus room in the basement, one in the spare bedroom next to the office up here. I've been going to get round the clock armed guards for the houses. Maybe if we got guards for your place too not only would it protect the house when you are away but we could sleep over there whenever we need to escape to a bit of privacy." Gary suggested.

Chapter 20

Wednesday March 1st — Day 16

Next morning Eric, who was playing chauffeur and guard at the same time came by to pick Jan up. Gary went outside to talk to him while waiting for her to get ready, trudging through the three inches of fresh snow that had accumulated overnight. Patches of fog remained. "Did you see the retail price of fuel this morning?" Eric asked. "It's $7 per gallon."

Because Eric had to stop later at Roy Bryant's to pay him, Gary gave him a list of containers to be dropped off for Chris Habel, just down the street. "Make sure he's paid up to date and ask him if he needs anything. We don't want him immobile for lack of fuel but neither do we want to subsidize his other customers either. He may want to buy a tankful for himself. By the way, be sure to check with Roy about those container stackers to be used for offloading the full containers from flatbed trucks. We are going to run out of trailers very quickly at this rate."

He went back inside and stripped his remaining cash out of the fridge, thinking that all he had left was that at home in his office safe. It was running down at an alarming rate and he began to fear that they might not have enough left to finish off the job.

It was still early and while he was in the peace and tranquillity of his home and able to relax and think, he sat down with the Medical Venture Capital file Jan had provided. It was easy to see that they were probably in trouble. They were relying heavily on borrowed money to finance their purchases, money that was no longer available now that the banks were calling in loans everywhere. He sighed, put the file aside, and called a security guard company he'd looked up previously. Fortunately, owners of companies tend to work much longer hours than their employees, and the owner of this one was in his office. Gary ordered six armed guards from him, on a 24/7 basis. One for the Trambull space, two for Gary's home since it would likely become a central rendezvous point, one for Claude's home because Claude might be away for a time, one for Jan's house and one for Wayne's.

Next he began on his round of paying for what he had ordered previously. The security company was particularly surprised and pleased to be paid in cash, and in advance. For trading purposes as he had envisaged them, he had asked Ron Thompson, the lawyer, to prepare a simple set of downloadable pdf documents that would give him clear title to anything he traded for or bought.

While on his travels it became apparent that the banks had been so diligent at calling in their loans that many companies had simply thrown up their hands and closed their doors. The ones he was able to deal with were trying to work something out with their own employees so as to keep trading. His cash payments were eagerly welcomed, because it gave them some 'wriggle room' in dealing with their employee payrolls. Cash liquidity was already becoming pretty much essential for everything.

By noon the fog had disappeared and the temperature had risen to about 35 degrees, the slop on the roads was going sloppy as it melted off.

Gary called Claude, and caught him in.

"I'm glad you called," Claude said. "I've been online all morning arranging things so I can leave tonight for Singapore. I spoke to principals. I explained we were dealing with cash payments in the US. I said I would need clear title legally. They seemed to be able to live with that. I figure that everything up to date will be legal. If there is chicanery, it will be what the cash is used for but I can't say that for fact. I recruited Bob Baker, one of the captains on your list, to go with me to bring the ship back. I also recruited Bruce Nott, a junior on your list, to take charge of fuelling and supplying our ship when it gets here. Fuel prices are nearly double original estimates. That should be done today so you'll have to arrange to get some money to him."

"Claude, you are awesome. I will dump $1,000 in your phone account to keep it working. I'll get $200,000 to Bruce today somehow, probably delivered by Eric. Leave me with a 'to do' list with contact names and phone numbers. We will also need some code words that tell us that everything is going okay with the Singapore transfer. I will use 'Amigo' meaning something foreign in the mix, danger, and 'my friend' for normal."

"Those are good words. We'll use them. No code word is 'Amigo'," Claude said.

"Good, and use of both says 'I'm not threatened yet, but I'm scared as hell'. I've ordered an armed guard for your place. I'll leave security arrangements with Wayne. The guard should be there this afternoon. By the way, we do have some foreign currencies in Switzerland, not in a bank, so it will take a day or two to get them should an emergency arise. Good luck then, my friend."

"You too, my friend."

Gary called Eric on his cell phone. "Hi, this is your venerable father. How are things going?"

"Hi Venerable Pop! I'm just headed back. I purchased fifty 55-gallon steel fuel drums. Habel is picking them up."

"Great. That about finishes up your initial chores doesn't it?" Gary asked.

"Yes. And thank goodness. I am about out of cash," Eric mused.

Gary brought him up to date on Claude's trip to Singapore, noting that if Claude did spend another couple of million dollars, their reserves would be critically low. He asked Eric to go to Trambull, pick up $200,000, go to Claude's, pick up his 'to do' list, and then deliver the money to Bruce Nott. Money was on Gary's mind consistently now. Would they have enough to do what was needed?

"Can you be available for a briefing meeting with Wayne tonight?" he asked. "We have to get him started."

Next he called Wayne. "Are you up to a meeting tonight with Eric and me to bring you up to speed?"

"Sure, I have about a million questions and a lot of ideas."

"We have something to do first. Claude is leaving for Singapore tonight. We have to arrange security for him. Can I leave that with you? I've ordered commercial armed guards on a 24/7 basis for Claude's house and yours," Gary said. "Oh, and Claude will call you directly for updates and instructions. Just keep me emailed in the loop"

"Armed guards should do till we get ourselves organized. I may want to recruit some people I know. What should I pay them?"

"Pay them well according to today's circumstances," Gary said. "They don't need specific details yet. You know our general goals. Handle it as you see fit. Any mistakes you make will be yours to deal with later."

Wayne grunted and hung up.

Next he called Wolfgang Perl. "Wolfgang, It's Gary Alden. I'm sorry I have neglected you, but things have been a bit frantic."

Wolfgang sounded relieved. "Yeah, me too mon. Unfortunately, a lot of it's been chasing ma tail, bloody spinning ma wheels. Customers screaming, 'Why are my plans not going forward? Our whole company is resting on that shipment', or having nervous breakdowns because of the financial system problems. What a mess," he groused.

"Did you have a chance to look into what goods might be sitting along the coast?"

"Yeah, ah did get some information Mon, but the data that's normally available is all screwed up too. Mostly ah got was what was on the docks, not what ah expected, what was on the ships. It might be enough to give us a start," Wolfgang sounded personally affronted.

"Are you free for a meeting early tomorrow night, say 5:30?"

"Yeah. I could make a meeting after work," he affirmed.

"Another thing that has come to mind; I may want to buy some things we might yet need. Think about what would be fair as an arranger's fee. I also want to bring a lady I have been seeing who is a banker and will be interested in matters related to trade. If that's okay?"

"I don't see why not. We can work something out. Whether the money comes from Peter or Paul isn't important, just so long as it comes" Wolfgang said.

Gary called Jan to arrange to pick her up after work. He mentioned his meeting with Wolfgang regarding trade matters. "Judging from your interest in the Mark Rich Glencore trade stories, I wondered if you would like to attend. Keep me on the straight and narrow, be my second set of eyes and ears "

"I'd love to follow up on that sort of thing," Jan sounded pleased. "Incidentally, something that might interest you. The brawls and near riots we have been having have spread to nearly every branch of the bank. The social security payments normally, due today from the government didn't come in. It was officially described as a technical glitch. Rumour has it that in defending the dollar, the treasury raided every budget going, including social security. They now have no money. We've had guns waved around at several branches, and at least three shootings though I don't know if anybody got killed. I hear that other banks are having the same problems. We are thinking of closing many of our more vulnerable community branches as a precaution."

"Christ!" Gary exclaimed. "Now the shit has really hit the fan. Thank God I ordered an armed guard for your house. I'll pick you up around five o'clock. Keep your head down in the meantime. Love you!"

He stared at his cellphone. "I just told her I love her. Again!"
Chapter 21

As soon as Lynn got in the car for the trip home, she said that she'd probably be ready for a container by Friday night. Gary gave her Chris Habel's number and told her to make arrangements directly with him. As they picked up Jan, he noticed he was low on fuel, pulled into an open gas station.

"Holy Toledo, will you look at that. Ten dollars a gallon for gas. It was seven dollars this morning"

"Fill'er up," he said cheerfully to the attendant thinking amusedly that he had over 150,000 gallons of fuel stored in the hangar.

Gary's cheery manner astonished the attendant, suspicious that they were drive away thieves and demanded a $100 deposit in his hand before he would start the delivery.

Just by the forecourt, an enterprising lady had miraculously found some cut flowers somewhere and was selling them, despite the cold miserable weather. On an impulse, Gary went over and purchased all of her few remaining flowers. He gave the larger bunch to Jan, who looked at them and frowned.

As he gave the smaller bunch to Lynn, she said, "Thank you Dad, these are lovely."

This prompted Jan to say "Thank you" while still frowning. Then she turned to Lynn in the back seat and said, "Would you like these too? They don't fit the colour scheme in my house."

He dropped Lynn off. At Jan's house a guard was parked in her driveway. While introducing himself and instructing the guard there, he gleaned that security was now in place with secure cellphone contact between them at all the other locations he'd specified

Promising Jan he would stop by later on, he drove on home to meet up and instruct his own new guard, before letting himself into the privacy of his garage to offload his remaining cash. Locking up and alarming the premises again, he received the security officer's salute, tipped him $10 and drove on to Eric's.

On their way to Wayne's, Eric noticed a woman with two crying children, sitting on a pile of green garbage bags and boxes on the sidewalk, probably, he thought evicted peremptorily by a bloodyminded landlord for not paying her rent. Gary slowed briefly, but then realized he couldn't help everybody who might be in trouble although the decision wrenched at his heartstrings. 'It's going to get much worse than this and it will soon enough become everyone for themselves' interjected Eric morosely.

"It's one thing to discuss in the abstract, and know there will be thousands of people in distress like her, but it's quite another thing to see it up front and personal."

"Yes, I keep telling myself I'm concentrating on protecting those who are dear to me, that my resources will only go so far. I tell myself that I'm building a small island of light for humanity to rebuild from the ashes. I said previously that I'd have no time for the grasshoppers that fiddled the good times away, but a small voice keeps nagging me. Worse, all group animals have an inbred urge to protect the females and the young. I don't think anyone having an ounce of humanity could not have these feelings. It's a real gut-wrencher," Gary shook his head. "Unfortunately, the more times we battle these feelings and win, the more inhumane we become. There is no satisfactory answer. We just have to do the best we can."

They spent the rest of the journey in gloomy silence.

On the outside, Wayne's house pretty much resembled a standard brown brick bungalow from the '50's. A gated path ran up the left side, on the right a carport. Other than strong screens over the basement windows it didn't look as if any effort had been made to beef up security. The glass along the side of the door and the large window in the living room looked to be ordinary with no reinforcement. He just hoped that nobody else would try their luck at breaking and entering and that news of the reception it would give an unwelcome intruder would get around

They shook off the mood and got down to work at Wayne's. kitchen table which was located at the far end of the house. He led off by suggesting they compile a spreadsheet of assets so they'd know what tools they had to work with. They listed estimates of cash, food, fuel, the ship, containers and equipment, and skill sets from joined and potential community members. "We also have a substantial amount of precious metals, but it's far too early to throw that in the pot yet," Gary said. "The only selling I would do in precious metals is if there was a distinct, urgent need for cash for a good and necessary purpose. It's likely to take a year or more for it to become valuable enough to be worth considering."

"Nothing military?" mused Eric.

"Other than a few shotguns and rifles, some good body armour, and some hand guns, no," Gary answered. "We do have some other things, like garden shovels, purchased in small quantities. We had planned on trading for military hardware later as the amount of armament that it would be prudent to acquire became apparent. Given that the government did not make its normal social security payments today, the military may not have been paid either. So trading time may be upon us very shortly now."

"No fucking payroll?" Wayne abruptly flipped on his phone. "Jim, I've been out of touch. Someone said some government payments had not been made today. What's the payroll situation?" He listened for a while nodded to himself. "I'll get back to you." he said

"He said they lined the troops up and started handing them cash, $100 each. Brand new bills. They said there was some kind of technical glitch. When they got two-thirds of the way through paying them, they ran out of cash and said the expected shipment of more of it had not yet arrived. He told them that It's not showed up yet, but they're just making everybody wait."

Eric laughed, "Something technical all right. Technically they are bankrupt!"

Gary said, "One rumour that was going around is that they were busy defending the dollar and raided every government budget around. I certainly wouldn't put that past them, because it's a natural. But the budget is in dollars, and they needed foreign exchange. I'm not sure how they cooked the books to achieve that. Whatever the case, the government can still print paper dollars, but they don't have any money. Some wheels fell off somewhere and the wagon is about to come to a complete stop. This" he added portentiously "is what 'Armageddon' really looks like"

"The US can't even pay its fucking soldiers," Wayne raged. "Every two bit dictator finds a way to pay his fucking soldiers! This is sheer stupidity. You have to keep the army on your side no matter what." Wayne paused. "Sorry, I got carried away. I cannot believe how far the country I was proud to serve has fallen. I didn't foresee this. Obviously you did."

Gary raised his eyebrows. "For us, it could be a real blessing. Anything that's not nailed down is going to get stolen. Morally, I have a big problem dealing in stolen goods. But practically, that will soon be the only game in town. The alternative is to die! As I said, we had planned on trading for whatever we needed,"

Wayne looked at Gary intently, "What do you see as the next events, and why?"

Eric spent nearly 30 minutes telling him, leading from one historic event to another, uncovering the common factors in any collapse. Then he added the icing on the cake by suggesting some factors unique to the modern age: super diseases like AIDS, Ebola, SARS and bird flu; the current heavy reliance on technology, the energy crunch, population growth and others. "Antibiotic resistance" Gary added dolefully. He also noted that states and municipalities, not being able to borrow, would also be unlikely to make payroll for basic services such as police, fire and water.

"I thought I was a fucking history buff," Wayne said, his forearms on the table. "I guess I was a military history buff. This will take some for me to digest and get my head around. I think the basics of your plan are brilliant. So far it seems to be working. If it works, I wouldn't mess with it. We do have a few immediate problems to contend with though and the first and most pressing is the valuables transfer for Claude. What are your plans for that one?"

"Once you came aboard, we thought you would be better at organizing this sort of thing, because it is your area of expertise," Gary shrugged.

"Hmmm! Okay, well, I can cover this end personally. I'll get together whatever we need here. I have a friend in Singapore and can call up some reserves there too. I'll have to call in some favours I'm owed."

Gary smiled to himself and thought We all have our contacts and I was absolutely counting on you being able to protect Claude. Aloud he said, "Personally, I'm concerned for him. If something goes wrong, it's going to take Claude some time to make a getaway with the ship, a lot more time than it may take for any bad guys on the make to getaway and doing a runner with their horribly vulnerable bags of cash."

"That's what I meant by calling up reserves. We need a group of people ready to get aboard the moment the deal is done. I think I can fix that up, provided people are where I think they are."

"Okay then, you make arrangements with Claude when he calls. What else do you need?" Gary asked.

"I have three local SEALS I want so bad I can taste it. They're all up to renew their enlistments. One, I'm almost positive I can get. I have already talked to him, and we are meeting again tomorrow morning. One is borderline. I'm afraid the best one of all has already re-upped... ah re-enlisted. She's on leave, and I can't find her. I do have some people in mind at other locations."

Eric said, "If they have been loyal to the US, how can we be sure that they will be loyal to us if the US attacked us?"

Wayne paused in thought for a moment. "There are two reasons I can see. If the US attacked us, they would already be branded traitors, facing a US firing squad. Secondly, I think it's a matter of timing and circumstance. A couple of months ago, I was pretty disillusioned, an attitude that is quite common throughout the forces. Yet I doubt that I would have given credence to your forecast of events. My thinking had not progressed that far. Circumstances taught me, and look at me now. I'm in this up to my fucking eyebrows. I know they're disturbed by what they see. Maybe they are ready too. We won't know till we engage with them."

"Yes, a good deal of our planning has revolved around being prepared to take advantage of circumstances as they occur. As Wayne Gretzky once said, 'It's not my job to be where the puck is. It's my job to be where the puck is going to be'." Gary said. "I don't think anyone can disagree with recruitment being a top priority. I'm in favour of you pushing ahead with recruitment as fast as possible. Since recruitment is my speciality, I'll take over the search for the girl. If she is findable, I'll likely get her. I will need her name, phone and any personal details you can dig up: her friends, relatives, or boyfriend, where she's stationed and bunks, what are her hobbies and interests. Email address, even" he pulled a face "if she's on facebook linkedin or twitter. Anything else you need Wayne?"

"Yes, a general parameter to clarify my thinking. Claude said you were looking at a community of up to 300 people. In my mind that means a "military" of up to 20 and hard nuts at that!. To some extent, they'll also have to contribute to the community when they're not engaged in things strictly defensive, in order to pay their way, especially if their numbers run up over 20 'cos they always say they are under-resourced and they usually have a good case to make".

He sucked in his breath "Moreover, we can't compete head to head with the US military machine or even if it comes apart and next thing we see things breaking up into gangland warfare. We must have more of a guerrilla structure, where every member of the community may be called on to fight. Not only will our force have to be specialists in for instance, driving a tank, a helicopter, maybe even a submarine but they must also be good teachers in order to train others. The US Special Forces have moved a long way in that direction. We'll have to take it even further."

He paused for breath as Eric interjected with his boyish grin, nodding his agreement "Great minds thinking alike, Dad!"

"Exactly. I couldn't have said it better myself," exulted Gary. "It took us a very long time to come to that conclusion. You have reached it in a couple of days. Okay, the community's security is in your hands. Singapore and our local protection problems, all of it. It's a pretty big call!" he added"

Still buzzing with adrenaline, the meeting broke up, he dropped Eric off on his way to Jan's. Her house was a neat little bungalow, on its own properly-manicured, postage-stamp-sized lot. Entering the house, he had the impression that she was ready for Better Homes and Living to come and photograph. Every proper thing was in its very proper place, down to the largish cobalt blue glass vase near the archway to the dining room and kitchen. She had obviously picked her colour scheme from some "in" magazine somewhere, because it was coordinated but didn't feel like a home, just a place she lived in.

She was standing at his shoulder, watching him scrutinize her arrangements. She slowly became aware of all the little details that made him who he was, from the slightly neglected stubble on his chin to the set of his shoulders and the trimness of his well-muscled, gymnasium-fit torso. There was a faint hint of male muskiness emanating from him that set her heart beating faster. 'Yes!' she thought, "I could marry this man and right now I sure fancy him!"

He turned, looked into her eyes, took a firm grip on her hams and said "and I could sure fancy you, Ms Kerr!"
Chapter 22

Thursday March 2nd — Day 17

Gary awoke to the alarm, as did Jan. He kissed her tenderly and asked, "Sleep well, lover of mine?"

"Like a log," she answered.

"See why I fall asleep so easily? I'm totally wrecked when you get through with me," he grinned.

She grinned back, stretched, and throwing her arms around him, kissed him soundly. Then she abruptly padded off to the bathroom. His mind refocused on the million and one things he needed to get done. He cursed under his breath for no good reason and proceeded to start dressing.

On the way home from dropping Jan and Lynn off at work, he called Wayne on the car phone and picked up more personal data on the lady SEAL. By the time he arrived home, and settled in its comfort and security, he had mentally mapped out a campaign to find her. He called the unit she was stationed at, and asked to speak with Petty Officer Patti Wagner.

"I believe she's out of the country, sir," the clipped military voice said.

"That's too bad. I wanted to relay some time-sensitive, confidential information that might be important to her in her job. Do you know if she has re-upped, or whether she might be able to take part in a conference first?" Gary casually used the military phrase 're-upped' because it made him sound like one of the 'in' crowd, and therefore more trustworthy.

"I don't believe she has formally re-upped, but we don't expect her to return for another couple of weeks."

"Sounds like she went quite a ways on her vacation then. I hope it was somewhere warm!"

"I wouldn't know sir. Would you like to leave a message in case she calls in?"

"Not just yet, only as a last resort," Gary said slowly. ""Do you happen to have a contact number for her, maybe her mother or something? I'd rather leave a message there so if her relative feels it to be important, she can get hold of her."

"One moment sir." The line hummed as he was put on hold while the woman evidently consulted a superior officer. After a long pause she came back on. "What is this about sir?"

"It's a confidential matter for her personally that I think will benefit her greatly. Since you say she'll be back in a couple of weeks and her time will be committed, it becomes much more urgent that I speak briefly with her on the phone. She may decide this information is worthwhile, and if she does, she can amend her plans accordingly. I'm so confident that she will be interested that I'm willing to go the extra mile to reach her now. Later on, she may not be in a position to react as she would maybe have liked. Do you have a contact number for her?" .

"Well, we are not supposed to do this, but her parents are at 519-543-9876."

"Thank you very much," said Gary. "I do appreciate this. I'm sure Patti will too, so you can rest assured of my discretion as to the source of the number."

Hmmm, thought Gary. Not yet formally re-enlisted, out of the country, and I believe that is a Canadian area code. Could she be at home in Canada? I think I'm not quite ready to talk to any member of the Wagner family yet, including you my lady. I need more information since our Wayne seems to really want you, and we can't afford to slip up. Let's see. We know she is young, likely in her early 20's. We know she excels, and probably did when she was younger too, so she'll be memorable to people. He used the reverse search feature on the Internet to connect the number he had with a name and address. It was on the outskirts of a town southwest of Toronto.

He looked up the city hall, called them, and explained he was looking to locate a high school that a person from five to ten years ago might have attended.

"There are only two high schools. What's the address?" the clerk asked.

Gary told him, and he promptly said, "Oh, that would be St. Jude's Secondary School. That address is in a new subdivision, only a few blocks from St. Jude's."

"St. Jude's sounds like it might be a Catholic school. Do you have separate schools for Catholics?" Gary asked.

"We used to have, but that all changed about 30 years ago. St. Jude's would service that area."

"Do you have the number for the administrative offices there?"

"Yes," and he gave the number to Gary, who thanked him and immediately dialled the school.

"St. Jude's Secondary School. How may I direct your call?" a matronly voice said. It sounded like one of those old biddies who has been around for years and knew everything.

Gary said, "My name is Gary Alden and I have your strange question of the day. A few years ago Patti Wagner introduced me to someone, apparently her best friend. I seem to recall Patti attended St. Jude's. First, do you know if that is so that Patti Wagner attended your school?"

"Oh yes. I know her well. Quite a tomboy then, but very smart."

"That's her," said Gary. "Did she have someone she chummed around with a lot?"

"Oh, yes. She and Allison Swift were a pair, but Allison is married now, and lives in Toronto."

"That's okay," said Gary. "Do you still have Allison's name and number in your file? She will have changed her name."

"Clive and Olive Swift live just down the street from me, and the Wagner's are just across the street, on their old tobacco farm, part of the new subdivision. Olive's number is 555-9676."

"Thank you very much, you've been very helpful," Gary said. He went into his Colombo routine, saving the most important question till the last, as an apparent afterthought. "Oh by the way, I haven't run across Patti in forever. Do you know what she is doing now? I heard she was a SEAL."

"Why yes. Yes she's a SEAL now, and doing very well. She's home on leave now, before she goes back to her mysterious duties."

"Oh, good. I must look her up if I get up there. Any idea when she's going back?" Gary asked casually.

"I believe she's going back late next week."

This had turned out to be much easier than he had expected. That was the information he had hoped to get from Allison Swift. Tobacco farm? That's interesting. Now to contact Wayne, and he dialled, forgetting that Wayne would likely be at lunch with his first recruit. He left a message on his phone and Wayne responded almost at once.

Gary told him he had located Patti. "How do you want to handle Patti's recruitment? I can head hunt her in much the same way I did you, providing I can catch her in, or you can contact her direct."

"You were so fucking smooth at not giving anything away while you drew me in that I'd prefer you do it. I got home and realised that the only new fact I had gleaned from you was that Claude was in on it too. The rest was your sweet talk changing my thinking about current events. However, she might shy away from you, and I would be better. I really don't know what's best?"

"Let me try one shot at it," Gary responded thoughtfully. "I have an idea that might help us if it works. If not, I will drop your name into the conversation and you can then contact her direct. Okay? The object in these cases is not to give away too much before she makes some commitment like travelling over here to meet us. By the way, how did your meeting go?"

Wayne had a shrug in his voice. "About as I expected. We had to offer a good deal more money, but he's pretty much on side ideologically. I'm sure he would be all the way there if he had enough information".

"How about Claude?"

"I got a crew together for Claude, and I'm feeling better about that situation. He thinks they might do the deal Monday." Wayne said. "I'll need one commercial guard for my girlfriend's place."

"Great, that takes care of everything except moving Eric and Lynn to my place, as a HQ for us all to go so that protection is that much easier."

Gary studied what he had on Patti Wagner, and dialled her number.

"Hello?"

"Is Patti Wagner in?"

"Speaking."

"Good morn.... Ahhh! Good afternoon" Gary stuttered intentionally, and put an embarrassed grin into his voice, an old headhunter trick designed to establish rapport with the other person. "My name is Gary Alden. I'm a head-hunter, and your name popped up. I guess the basic question is whether you would consider a career upgrade if conditions were right?"

"I don't know Mr. Alden. This is a bit out of the blue. How the hell did you pick me out for whatever this is? My first reaction is that I'm employed at work I love for the best force in the world. The chaos going on right now out there has confused me, and I'm not sure what to think."

"I'm glad to hear you say that, because the function I want to talk about is a direct result of those events and their impact on the future. It excites me very much, and confirms what I have learned about you, that you are actually thinking about these things, as opposed to 99 percent of the population who can't see that far ahead. Would you be able to fly down to New York on Tuesday to discuss this further?"

"I suppose I could drive down Monday afternoon. Where would we meet?" she asked.

"At the moment, given the speed with which events are unfolding, that is still uncertain. I was hoping to coordinate things Monday morning early, but I'm not sure if I'll even be in New York then. I'll email you my number and address.. "In the event I cannot be here, I would like you to coordinate with one Wayne Buckley at this number."

"Is Wayne involved in this?"

"Why, yes he is. You sound like you know him?" Gary tried to sound surprised.

"Yes, I do, quite well"

"That's good," Gary said. "We can save a lot of time. We'll expect to meet early Tuesday then. By the way, if you're driving down, be sure to top up the gas tank in Canada. I don't know what has happened today, but yesterday morning, the price of a gallon of fuel here had jumped to seven bucks, and by nightfall, it was up to ten, with many gas stations closed completely."

"Gas was just over four dollars when I left on leave, and everyone was screaming," Patti said thoughtfully. "It isn't that bad here. No shortages, but the price has doubled. Canada has good oil supplies."

"Oh, and one other thing I just thought of," Gary said suddenly. "If you're driving, as soon as you get into the US, purchase a hand weapon, and a large supply of ammo. We'll reimburse you. Pick a good one that you would like for your own use, but a somewhat standard calibre, like a Glock, or a Browning high power."

"Jesus, things can't be that bad!"

"Oh yes they can. It is just that the wildfire has not had time to spread to Canada yet, but it will. I rescued my girlfriend from what she felt was certain death, about a week ago, simply because I had a weapon. A single woman is viewed as a soft target. New York is insane. Get a gun, and be careful."

"I'll be there for Tuesday," she said grimly.
Chapter 23

Chris called. "The driver of the truck that picked up the sealed fresh milk container says it's awfully light, probably empty."

"Aw, shit, I've probably been ripped off. Break the seal and see what's in it. Let me know, and thanks for the prompt tip-off." Gary immediately called the fresh milk company. The phone rang and rang. He looked up the number again, and dialled again. It rang and rang. Damn, goodbye nearly $100,000. And it's my own damned fault. I should have seen it. That's why they only wanted cash upfront. I've got a receipt, but with two days head start, they're not likely to be found easily. Even if I find them, can I just walk up and take the money? Damn, I can't afford the time, never mind the money. Ah well, that's life I guess. Likely the bank was closing them anyway, and I just gave them a choice they couldn't refuse.

Later as he drove down to pick up Jan for the meeting with Wolfgang Perl, the shipping broker, he encountered the traffic around her bank at a near standstill. The reason was clear. A high-rise office building just down the street was on fire. Two floors, about ten stories up, were gushing smoke. As he inched closer he could not see any fire trucks. Just then Jan spotted him, ran over and climbed into the car. "The fire department hasn't even sent one truck the last I heard. Nobody is doing anything. I heard they called out the National Guard, but it had been decimated by conscription to fight overseas, so they aren't responding either. There are two floors on fire and I don't know how many people may have got trapped inside. It's all coming apart, isn't it!"

He shook his head. Society's coming apart alright and maybe faster than I might have envisaged! Electricity is out in many areas too. Municipalities don't seem to be paying their people. There's no garbage being collected. It looks like only those things that run automatically such as phones and water are working, and then only till something breaks down. Even the internet and text messaging is starting to fail with mobile networks overloading and going off air along with the power outages. The information age is dying."

"I heard that there have been riots and shootouts between protesters, with martial law and reading of riot acts in over half the major centres in the US. Where will it end?" Jan said plaintively. "The whole credit card industry is shut down. The financial world is imploding around us even as we speak!"

"But we do have a "Plan B", at least in the making. We will survive! Said Gary emphatically"

"God willing!"

"Amen!" She felt a sudden urge to hug him, to feel the comfort of his protective arms around her.

In Wolfgang's somewhat small cluttered office, after introductions to Jan, and a general settling in, Gary said, "Wolfgang, something we didn't cover, and should have. I now have an interest in buying some things for my own account, either for consumption, or for an investment of my own for a later time. Before we get to the specifics of what you have, we should decide on a general method of handling my being a principal in a transaction. Jan may be doing some work in this area, so we have a possible conflict of interest."

Wolfgang's hair and dress was very armed forces. His dark hair was closely cropped and neat. His suit, shirt and tie were crisp and clean. "That's what I like about you Gary. If there is a potential problem, you get it out in the open right away." The conversation then became quite confusing as Wolfgang put forth a complicated series of splits of profit and percentages depending on the circumstance. Any trade involving no cash made it difficult to establish a value anywhere along the chain of events.

"May I suggest something?" Jan asked, smiling at Wolfgang.

"Of course luv." He beamed at her. Wolfgang called every woman and quite a few of his male acquaintances "luv".

Jan smiled back. "If you or Gary bought something for cash or some other product, at that moment the value would be established, either 'X' dollars or 'Y' tins of sardines. It seems to me that the payment should be a percentage of the purchase price, say one to two percent of the dollars paid, or one to two percent of the sardines paid. Whether you later agree on a cash value of the sardines or not, the sardines are yours." Jan was in her element, negotiating but without seeming to be.

"I like that luv," Wolfgang smiled approvingly at her. "Two percent of whatever is paid for the product purchased. That's fair because I don't spend all that much personal time in getting those lists. And if it is valuable enough to trade, I can always flog it."

"The lists will determine who owns what information only if I buy," Gary said. "In cases where we act as agents on countertrade or barter, the information goes into the pot and we split the profit 50/50 like we discussed. Jan, could you squirt our list of troubled companies and their products to Wolfgang this weekend or early next week?"

"Next week."

"So we can accept Wolfgang's list as it is?"

"I don't see why not," Jan said.

Wolfgang passed over his printed list.

"Do you have this list in computer format Wolfgang?" Jan asked.

"Yes, that's how I got it luv."

"Why don't we just email each other our lists so it will be easier to sort by product."

Meanwhile, Gary was studying the list. ""Hey, there's some good stuff on here. Much more of what we want for our own use than I was expecting. Ten containers of hard red winter wheat going to some restaurant in Peru. We'd be interested in buying that. I'm glad we brought this principal/agency thing up. Here is a distillery, a sawmill, and a canning factory from that company that builds a complete factory in a container, going to Africa and South America. I also see some stuff we can likely trade. Here are some containers of sugar, shipped by the refiner. I wonder if we can get them at a discount. There are so many sugar users that it should be easy to trade. Wolfgang, did you get the container weights on the lists you got?"

"Yes, but when I printed it off, it didn't seem necessary to include all that bloody junk for our discussion," Wolfgang complained.

"Good, so long as we have it. By the way, the companies on our list are ones that we have dug up as being weak, and likely to have their loans called. It's just the tip of the iceberg. Our list is likely to grow rapidly."

"We'll have more product than we know what to do with."

"Yes, we are going to need to know what your offshore contacts want, and then go looking for it, plus a method of shipping. I do have occasional access to a ship, which will likely continue running even if US fuel supplies drop. Incidentally, our list is all Jan's fault. She's a senior banker, and has access to all sorts of credit files like Dun and Bradstreet, and she knows how to read them," He smiled and nodded in her direction, giving her a brief, but meaningful smile.

Wolfgang blinked and beamed at Jan with newfound respect.

"Have you done much work with your offshore contacts?" asked Gary.

"I can see in retrospect, not so much as I should have," Wolfgang confessed.

"Well, it looks as if we have a direction, and a two part agreement. Is there anything else you need?" Gary said as he rose from his chair, hands flat on the desk between them.

Wolfgang shook his head, grasped Gary's outstretched hand, then Jan's, again beaming at her smile as they left.

Once inside the car, Gary whooped a delighted laugh and pulled her over to kiss her soundly. "You are one dangerous lady, with an evil dangerous smile. I thought Wolfgang was going to drool. You got him to agree to two percent, and I was worried I might not get him below five without a fight. If they are not consciously negotiating, people always just pick the most advantageous deal offered." he added. "I noticed you offer one or two percent, not one or five. I keep wondering what our kids will be like. I'm reminded of, - I think it was Winston Churchill - when some voluptuous movie star sashayed over to him and cooed that they should consider having children. 'With my beauty and your brains, they would be awesome.' Winston shot back, 'Yes, but think what they might be if they got my beauty and your brains'"

"Well I must admit, you're very cute," she grinned wickedly.

"Ooh!, that was a low blow you wicked lady." Gary grinned. "By the way, did you see that wheat was on that list?"

"Why would wheat be of interest to you?"

"My bet is that there is something else in those containers, tanks, missiles or something else heavy being smuggled. Sure, we want the wheat, if that's all there is in the containers, but who ships ten containers of wheat to a restaurant in the outback of Peru, a known hot spot? That's why I wanted the container weights. Did you also see the five containers of tinned salmon? They make the best trade goods. When the USSR went down, some German guy traded a container of tinned salmon for a fully equipped MIG fighter jet. Everybody in Germany had a fit when they discovered the missiles on it were still live. All he wanted was a tourist attraction so kids could climb on it!"

As they drove home, Gary exclaimed, "My God, there are a lot of carelessly parked cars along here. Here's some nutter who couldn't even be bothered parking. Just abandoned, with a parking space just two cars further up," said Gary as he manoeuvred around it. "Wait a minute, these cars look abandoned. They likely ran out of gas.."

"How much have we got?"

"Full. I tanked up at $17.50 a gallon just before I picked you up. Took me a while to find a filling station that was still open."

"$17.50," Jan said slowly and thoughtfully. "And there are almost no moving cars or trucks on the road now." On the way home there were a fair number of stalled cars too, but thankfully no road blockages in either direction.

As he drove, Gary thought about Jan. She was a hard worker, and very smart in a business sense. But her world revolved around her job and the bank, which represented an order and a world that she was in control of. Believing that the bank was a sacred institution made all the world her servants. She would not give up this world lightly. It was her security blanket.

Back at his house, he studied the list of containers, ticking off many as being of interest. He found a wide variety of canned goods, salt, soaps, spices, foods, insecticides, fertilizers, epoxy resins, fibre optic cable, coffee and tea, hand tools, nails and fastening devices, window glass, machines and electronics, a virtually complete range of goods, all on the original list of desired products he had initially given to Claude. This is becoming more interesting by the minute. he thought, an almost visceral excitement rising inside him.

Chapter 24

Sunday March 5th — Day 20

The next morning Gary lingered st Jan's for somewhat longer than he should have. The sky was clear, the sun was shining, although it was still below freezing. He didn't want to get moving. He had been running at top speed, reacting to seemingly endless oncoming crises'. Maintaining a calm exterior while his stomach was knotted with tension about the cash situation was taking its toll. He had a ton of work to do, but he was loath to leave Jan. He justified to himself what he wanted to do, by suggesting that she over for the day as it was Sunday, and supposedly a day of rest.

His cash position was beginning to worry him a lot. While it was necessary to spend cash as quickly as possible, while it retained value, the sheer unexpected size of his market windfall had caused him to unthinkingly misallocate funds. He had spent way too much on precious metals, and bought much larger quantities of some commodities such as food, and fuel, than he had money to pay for it. Since he didn't know where a black market for precious metals was, or even if one existed yet, they were essentially useless to him. With so many large expenditures, like Claude's fuel tanker, equipping a hospital, the armaments he still had to discuss with Wayne, his available cash could well not be sufficient to cover. In fact he was not even sure exactly how much cash they actually had available, with the community also spending wildly. More cash would have to be obtained somehow. Lots more cash. And quickly.

He was no sooner home than he sequestered himself in his office. He sat down with his face in his hands. He needed a plan, desperately. It was as he had told Wayne, getting the job only half done was worse than useless. Eventually, he called Chris Habel at home.

"Hi Chris. Sorry to disturb you on your day off, but I've been neglecting you and I have a couple of things I'd like to discuss. Are you still able to get hold of fuel, and if so how much and at what price?"

"Usually," said Chris. "We're talking $40 per gallon as of yesterday, and the price is rising daily. Waste your time driving around enough to find it, and you've used so much fuel that you effectively double the cost even if they aren't rationing out what they'll let you have."

"Do you think you and your guys would be interested in taking a tanker each of diesel and petrol off me at a 10% discount from the current retail price? I thought maybe it would become scarce enough that it might be worthwhile to load up four to six 55 gallon drums of fuel into the back of a pickup truck, head over to one of those roadside fruit stand kinds of spots, and sell it by the gallon. That would mean that a 55-gallon barrel at $40 a gallon would sell at $2,200 or $220 profit for you. If you got four barrels on a pickup truck, your gain would be $880 per load,".

"Now you are talking my language! Plus I think we could get six barrels on a pickup, not just four of them."

"All the better," Gary enthused. "Your share would be $1,320 per load. You could say, split it three ways: one third to the driver, one third to you for administering, and one third for costs. With six trucks, we could be talking $50,000 to $90,000 a day in turnover. Eric has bought 50 steel drums at my suggestion. I need you to deliver five here, full of gas, but you should be able to get six or seven pickups out on the road."

"If the drivers were making $440 or more per day, they'd be making at least as much money as they would driving long haul, and certainly more than they're making today, sitting at home. You're about our only regular remaining customer the way it is all going. Most gas stations are closed now. I think it could work."

"Okay. We can try that for a few days," Gary said. "Yank a couple of trailers out of the hangar and sell them at the going rate for fuel. When the boys come in, either to reload or at the end of the day, check to be sure everything has been paid for in cash. Hold your ten percent and get the other 90 percent to me that day. I need cash, and I need to be paid daily. All operating costs belong to you. Does that sound workable?"

"That sounds very fair. Do you mind if I purchase some fuel from you on my own account?"

"Not at all. I don't care who buys as long as it is at the going price and I am paid in cash. No credit or credit cards to anybody."

"Understood! Anything else?"

"Was it you that said you had been a vet in a previous life?"

"Yes," Chris responded. "Why?"

"Do you maintain contact with the field, both as to your license and knowledge, and where and how animals might be marketed?"

"I've kept up my license to practice. I have some hobbies in that direction, and we do own a farm, but what do you mean, 'how animals might be marketed'?" He sounded puzzled.

"I'm interested in purchasing animals capable of throwing one or more offspring, in good shape and healthy. Pigs, cows, horses, goats, sheep, chickens, rabbits, anything that's a commercially farmed animal. I don't want speciality stock like racehorses, Clydesdales or ostriches although I'll take them if nothing else is available. I want sturdy, all round, good general-purpose livestock. Also, do you know where to get things like harness and horse drawn equipment that you would use every day with those animals? The object is to set up completely self contained Amish type farms." Gary said.

"Wow! Yes, Okay, I could be of some help. Those kind of animals were my life, and I miss them even though I do have a few head here on the farm."

"I'm anxious to get started on this. Let me know how you'd like to be paid for this search. I'd also like you and Roy Bryant to meet with my partners as quickly as possible. I want to get Roy's help to buy some machinery. Can you be available, probably Tuesday night, if I can get my gang together? It'd be an opportunity for everybody, working together to get know each other. Maybe ten or so of us"

"Yes, of course," said Chris. "I've been curious about you and what you're doing, and this would be a great way of scratching that itch that I have."

Gary laughed. "Either that or raise even more questions. By the way, have you and your family been suffering any effects of the recent crime wave?"

"You mean other than having been put out of business by shortages and high fuel prices? Other than the fact it is almost impossible to get any groceries? Or that people from the cities are invading, begging and stealing? Or that a neighbour was kidnapped yesterday in a home invasion and we're afraid to let the kids walk three blocks to school, or what?" Chris asked cynically. "I've been looking seriously at getting away. I have to do something, it's getting to feel evermore nasty and I'm not sure what to do about it."

"We'll discuss what we see as the current situation, and where we think events will likely go when we're at the meeting that I've called. I may be able to find some personal time for you later in the week if you want to carry it on a bit further. Do you have Roy's mobile number? I think I'll call him too".

"Try his landline first. Same number as his office. He has an extension in the house. If he's at home he'll pick up. He doesn't use his mobile very much. Bit old fashioned like that."

"Great. Please all me then as soon as you have anything set up on either of the fuel or the animals. I want to move forward quickly on this,".

Gary next called Roy Bryant. They arranged consulting fees for Roy to find a complete metalworking machine shop, a sawmill to make lumber, stone cutting equipment, and a woodworking shop. Again, he invited Roy to meet the rest of the team. Both Roy and Chris were pretty reserved in the enthusiasm they showed the world, but Roy now seemed to be as eager as Chris, and for the same reasons. Business was near zero, and crime was rocketing. Their personal situations were becoming frighteningly untenable at a frighteningly accelerating pace.

Gary left his office and went into the kitchen where Jan, Eric, and Lynn were laughing and talking animatedly over coffee. He walked up behind Jan, slipped his arms around her waist and kissed her on the neck. "Have you trained them to call you 'Mommy' yet?" he grinned. Lynn looked like she might have swallowed a worm, so Gary got serious fast.

On Friday, as a wrap-up to the week, Wayne, Eric, Lynn and Gary had met. Gary had reported on his meeting with Wolfgang and Jan. He had described the list Wolfgang had given them, and said that a huge percentage of what he saw the community needing was on that list.

Today, it was time to start putting actions behind the planning.

Lynn said, "Dad now that you have found who I should be negotiating with I am about ready to begin bargaining for the Connecticut hospital. I have also found another hospital that is in receivership. But I have no experience negotiating. What if we're eyeball to eyeball and I gotta go potty?"

"Don't sweat it sweetie. You are famous at work for integrating people from mergers into your company, and making them like it. It's the same thing exactly. Circumstances for them have changed. These are the new rules they have to work under or else walk away from. They are nice people by and large but they have to understand and accept that it is best for both of you that they do work under these new rules. Maybe we can get Jan to help negotiate. Bankers do these sort of deals on a daily basis.

He paused for breath, coughed, cleared his mind and continued:

"Since we are going after the equipment and pharmacy only, not the building, we can pass it off to Jan as trade goods. She's likely to be sticky on the correctness of the detail. After all, she's a banker and still thinks like one. Mind you, I'm working on her!" He grinned wolfishly. "We don't need to lie to her, just let her assume it's trade goods."

They discussed Chris Habel, Roy Bryant, and a potential meeting to bring new members, such as new SEALs, Bruce Nott and the D'Antonio children into the community for Tuesday night's meeting. Wayne promised to bring Claude up to speed in the meantime.

As soon as Monday Morning's details were settled, internet trawled (such as was still functioning in any sensible way) and essential phone calls made, they gathered for a progress meeting at Gary's now secure residence.

"Jan, looking at the data you got for me on the Medical Venture Capital Company, the ones that invested in that Connecticut hospital, we need to have an idea as to whether the directors have got their personal assets locked up in the company?"

She peered into her tablet for a short while before responding. "They pretty much have, as I recall. We try to make it as painful as possible for Directors to walk away from their obligations. It motivates them to work harder to avoid failure." She smiled briefly. "Not that this is usually pertinent, such people are entrepreneurs and busting the proverbial gut to keep it all going if there's any chance of a way of sorting themselves out."

"I really want that equipment and those supplies. Not the building of course, but I think the rest will be extremely valuable. I was hoping to get the contents of that hospital for as little as a quarter of a million dollars, but we probably have to go somewhat higher. Do you think the Directors might take a chance on nobody finding out where the equipment disappeared to, to snitch a quarter of a million out of the liquidation for their own personal use?" Gary asked.

"Oh yes, that happens a lot. At the bank we know how to look for it, although sometimes even so, they effectively get away with it. Bottom line it all comes down to wheeling and dealing and often involving grubby little scams and double-deals while some poor sucker gets stitched up in the process and hung out to dry"

She pulled a wry face. "There's no sentiment in business, you can be 100% certain of that!"

He gave a quizzical nod "Given what you've just pointed up, would you be willing to help me negotiate with them on our behalf? I've never been involved in this sort of price haggling stuff before," Lynn asked hopefully.

"Sure. I've never done quite this sort thing either, or from this side of the table, but there's a commonality in all banking negotiation which is arranging to get the best deal for your side. I still have to be careful how much time I take off from work here, though. There's a huge amount to do right now, and not many of us with the skill-sets able to do it."

'She's beginning to come around'. he mused. Taking time off work ran counter to everything Gary thought he knew about her motivations. Was she doing it because she felt it fitted in with her priorities to support him? Or maybe she's beginning to see the changing realities of their situation? Or maybe she really is in love with me" He felt a little frisson of pleasure at the thought.

"We don't care how they do it, or what they do with the money, so long as we can get clear title and are able to strip the equipment out," Gary said. "We have to be able to complete the whole deal quickly, hopefully next week. Lynne says she's also earmarked another hospital going into receivership. If we could cherrypick a proportion of the equipment and supplies from both of them, so much the better. What we don't know is how to deal with the receivers."

"Unfortunately, I have all too much experience dealing with bankruptcies," Jan laughed. "If they're motivated, receivers can move pretty quickly. Bit like a fire sale" she added "they're keen to pick up a quick bargain, sign it off and pocket a handsome profit into the bargain!"

"Good," said Gary. "Here are some forms put together by my lawyer. Get them to photocopy them onto their letterhead, sign with their title and seal with the company seal".

" you send that list of companies off to Wolfgang?"

"No, but I can do it right away if you wish"

"What about Wolfgang? Do you think he would be willing to work as closely with as we are going to need to?"

It was Jan's turn to shrug her shoulders. "I don't know. Nice guy but he isn't very aggressive. Very understated, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I what other lights he is hiding under that bushel?"

Gary shrugged his shoulders, excused himself, went back into his office and closed the door. He called Wayne and found him preoccupied with the Singapore deal. "The representative is en route and scheduled to arrive here about midnight although flights are getting pretty erratic. He said that was the only inbound flight he could find. He'll be able to do an 8AM exchange, which would make it evening in Singapore. I've just started working on a place to do the exchange. What space do you have?"

Gary said, "The hangars, which you know about. There's a long narrow space, in a turn of the century building in Trambull. The space on one side is a retail store front, with papered over windows, and at the back is a loading dock and man door. We also have private garages rented. One is at the rear of a residential property, in a quiet area in Greenwood, all built up with older three story brick homes for large families. The garage itself is cinder block with two dirty, small high windows, a sheet metal roll-down door, a workbench, and it contains a vintage car for rebuild. A narrow driveway passes alongside the house to the garage from the street."

"That sounds good. Limited access otherwise?"

"Yes. There's a high solid board fence on three sides of the property. A bit dilapidated but serviceable. Suit us perfectly."

"Could Eric act as street guard?" Wayne continued.

"Wait, I'll check." He went to the door and asked, "Eric, are you available tomorrow morning for an hour or two?"

"I could be," the answer came back.

"Okay, he's available. Would you like to see either or both units maybe later today?"

"Definitely. There's f-all to be gained by going into this cold," Wayne said.

"Have you talked to Claude recently?" Gary changed the subject. "Given the likely state of the US dollar, I'm very uncomfortable not knowing why these guys actually want US dollars. This deal should by rights have fallen through by now."

"I talked to Claude a couple of hours ago. He thinks this is going forward only because it is a cash deal. They seem to have something they want in the US they contracted to buy for two million bucks and they want it quickly. Claude suspects arms." He laughed "It's getting to be like pass-the-bloody-parcel only with US dollars!. By the way he has checked the quality of the cargo, and seems happy with the condition of the ship." Wayne added.

"As long as his getaway is properly arranged. Is there some device that can check the ship is not transmitting its position for potential pirates or something like that?"

"I'm ahead of you there! I've already arranged for that. Among other things, I've got some GPS and radio scramblers. I've also arranged to move a Bofors gun and half a dozen heavy machine guns aboard with our guard crew when we take possession. The ship should sail shortly after," he said.

"Humph," Gary said. "One day I'm going to learn to keep my mouth shut while I'm around professionals. It's just that some parts of this deal don't smell right to me. I guess if all we get is the ship we won't have lost anything, but I wish I understood why they were baiting the mousetrap."

"You're not the only one but Claude seems to be happy with the arms theory. Maybe he knows this crowd. By the way I need some cash, and by next week I am going to need some foreign money, too."

"Ouch!" Gary grimaced. "Almost all our foreign exchange is in Switzerland. I do have some here, but I kept it merely for walking around purposes, so it is not a significant amount. I expect I could get more, but it would take a while. How much US do you need?".

"At least $150,000. Then I need foreign exchange to pay off the chopper to fly the crew off the ship, and pay them out as well."

Gary did some rapid mental arithmetic, swore, made some more detailed calculations on his tablet, looked up with a sigh of relief. "Okay, I can give you the US dollars this afternoon. I guess I'll have to go back to Switzerland soonest. Will I have to travel on to Singapore or will they take a deposit in a Swiss bank over here?"

"A Swiss bank will be okay I think, but I'll have to check. I'm off to recruit three to five SEALs as soon as we finish interviewing Patti Wagner. By that time, the ship should be well underway."

"Yes, I guess that's the priority. What's happening between you and your girlfriend? Should she be at this meeting? I suppose she doesn't need to be inducted early, but with Claude's children there, two of whom are doctors, it might be good if the medical people were to meet."

"Christ, you've got a grasshopper mind! I can hardly keep up with you!"

"I'm on an adrenaline high right now. When I come off this, I'm going to have to sleep for a week" He smiled ruefully "By then I hope to be having a relaxing sea cruise."

"Alright, well \- I can't give her full details, especially if those details are to convince her son. She seems to feel I'm forcing her to choose between him and me. She worries he's headed for the wrong side of the street, which actually, he fucking well is," Wayne said gruffly. "I don't think it would be useful for her to be at this meeting anyway. Later, when we are ready to move and the information can't hurt us, I'll be able to give her more information."

"Damn, sometimes life is such a pile of shit," Gary burst out. "Look Wayne, I am sure everyone is willing to bend a long way on this. Whatever you need. But, I guess you're right. It's not time yet. You decide when and how you will handle them. After all, your family is your own affair and you'll know best what to do."

"Thanks. I guess I never was a very conventional guy, which is probably why I am both a SEAL, and divorced. Women need stability, and in this situation, I can't promise that," Wayne bemoaned.

"I hear you. I'm going to have to become a lot more conventional if my potential marriage is to succeed. Having children will make it a lot easier, but it certainly isn't going to be plain sailing. I don't envy you one bit. In fact, I don't even envy me!" Gary commiserated.

"Well, let's get on with it. I'll be over about 14:00 hours to pick you up," Wayne said abruptly.

"Okay, see you then."

Finished with confidential matters, Gary opened the door to the office.
Chapter 25

Gary activated his tablet to retrieve Wolfgang's list of goods sitting on the docks. He compared it with the hard copy that he had worked on and made up a new list containing all the data available for those products that he had an interest in. His first attempt to cull the list left him with over 2700 containers out of the many thousands available. That was still ridiculously too many so he began to prioritize it by breaking it down into three groups: those items definitely needed for the new community; those goods that would be nice to have; and those items that would make good trade goods. A number of things, sugar as an example, appeared in each of the categories. Although he had accessed some, the community would definitely need sugar and almost certainly a lot more than he had allowed for. Any surplus would be invaluable as trade goods.

Finishing his container allocation so he could vary the numbers easily, he began to research independent fuel dealers from a file he had created earlier. The dealer that seemed to suit his needs best was headquartered in New Haven, with a single owner. He researched this man as much as possible through the now creaking and erratic Internet. As he was finishing, Jan came in through the now open door, and stood beside him, watching what he was doing.

"What are you up to?" she asked.

"Trying to dig up whatever dirt is available on this independent fuel dealer. Do you still have access to any of the credit files at the bank?"

"Yes, some of the databases I can access from outside but for some I have to be at a bank terminal".

"I'm very interested in this gas company. I have to leave soon to meet with Wayne. Can you dig up whatever you can find on Peter Rosen of Friendly Gas Bars in New Haven? I'm looking at the idea of dealing with him for the bulk purchase of fuel. I want to know if he has the cash to swing a deal, say half a million dollars at a time. I need someone who still has the capacity to buy fuel in wholesale lots, but is having difficulty getting supplies. The majors, who don't have enough for themselves, will be squeezing most independents. If I can find someone who has the financial ability to pay, and who is located near the coast where we might be able to offload from a ship, they could make a great trade partner for later on."

She nodded, frowned, opened up her Ipad and lost herself in it.

He left her to carry on, opened two cokes from the fridge, handed her one and began checking out his own inventory. He was still pursing his lips in concentration when she looked up.

"Essentially no debt, except a couple of small mortgages. A cash rich operation. In business for 15 years, and looks to be growing fast, twenty-one stations. Pays on time, all the time. Unusual. One would expect a few disputes, or errors that show up as late payments. Looks good."

Gary leaned over and kissed her. "You are one smart, beautiful and sexy lady."

She threw her arms around his neck and proceeded to kiss him soundly. "That's one of the things I like about you. You are spontaneous, and occasions are when you make them, not on some specific date like February 14th or whenever society says it should be." She kissed him again.

The phone rang. It was Wayne. "Shit, I'm going to be late. The cops have got a roadblock set up, and they're threatening to hand out tickets left, right and centre. Have a speck of dirt on your windshield, or a wiper streak, and they claim it's obscuring your fucking view. Of course, you can avoid the ticket for a small contribution to the benevolent fund. No receipt, and no tax deduction!"

Gary chuckled to himself, amused despite the ominous implications. "What's the going rate?"

"Twenty bucks." Wayne said in disgust. "Sounds like Colombia or some other fucking two bit third-world country. Shit, Gary, this is the fucking "US-of-A" People who can afford gas automatically qualify as having money to extort from. A very selective process."

"It was certainly predictable, but for them to be this organized this fast is distinctly frightening. Thanks for calling. I would have worried otherwise. You'll get here when you get here. I have some things I can do in the meantime. See you!"

Gary studied the file on Peter Rosen and the Friendly Gas Bars, then dialled their nearest office. "Is Peter Rosen in?"

"No, he's at Head Office I think. This is the Gas Bar."

"Oh, sorry. Do you have his direct number, I need to get hold of him urgently?".

"It's 987-1234."

"While I have you, do you have any gasoline?" Gary asked.

"Yes, we have some. I think that's what Pete is doing, looking for supplies. At least that was what he was bitching about when he left here."

"What's your current retail price?" Gary asked.

"$44.50 a gallon."

"My god, it's getting terrible isn't it?" Gary sympathized.

"Yeah, I can't understand why the government doesn't do something about it."

"Who knows why government does or does not do anything," Gary declared. "Is it that hard to get supplies now?"

"Oh, yes. Thank God Pete owns a big 500,000-gallon tank down by the docks, and this station has four 10,000-gallon tanks in the ground. We'd have been dead without it. The majors hate us. The army is requisitioning their supplies, but we are too small to notice. He's trying to get some from overseas, but the big docks are all tied up, and our port can't take the super-tankers. Then we can't get the foreign money to pay for it either. It is getting very tough and soon I reckon the whole bang shoot is going to fold!"

"Do you sell diesel, or just gas?".

"All of our stations sell both."

"Okay. Goodbye, and thanks." He hung up, added the details to his file, and smiled. "Thank you very much young sir, whoever you are. It was very profitable talking to you.

He pondered for a while, planning, and then dialled Peter Rosen's number.

"Hello?"

"Pete Rosen, my name is Gary Alden."

"So how did you get hold of my number, Mr Alden?"

"I guess someone gave it to me. I have it in my file," Gary evaded. "I'm calling you to see if you wanted to buy some distillate fuels."

"Oh. Well, I'm always interested in fuel deals."

"I have two 10,000 gallon road tankers, one each of diesel and regular gas. Would you have an interest in them, for example?"

"Probably. What are your terms?"

"Cash on delivery or direct bank transfer. The price is $36.00 per gallon."

"That's too much. I can pay you $10"

"Nice try, but these are not stolen goods," Gary laughed. "Besides, I know someone else who will be happy to buy. I'm offering you 20% off retail. Are you interested or not?"

"Sure, I'm interested so why don't you come over here and we can talk about it"

"That sounds like a good idea. I can't make it today, but tomorrow just before noon sound okay to you? As long as you can assure me that you are then and there able to bank transfer the $360,000 per road tanker or else I'm willing to take actual hard cash?" Gary demanded.

"That's a lot of money."

"If that's a lot of money, I guess there's not much point in trying to figure out how to get a small ocean tanker into the New Haven docks and off loaded without having the fuel seized,"

"How big a tanker?"

"Two million gallons, I'd guess. I can't actually recall just how many gallons it is to the tonne. There's 10,000 tonnes of it anyway."

"I can't come up with ten's of millions of dollars in cash. Just like that"

"Of course not. Neither of us would even want to. The price would be in gold, or tradeable commodities to the dollar equivalent. But as a first test, I am interested in whether you can come up with $720,000 for two road tankers of fuel. Do you still want me to try to get over to see you tomorrow?"

"Oh yes, we may be able to work something out."

"Okay, I have something going on in the morning, and I have no idea how long it will take. I'll call you when I am finished, and we can set up a specific time then," said Gary.

"What's your name again?"

"Gary Alden. Hopefully, I'll be calling you around ten tomorrow."

"Look forward to it." he said heavily.

He next looked up the number of Wayne's lady SEAL in Canada, and dialled. "Is Patti Wagner there?"

"Speaking."

"Oh hi. It's Gary Alden. You were going to call me tomorrow before you drove down, but both Wayne and I will be tied up with something in the morning, so I decided to call you instead today. What time do you expect to get down here?"

"I was planning to set out mid morning tomorrow. All being well it'll take six to seven hours," she said.

"I'm sorry to say that things have been changing rapidly here, and not for the better. Be sure to stop as soon as you cross the border and arm yourself with a hand gun. I said we would reimburse you"

"I always do, thank you anyway Mr Alden. Comes of being in the Military!"

"Good! Do you have enough cash to handle everything else you need?"

"Yes, of course, that's no problem. But will my US credit and debit cards still work over there? I'd rather use them, and this morning I couldn't get them to work over here in Canada," she said.

"You know, I can't even tell you that. I have cards, but I've been out of the country so much. You can't seem to use US cards almost anywhere in the world now. I haven't even tried to use mine in the last few days. I'd think yours would work in the US providing the banks haven't failed or pulled your credit line. In the rest of the world, no one wants to take US dollars for any reason, and the US has completely frozen all foreign exchange. I'd be careful coming across the border. Any Canadian dollars you have might get seized."

"I'll watch for that." Patti sounded puzzled.

"One other thing. Wayne is on his way over here, and just called to say he would be late." And he explained about the roadblock tolls. "I also had to pay a bribe at customs to get waved through. You might be smart to have a few 5's, 10's and 20's stashed away about your person in case you need them."

"Jesus. What the hell's happening down there?" Patti exclaimed.

"Nothing that won't happen in the rest of the world. It will just happen a little later as this financial tsunami rolls around. Canada is just a short way away from New York. The effects will be felt there soon enough."

"I'm beginning to wonder if I should come back," Patti said reflectively.

"Have people you know up there been being laid off?"

"My best friend's husband was paid off on Friday. They export a lot of stuff to the US," Patti had a frown in her voice. "My folks have been talking a lot about the sudden unemployment."

"Sudden unemployment is one of the early signs that the shit is hitting the fan. A trip down would at least give you a look at what is happening, so I guess you'll have enough information by then to be able to make an intelligent decision about what to do next. I think you'd better come directly to my house," Gary gave her the address again. "I don't know how many people will be here, but someone will. I have moved several people in for safety's sake. When you arrive, park your car on the lawn, or at least inside the gates. There may be a couple of cars there already. I have a perimeter security alarm and guards, so it should be safe enough. If you leave at ten, you would expect to be here at latest by six. If you're going to be later than that, or if you have any troubles, please call me. Where will you be crossing the border?"

"At Niagara Falls."

"Okay, we at least have some idea of your route down, in case of problems. Once we have connected up, we can put you somewhere safe, so you can have your meeting in peace. See you tomorrow, then. Take care, be safe!"

"I'll do my best"

He ran Jan home, returned and fiddled for a while trying to catch up with the news until Wayne arrived. The internet was by now in complete chaos, websites not responding, emails failing to reply and ominously, Facebook had gone down altogether.

They left immediately for the Greenwich garage. Wayne reconnoitred the site and the area and pronounced it suitable at first glance and they were anyway going to have to make a snap decision. He outlined the procedure he intended to use. They then left for the Trambull rental space.

Suddenly they ran into a traffic jam. "Shit, not another toll," said Wayne. "There aren't enough cars on the road for it to be anything else."

He took out two $20s and slipped one into each of his shoes. They worked their way towards the front of the line. "No blue uniforms," said Gary. "This must be some kind of gang. I wonder which came first: did the hoods learn from the cops, or did the cops learn from the hoods?"

A burly gorilla in body armour and holding a sub machine gun approached them. "There's a $20 toll to pass through our territory." he snarled

"Hey, jeez man. I just spent my last bucks on gas. Can't you just let us through?" Gary whined.

"Nope. Twenty bucks. Now fucking hand it over," and he gestured meaningfully with the business end of the gun.

"Okay, okay," He raised his hands. "I've got an emergency $20 bill in my shoe. I'll have to get it," and he lowered one hand and, slipped off a shoe. Placing the shoe on the seat beside him, he fished out the twenty, and passed it to Wayne, who passed it on to the gorilla who waved them forward, and they were out. "I can see it might get exciting bringing that two million back to Greenwich on our return trip," Gary said. "Unfortunately, they are probably roving roadblocks, in place only for an hour or so before they move on, so they are not very predictable."

Wayne grunted and lit a cigarette.

As they drove through Trambull, suddenly Wayne's lips tightened. Just ahead to the right, a man lay on the sidewalk among the uncollected garbage, his blood pooling under him in the gutter. A woman was screaming and wailing over him. Back a few feet, a small crowd of onlookers milled around. Gary rolled down the window. A self-important but gaunt, and dirty young man came over to spread the gossip. "Does she need help?" asked Wayne.

"Nah, we called the cops and ambulance over an hour ago. Some guys came up to him and wanted money. He didn't have any, so they shot him. Just crazy man. Some guys from New York I think. I never seen them before. It doesn't matter much though, he was just a spiv anyway"

"I guess the cops had other things to do," Gary said cynically, referring to the roadblocks.

The skinny young man took him literally. "Yah, I know. They took nearly two days to get here when my aunt died last week. Man, she was starting to stink. There's a guy in the stairwell of our flop. I guess he's been there for a long time. The maggots are crawling all over him. It's too funny man. Sometimes it looks like he's moving. Really weird."

"How did your aunt die?" Wayne asked.

The thin young man looked at him as if he were some sort of mental retard. "She starved I think," he said blankly. "I guess she was too old. She was over 40."

"Yeah, over 40 is pretty old," Gary said wryly, being 46 himself. "You say you live in a flop? Don't you live with your parents?"

"Nah, they put me on rations, and all kinds of rules. They won't give me any money, and they were going to move out to the country. I wanted to be with my friends, so we found a building where the landlord doesn't hassle us. We broke into the variety store, and we eat pretty good. There are big bottles of Pepsi, and lots of chips and there's ice cream in the freezer."

"When did you go to the flop?" Gary asked.

"Day before yesterday, but some of my friends have been there nearly a week."

"Looks like he's dead alright," Wayne said, nodding at the corpse. "That blood's turning brown from drying. You're right, that was a totally senseless killing. Oh well, nothing we can do here. Good luck, pal," and he pressed the accelerator to move off.

At the rental space, they stopped at the front to alert the guard to their presence. He was asleep in the car. Because they were reluctant to have anyone knowing they had entered, they let him continue sleeping and went around to the rear, disarmed the alarm, and entered. Gary flipped back the tarp, moved a desk, and opened the safe. He felt Wayne's eyes take in the spectacle of 40,000 ounces of silver, as he yanked out the bags of money and closed the safe. They arranged and split the money into the two million for the transfer, Wayne's $150,000, and the balance. After recovering the safe with the tarp, they checked for onlookers, and stuffed the bags of money into the trunk of the car. After rearming the alarm, they drove back around to the front and contemplated the guard, who was still asleep.

"Well, he certainly doesn't have any sense that he is guarding something valuable, and that is both good and bad," Gary said. "What do you think we should do?"

"Is there a loud alarm bell on the system?"

"The bell's right over there," Gary pointed. "I think it should wake him. On the other hand, it would be much better if he were alert in the first place. At least, though no one now knows we've been in to do a pick up."

"I vote for calling the company, and getting a supervisor over here right away."

"Good idea," Gary said, and picked up the car phone, dug through his wallet for the phone number, dialled the company, and demanded to speak to the owner. After a brief wait, despite it being Sunday, the owner came on. Gary identified himself and where he was calling from, "I just stopped by to check things out, and your guard is sound asleep."

"One moment, I have to check who's there." He came back on. "I'm sorry. Things have been so hectic lately that some of the guards have been doing double shift. Jake is a really good long time guard, but I guess we've pushed him too far."

"How does that help me? I have several guards on a 24/7 basis. I pay top dollar promptly or in advance. I pay in cash, even during the Bank Holiday. Is this the reward I get for being an unusually desirable customer?"

"Oh, now I know who you are, Mr Alden. Can you go and wake Jake up and let me talk to him, please?"

"No, I want someone from your company to take the time, inconvenience and expense to come down here and wake him up yourselves. And I want him replaced immediately. Let him sleep at someone else's site," Gary stormed.

"I don't deny we're at fault here, Mr Alden but I don't think you understand the situation. In the current atmosphere the demand for armed guards is overwhelming. Almost anyone who has the ability to pay wants armed guards. We're turning away business by the truckload. We can't get experienced men at any price."

"Oh, I see. Your former reputation for quality service is disposable in these circumstances. Okay, I'll go wake Jake up, but this isn't the service I contracted for. I am not happy with the implied threat, true or not, that you can easily replace my business. I like to think that I conduct my affairs in an honourable way. I expect my business associates to handle their own problems, and not try to shuffle them off onto me in the form of crappy service," Gary, seething with rage hauled himself out of the car.

"My problem is, I need alert guards. I hired you to solve my problems, not compound them. One moment, I'm at Jake's car. I'll try to wake him." He banged the phone on the window and yelled, "Wake up. Wake up."

Jake came to foggily, pulled his pistol, and then rolled the window down a bit. "Your boss wants to talk to you," said Gary, thrusting the phone at him.

"Herro." Jake was still pretty foggy.

"Yeah, I guess I was."

"Well, you knew what I was doing."

"Yeah, he looks pretty mad," Jake said, glancing at Gary.

A long pause, Jake handed the phone back to Gary. "He wants to talk to you."

"Yes," Gary said crisply into the phone.

"I recognize that we are at fault. These things happen. While I could swear it wouldn't happen again, I know it will somewhere. It will happen with any firm. It's the nature of the beast. However, you are right, our reputation is very important to me. I will take a personal hand in this, providing of course you want to continue using our services."

"At this moment, I'm pretty annoyed," Gary said. "I will likely cool down somewhat. I usually do. The implication that this is happening on a fairly consistent basis at my sites gets to me. In the meantime, I'll be making some changes tomorrow or Tuesday. Not in the number of hours, but in locations guarded, but I can't give you details yet. In the meantime, I'll take you at your word that you will take a personal hand in this. My son or I will be in touch by tomorrow night regarding the changes."

"Yes, Sir but please give me as much notice as possible. With fuel supplies the way they are, shifting people around is becoming very difficult."

"I may be able to help you there," Gary said. "I have some fuel available at $40.00 per gallon, cash, providing you have a place to store it."

The man replied with alacrity "I think I could take 1,000 gallons tomorrow. When you call, I'll let you know for sure. My problem is that I don't know where I'll store it."

"Well, it's strictly a cash transaction," Gary continued. "I just saw an open station advertising gas at $44.50 a gallon but the price will be up by tomorrow the way things are going. I'll give you a discount off retail, so the price is $40 per gallon, firm for two days."

"Do you have heating oil?"

"No, just regular gas and diesel fuel," Gary said shortly.

"If I can find the cash, and storage, would you be willing to part with more?"

"Yes, 10,000 gallons on short notice."

"Would there be a discount?"

"Well," Gary paused, "I suppose I could. I'll tell you what I'll do. You come up with $390,000 in cash, and I'll drop the trailer wherever you want. The tanker is yours. That would alleviate your storage problems. I'll get another."

"You know that with these higher fuel costs we are going to have to raise our prices to everybody?"

"I've no problem with that, so long as it is in proportion. I will be willing to discuss it with you. In the meantime I'll call you tomorrow, probably in the afternoon," Gary finished up. Nodding to Jake he said, "Stay awake. What good is a guard who's asleep? Sleep at some other site."

As he got back in the car, Wayne threw back his head and laughed heartily. "You were the perfect picture of righteous indignation and rage, banging on that window with your phone while that poor bastard was glued to the phone on his end."

Gary pulled another grimace "What route do you plan to use to get back to Greenwich with this cash?"

"First of all, I thought it would be safer at your house overnight. You have only a short distance to go to Greenwich, and there will be both you and Eric. They're not likely to set up a roadblock at that hour. I'll lead my group around by the nose for a while, and show up at the garage at 08:00.

Sounds like a plan to me," Gary said. "I presume you want me at the airport to meet them tonight?"

"It'd be better if we had someone to watch the cars while I identify them."

The drive back was without incident. They drove Wayne's car into Gary's garage, fuelled it up, and he gave Wayne the $150,000 he needed. The two million they removed from the car and stacked in the garage. The balance left over went into Gary's home safe.

Later, at the airport, the short-term parking was virtually deserted. Wayne emerged with three well-dressed people, two heavies, and an impeccably dressed businessman. He introduced John Disney, the representative, and Norm and Henry, the heavies. They got into the cars and Gary followed them out of the garage to go their separate ways.
Chapter 26

Monday March 6th — Day 21

Gary and Eric loaded the cars and left for the Greenwich garage as soon as daylight was breaking. As yet the temperature was below freezing, with a thin carpet of snow on the ground, but with the clouds breaking up it was already beginning to feel less chilly. Even at this early hour, there were growing numbers of people trudging out of the city, refugees fleeing the anarchy of social collapse behind them. Desperate, hungry, dragging buggies, pushing shopping carts, or carrying packs, most of them likely having little idea where they were going.

As soon as they arrived they unloaded the moneybags on to the workbench on the left of the garage. Wayne had directed Gary's "street sweeper" shotgun to be placed out of sight behind the overhead door track on the right of the garage. Eric's car was to be parked down and across the street from the driveway entrance, taking care to avoid leaving giveaway footprints in the snow, so he might not be noticed, and therefore have the element of surprise, to come up behind any trouble.

Promptly at eight, Wayne pulled in, followed by a rental car containing their guests. Wayne climbed out of his car and immediately called the security counterpart he had hired in Singapore.

John Disney, and the first heavy, 'Norm', also made phone calls, presumably to their counterparts in Singapore.

Gary next phoned Claude. "Great to talk to you again my friend. The representative, John Disney, and two bodyguards just pulled in."

"Gary, good to talk to you too, my friend. Everyone is here and ready to go."

Gary glanced at Wayne, who nodded, then to John Disney. "If you're ready to go ahead, back the car up to the garage so you can load the bags into the trunk."

John Disney looked enquiringly at 'Norm', who thought about it for a moment, nodded, and said to the guy in the back of the car, "Henry, I want you to wait here at the sidewalk."

'Henry' grunted, took his place at the corner of the sidewalk and the driveway. As he exited the car, it became very apparent he was wearing a shoulder holster.

"Not bad for a guy who had landed only a few short hours ago, on a Sunday night when all the stores were closed." They're professionals alright! Maybe into gun running and" he winced at the thought "dangerous cookies not to be messed with!"

Gary opened the garage door, and walked with Disney to the workbench on which the moneybags were placed. Wayne drifted to his right and leaned against the overhead door track hiding the shotgun, one step away from the safety of the corner of the garage cement wall. 'Norm' placed himself on the far side of the rental car from Wayne. "We'll be some time here counting and checking the cash. Would it be acceptable to you for two or three of our seamen to go aboard the ship and check out she's ready for immediate departure as we agreed?"

Disney called his principal in Singapore, then nodded . Gary spoke into his phone. "Claude, my friend, are you there? We are checking the totals now. I'll call you when we're ready" . The money counting took a tense, sweaty, seemingly endless half hour despite the fact that they were only counting packets. Gary finally saw Disney look up and give a curt nod"

He asked Claude whether he was ready to go, and Claude thought they would need another eight to ten minutes. Gary conferred with Disney. "I can understand why you might want another ten minutes," he responded. "May I suggest we do the formal exchange now, put the money in the trunk, and we will wait out the time here."

'Norm' did not look happy, pursed his lips "We will move the car to the far end of the lot, near the street."

Gary shot an enquiring glance at Wayne, who didn't look too happy either, but shrugged and nodded. Wayne, Disney and 'Norm' were all talking on their phones. After a further seemingly endless pause Claude looked up. "Okay, they are ready to hand over the papers my friend,".

"Is everyone ready to go ahead? Last chance to object," Gary said loudly. Everyone eyed everyone else, finally nodding their acceptance.. "Okay, go!."

John Disney picked up the bags and struggled over to the car. Claude said into Gary's ear, "My friend, we have the papers."

"That's it everyone, the formal exchange is complete," Gary said, primarily for Wayne and Claude's benefit. Wayne continued on his phone for a moment, then his radio. Gary knew he was talking to Eric.

Claude's voice came over the phone. "Here comes the artillery, my friend. The trucks are alongside. My crew is headed for the bridge and the engine room."

About a minute and a half of further crackling silence went by before 'Norm' looked with surprise at Wayne as he turned to Disney, "Those guys are SEALs and they're moving in fast to secure the ship. A crane truck is lifting some kind of AAA gun on to the stern , and they're all body armoured and toting what look like AK47s."

Disney had driven to the end of the driveway, got out, and beckoned Gary over. "That was all pretty slick! So just what is your line of business?"

"Up to a month ago, I guess I was just another anonymous consultant, but now, I guess you could call me a commodities trader.. Why, are you expecting to do any similar deals in the future?".

Disney chuckled, the tension broken. "No, we don't expect to do any more deals in US dollars. "This was a special, strictly one-off circumstance, and we were glad you were prepared to move quickly and in hard cash. I liked what I saw today. We deal in anything that will turn a profit, let's keep in touch now we know that we can trust each other."

"Well, I never say never because circumstances change things, but there are some deals we would tend to shy away from. Still, talk is cheap, and I think we might have some mutual interests in the future. Let's keep in touch."

"Capital idea sir," Disney enthused.

"Call me Gary.'

"John! They shook hands. "What will you do with all that money?

"Already bespoke, promised delivery into another kind of trade you shouldn't question me about. It'll be someone else's problem by midday and that couldn't be soon enough for me because inflation is about to render it worthless although they don't realise it yet.

"Presumably by the time they do you'll have traded it into hardware with which to protect yourselves?"

John gave him a bleak, penetrating stare. "Don't ask me again, Gary. I play my cards very close and it isn't your business. We need to be certain we understand each other!"

As he walked back to Wayne, smarting over Disney's surprisingly harsh putdown,his thoughts next strayed to Wayne's strategic abilities. He had taken the elements of the situation and arranged them so that little communication was necessary, and no orders would be needed. Any actions required would have been apparent to all if the deal had started to go sour somewhere. In fact, Wayne had probed much deeper into what could go wrong than Gary was likely to have done. It is sure good to have Wayne's experience and knowledge with a couple of million plus Claude being put at risk. Me too for that matter.

"How is your end holding up, Wayne?", he asked.

"They'd probably have to blow up the ship to dislodge us now."

Gary checked with Claude, and when he confirmed they were casting off, turned and waved to John. 'Norm' and 'Henry' climbed into the car, and they were gone along with the money. Wayne radioed Eric to come in.

They cleaned up, locked up, and Eric left. Gary asked Wayne if he had time to come with him to meet Peter Rosen of Friendly Gas Bars, and explained the situation.

"Sounds like I should be there, and I will be," Wayne declared. "I'm going to have to assign you a personal bodyguard the way you zap around thither and yon. You're too exposed to people who have the potential to be bad cases, and you are quite cavalier with valuables. You're good for someone untrained, and very aware of your surroundings, but you are not God!

I think Patti would be best. She's smart and innovative"

"Just what I was thinking a minute ago," Gary laughed. "We had millions, Claude and me at risk and I was treating it as if we were buying some bread. As far as your SEAL guards go, I don't know Jim at all, but I am impressed with the little I do know of Patti. For instance, I'll have to get some money to your crew in Singapore and fast. That means travel. I'm not sure Patti, as a female would be suitable to accompany me, no matter how professional we both are. Besides" he grinned ruefully "Jan might have some very large objections. I'll have to run it by her, ASAP. But for now, let's get on with life. We have a very full plate and not a lot of time in which to empty it!"

Pete Rosen turned out to be a big burly guy, maybe six foot three and near 250 pounds, very little of it fat. The office had maybe ten people working in it, and generally mirrored Pete's office. The walls and floors were clean and bright, but the desks were littered with papers. Everyone moved purposefully. In Gary's mind, this was a sign of busy people actually multitasking. It appeared to be an ordered disorder operating informally but with few deadlines missed.

Pete's negotiating style proved to be very much like that which Gary had already experienced. 'Come down to my turf where I have a huge psychological advantage, and maybe we can work something out.' He seemed to realize that in the present circumstances that Gary was invaluable to him, but nonetheless he wasn't going to let Gary screw him without getting some kickbacks included into any bargains that might be struck between them.

He was extremely interested in Gary's ability to provide a continued supply of fuel. In return he seemed to feel his long-term needs were a major trump card. Gary was likewise all too aware of the risks involved and the fragility of their situation, especially as there was a grave danger that the so-called 'authorities' or more likely marauding gangmasters could seize what they wanted on the flimsiest pretext.

Gary eyed him cautiously. "Getting you a continuous supply of fuel very much depends on three things. First, we have to be able to get in and out of here without the cargo or the ship being seized. Second, is your ability to take delivery of, and pay for, sufficient quantities to make the operation worthwhile. I note that you have one 500,000-gallon tank down by the docks. How easily could you get a second? Our ship contains both diesel fuel and regular gas."

Pete interrupted. "First you contact me on a Sunday at my private unlisted number. Then you tell me about a tank that I have been trying to keep a very low profile about, lest it be seized.!". He shook his head, his eyes flinty with distrust. So where are you getting this information, Mr Alden?"

Gary deprecatingly shrugged his shoulders. "Most people down on the docks know it is your tank and most of them have a pretty shrewd idea that it is full as well as what it is full of. If the authorities get off their fat butts and take a walk down there, they'll know too!

To continue, the third factor in getting a continued supply rests on our ability to find continuing profitable supplies, which we have not attempted to do yet. You're concerned with our ability to continue supplying. Our concern is that somebody who always seems to have some fuel will come to some authority's attention. In a best-case scenario, we just lose a valued customer. In a worst case, we also land on the radar of the authorities and lose a tank full of cargo and the ship it comes in. That's a big loss by anybody's standards along with a very real danger of being raided and arrested into the bargain. These are uncertain times but there are chances we all take if we are to get by, but there's no point in begging for trouble, is there? We have to get our ducks in a row first, as they say! To be blunt Mr Rosen, are you interested in doing a deal for two road tankers of fuel or not?"

"Put that way, you are giving me the option of closing up shop today, or else waiting till the authorities arrive and close me down anyway," Pete grumbled.

"You have been in business 15 years. In that time you have grown to 21 or 22 outlets. You've done that with only a couple of small mortgages, and a prompt payment record that is so prompt it's almost suspicious. To have grown that fast you must have made some very good decisions. Decisions that have gotten you over whatever your immediate problems may have been and back to the business of making a profit and a good one at that! Now the world around us is changing radically. If you choose to get out of business because the world has changed, or choose not to deal with us because you don't like the colour of our eyes, that's fine. I have a couple of road tankers of fuel that are surplus to my needs, and not enough cash to cover my needs. I want to sell those road tankers. The US is crying out for fuel. There are risks, but there are big rewards. If we're to do business, the first step is to complete this first deal, and then look at whether we can to do more to our mutual benefit. We've gotten side tracked onto all sorts of theory, Mr Rosen but put simply the question is - do you want to buy two road tankers of fuel?" Gary was beginning to let his impatience show..

"No sir, I don't think I do. You scare the hell out of me!" Pete said abruptly.

"In which case, I'm sorry about that but I guess we have nothing more to do here then." Gary stood up.

"Wait," said Pete. "It's just that you have so much information on me, and what do I know about you? You could easily be the Mafia for all I know. In fact, there's still the possibility the fuel is stolen. Do you have a business card, and maybe I could get back to you?"

"I certainly have no objection to giving you my business card," Gary said as he dug one out. "However, I'm not sure what good it will do either of us. I expect to sell those tankers of fuel today and there are other irons in my fire." He handed it over with a shrug, still standing as if about to leave.

"One moment," Wayne interrupted. "I know how disconcerting his information can be. I just joined him as a partner, and it scared me just how much he knew about me before I even knew his name. I don't know yet how he finds time to do all the things he does, never mind research. He forecast the market crash, and since then has been doing an excellent job of staying ahead of events and guessing what crisis will appear next. One of the early things he did was to purchase fuel before the shortage became apparent, so I guarantee to you that the fuel is legit and I'm comfortable that he can give you all the necessary paperwork to cover it Of course that is profitable for him. Why shouldn't it be?"

"Oh," mumbled Pete, "I just feel he knows every secret I own and that makes me uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable and that's a fact."

Gary sat back down. "I guess I've been in too much of a hurry over all this! Before the crash, I anticipated among other consequences that there would be a fuel shortage. That was my research,- I gathered the names of independent dealers of various kinds of commodity across the country. Your location, and present circumstances flagged you up as being of interest to me.

He had their full attention now and deep within himself felt a thrill of satisfaction "You were accessible to ocean supply. The credit bureau gave me 90 plus percent of the rest. Although I'm in the business I doubt over the years that I've talked to more than two or three people about you. You have grown fast, are aggressive, and didn't make mistakes. You adapt well to changed circumstances. In fact, you've done so well that you could easily be a front for Mafia money yourself. If you look at events over the last month, the change has been massive and at blinding speed. Yet you are still pumping gas. That says a lot about you."

"It says all that in my credit report?"

"Of course it doesn't!, The credit report said you were in a position to weather this kind of storm. All it took was one phone call to ask 'do you still have gas?' to fill in the remaining blanks for me."

"Oh." Pete was silent for a time and then heaved a sigh. "You're one sweet talker, Mr Alden!. I guess I need fuel, and I don't see much on the horizon. When can you deliver?"

"When can you get cash? I don't know for sure when I can deliver till I ask my trucker, but I could probably deliver some by tomorrow, if not tonight and if not maybe the whole shipment tonight."

"On short notice I don't know how much cash my bank can come up with. Probably not $750,000 anyway. Half maybe," Pete fiddled with some papers on his desk before looking up again.

"I think we have a deal, Mr Alden" stood up and extended his hand for Gary to shake.

They arranged a later call to settle the details. Outside, Gary thanked Wayne for intervening. "I'm worn out and I'm getting heavy handed. Deadly kinds of mistakes, I'm afraid. By the way, what's Claude's itinerary?"

"A chopper picks him and the SEALs up four to eight hours from now. He catches the first available flight back. Singapore Air Lines used to have a direct flight to Vancouver, and there were other direct flights to Toronto. Once we get him into Canada, we think we can get him across to Toronto or Montreal if necessary. John Disney told me that the flight he took seemed to be the only overseas flight yesterday that was going to New York. Once Claude's in the east, we'll find a way to get him down here."

Gary wondered aloud if he would have to travel to Zurich or Singapore to pay the Singapore crew. Wayne surprised him by saying, "I've already paid it. Wire transfer from a Swiss bank. A quarter of a million Euros, of which over 100,000 was for the guns and ammo. Those Triple 'A' guns are not cheap. Then there was the chopper, the trucks, and some other stuff. The rest is for the guys."

Privately, Gary didn't know much about Ack-ack guns, but he doubted they could be purchased for as little as a quarter of a million, never mind the heavy machine guns and ammo. Wayne was obviously spending on goodwill, and Gary was concerned he was overspending. ""

"How do you want me to pay you? Certainly not in US dollars!"

"I think your silver idea is a good one. How about in silver?"

"At what rate per ounce?" Gary wanted to know. They decided to get a quote in Euros from a major bank in Switzerland to determine the number of ounces owed. "Oh yes," Gary said, "and we will add a percentage for your risk."

"What risk?"

"That I might have had a heart attack at the mention of the word 'million'" Gary grinned. "Your payout was very trusting, and flattering to me."

"Well, there is that," Wayne grinned back. "I'll call it 250 thousand instead if I ever have to do it again."

At the apartment hotel that Wayne had found for better security in Hamden, the perimeter fencing was going in today. Eric and the SEALs would begin to move tenants today, and would headquarter in a couple of vacant suites starting Wednesday morning.

Wayne dropped Gary off at his house, and refuelled his car before starting for the docks. He phoned Chris to find the retail gas business was going wild with queues forming faster than they could supply their impromptu roadside customers. People were still able to find the cash, maybe raiding their piggy banks in the absence of any working credit cards. In three hours, Chris, and a couple of other drivers had sold most of their load, and would have to go back to refill their tanks. Gary alerted him to a possible need to haul tankers tonight to Pete, and the security guard company. He next called Lynn on her cell phone.

"I have made contact with Medical Venture Capital Company. We have an appointment for this afternoon. I dropped the word 'cash' into the conversation and they were all over me. I suspect the lack of money spawns all sorts of evil!" she said excitedly.

"Great. Listen Lynn, I'm on my way to the docks. Those containers are becoming more important to us by the second.

You take care now Honey and please stay indoors as much as possible and if you have to go out keep your windows locked and that shooter by your side"

Dad? It's that bad now?"

"You bet your pretty butt it is!"

"You take care too, then. Love you Dad!" and she disconnected.

For a long minute he stared at his cellphone. "I don't remember her saying that since she was at High School! "He felt a warmth rising inside him and a lump in his throat. He inhaled a shuddering breath that almost unmanned him

"Shit, I'll be crying like a baby in a minute!
Chapter 27

When he arrived at the dockyard gates a beefy security guard stopped him, covering him with what looked like an Armalite rifle. "Who do you want to see Mister?"

"Please lower that weapon, I'm Gary Arden but you might not have heard of me. I need to redirect some containers out of here, and I need to know exactly what documentation and stuff I will require, as well as someone to authorize it, preferably the harbour master himself."

The guard backed off, lowered the rifle. "Yeah, I've been told you were on your way Sir. Not many staff are in these days except the Harbour Master and a couple of deputies. Park your car in the lot to the right of the administration building, go through the main doors, and take the elevator to the top floor. You'll find him there." Beyond the entrance gate Gary could see the container moving cranes, now idle, and giant stacks of containers.

I presume there is a parking fee?" Gary said pulling out a $20 bill. "Would you keep an eye on my car while I'm gone?"

"Why sure there is Sir! Park your car by the handicapped spot. I can keep it under surveillance from here. Nobody'll interfere with it while I'm Duty Officer"

"I appreciate that very much" He pulled out another $20, "I was wondering whether any of your workers come in at all now, things being like they are?"

"The guys come in anyway, despite not getting paid, particularly the night shift. I'm not sure why, there isn't much for them to do," the guard grinned a knowing grin.

"I can imagine there's quite a risk of theft taking place around here unless you guys are on the ball!"

"Yes, I suppose so," the guard said slowly. "I hear there were a couple of trucks went out unauthorized last night, so I guess there is some stealing going on. Only not while I'm around Sir" He rose to his full height, fingering his gun. "Sir, did you hear that they announced the army was bringing in a convoy of food just this morning? Turned out it was 37 trucks for just all of New York. They were stopped by an armed mob and looted before they got anywhere near the distribution point. The drivers just stood back and let they have it all after a couple of them got gunned down where they stood"

"No, I hadn't. Have the armed forces been in to pick up any containers from here?"

"No Sir, they have stuff here but no food is what the Harbour Master said."

Obviously they hadn't been raided for food either. It appeared nobody had thought that food might already be sitting on the docks, not just at the packers.

"Thanks, you're being a big help to me, make sure you stick around" and Gary peeled off a third $20 bill in return for a "Yessir!" the guard standing at attention as he left for the Harbour Master's office. Following the signs, he poked his head into what appeared to be a deserted reception and secretarial office. He looked again at the door. The sign was 'Harbour Master' all right. "Hello, Hello," he sang out.

At the far end, a middle-aged uniformed, portly man appeared. He was carrying a pistol in his hand

Gary deprecatingly raised his hands "Hi there, my name is Gary Alden. Are you the Harbour Master?" Suddenly a quote from a gunrunner Gary had once met ran through his mind. I've never met a fat official yet who was not bribable. Now why did I think of that right now?"

"Good afternoon., Mister – er?"

"Alden. Gary Alden"

"Ah, yes! Mr Alden. He bustled over, took Gary's hand, and pumped it like he was going for oil. "Come in, come in. Jack Sopper at your service sir," he said effusively, with a definite Brooklyn accent.

"Mr Sopper, I've been looking at redirecting some goods you are currently storing for us. I wondered what hassles I would find in the process. Things being what they are these days""

Jack's eyes narrowed craftily.. "Lately it is very difficult. Nobody seems to know when Title has passed, and the banks are effectively no longer guaranteeing us anything. To add to our woes, very little is going out of the yard, so we are full to the gunwales. If you had a specific container, it might take some time for us to dig it out."

"I was thinking more of exactly what documentation it would take to be allowed to remove containers from this location," Gary repeated.

Jack frowned elaborately. "Normally, all it would require is a phone call from the broker to redirect a shipment. But our lawyers have cautioned us that given the current circumstances ownership is so unclear that we would have to be absolutely sure there was no impediment to Proof of Title. Either the shipment goes to whomever it was directed, or we have to check that the person making the redirection has the authority to do so. How many containers were you thinking of moving?"

Since this could be nothing but a bureaucratic stall, Gary said, "I was hoping for around three hundred. However, I expect that theft and vandalism has gone way up, so even if we were to secure any given container, I can't say whether I would want to take it. Has theft gone up recently, do you know?"

Jack pursed his lips. "Yes, unfortunately it has, Sir. I can't really say I blame the boys. We learned Friday that our pensions are gone. We haven't been paid since the first of February, and it looks as if we will not be paid any time soon, if at all. If somebody gave me a million dollars cash, I would be out of here so fast it would make your head spin," Jack said with finality.

Gary knew what that meant. One million dollars was the bribe price. "Well, I don't exactly keep millions of dollars cash in my hip pocket, but I suppose anything can be done if one is really interested."

Gary had just boxed himself in. He had only wanted to keep that option open in case of emergencies, not move further down the road to committing himself. He tried to retreat a bit without blowing it entirely and spooking him., "But I have never considered anything illegal, I'm strictly on the level Mr Sopper as I'm sure that you are too! I'm sure we understand each other so to get back to my original question: 'What kind of documentation would you require to redirect certain shipments you have now in storage? Surely a transfer of ownership letter from the shipper or receiver would be adequate?"

"We would pass the documentation over to our lawyers for their opinion. I'd expect that opinion would take some time and expense, since they have already voiced their concerns about the legal limbo that presently exists," Jack said in perfect bureaucratic stall mode.

Gary was getting the message loud and clear that there was no way of being able to do this legally before the goods were stolen from under his nose. This guy really wanted his bribe! With things deteriorating as fast as they were, it was also unlikely he could get supplies fast enough elsewhere. He was going to have to trade with Jack Sopper on the rapidly developing black market that was already a safer option than 'official channels' and would pretty soon be the only way to get anywhere. He was just about over the proverbial barrel and Jack sensed that he had him in his hand.

"I see!" He temporised. " I have to decide whether I want to do this. I was looking at about 300 acceptable 40-foot containers. You are looking for a million in cash. That is about $3,300 per container. You probably have many thousands of containers stored here. I happen to know that there are listings of those containers showing shipper, content and weight among other things. It will be very helpful for both of us if I can have a current list?"

Jack nodded, already mentally rubbing his hands together. "I have a file available which was accurate up to about a week ago when our girls decided it was too dangerous to come into work any more. On the other hand, not much has moved in that time. Would you like me to e-mail the inventory to you, or would you prefer a hard copy?".

"Hard copy," he said emphatically. He didn't want his auditable details appearing on Jack's computer. "I thought this might be available through the Internet?"

"The online database isn't all that accurate now but here's the address and a password." Jack wrote both on a scrap of paper as the printer spat out sheets of paper. He gathered them up, slipped them into an envelope and handed it over.

"Is that also the website that lists ships anchored and waiting to dock?"

"Yes, you just click on Goods inwards 'shipping'."

Gary pursed his lips and pondered. "I'll call you tomorrow afternoon or before to firm things up. What is your direct number?"

Jack fished out a business card and handed it over, while waiting expectantly for him to reciprocate. Gary ignored the implied invitation. "How would you handle the paperwork if the indicated containers were re-directed to some other mode of transport?"

"What paperwork?" Jack grinned craftily. "They just vanished, you'd be surprised how loose the controls seem to have become lately. Who can tell what those naughty union boys did with them?"

"I see. Okay, I'll call you tomorrow afternoon or earlier if I can get things together,"

Back in the car, Gary called the guard company, and got the owner. "It's Gary Alden. I'm calling to get your decision on how much fuel you need."

"I don't know Gary. I think I'm in a real mess here. I just got back from the bank and the doors were locked, with a handwritten sign, 'Closed'. I don't know whether that means another Bank Holiday, or if my bank branch is closed temporarily, or what."

"Have you phoned them?" Gary asked.

"No answer on the phone, website's down too although there were people inside when I was there. The handwritten sign just said 'Closed'. Thank God I still have my deposit."

"I think you're right to worry," Gary said, "but I don't see much more I can do for you."

He hung up and swore to himself, "Damn, I needed that $400,000." It looks like today's the day the banks begin to topple.

In turn he called Eric, Wayne, Lynn and Jan, relaying the banking situation. Claude was next on his list. Surprisingly, Gary caught him at Changi airport in Singapore awaiting a flight to Toronto. "Claude, I'm sorry to be calling you at such an ungodly hour. Actually, I thought I might be waking you. What time is it there?"

"Nearly 4AM. What's wrong?" Claude sounded alarmed.

Gary explained the banking situation so Claude might take pre-emptive measures, and then brought up a question that to him was even more important. "Claude, I have a moral 'limbo bar' problem. On one hand, I had always expected that we'd conduct ourselves in an honourable way, regardless of how the people around us reacted. I had hoped that I'd be able to buy or trade for the supplies that we needed, and if someone chose to evade taxes for example, that was on his conscience. The way the social situation is deteriorating, even if we found the supplies we needed, it's improbable that we will find the owners to buy from."

Gary paused before continuing. "We've been offered about 300 containers, sitting on the docks, containing probably 90 percent of what we need, for a bribe of one million dollars. I had expected to get into some pretty grey areas, but I'm having a problem reconciling trying to live a relatively honourable and trustworthy life with knowingly receiving stolen goods, or helping in the stealing of them. At the moment, I don't see any other way. This has got to be a community decision, I can't take it by myself. What are your thoughts?"

Claude's silence was shorter than Gary had expected. "When in Rome, do as the Romans do. We can't successfully fight for our lives while playing by Marquess of Queensbury Rules. I don't see another choice either. Admittedly, it's very slippery slope we're on."

"God grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Considering that at least among ourselves we want to be honourable, that would mean that we must at least inform Bruce Nott how deep the water is before he jumps in. I expected him to be inducted at the Tuesday night meeting. But since the union boys at the dock are starting to steal goods by the container-load, we'll have to start loading the containers on a ship ASAP, and that means his ship. Can we induct him only on our say so? Just you and me? Is he likely to want to go ahead under the circumstances? How do you think the others would vote?".

"Unless someone can suggest an alternative, I don't think they'll have a choice if we're to save any of what we have worked for. I'll give Bruce a little prep call. You induct him. I have now a direct flight to Toronto. There are no flights to New York. They're calling the advanced passengers now into departures. I'll be in Toronto in 15 hours."

"I suppose crime is like experience. Do two or three every day and you will soon have experienced every one. You will be vaccinated against every one and be morally neutered. I'll send someone to pick you up, probably a SEAL. I'll hold the bribe decision till tomorrow so I can check with the others for an alternative and induct Bruce. See you soon Claude."

Peter Rosen of Friendly Gas Bars was the next to receive Gary's attention. "Mr. Rosen, it is Gary Alden. I was to call about your schedule of deliveries."

"Yes, I will take the tanker of gas tonight and the diesel tomorrow. All at the prices we agreed on, right?"

Gary laughed. "Has the price of fuel jumped so much today? Yes, a deal is a deal. But dame fortune is smiling on you. I had committed a tanker of gas to someone else, at $40 per gallon, and his bank has closed its doors." Gary explained how that was lilely to begin a domino effect of other banks closing, or at a minimum, another Bank Holiday. "My other customer can't pay for the fuel, so there is another tanker of gas available if you are interested. But if I were you, I sure wouldn't have any cash in a bank by now, I'd have it in greenbacks under my sofa!. I suspect you have a lot because all that inventory of fuel you had has been converted into $dollars, and I'll bet most of it is in the bank. If the banks close for a holiday or otherwise, cash will be blocked to you."

There was a longish silence before Pete said, "You still scare the hell out of me, but you're right, I have a lot of banking to do in the next hour or two. Call me on my private number when you are on the way over tonight."

He called Chris who answered cheerfully. "Hi Gary. What's up? We are going gangbusters here. I'm on my second load."

"That's fantastic, and I need the cash. I called because I need you to do a couple of things. First I need a tanker of gas delivered tonight to the Friendly Gas Bar offices. What do you think is the best time to do it?"

"We should be there at 9:30 or 10 if that's good for you" Chris opined.

"Great, I'll tell him," Gary said. "By the way, do you guys normally go about armed these days?"

"Of course. Carrying this much cash, and having a valuable cargo, it would be insane to do otherwise."

"Good." Gary said. "The other thing is - you recall that wooden box you are storing for us? I need you to put it in an empty container, along with a lift truck, and deliver it to the Trambull space tomorrow morning. I'll also have another job for the driver. I'll be there at seven AM or shortly after."

"It'll cut into our gas sales you know?"

"I know, but this and the meeting tomorrow night are even more important than the money. It bugs me, but a guy has to do what a guy has to do," Gary said. "Besides, I gather the price of gas has gone up again, so more profit all around."

"Yeah, okay."

"There may be loads more customers tomorrow night after the meeting, turning up to the Friendly Gas Bar, at a time of your choosing too."

He then turned his attention to Bruce Nott. "Bruce, my name is Gary Alden. Did Claude call you to say I would be calling?"

"Yes he did, and I am looking forward to meeting you."

"I was hoping, since I'm fairly close by at the docks, you might have a few minutes to go into our situation a little more fully now." Gary asked for, and received directions.

Half an hour later he was walking up the gangplank of a ship he had paid for and never seen. She looked smart and elegant, black with deep red bands and trim. She was clean, somewhat bigger than Gary had imagined, and looked well maintained. Claude had outdone himself in her purchase, Gary thought. The paint of the old name had been chipped off, ready for her new one. Bruce, tall, fit and blond, met him and escorted him to the captain's stateroom, which was also immaculate.

"To a layman at least, she looks pretty smart, doesn't she?" Gary commented.

"Yes, and I love her already. Claude has been hinting that she might be mine to captain someday." Bruce was bursting with pride, but was obviously trying to remain modest about it.

"The captaincy is strictly Claude's call, but there are other aspects that the rest of us might have an input on. So far we have been impressed. But that's why I am here, to discuss your future, not necessarily limited to the role of ship's captain. We all wish that we could have gone through regular procedures, and that Claude could have been the one to have this discussion with you. However, events are moving so quickly that we don't have even the 24 hours it's likely to take to get Claude back here."

"Sounds serious."

"It is. I guess I rather misled you when I said I needed a few minutes with you. We really need several hours on a matter this significant, but I don't have that sort of time available either just now, so don't let any question you might have to pass by unasked".

"I have nothing that cannot wait."

To Bruce's evident pleasure hey seated themselves in the captain's cabin. Gary led off, "I think the best way to begin is to review conditions and our plans as they are today, then see where this might logically lead. Finally, a bit about what we are planning in the longer term so you can decide where you might fit into all of this. That doesn't mean that you, or we, will necessarily achieve all our goals looking ahead, or that it will not be hard work, or without significant risk. It is just an opportunity to get us reading from the same page, and to compare possible futures. This matter is strictly confidential between us but also to include your wife. Okay?"

Bruce nodded enthusiastically."A man who can deliver such a beautiful ship and perhaps honour me with taking part in naming her has my total attention so let's talk turkey!"

They agreed on the state of society in New York and the US; murder, starvation, desperation, mass exodus from the cities, and the imminent descent into anarchy. Bruce agreed that the forecast of worse to come was probable, if not inevitable. Without referring directly to actions they had already taken, such as purchasing gold, Gary gave Bruce a précis of what they had achieved thus far and where they were headed. Finally, he came to the crux of the matter, and began to touch on the plan for the community and their survival.

Bruce interrupted. "Everything you have said is logical, and on the surface is a great opportunity. In fact, it is overwhelming. I do have a couple of questions. Is Claude part of this?"

"Yes, aside from my own family, Claude was my very first recruit. The meeting we're planning for tomorrow night was for most of the ten people now in to get to know some new people, such as yourself, and to decide whether to invite them also to join us."

"I see." Bruce pondered. "You said I was unusual, and circumstances were forcing your hand. Why are you asking me specifically now, especially when you were planning your meeting with me as a regular attendee in 24 hours?"

"That is a very insightful, intelligent and reasonable question. It's also one I do not want to answer with a lot of specifics right now. Circumstances are forcing us to consider doing something that in normal times, if we were to get caught, would be considered illegal." Gary tried to choose his words carefully. "It is not so horrific as murder, however, we could all face jail in normal times. The final straw on the camel's back was that there was no visible way the community could survive if we did not do something along these lines. Unfortunately, you are never just a little bit pregnant. When you are fighting for your life, you don't necessarily restrict yourself to Marquees of Queensbury rules, so we will fight for our community's survival come hell or high water!."

"So, something is happening now, like stealing or aiding and abetting stealing?" Bruce surmised. "You need whatever you expect to be stolen, so you have decided to join that daisy chain. I take it I am also needed to participate in this daisy chain?"

"Not necessarily needed. I could have probably involved you without your specifically knowing, or dropped you completely. However, at its core, the community is about intelligent individuals having as many facts as are available, making a decision and dealing with the results, good or bad. We couldn't let you go into this blindfolded. We'll never have all the facts about any given situation, but members of the community deserve as much of the detail as possible, given the circumstances. Yes, if you were to join us, you would be directly involved."

"And why can't you tell me now?"

Gary laughed. "The first law of secrets is to never tell. If you were a member of the community, you would have a need to know, and a voice. If you're not committed, it would be rather foolish of us to advertise our activities. Since you're a potential member, you need to have a good idea of how deep the water is that you are stepping into. We cannot risk the community and its goals totally, but consistent with our view that you deserve information that's pertinent to a very important decision in your life, you must know that something exists. The less honourable way would be to let you proceed blindly, and then feel that you had been sandbagged. I'm giving some, but not all, potentially damaging information to you, so that I at least, feel comfortable that you realize the magnitude of the actions you might undertake. It's an attempt to balance all the factors, and that never happens perfectly, but we're trying to do the right thing by you."

"Yes, I can see that, and it says a lot about you." Bruce paused to think. "With the caveats that I have limited information, and that I want to consult my wife, I'm ready to join. I believe my wife is ready for change, too. In fact she's scared stiff. I would prefer she and the children were on board ship with me, especially if we were out to sea. I think I can say with ninetynine percent certainty that I'm committed."

"I think some more information is in order then, but first a couple of questions. Where do you live, and what does your wife work at?"

Bruce raised his eyebrows, wondering why Gary didn't know already but let the question pass. "I live quite near Claude. There are quite a number of marine officer 'widows' in that area. My wife's a teacher," He added.

"We should have had an armed guard at your house with all the crime that's by now around. That was a bad mistake. If your decision is to join us, I think you having your family move in here is great. We can provide a container, and your wife can hire someone she knows to help her pack and load it with your personal stuff. Same with the rest of the crew. The streets are becoming a jungle out there, nobody's safe any more, so we may be shipping out rather earlier than we had expected. By the way, are you and the crew armed. Do you carry any weapons?"

"No, but I do have something that could be used as a gun safe to store stuff in," Bruce decided.

"Well, for the moment, I want you personally, and at least one security person armed at all times. I gather you have no arms on board? I'll bring what I think you might need with me tomorrow. Before you leave tonight, I want you to give orders to prepare the ship to be moved to the container loading area some time after ten tomorrow morning, upon my order. If you decide not to join us, or can't make up your mind, don't bother to come in. Claude will land in Toronto tomorrow morning. I'm sending someone to drive him down," Who's in charge in your absence?"

"Jim Blanc will be duty officer tomorrow till 1500 hours."

"Who recruited him, you or Claude?"

"Claude. He recruited all but two, and he told me who he wanted. You're being rather blunt aren't you? If I am not going to join, stay home." Bruce sounded rather hurt.

"Well, if you don't join, you're rejecting the whole idea. However, if you have not decided, don't come in. I don't want you involved should you then decide 'no'. I'm sorry if I was blunt, I'm just in a hurry. I haven't closed the door to further discussions though. When I asked who chose the guys, I assumed Claude knew he was recruiting potential community members. You couldn't have known. Your wife being a teacher enhances you as a family in our eyes. We're going to need education, particularly for the children. She'll need whatever teaching supplies she can find, particularly textbooks for all grades, laptops or tablets and that sort of stuff"

"You said something about 'not necessarily related to my role as a ship's captain'. What did you mean?" Bruce asked.

Gary pursed his lips, leaned forward, arms on the table. "Looking back in history, every time an empire or society has fallen, and that's definitely what is happening here, the people who did best during and after the collapse were the traders, particularly those with available transport. In sailing ship days, aside from warships, how were ships used? Almost exclusively for hauling goods that someone had picked up cheap at point 'A', because they were plentiful, and hauling them to point 'B' where they were in short supply and therefore expensive. If a common currency was not available, they traded their expensive goods at 'B' for something that was in large supply at 'B' and hauled it to 'A' where it was in short supply. In those days, usually the captain owned a percentage of the cargo, and each seaman was allowed space for a barrel to transport goods for him to trade."

"So how does that fit here? Why would a captain be important?" Bruce frowned.

"Since no one knew for sure exactly what conditions they'd find at a new port, the only judgment as to what might be profitable was the guy on the spot, reacting to those conditions. That was often the ship's captain, although it could be a professional trader or the owner. That's why the captain often owned a percentage of the cargo. It was a great incentive to select profitable goods to trade. He had to be smart, imaginative, and effective at getting to his goals regardless of the circumstances."

"So why do you think that I have those skills? I've never done any trading."

"Any leader has to make many decisions in the absence of hard data. He will make mistakes, but they had better not be big ones, because the first rule is to survive. I think you are a long way from being 'there', but I think you have the potential. There's no crystal ball to tell us what the future will bring, but smart, imaginative, and adaptable qualities will help to cope with whatever does come up."

"When would I start this?" Bruce looked concerned.

"We're not offering you anything yet but a seat on this ship, not even a captaincy. You have to be smart and aggressive enough to earn more. Right now you're one of very damned few being offered such a seat. The rest is up to you," Gary replied.

"I want to be on this ship," Bruce said grimly. "The question is whether giving up extended family is too big a price to pay."

"That's surely one of the most difficult questions possible. I'm sure that being away from a heavily populated area such as New York is best for your wife and children, again because of crime. As to your extended family, a rough rule of thumb might be - any skills necessary to survival in the 18th century, or the 4th century AD come to that, are likely to be essential basics in tomorrow's world. The only exception to that is the application of modern technology. Claude's children are doctors and dentists. We're going to need medical facilities, and we must keep and use that knowledge, or we'll regress back towards that 4th century. We can't actually rely on the internet, though I'm sure it will play an important part but we will need access to leading-edge information – we are in a data revolution and we must be streetwise in taking advantage of it."

"Both my parents and my wife's parents are farmers, as are some of our siblings," Bruce exclaimed.

"We certainly need those skills to be self sufficient. Put forward their qualifications for a skills assessment. What we cannot afford is to support non-productive hands while we're building. Starting from scratch will take more energy and resources than we have. We put more weight on people of childbearing age, although some with suitable experience, like Claude, are beyond that. In addition we'll need genetic diversity. Hopefully, we are going to be pretty isolated. Farmers are definitely going to have a critical role to play, simply in keeping us fed! Do you have any other questions? I am running late."

"The minute you get out the door, I will have about a million, but right now I am just dealing with an information overload," Bruce confessed.

"Okay, call me on my cell anytime, but let me know before eight AM tomorrow whether you are in or not. I'll be on the road, and then I have to come down here after that. Give orders about the ship tonight in case you're not in. I expect Claude to be here very late tomorrow, but he'll be rather jet lagged. I, or Claude, can talk with you later."

They stood up, eyes met, shook hands. It was a firm handshake!

Chapter 28

Gary drove directly home. The clear warm weather made the roads nearly dry, and pedestrians, transporting goods in every imaginable way out of the city, a slowly moving mass of refugees looking for food and shelter. At first he had made the mistake of slowing down to avoid people on the highway, but when he had to pull his gun to move someone blocking his path, he increased his speed to make it clear he would not be able to stop in time, and they scattered when he leaned on his horn. Thank God, it was a paved highway, with few sizable rocks, because a car with fuel obviously contained a hated bureaucrat, and a few threw whatever they could get their hands on. Most just lethargically shuffled along in dirty fatigue and hunger.

As Gary arrived, so did Wayne who had turned up to meet up with Patti. The others were already there, the yard was full of cars. Gary entered, speaking brusquely "Hi everybody! Come on in Wayne. This is Patti, I presume? making a courtly bow towards a slim, neatly dressed woman of medium height with neatly trimmed nut brown hair to match.

At her side a sturdy looking, alert and youthful man was watching him carefully. Garry nodded a greeting "You must be Jim Blanc. Have you met Patti?"

"Yes I know Petty Officer Wagner quite well."

"Patti, have you met my daughter Lynn? - Lynn, if you haven't already started something, would you mind organising a bite to eat for Patti? She's had a long drive, "Patti, could you give Lynn a hand while Wayne, Eric and I have a quick conflab to bring each other up to date? Jim, if I can persuade both you and Wayne, I have a rush job for Toronto tonight." Acting every bit the major-domo he led the way into the office.

Behind the closed door, he described his moral limbo bar question, and asked for reactions and suggestions.

Wayne said, "Is there any other way we could do this?"

Eric answered, "Have you looked at the streets lately? Power is out in many places. Fires rage unattended. The whole city would be aflame if the winter was not stopping it jumping from block to block. Telephone landlines are out in a majority of areas and cell phones are starting to fail. Houses and factories are abandoned and looting is endemic. Violence reigns on every street corner. People are walking out of the city to try to get to a rural area where there might be food and shelter

. I don't even see that we will have time to do what we need to."he concluded gloomily.

Wayne broke in "One way or another, what is at the docks is going to be stolen?".

"This guy was so blatant with his demand for a bribe, it's sure to go to anyone who meets his price," Gary said. "Do you see any alternative?

"No, I don't, which is why I asked the question," Wayne said. "There is an old adage, 'If you are going to lose a battle, don't be there when it starts, but check what you have to lose first'. It appears that we might lose it all if we don't do this thing and do it with due urgency."

"Okay, I will have to run this by Lynn," Gary said. "Claude and I thought you might vote this way, so we decided to start the induction process with Bruce Nott, the guy he left in charge of the ship. We have to start loading her up ready for a quick departure, and we couldn't let him walk into this blindfolded. Assuming his wife is onside, they will be aboard by now. Wayne, we will discuss Patti after you leave, and I'll call you later. We might be able to formally induct her and Jim together."

Eric interjected "I have worked with Jim Blanc, he is totally trustworthy and I vote for him".

Wayne said, "I may have to drive down as far as Langley in my recruiting drive. I could be gone as long as Saturday."

"If Patti comes aboard, maybe you should consider taking her along. She may have some stuff to pick up. By the way, I found out that her parents are tobacco farmers. They might be useful if they are active and have seeds and equipment. Play it by ear. This is your field, but we do need farmers, just maybe rather younger ones. - Any other comments? Okay, let's get back to our guests."

As they exited the office, Gary noticed that Lynn and Patti were sharing a laugh.

Gary approached Jim, "As I said Jim, I have a rush job for Toronto. I know it makes for a long day but I have Claude coming in from Singapore. He lands in about 12 or 13 hours from now. It appears there are no planes flying into New York, not even from Canada. He has to get back here urgently. Could I could get you to go and pick him up?"

"Sure. Glad to be asked. Makes me feel like one of the crew!"

"I have to get you some money and I also owe Patti some expenses. Let's go talk to her."

"Patti, Jim here has to make a make a quick run up to Toronto to pick someone up. I have to get him some money. And how much do I owe you?" Gary asked.

"Nothing, really."

"Come on. Did you get stopped by any roadblocks?"

"One and that was enough." Patti wrinkled her nose "I put my pistol on the passenger seat to warn them off doing anything they might have regretted but they had weapons of their own so it got to be a bit of a standoff

"So really, how much did you spend in total?" Gary asked again.

"Maybe a hundred bucks."

"How much is fuel in Canada now ?".

"$2.79 a litre. I was paying $1.34 when I arrived."

"There's about four litres per gallon isn't there?" Gary mused. "So three bucks times four is eleven or twelve dollars per gallon. It is pushing $50 here."

"I put 35 litres in to fill up."

"Did you have to pay a bribe to get through customs?" Gary asked.

"No but I was really stupid there. They asked me if I was carrying any Canadian dollars and I told them the truth, despite you having warned me," Patti grimaced. "I thought small amounts wouldn't be seized. The bastards confiscated over $200 that I had."

"If it's any consolation it soon won't be worth the paper it was printed on anyway. Meantime I want you to brief Jim on any problems he might encounter on his trip, and I'll get you some US dollars".

Lynn honey, update me on what you've been doing.

She smiled, evidently pleased with herself. "We are expecting to close the hospital deal on Thursday. Final price, $600,000 for well over $20 million in equipment." As long as we can come up with hard currency, adjust it to take account of inflation by the due date and the guy hinted that he would rather take the equivalent in bullion.

"Fantastic. I'll have to scrape up some money and yes, if necessary we can give him some in gold and-or silver bars."

Alone, thinking about Canadian dollars for Patti and Jim, Gary suddenly wondered what the exchange rate was. He got on the Internet to find quotes for gold, silver, and foreign exchange. But his favourite US sites seemed to be down, showing 00 00 across the board. To get a quote for the silver he owed Wayne, he went to a German site that would likely have a quote in Euros , albeit very inaccurate, because they would be giving out the official line, not the doubtless rapidly developing black market. Sure enough, silver was quoted at 157 Euros per ounce. Gold was shown at 3,723 Euros per ounce. He frowned. "Gold and silver have both run up nicely, but I expected more percentage-wise from silver."

He switched to the foreign exchange screen, and finally had his epiphany, although it took him a while to realize it. On the US to Euro quotation, there was no bid for US dollars, anywhere. US dollars were being offered at 4,380 to the Euro. Last trade was 4,380, but there was no way of telling when that trade had occurred.

Let's see. Gold at 3,723 Euros, times 4,380 dollars per Euro makes $16,306,740 US per ounce. Good lord, 16 million dollars an ounce. He chewed on his tongue for a minute thinking over the implications.

Okay, let's look at crude oil. The price of a barrel of oil was around $150 a barrel, or about 110 Euros a couple of weeks ago. Start with crude oil; if oil was $150 per barrel, then the equivalent price due to dollar devaluation today would be 4380 times $150 equals $657,000 per barrel. And that's only if the Saudi's are willing to take even more useless dollars at the current rate.

We were paying about $4 per gallon for gas at the pump. Using these same mathematics, we should now be paying $4 times 4380 equals $8,760 per gallon. Pete at the Friendly Gas Bar doesn't know how good a deal he is getting tonight. I guess you won't be getting a ship full of fuel, Pete. The population can thank their lucky stars we still have a fair amount of domestic oil production to maintain this fantasy, and Pete can thank his lucky stars I need US dollars for something even more important.

He pulled up the commodities screen, to see what crude was selling for, and blinked. Crude was quoted at 41.75 Euros per barrel, not near 110 Euros where it had been prior to the crash. He suddenly knew why. Before the crash the US was a big user of oil, and oil was in short supply around the world, so the price was rising over 110 Euros per barrel. Now the US still wanted to buy crude, but couldn't buy fuel because of the dollar crash, whether it would like to or not. So now there is a glut of oil in markets all around the world, except in the US. The price for the rest of the world had actually gone down.

It's strange no one has mentioned this. Maybe they did, but I haven't been paying any attention to the news, if indeed any news outlets in the US are still functioning. I don't recall receiving a newspaper recently, come to think of it. With people abandoning the cities en masse, I doubt many people in the US are diverting their attention away from survival to read the news anyway, so few will know. Outside the US, few would know that the dollar was still quite valuable in New York. Of those few, who might have the right resources, or the inclination to travel to New York to take advantage of it?

So, how he could use this information to his advantage? A trader finds something that is relatively cheap, at point "A", transports to point "B" where it is relatively valuable, and trades it for something that is relatively cheap there to bring back to point "A", where the new product is relatively valuable

If I could get 10 ounces of silver over to Switzerland and sell it for 1570 Euros, and then exchange it for US dollars at around 5,000 dollars per Euro, I'd have about seven million dollars. With all the bills coming up in the next few days, a million plus for bribes, and over half a million for the hospital equipment, that sure would be helpful.

The big problem was getting the money back to the US. There was no way he was going to get cash back into the US without it being seized as potential drug money. Getting the silver to Switzerland should be no big problem. He didn't think it was illegal to own silver yet, and ten ounces was small, even if he had to smuggle it. Or he could use an ounce of the gold he already had over there. Never mind silver or gold, he already had some Euros. He didn't even need to get the silver over there. He couldn't use the banks here; they would probably be on Holiday by tomorrow. And anyway he didn't think you could trust wire transfers, even if they theoretically would be done in an hour. He was boxed in because he couldn't get legal money into the country.

Gary pondered for a time. How do drug people move large quantities of cash around? He really didn't know, but the stories he had heard always involved either crooked bank employees, or shipping it in among some other legitimate goods. With little or no air or ocean transport coming into New York, smuggling among other goods was pretty well out of the question. Not only that but the events Gary anticipated made him leery of holding US cash for more than hours at a time. Shipping by boat would take days or weeks. The banks were pretty non-functional so they were also out. You can't drive to Switzerland so you can't smuggle it out that way. You can't charter a jet because few, if any, private jets had the range for a round trip, although one might be able to refuel in Canada.

His thoughts ran around in circles, but something was nagging at him. Finally, he decided to give it a rest and let his subconscious work on it for a while. Besides, he had guests to take care of, so he dug some cash out of his safe.

He gave Patti $300 Canadian and $2000 US, to include the pistol she had purchased. She thanked him, a brief but understanding nod of her head. 'I like you!' he thought. 'I like you a lot, Lady!'.

He gave Jim $700 Canadian, and $5,000 US. "You might have some problems at the border with cash. I would stash about $500 Canadian and $4,000 US in various spots in the upholstery or something, so if you lose some of it, you lose it, but you can do your job anyway. Don't try to spend the US dollars in Canada, it won't work, and might draw attention to you. You shouldn't have all that much problem at the border. Come on and give me a hand. I have a barrel of fuel in the garage. We will wrestle it toward the front so we can tank everybody up."

Patti decided to come too. She backed her car up first, and they fuelled it, followed by Lynn's car, Wayne's, Jim's, Gary's, Eric's, Claude's, and the two armed guards outside.

While they were fuelling the guard's cars, Gary asked, "You guys live in Jersey?" One said yes, the other, no. To the one who said yes, Gary said, "I am going to split you up. I don't want a second guard here tomorrow. I want you to guard a house that I do not have the address for yet, but it is near the one you were guarding up till today. I need 24/7 coverage on that family. Okay?"

The guard nodded. "Okay., you're the boss Mr Alden"

Gary turned back to the barrel where Patti was busy pumping out gas with the hand pump. 'Not afraid to get your hands dirty, are you Lady? I'll bet there are few things you are afraid to tackle.' Aloud, he thanked her. They rolled the near-empty barrel back into the garage. Gary offered up a small, silent but heartfelt prayer of thanks to Eric who had been busy labouring in the background, picking up details such as gas hand pumps and other supplies, and then to Lynn who had been working as hard as either Eric or Gary on her hospital and pharmaceuticals assignment.

Back in the house, he gathered up two cell phones, two pistols, shoulder holsters, body armour, ammo, and some sealable plastic bags. He presented them to Jim. "I want you armed whenever it is possible to be. You will not be able to get the arms into Canada though so don't try. They'll just be confiscated. You'll have to hide them in a culvert or something this side of the border, and pick them up on the way back. One is for you and one is for Claude. Do you drink coffee?"

"Show me a SEAL who doesn't."

Gary commenced to make a huge pot of coffee and found a large thermos on the shelves under the counter. He started making up some sandwiches. "Patti, are the restaurants open in Canada?"

"Pretty much."

"Okay Jim, don't forget to stock up with food for the return trip. Do you need anything else?"

"I'd rather take my own pistol if you don't mind."

"By all means. Whatever you feel comfortable with. Handle this as you see fit. I just noticed I am getting all uptight about one thing or another, and blindly trampling on everybody and everything else. I say you are on your own but then try to micro-manage you on details. I'm sorry so let me try again. The object is to pick up Claude and get both of you back here safely, as quickly as possible. What do you think you might need to do that job?"

"A road map?"

"I have one," said Patti. "I'll get it."

"Anything else you need?".

"No I'll change clothes and get started. By the way that seems like a lot of cash for a simple trip to Toronto."

"I'd rather you had too much than not enough. Here is my card with phone numbers on it. Don't hesitate to call at any time. You should probably use the cell numbers; land lines are failing a lot. I'd feel more comfortable if you have a chance to call me after you have connected with Claude and have an idea what your itinerary back is going to be."

"Okay will do," and Jim went to his kitbag to prepare.

"Anybody else for coffee? Wayne? Patti?" Gary asked. "I'll make another pot."

Patti looked at Wayne in enquiry. Wayne said, "I'll take a pound or two of those coffee beans if you don't mind. I'm fresh out and starting to get withdrawal effects!"

"No problem, but we will have to conserve because I only stored supplies for one person for a year and now we have about ten coffee hounds slurping it. I hope to get more this week but it's far from sure at this minute," Gary said. "You're leaving too?"

"Yes, I have a lot of things to do before I can sleep," Gary went to get the coffee, good byes and good lucks were exchanged and the SEALs set off on their mission.

The family gathered in the living room. Gary said to them, "I just had an epiphany," and he described the silver price and US dollar price in Euros situation. "The problem is, I can't figure a way to get the US cash back here from Switzerland to spend it here while its value is greater."

Lynn cocked her head. "How about Canada?"

Gary went blank for about half a second and then exploded. "Oh, for Christ's sake. It's so simple and so perfect. Lynn it's brilliant. Canadians will probably have a lot more US cash on hand than even Switzerland. I was beginning to worry how much gas we would have to sell to meet our commitments. Perfect. By the way, what do you think of Patti?"

"I like her. She is smart and fun. I think she would make an excellent addition to our community."

Gary then raced for Jan's house, Lynn's "our" ringing happily in his ears. He was beginning to feel that at last it was really all coming together.

He kissing her perfunctorily, pulled her arms from around his neck, squeezed her hands, "I'm only here for a few minutes. I need to talk to you about two things. First, Wayne thinks I need a bodyguard because I am zapping about with valuables on me, and I'll be among some pretty dangerous people. He has proposed a very smart lady SEAL by the name of Patti. Before accepting, I wanted to check with you and how you might feel about me working in close proximity with another woman and a military professional at that.?"

She searched his eyes, seeking clues and reassurance at the same time. "How long would it be for?"

"Good question," he replied, realizing that the most intense period would be while they were still in New York. Later, within the community, Patti would not be needed in the role of a personal bodyguard and would also have numerous other things to occupy her time. "I would guess from one to four weeks, likely about two. I've got to admit that I'm starting to feel better about this already."

"Well, my Man! I have to trust you, don't I.. Why does Wayne think she would be best?"

"He said she had the best chance of keeping up with my mind in the variety of situations I get into. Personally, I think he also feels she would be a modifying influence when I get tired and hungry and bitchy and begin to lose the plot, need a firm guiding hand to restrain me."

"I think he's probably right about that. You'd better call her in then. Go ahead" she pouted her lips "but never forget that we women can smell out any sign of infidelity even before it starts happening!"

"The other thing I need is some help with foreign exchange. I'm interested in Canadian dollar versus the Euro. Can we get on the net for a moment?" Gary asked. Jan tapped into her bank's foreign exchange network and found a quote; 3.25 Canadian dollars per Euro. The quote for the US dollar against the Euro remained the same at 4380, but there was still no bid price. The US dollar market, which used to trade a trillion dollars a day, was pretty well dead. "The Euro's strong against the Canadian dollar too!" he exclaimed.

"Yes," said Jan. "But that's reasonable. The Canadian dollar was always viewed as having features that were something of a proxy to the US dollar. Some of our mud has rubbed off on them too though it hasn't sunk it as yet." She shook her head "but it looks like its only a matter of time and then whatever next, where do the GBP and Euro end up heading. Or the Japanese Yen, come to think of it?"

If the US dollar is 4380 per Euro, and the Canadian dollar is 3.25, then the Canadian dollar against the US dollar would be 4380 divided by 3.25, or about 1350 US dollars for 1 Canadian. Theoretically, we could get 1.3 million US dollars for 1,000 Canadian dollars. "Do you know anyone in Toronto or Montreal who is big in the cash foreign exchange market?. "This could actually be an opportunity for us to make another killing if we are sharp enough about it!"

"No, but Heidi in our foreign exchange department is forever going up there on correspondent banking business. She's even a member of the Canadian Foreign Exchange Traders club."

"You sound like you know her well."

"Yeah, we chum around a lot together," Jan shrugged. "She was the trader who I was on the phone with when you purchased your gold bullion."

"Can you call her up to see what's happening at the old homestead, and at the same time pick her brains for a couple of people each in Toronto and Montreal who might be able to put a sizable stash of US cash together on short notice?"

"How big a stash, and how short a notice?"

Gary considered. "Globally, I want to get as close to ten million as possible though I'll settle for as little as one million if we have to. I'll pay as much as $2,000 Canadian per million US, but she doesn't need to know that. $2,000 is twice the number we are seeing on the screen, and even that screen number is inflated.

He checked on his tablet. "I want to be back here Friday morning, latest."

"I know she doesn't need to know, but I'll have to have a believable story to cover what I need, otherwise she'll twig to it. She might anyway, she's a smart woman."

Gary considered. "I was going to say that I thought it wouldn't hurt if she twigged, but didn't act for a couple of days, but forex traders react in split seconds as a way of life. We have to find out who acts as a warehouse for the mom and pop foreign exchange dealers to buy from, at a minimum."

"I suppose I could develop a Canadian cousin who wants to buy because he thinks dollars will go up," Jan mused.

"Sounds like a plan to me. I'll be back late, probably around midnight. Is there anything you want, food or anything?"

"Yes, some chicken if you have it," Jan said.

"No problem," Gary said as he kissed her and rushed out. "See you later."

"And you look out for yourself. I need you to come back to me!"

On the short run home, Gary called Wayne. "We voted on Patti and Jim, and both are 'in' if they want to be. I talked to Jan, and Patti is acceptable as a bodyguard until we get offshore at least. I think I've found a way to come up with some more US dollars, a few million. If you see something you want that is for sale, a stealth bomber for a million or something, check with me. We might be able to swing it, or perhaps trade for it. We probably have to buy another cargo ship. I'll know by Thursday night for sure. I may have to leave for Canada tomorrow night."

He had no sooner gotten home than Jan called with the information about the movers and shakers in the cash foreign exchange markets at Toronto and Montreal, along with an introduction by Heidi, who thought that four to five million might be available in Toronto as long as they got a move on. Jan also imparted the information that almost all of her banks foreign exchange department had been laid off because foreign banks would neither deal with US banks nor would they consider any deal involving the purchase of US dollars. The rumour was very strong that yet another a Bank Holiday would be declared. Most US banks were trading insolvent and likely to close their doors when they couldn't keep up a pretence of liquidity any more. "Heidi is getting pretty desperate for something to eat, by the way. Her fridge-freezer is empty. I am going to give her some food."

"Okay, I'll get some rice, chicken, bread, powdered milk and beef for her. Maybe Lynn and Eric can deliver it over to you later on this afternoon to pass it on to her"

Gary dialled Chris's cell phone. "We didn't make plans on how we were going to hook up tonight. Something has come up. Could we do it at my place?"

"I don't like to stop the truck almost anywhere for any length of time, but I have wads of cash I'd like to get rid of. I'll stop by your house about nine if that's good with you?".

"Perfect, here at nine. I have to run up to the hangar and get some stuff. Anything else you need? Bread? Rice? Meat?"

"All three. We are getting pretty desperate over here" Chris said. "It's dangerous to go shopping, and you can't find much, particularly protein foods. Thank God we live on what might be called a farm. We do have some things, so we're less desperate than city folk."

"How about Roy Bryant? Is his family in the same predicament?"

Chris drew a deep breath. "Yes, I'm afraid he is. He's really badly off."

"Okay, I'll think of him too. See you around nine," He hung up.

Gary went back out to join the others. "I'm really tight for time. Eric, if I drop some food off at nine, would you take Jan and maybe Lynn to go over to Heidi's to drop it off?"

Eric nodded.

"Okay then. Sorry but I gotta hop," He left immediately for the hangar, where he stuffed the car with four cases of chicken, eight large pot roasts, and as many bags of powdered milk, rice and bread as he could get into it

He called Roy Bryant.

"It's Gary. I wanted to know if you were home. I have a couple of things to drop off."

Roy sounded puzzled but said "Sure". Gary did not enlighten him but said he would be over in a few minutes. He hadn't thought about how cold driving a car full of frozen goods might be. The pile of stuff sitting on the passenger seat beside him seemed especially chilly. Every time he turned the steering wheel, he somehow managed to bang some bare skin on something frozen.

At Roy's house which was set back from his Quonset hut garage, he grabbed a case of chicken and went to the door. Roy answered. Gary walked in, and Roy eyed the case. "Whatcha got there?" he asked.

"Where's the kitchen?" demanded Gary. "This stuff is frozen, and it's cold. I thought you could use it."

Roy pointed as both he and his wife watched in puzzlement. Her skin was an attractive, almost glowing light a shade of brown as Gary thought a Peruvian should be.

"Back in a sec," he said over his shoulder as he hurried back outside. This time he brought a tray of bread with two pot roasts on top. As he entered the kitchen and started unloading the trays, Roy said, "Is that frozen chicken like the box says?"

"Yep, it sure is. Back in a sec," as he hurried outside with the tray. The children stared curiously as he returned this time with a huge bag of powdered milk. On the next trip he brought a bag of rice.

"It's like God answered our prayers," Roy's wife said. "We're at our lowest point ever." She was nearly in tears.

"Are you sure you can spare all this?" Roy said.

"Oh yeah, I bought it with this kind of situation in mind. I'm sorry I didn't get a larger range of stuff, but time was very short then. Dried potatoes, vegetables, and freeze-dried food would have been good too if I could have accessed any. Are you guys coming to the meeting tomorrow night?"

"I'm coming with Chris Habel, who seems to have some fuel left." Roy answered. "I didn't know our wives were invited too."

Roy's wife began opening the case of chicken to peer inside.

"Oh yes, we much prefer the wives be along, but we also understand that leaving the kids alone and unprotected in today's world is foolish. Well, I really have gotta hop now."

"Wait, wait," Roy's wife said. "How can we ever thank you? Won't you sit down for a drink with us for a while?"

"Roy has been thanking me, well, ever since I met him by doing a superlative job of looking out for my interests. It's my turn to look out after his interests. I really have to go. I have a lot to do before bedtime. See you tomorrow night."

Gary dropped a similar load at Chris' house before racing home to find Chris waiting for him. He thankfully handed over $58,800, and reckoned that it would likely be more tomorrow since the price of fuel had already gone up to over $50 per gallon. Gary then followed Chris down to the Friendly Gas Bar offices.

Pete dipped the tanks, sniffed the dipstick, did a couple of simplistic tests, such as pouring a bit into a jam bottle lid and igniting it. He got a satisfying whoosh. He also did a couple of other tests that Gary didn't understand, but in the end he seemed satisfied.

Pete showed why he was so successful in business. With only a few hours to bank closing, he had somehow managed to pick up a substantial portion of his bank balance in cash and wanted the three trailers of fuel delivered tonight. Gary and Chris huddled and compromised by delivering two tonight and one the next morning. Chris dropped the first load and immediately hustled off for the second. Just over an hour later he was back and Pete handed over another $360,000 in cash.

In the midst of all this, Bruce called to say that they were on board the ship and they had thought to rename her "Phoenix".

After Gary returned home, laden with cash, he found Eric and Lynn still up waiting for him. Gary dumped his cash in the office and came back out, wondering at the nervous body language of both Eric and Lynn.

"Dad," Eric began, and Gary's antennae shot straight up, because he and Eric tended to treat each other as equals, and Eric almost never addressed him as 'Dad'. "I think we've found someone we should think of for the community. We took some food over to a friend of ours, her name is Heidi, and she is one smart lady. She's an electrical engineer and a computer programmer."

Lynn interrupted, "You should see her light art. She uses computer-controlled lasers to paint with light. It's amazing. I've never seen anything like it."

"An imaginative artist, electrical engineer, and computer hotshot combined sounds good to me." Gary knew that many banks automatically short-listed anyone with an artistic 'inventive' ability, so this combination did not surprise him.

"Well then, we will have to meet up with her in the morning, won't we. Especially as maybe she will be joining the family! Isn't that the drift?" Gary grinned and Eric grinned sheepishly back. He felt a sudden urge to give his son a huge hug. "Let's leave it til the morning and if Champagne is called for, I think I know where I can find a couple of bottles. Not sure about proper flutes, though

Arriving at Jan's, he found her curled up in her negligee, working on some bank papers while waiting for him. She put that aside and they prepared for bed. Gary began rather abruptly. "Could you take living with my kids? You'd become an instant mother without all that trouble. But then you wouldn't have all the fun that goes with it either," he grinned.

She sat bolt upright in surprise, then gave him the kind of squeeze that only lovers do. Talking indistinctly into his neck she answered him "Yes, I like Eric and Lynn. They've got a lot of you about them. Having them around us will be fun, we are all family now, aren't we!"

"And what do you think about making your own kids?" he asked.

"I already told you that I would like to have three. Oh, are you proposing to me again?"

"Well, I do think that young children need a stable family atmosphere with a mother and a father. Usually, that's best accomplished by getting it right legally as well,"

"I suppose we could always get one of your other kids to baby-sit. When the time omes"

"I doubt that. Lynn would likely tell us very early on that she doesn't do babysitting. "But you're doing this all wrong. You are supposed to say to me, 'Oh, yes, yes, yes'."

"Oh, yes, yes, yes," she laughed, turning over, putting her arms around his neck and giving him a chaste kiss.

Gary felt overwhelmed, and began rubbing her ribs. They consummated the deal, but for some strange reason she was not as passionate as usual. He put it down to the lateness of the hour and the tension in the atmosphere and it was only much later on, he remembered to formally invite her to tomorrow's induction meeting before falling asleep, happier than he had been since he could remember.
Chapter 29

Tuesday March 7th — Day 22

He was up by six, leaving Jan asleep. The first thing he did on arriving home was to check for emails from the bank in Switzerland that he had phoned. His immediate interest was the bank report on the price of precious metals. Silver was quoted at 171 Euros, rather than the 157 shown on the website. Dividing Wayne's 250,000 Euros by 171 came out to approximately 1462 ounces.

After a quick shower, shave, and breakfast he and Eric left for the Trambull space. They opened the office safe and moved aside the gold that Eric had been delivering from the clunker cars, and pulled out 4000 ounces of silver, of which 1750 was for Wayne. They put the 4,000 ounces of silver in bags, replaced the gold, relocked the safe and re-disguised it with the tarp. The Habel driver arrived and backed a container containing the boxed safe that had been stored, and a forklift truck, up to the dock. The driver used the forklift to bring the box out and Gary sent him for another container, just to get him out of the way.

They opened the boxed safe and removed the last of the money from their stock market days. Gary managed to stuff an additional 900 ounces of silver into the boxed safe, and they relocked, and re-boxed it. Using the forklift, they moved the office safe and the box into the container, followed by the office furniture, tied it all down and covered it with the tarp. Except for the forklift truck, the space was now empty.

The Habel driver returned and backed the second empty container up to the dock, then hooked up to the first containing the office safe. Gary locked and sealed the doors, and the driver left to drop the container at Habel's storage. Chris would take it over to the hangars later on. Gary immediately left for home with the money and 3100 ounces of silver. Eric stayed to move the forklift truck into the second container. When the driver returned, Eric would instruct him to pick up the two other publicly-stored, boxed safes, drop the forklift back at Habel's, and finally drop the container in Gary's yard at home. Gary would then immediately begin loading the container with whatever boxes had been packed in his house, covering the boxed safes. From any obvious view. It was the best they could do.

All this time the guard, who was hopefully guarding the front window side of the space at least, had not challenged them. Gary wondered if he was sleeping, but was not going to disturb him in any way. There was no point in having anyone unnecessary know that he had visited and possibly removed something. That lack of knowledge might muddy the trail a bit if someone came snooping around later.

Once was back home, he counted his cash. The total now was $1,070,000 US. He took the one million, arranged it in gym bags, and loaded it in the trunk of the car, leaving him with about $70,000 US for other needs. He also had about 70,000 in foreign cash, primarily Canadian dollars. He pulled out some pistols, ammo, shoulder holsters, soft body armour, and satellite and cell phones to put into the car. As he was doing this, Patti arrived, looking very business-like in a dark jacket and slacks. Her shoulder holster was not very noticeable, but on closer inspection, it seemed somewhat larger than usual. 'Probably a machine pistol whose cartridge case would make it quite bulky'. Good morning Patti! My goodness, you look the part, that's for sure! Are you wearing body armour too?"

"Of course."

"Great. Anything else you need?"

"Just the plan."

"Well, first we're going down to the docks with a million dollars in the trunk to try and bribe someone to steal about 300 containers of goods for us. We, the whole community, had a very big moral problem with actually doing this after it was offered to us by the so-called 'Harbourmaster' but after some navel gazing between us all we decided that since the theft was already underway, and our whole project would fall apart without those supplies, it was critical. But I still feel uncomfortable about it,"

Just then Claude came through on his mobile. ".We've had a couple of hours sleep and are across the border now. We've picked up our arms and are on the way."

"Fantastic. We've been missing you. You did a superlative job in Singapore. I'm afraid I may have another assignment for you. If everything works out, we may need another one or two ships. Something for you to think about on the way down," Gary teased. "By the way, the present community voted on Jim, your driver, and he's in if he wants to be. If you get a chance to induct him, do it. Anything you need?"

"Nothing extra 24 or 48 hours a day wouldn't cure. You're hard task master. More suitable ships are going to be hard to find. Not many good ships are sitting around empty."

"Not me bro, not me. I'm not the hard taskmaster, you are. You came up with this Singapore thing. It's all your fault. If you weren't so damned good, we would not be where we are. By the way we renamed her 'Phoenix' It seemed appropriate Gary enthused and disconnected.

He turned to Patti who had been watchfully following the conversation "Let's get those cars exchanged over in the garage." As they left for the docks, with Patti driving. Gary dialled Jack Sopper, the harbourmaster. "Good morning. It's Gary Alden. I spoke with you yesterday. Do you recall?"

"Indeed I do," Jack's voice was syrupy with anticipation.

Jesus, he's greasy even on the phone, Gary thought. "I promised to call you today. I can be in your area in about an hour to discuss this matter more fully with you. Will you be able to see me?"

"Certainly, certainly. It would be my pleasure," Jack gushed.

"I'll have the guard at the gate call you when I get in."

"Good, good. I look forward to it. See you then," Jack said effusively.

A problem that had crossed Gary's mind a number of times resurfaced. Turning to Patti he said, "Tell me, how conversant are you with hostage situations?"

"I've been involved in a couple. I've had extensive training. Why?"

Gary frowned. "In the present circumstances, it's only a matter of time until someone gets kidnapped. It'll be our growth industry. We all need some training in what to do in a hostage situation. Can you set up a course to cover what to expect, how to act, and how to avoid becoming a hostage, both as a hostage and as a negotiator? Something practical that we can share online, maybe use 'youtube'"

"Sure. Wayne's picking up the rest of my stuff. I have several texts that I can adapt. I think it's a good idea. I'd love to," She beamed. "I think we could also consider 'SERE' courses, 'Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape', which are really part of that problem."

He nodded vigorous agreement, shook her hand enthusiastically. "Good, we'll set that up as quickly as possible," They next devoted the rest of the trip to comparing his list of containers on the dock to the list Jack Sopper had given him, as well as selecting additional containers that could be of interest.

"Of course some of these will by now be empty with the likes of Sopper and his greasy buddies having a field day lifting whatever thay can knock off. On the other hand, almost any full container has some value, but Gary had eliminated many of these as simply costing too much for their limited resources even allowing for them being able to horsetrade Sopper.

The day was sunny, bright and warm for a change and Gary's spirits rose with it, almost giving way to smugness in an "I told you so but you wouldn't listen so now you are paying the price!" sort of way . They were mostly travelling by the back roads now to avoid a mass of humanity making its way out of the city on the highways. By and large this worked. The few pedestrians on the streets tended to stay on the sidewalk. They were making relatively good progress until they came upon a man kneeling in front of a kind of shrine he had erected in the middle of the street. He had pasted pictures of food and various creature comforts such as plasma TVs over the shrine, and was kneeling in front of it, arms raised, praying incoherently but loudly to some god or another. They edged past, driving on the sidewalk so as not to interfere with the poor soul in his exhortations.

"If he keeps screaming at that volume, he won't have a voice-box left in an hour's time."

Gary and Patti looked at each other, shook their heads and got on with it. The world was becoming weirder and more desperate by the minute.

At the dock guardhouse he went in to see his 'consultant' guard, who reported that about 40 trucks carrying containers had gone out the previous evening. Gary pulled out a $50 bill, which disappeared quickly into the man's pocket as he waved them through with a florid salute. They carried on to the parking lot where Gary decided that Patti should stay with the car, first because Jack would likely object to witnesses, and secondly for her to look after their cash cargo.

Patti shook her head, bemused "A million dollars in big wrapped bundles looked positively terrifying. "No wonder Wayne wanted to have me guarding you."

"Hopefully by tomorrow, we will be carrying much more than that," Gary observed laconically.

Surprisingly, the negotiations with Jack were very simple, strangely amateurish Gary thought. They settled on a cost per container loaded. Jack demanded $1,300 per container because he would have to pay off the dock foreman. Gary opined that the union boss was Jack's problem, but he settled at $1,200 per container. Jack wanted an upfront payment, which Gary refused because he neither understood, nor trusted the process that Sopper was proposing. Jack next expressed concern as to how he could be sure Gary was sincere and suggested that a quarter of a million would be an expression of good faith. Again Gary refused, but offered to show Jack that he actually had the cash with him.

They walked outside to the car. "Would you pop the trunk, please?" he asked Patti. He unzipped the three mid-sized gym bags, laying bare their contents. Jack actually drooled briefly. "One million dollars," he breathed.

"Exactly one million," Gary said, picking up a pack of $50 bills and handed it to Jack. "The rest will be delivered later. I don't think we can get three hundred containers on the first ship anyway, so we'll have to send in another, as soon as the first is clear of US waters."

"Okay, you've got a deal," Jack confirmed breathlessly. He ran his fingers over the other packs lovingly. In fact, he was so reluctant to part with the bundle of bills in his hand that Gary insisted he count it, as part of the amount for the first containers.

"If you can clear a berth for my 25,000 ton ship, most or all of this can be in your possession as soon as you get it loaded, with more to come. Hopefully, this ship will be loaded within 24 hours," Gary said, "and then we can get the next one in. That will take some time. I'll have to check."

"I'll have space cleared right away. How long will you be?" Jack asked.

"I would hope not as much as three hours. The ship is in the supply and repair facilityright now. I need to get two copies of my list, which shows the containers I have as highest priority. The person in charge will give you a priority list in the order he wants to load it. He'll pay you per container loaded. We will not pay for empty containers, except possibly for reefers. We'll accept any still sealed container on the list. Unsealed containers are subject to inspection, and may be refused at our option. Okay?"

"Yes, let's get started," Jack said eagerly.

"Okay, we'll be in touch by ship's radio." They went back into the office. Gary got his photocopies and left. When they arrived to inspect the ship, he was happy to see an alert security guard posted on the foredeck. He and Patti next loaded themselves with bags of money, pistols, ammo, and body armour, and staggered up the gangway. At the guard's challenge Gary asked for Bruce, who hurried out. He was beaming. The first thing he said was, "The wife called. The armed guard has been in place since this morning. She's recruited a couple of neighbours and all three of them are packing."

"Okay, I'll get a container dropped this afternoon."

He called Chris. Chris said he could arrange it, but this was his last trailer. He next asked that Chris buy half a dozen used trailers and any seaworthy containers he needed from the cash he was holding for Gary. "While I've got you, they were getting $60 per gallon for gas yesterday. Business was even brisker than before as word is getting around. We could sell any amount if you can ever get hold of any more. Oh, and while you're at it can you locate a quantity of standard two cubic foot empty cardboard packing boxes, and include them in the container going to Bruce's house. Get enough for him and keep some by for later on because there would be several more containers to be filled. Chris allowed that he had a few packs of flat boxes already kicking around, and would have some of them them thrown into the container.

Gary and Patti followed Bruce into the captain's cabin, where the money was safely stowed away, except for $1,100, Jack Sopper had already been given his $2,500.

Patti went back to the car to drive back to the container loading facility. Bruce went abord the Phoenix to give orders to get the ship underway as soon as practicable as Gary filled him in on the details, and handed him the photocopied lists.

"Don't forget to paint up her new identity. I'm proud as hell about her. Never had a boat before except for an inflatable I used to mess about in as a kid.

"Also, Bruce, if your guys can source them, can you get hold of half-dozen drones along with their radio control gear."

Bruce pulled a face. "You could have mentioned that! It's my own bloody fault that I didn't but I have made up for it with a couple of fast inflatables and three rigid-hull tenders as she didn't even carry her own lifeboat. Either that or it was stolen before we could take possession of her."

Bruce issued firearms to selected, competent crew members along with strict orders about their use, while Gary went to the rail to get out of his way. They docked, and Jack Sopper immediately bustled up, still rubbing his hands. Bruce indicated the first containers wanted, and Jack passed the orders on.

The first container came across. Gary watched as it was approved, and immediately handed an additional $1,100 over to Jack, even before the container hit its fittings. At the third container, he handed the entire operation over to Bruce.

Gary and Patti at once left for home. Along the way, he described to Patti the 'smuggling' operation he was contemplating out of Canada, and they began planning the details.

Gary's wife had been Canadian, and he had lived in Canada for a time. Patti was Canadian too, so they compared porous points in the Canada-US border, and made specific some of Gary's general plans. They debated the advantages of using one or two cars versus a boat to cross Lake Ontario. In the end, they decided that two cars were better because while there might be increased risk, the time at risk was substantially less and overall looked to be the best option. Another major factor was the physical size of this huge number of greenbacks. Gary was hoping to obtain as much as $10 million and looking at what they already possessed hey couldn't be able to put as much as $5 million into the trunk of either car. Some would have to visibly sit in the back seat with no more than a tarp thrown over to cover it.

"It'll just have to do, Patti and I guess we'll just have to rely on firearms if we hit trouble."

She grinned wolfishly "I could use some live target practice to keep my skill-set up"
Chapter 30

They arrived back at the house to find that Lynn and Jan were out, presumably finalizing their deal for the hospital. Gary called Jan, and they were indeed in a meeting. "You will have to delay closing the deal until Friday. We can't get back here with money before three or four AM Friday morning earliest,"

"I'll make note of that," she replied. He chuckled, Jan was highly skilled at not imparting information to others who might be within earshot.

Turning to Patti, he said, "Patti, you might as well try to get some sleep. You'l have to use Lynn's bed because we weren't expecting you. If the descending hordes don't wake us beforehand, we'll get up about 5:30 to make some dinner."

He went to his bedroom, suddenly tired to the point of faintness, stripped off most of his clothes, pulled the coverlet over himself, and was at once asleep

When he eventually awoke he had time for a quick shower , then went to the kitchen. Patti was up.

Just then Lynn came in, having dropped Jan and her guard off at Jan's house.

He was checking his email, his attention drawn to a message from Claude to let him know he had arrived back safely, adding that FEMA has set up a ring of National Guards around NYwith orders to shoot to kill those people trying to escape to rural areas until looting is brought under control

'That sounds like government. They did the same thing in Hurricane Katrina. Escape to safety and they drove you back into the flood until the looting stopped.'

Gary pinged him on his tablet "The whole of society has come apart now. They have lost their familiar way of life, and the shock is producing unsane reactions. Jack Sopper, the harbourmaster was so amateurish the way he went about his bribe of one million dollars, I'll bet it's his first time around at that."

"Yes, I wondered when you first brought Jack up as being bribable. I've known him for years, greasy old sod but 'mostly harmless' as the saying goes.".

"He's lost his pension, is getting no pay-check, and the dock workers are going home with rich pilfered pickings so I guess something inside him snapped. People count their value in dollars and if it had been only one container or 10,000 of them, my guess is that his price would have been a million dollars. By the way I had Chris drop a container at your place for packing up your house."

"I'll get my children to help me. Now I will sleep."

The induction meeting at Gary's house went relatively well that evening, despite neither Claude nor Wayne being in attendance. As is usual with groups of people, they tended to pair off with someone they already knew. In the next hour of making acquaintances and chatting to everyone, Gary worked hard at getting them to mix so they would know more about the people that they would, hopefully be living with in close proximity and for an indeterminate time. 'And that is quite a call' he said to himself..

The 'medical people' were particularly hard to get to socialize. The surgeon who was married to Claude's daughter, opined so that everyone could hear him that 'while he might be operating on them, he didn't expect to be socializing much with a random collection of truckers or repairmen'

Gary quietly pulled Eric and Lynn aside to discuss this possible fault-line in the nascent community.

"Lynn, you're the expert at melding groups of people together at work, so I thought we should leave you in charge of this one. Because it's Claude's family, and he is a surgeon, it is going to be hard to dump him even now. Is he going to be a problem?"

You're right"she murmured." I've been watching him, he's an arrogant sod and certainly sees himself as a cut above everybody else. Reminds me a bit of Bashar Al Assad. Even looks like him! Oh, I hope he'll come around., we can sure use his skills. If he maintains that attitude though, he will have very few people to talk to, and as time goes by he will rub up against the others and there could be friction. I expect there will be a few issues of this sort before we begin to form into any kind of coherent community. People are people and you know how people can be!".

Conversation began to fade despite a generous serving of wine, prompting Gary to pick up a large serving spoon as a gavel and bang it on a table to call them all to attention. "I've got to lead off, Ladies & Gents by thanking you for coming along here this evening and at this troubled time. I think you'll find it to be worthwhile and it should certainly be to your advantage, both individually and as families, friends and acquaintances"

He was greeted with nods all around and a quietness descending upon them all. He polled the existing community members with his eyebrows and with questioning looks. The conversation then erupted forth, everyone wanting to add their own perspective. It became amazingly friendly as they began to bond together and by the end of a Magnum of champagne left over from the christening of the 'Phoenix' a show of hands sealed the induction of the new members.

As soon as the business was formally concluded everyone agreed to begin packing for the move into the apartment hotel as quickly as possible, prompting a general exodus.

Chris Habel emailed in to say that due to pressure of time and the disintegration of everything falling apart around him, he hadn't done anything to procure horses or sheep, but he had obtained some pigs, cows, goats, rabbits, and chickens and probably that would be enough to satisfy their immediate inventory needs,

Roy Bryant called in to describe a fully operative, working machine shop that he'd discovered. He also dropped the bombshell that he had located a container lifter that could stack full containers three high. Gary was beside himself with appreciation. "Go for it," he said.

He next introduced himself to a cute, short, and very blonde woman of about 30, one of the new inductees twho had to be Heidi. "I'm Gary, Jan's new toy," he grinned at her.

"Hi Gary," Heidi extended her hand. "Jan has been hinting marriage. Congratulations."

"Well, she didn't exactly scream 'Oh, yes, yes, yes' when I broached the subject, but I'll wear her down. I'm hoping that if we are blessed with children they will have her brains and my beauty. My first bunch got it the wrong way around," he broke into a slightly inebriated smile, indicating Eric and Lynn.

"Oh, is Eric your son? I think he's very cute, and very, very smart. I had a chance to talk to him last night, and again briefly this evening."

"So what do you think of our general idea and our planning so far?".

"I'm blown away! I've been cowering at home, totally in shock, unable to think, or even go outdoors. You hear stories of such awful things happening now."

"What kind of stories?"

"Oh, some neighbours were home invaded last week. These thugs smashed their way in to the house and beat up the husband with a baseball bat, tied him up to a chair, taped his mouth shut, and forced him to watch as they defiled his wife.. Apparently it was pretty vicious because they left them both for dead. They didn't take much, stole what jewels and money they could extort from him and then just trashed the place. She died and I expect he would also have succumbed shortly afterwards. "

Just hearing things like that, I'm too frightened to go back home. I'm on my own."

"Whew,' Gary exhaled. "I can see why."

"Is there something I can do here, some kind of work I can help with, so I won't have to go home?"

. "The top priority we have right now is forex related. I am on my way up to Canada tonight to pick up US cash. You recall Jan asking you about that?"

"Yes and I gave her some contact names."

"Is there anything else you could do to smooth our path and make the whole thing go faster and easier?".

"I could phone the guys tomorrow morning and get them started. I could also ask them special favours if necessary."

"Anything you can think of that will get us in and out of Canada with eight to ten million US dollars cash by Thursday evening would be wonderful. We expect to pick up about half in Toronto, and the other half in Montreal. But if it were available in one place that would be even better. We're expecting to pay between $1,200 and $2,000 Canadian per million US. Do you think that is reasonable?" Gary asked.

"Reasonable? US paper is just about worthless now but that'll give them a handling fee I suppose. Yes, I think I could help there."

"Great, anything at all would be appreciated.. "We desperately need to buy many things for the community and all of this has become urgent – like there will be no tomorrow!. The second priority is to save as much of what you have as possible. I'll assign a guard for you so you can go home and pack. Because resources are so short, the community will need simple things like beds, and pots and pans. We will also need information that you as an engineer might have. Any text on any subject, your computer and mathematical skills and equipment, your laser and light knowledge, anything at all – everything can be important. Knowledge is strength, isn't it? We are going into unknown territory and can't possibly guess what might be useful or necessary. I'll get Chris over there to back up a container for you to pack your stuff in. You can hire someone you trust to help you with that".

He eyed her meaningfully. "Get Eric to give you a gun. Okay?"

"Yes," she answered, there was fright in her eyes. "I've never fired a gun in my entire life!"

He let it pass with a shrug."Something else to think about. We need skills and the equipment to use those skills. If you know of any people you would trust your life with in a tight situation, who has initiative, strength of character and the ability to act quickly and positively then let me know and we will investigate them with the idea taking them on board too. "

"Eric will also give you a new cell phone and" he eyed her with great directness. "body armour – a flak jacket and you wear it whenever you venture outdoors. See Lynn regarding gun training. I'll call you tomorrow morning from Toronto regarding things you may have been able to do to expedite the forex deal. Thank you for coming with us." On impulse, he took her hands and squeezed them.

"I think a comment by the journalist Matt Savinar, sums up our current situation well. He said he wouldn't count on technology, the market, brilliant scientists, or government programs, to hold things together and to continue life as we now know it. But he did think we could lead happy, fulfilling lives, even facing the grim situation we are in now, with a lot of hard work, adjusted expectations, and a bit of good luck. I'll see you nearer to the weekend."

He excused himself from the bemused young woman and hurried off to find Patti, stopping only to give Jan a quick kiss and tell her that now she was a member she had better talk to Eric and Lynn and start packing. Lastly, he stopped to update Eric on the rapidly evolving situation..

Patti and Gary gathered gear for the operation, night and day vision monocular scopes, firearms, and large sports equipment gym bags, of which he stuffed two with crumpled newspapers. Not being able to know how much the US dollars would cost, and he wanted to get as much as possible, he took $39,200 Canadian which he split into 4 packets of $9,800 each. , just under their legal limit. They openly carried one packet each and hid the others in their cars. Hoping thay they wouldn't be gsubjected to a thorough search.

As they were driving up to the FEMA National Guard roadblock, there was a large crowd of urban refugees with their bundles and buggies milling about. Patti was ahead. She spoke briefly to the officer, waved something and passed the checkpoint. Gary drove slowly through the crowd, and noticed a bundle of goods spilled at the side of the road, then a bleeding body lying next to it. Off in the distance, there appeared to be several such bundles in a field. He guessed that a group had decided to walk around the checkpoint, had been shot and were left to die where they fell. He pulled up with extreme caution but the guard waved him through. The troops did not notice or seem interested in the large gym bags stuffed with newspapers in the back seat which he had set up as a test of what might happen if they were stopped with a bag of cash later. Anyone with the fuel to drive a car was obviously considered now to be on important business and afforded a degree of respect..

As soon as he was out of sight of the roadblock, he phoned Patti. "What was that all about? How did we get through so easily?"

"I just waved my SEAL identification and said you were with me.

"Chapter 31

Wednesday March 8th — Day 23

While it may be legal to carry large amounts of cash, in today's world it is at least highly suspicious. Despite Gary and Patti's careful planning, if they were discovered, at a minimum they could expect to lose the cash. If they lost their own freedom, the whole plan would be jeopardised. They desperately needed information but they had to be extremely careful as they scouted out for it.

They drove with Patti leading, keeping in touch via their cell phones, and maintaining a five to ten mile gap between ther two cars. If they were successful in being able to trade their Canadian dollars for $US they physically wouldn't be able stow such huge amounts into the trunks. The plan was to put those visible bags of cash on to Gary's back seat. Patti would front run the roadblocks, with nothing extraordinary being visible. relying on being young, female, and pretty, and so more likely able to sweet talk her way through. Gary, being behind, but with visible bags on the seat, would immediately try to exit the highway, or, at a minimum, pull over to review their situation.

About five miles short of the border and customs, they turned off the highway and drove west on a small road, then turned toward the border. Two miles short of it they stopped and parked the cars. Patti took her pistol, went into the trees and buried it. Gary didn't trust his memory in the dark, found a culvert and tossed his plastic wrapped package into one end of it. They sneaked to the border on foot.

Trees had been cut back by about 150 feet on either side of the border. Gary had once been through this particular crossing many years before and vaguely recognised the layout. Local farmers and partygoers were its primary users. On the Canadian side, a farmhouse set back from the road by about a quarter of a mile, doubled as a customs office until nine PM. Other than that, only stern signs on both sides of the border, directing people to the nearest open customs offices were the only hindrance to crossing.

About 75 feet before they would come out into the border clearing they stopped and Patti climbed a tree with her night vision scope. About fifteen minutes later, she was back down. "I think I see a passive camera but other than that it looks like they're relying on the electronic alarms I told you about."

"OK then. I think our plan of playing a dumb, lost tourist is still good. Let's get back to the cars. I don't want to inadvertently set off some alarms and alert them." He shook his head. The 9/11 scare has not tightened up security anywhere except at the official border crossings. Right, the bad guys will pay attention to the stern signs telling them to cross at the official crossing. Standard bureaucratic thinking. As long as the voting public is inconvenienced, the illegal's don't matter. Government is perceived as doing its job.

At the Canadian customs office Gary waited for Patti to clear before he drove up. It took a rather long time. He was growing concerned that they might have triggered something on their little visit to the other crossing point and this one was responding. Although there were not many cars in the line, they all seemed to be moving very slowly. Patti finally cleared, and he waited till she was out of sight before driving up.

The guard asked him the purpose of his visit to Canada.

"I have a bit of business to do."

"What kind of business?"

"I want to arrange some foreign exchange transactions which I can't now do in the US, and see if I can get a flight to Europe."

"Would you get out of the car please and pop open your trunk."

Oh, oh a car search. And I'm carrying nearly $20,000. For the first time, Gary was going to have his car searched at a border crossing. The grilling continued at length although the search was very superficial. The questions seemed directed in a strange way, his background, where he was going, and what he was going to do there. Gradually, Gary realized that this was not related to the visit at the other border crossing point. Besides, they had let Patti go and she would have phoned to tip him off if there had been a real problem.

They didn't seem to be searching for contraband, but he was mystified as to the reason for the extra attention. Usually, the delay was on the return trip at the US customs since the terror attacks of 9/11. 'Best to just go with the flow and not get too curious' he reasoned. Finally, after nearly 30 minutes of grilling they let him go. He and Patti stopped to refuel and have a much-needed coffee at a nearby truck stop where she had waited for him. She told him the Canadian customs officer had said they were on a heightened alert because so many US economic refugees were trying to sneak into Canada.

They reached Toronto just before 10:30 AM. and Gary called Heidi.

She sounded animated and cheerful, a long way from the tremulous Heidi fearing for he life in the confines of her own home.

"Hi, Gary, I contacted Alex Peterson at Brunswick Bank. He will have about six million ready for you by noon. He will also arrange to have his Montreal counterpart pull together whatever he can. The price is $1,400 Canadian per million $US. He also told me that he thinks there will be another indefinite Bank Holiday declared in Canada after today's closing."

"Ah, the tsunami now rolls into Canada," Gary exclaimed. "The Canadian banks have to be in trouble, even if it is because they not only lost a lot on their US dollar positions, but they won't be collecting on their US interbank loans, so they are underwater. The rest of the world is now following the US into liquidation. The world financial system is broken!."

"Yes, but Brunswick is in better shape than most because they own Brunswick McCoy, the precious metals dealer, and they have done well there."

"Heidi, thank you so very much. The community owes you big time for this. I just hope we can repay you somehow. See you later." Gary knew that once he had the bankers onside, virtually anything monetary was possible. Nevertheless, it would be a relief to actually get the cash into his hands, despite the serious difficulty that he still had to somehow get it back home.

The Brunswick building was all glass instead of glass and stone like Premet, but the rotunda was laid out nearly the same with a circular counter for normal banking and a precious metals and foreign exchange counter and offices section, taking up a large portion of the main floor. They were an hour early in arriving but managed to locate Alex Brunswick and Gary introduced himself.

"You're early. We are still counting the cash," Alex said.

"I know, but in view of the impending Bank Holiday, I was worried about getting the Montreal part of the purchase outside the banking system today. I need to know whether I can send an armoured car service for pickup or whether I need to fly down before bank closing." Who do you use as your armoured car service?"

"We use Yenom Transfer primarily. I will find out from my guy in Montreal how he is doing with the order, and ask him about using Yenom."

Gary and Patti had discussed what might happen to her Canadian savings. After agonizing, she decided to buy silver. As Patti turned over the $19,600 Canadian she had smuggled over the border, she also turned over $5,000 Canadian of her own

."Alex thinks there will be an indefinite Bank Holiday declared in Canada tonight, so whatever you do, get on the phone now and tell your family to pull as much cash as possible from the banks today. Empty any accounts you personally may have. It can't cost them very much. If they don't, they'll be like everyone else was in the US. They'll lose it all. They won't even be able to buy any food that is available,"

He purchased nine ounces of silver for Patti, while she called her parents.

Alex came out to tell him that at last his cash was ready. "for what use it might be!"

Gary took one look at the pile of cash and asked Patti to go to the cars and get seven gym bags to carry it in.

He made a rough estimate of the amount that was there and asked, "How much is here?"

"Six million exactly."

That was in the ballpark that Gary had estimated. He doubted Alex would try to cheat him out of a few dollars Canadian.

Alex's assistant poked her head around the door "Jacques in Montreal has four and a half million $US he can scrape up on short notice. I talked to both him and Yenom, and you can pick up anytime after 6PM. Here is the address, contact name, and an identification code to clear the shipment. Yenom's charges will be $300."

Gary tucked the paper away in his wallet. "I was planning on stopping at $10 million, but what the hell, I need something to light my cigars with. I'll take the whole ten and a half million," he grinned. "Actually, I'm very grateful that you took the time and trouble to help me. I owe you a big one. Here's my card. I guess I owe you $14,700 plus $300 for Yenom." He pulled $4,600 out of one of Patti's envelopes and handed the two envelopes over.

"There should be $15,000 left in there. Check it please." She walked over to a bill machine, which soon began to rattle. She nodded to Alex and went out, but was back shortly, escorting Patti with her empty gym bags.

Sixteen thousand uncirculated notes take up almost exactly one cubic foot of space You can get about $1,140,000 of uncirculated $20's into a standard 3 ½ cubic foot, old bank bag, and about 1/3 less of circulated bills. Large hockey-style gym bags vary only slightly in volume and dimensions from old bank bags. They packed the six million into five bags because the mixture of denominations somewhat changed the bulk.

Gary zipped up his bag with difficulty and heaved it off the table. "Ooof, this thing is heavy. May we borrow your trolley for a few minutes?

He was relieved to have the cash finally in hand, but was beginning to worry about transporting it, because they were now alone against the world. He and Patti humped the bags down into the trunks of the cars. While Patti stood guard he returned the trolley and phoned two of the most prominent US banks that had branches in Canada for rates on a US bank draft of over $20 million. He wanted a US based bank to disguise, for a while at least, that he had purchased the US dollars outside the country. After arguments about exchange rates, which he won because he knew he was on firm ground, he nipped over to one of them, about three blocks away, and purchased two bank drafts, one for $20 million, 357 dollars and 23 cents, and another for $5 million exactly. Both were to be made out to the Internal Revenue Service.

He returned to the cars with the drafts safely in pocket and they left to refuel. After swinging by a drive-through burger joint for a quick bite, they were soon on the road back to Montreal, Patti keeping close behind him. Nearing the half way point of Kingston he realised that his attention was beginning to wander dangerously.

'Enough is enough' he thought as fatigue began to roll over him in waves so that his eyes were beginning to go out of focus. 'We have been going at high speed for the last 20 hours straight I'm bushed!' He called Patti.

"We're not going to get to Montreal by five in any case, and I'm falling asleep. The way we have it arranged, we are running almost 24 hours ahead of our expected schedule. Let's pull off in Kingston and get a couple of hours' sleep. We can take the bags into the motel with us. We have a long run to do afterward."

Once shacked up in an indifferent and faintly grimy flophouse of a motel they piled the gym bags of money between the beds. While Patti was showering, he called Lynn to advise her of the accelerated itinerary. She in turn could tell him that they were making progress with the trustees of the second bankrupt hospital.

"We can't have too much in the way of medical equipment. I just wish we had more medical people," he lamented.

"Claude's doctor children are inspecting the Medical Venture Capital hospital now. According to Eric they have some medical people they want to recommend. Claude has been on the phone all morning and seems to have something cooking. I'm ready to take delivery of the pharmaceuticals now that we have a doctor to sign for it." Lynn added.

"Okay, we have six million in our possession now, and expect to pick up another four later this evening. If we can get back to Stamford safely, we have lots of funds. After seeing how far things have deteriorated over here in Canada, I think we can expect more dramatic and disturbing change to occur shortly. Tell Eric I want everyone who needs money to be gathered at the house to pick it up tomorrow morning. I want whatever purchases are possible to be completed and paid for by this weekend and in any case ASAP. I want as much of this $10 million spent as possible. We are likely very short on time.

Is Claude there?".

"No, he's gone off to meet with Bruce Nott, and to look at ships. Heidi is working on her lists, and packing. Jan is packing, too."

He awoke to the phone, reaching groggily for the handset on the wall. As he picked up, he became awake instantly at the sight of Patti sitting up in bed, holding one of the strangest and wickedest looking knives he had ever seen.

"Yes?"

"Your wake up call sir."

"Thank you," he said and hung up, still staring at the knife. "Where the hell did you get that?"

"I have worn it on my arm constantly since I came on duty with you."

"May I see it? I've never seen one like that." She shrugged dismissively, passed it over, to him butt first. The blade, if it could be called that, was a triangular needle of about eight inches in length. It tapered from half-inch at the base, to a needlepoint. Each face of the triangle had been hollow ground along its length to produce three extremely sharp edges.

"It's made of the same steel as the armour plating on an Abrams tank so it's very strong, even where it's thin at the point. It's a specialty, close fighting weapon, designed to slip between ribs and then be wiggled around, cutting internal organs."

"My God, I never even guessed that you had it," he said, carefully handing the knife back to her. "Well, now that I'm thoroughly awake, I guess it is about time to get moving."

They spent half an hour loading the cars, checking out, grabbing a bite to eat, and topping up their fuel tanks before hitting the road once more.

Chapter 32

They picked up the money in Montreal, and started for the border. At the same truck-stop they had used on the way up, they refuelled again and turned west on to a small side road until they found a quiet lay-by where they could stop to empty Patti's car of cash. Using some mud they obscured the state name on Gary's license plate, used a thick marker pen to turn a 3 into an 8, and a 7 into a Z. He grimaced "It'll have to do!"

"Okay, let's get this done! I'll call you when I clear the border,". Gary watched her depart with a little clench of anxiety in his abdomen as he settled in to wait.

He was beginning to fret by the time his mobile at last beeped. "Clear," she said."No problem!".

Gary started his car and maintained a steady speed, just below the state speed limit, driving a bit further west, then turning south toward the border.

Patti's voice came through on the hands-free. "In position," she said.

"I'm a couple of miles away, look out for me and put your hazard flashers on when you see me coming."

He continued to drive at the same sedate speed, ignoring the farmhouse cum customs office, ignoring the US 'Welcome' signs, continuing steadily on until he saw her flashing lights and pulled in behind, switching on his own. They hurriedly moved the cash from Gary's car into hers and retrieved their weapons from where they had lain hidden in the culvert.

They set off again, Gary retracing his route, now in the guise of a tourist who had unknowingly crossed into the US while lost. Once he came to the point where he turned east toward the highway, he stopped and scrubbed at his license plate, a trick that was lame at best but it might confuse the issue if the camera was unable to discriminate between the real and the fake digits.

Approaching the customs offices he beeped Patti. "Entering," and hung up.

His ruse worked. A bored border patrolman waved him through. He beeped Patti again "Clear" and hung up. At the exit to the west he instead turned east, drove nearly a mile, turned and parked. He watched for tails and listened for aircraft for a few minutes until he was certain he wasn't under surveillance then started driving west. He drove until he found Patti and they carefully repacked the cars with the moneybags. Patti departed first and after a few minutes, Gary followed.

They were barely on the road an hour when he received a call from Lynn. She sounded frantic. "Heidi has been kidnapped."

"Hold on. Slow down. What's happened. How do you know that?"

"We heard that potatoes and canned vegetables were in at the shopping centre, so Heidi and I went to get some. On our way out we got separated and I saw her being pushed into a car. I tried to catch up with them, but by the time I got moving they were gone. There was nothing I could do so I came home and called you for help"

"Oh my god, Heidi's worst nightmare come true," Gary burst out. "Listen, call Patti. She's a hostage expert. Wait while I contact her first to alert her, then she'll call you with instructions what to do next. If you don't hear from her in five minutes, call me. I'll call Wayne and they will take over. You call Eric to alert him and he can alert the SEALs. Okay?"

"Yes."

He immediately beeped Patti. "Heidi was taken hostage a bout half an hour ago. Lynn will call you for instructions next. I'll get on to Wayne then you two take command."

"Shit! I'll wait for Lynn to call."

Gary called Wayne and quickly briefed him on all that he knew. "You two are in charge from here on. Anybody that messes with our community will regret it. Don't be afraid to shoot to kill. "he snarled.

"I need their cellphone numbers," Wayne demanded. "I'll keep you informed,"

Gary tried to give his attention to the job at hand, returning to Stamford with his cargo but Heidi's predicament kept running through his mind and 'this is all somehow my fault' screamed at him, blocking out everything else in a kind of dawning horror. 'Somehow I failed to forsee the dangers and how perilous all this had become and now poor innocent little Heidi, caught by mindless thugs by just being in the wrong place at the wrong time!'

She had only been with the community a matter of hours and then this and they were so helpless. There was little that could be done to trace her immediately, unless they had been extremely lucky with the mall security cameras.. They would have had to catch the car and also its plate number to have any chance of giving chase. Anything else was probably futile, even if they threw their entire resources at the problem, something Gary was willing to do if it would help to save her. 'If she isn't already dead, she is likely to be in the process of being sold into sexual slavery, or else it could be a straight hostage to ransom and they would be contacted eventually. For the first time he felt himself to be losing control and falling towards the nightmare of nervous breakdown. His hands were shaking on the wheel and he felt as though he would throw up as he followed the beams of his headlights boring a hole through the blackness of the winter night.

Patti phoned about an hour later. "Cop cars are in the centre median, sitting talking to each other. They are not moving out after me so far as I can tell. There hasn't been an exit from the highway for a long way now and the gps says I'm 26k from the next turnoff" I'm terribly exposed! Looks like I have two choices: pull over, or keep driving. I think an occupied car pulled over is more likely to attract attention than one proceeding normally."

"You're probably right. "Keep on going."

"Any news?" Gary asked.

"Not much. Some of the security cameras were pointed at the doors. Not much coverage on the lot though. We probably have a good chance of seeing the snatch but not much else. Wayne is concentrating on pulling in more detective expertise, so you and I are going to be on the spot in Stamford. Once we see who pulled the snatch, and have faces we can back up and see if they have frequented the mall in the last month. If they have, and we are lucky, we might catch them talking to someone who knows who they are. Finding that someone will be largely a matter of waiting till they show up again. Otherwise it's a matter of pure detective slogging at this point. There are some clues, such as they have a car with fuel, but I don't know where those clues point to as yet."

"Okay you have enough to do without holding my hand. I'll get off line for now."

Just outside Stamford, with Patti having already exited, a patrol car appeared from nowhere, pulled up alongside Gary with all his lights and horns blaring, and motioned him over. As he came to a stop the patrolman climbed out of his car, shielding himself behind the driver's door door with drawn gun. Gary at once raised his arms and walked over, hoping the cop wouldn't be able to see the bags of cash in the back. This seemed to make the cop nervous, because he barked, "Hands on the roof of the car, buddy! Are you carrying weapons?"

"Yes," said Gary exasperatedly. " I carry a pistol for my own protection. If you will calm down, I'll get it out for you to inspect."

"Slowly," said the cop.

Gary reached in, pulled out his pistol from the glove compartment and put it on the roof of the car. Whilst it was perfectly legal for him to carry he nonetheless wasn't going to create an issue unless he had to. 'Give him his bribe and get on with it'.

"On the ground."

"Okay, but I'm not going to drop it. It might go off accidentally, and I don't want to get shot." Gary picked up the pistol, exaggeratedly using two fingers, and laid it on the ground.

"Now back away."

Gary moved to the front of the car. The cop approached with his gun drawn to cover him, scooped up Gary's gun and ordered him back to having his hands on the roof of his car. He then patted Gary down.

"Pretty serious stuff you've got there. Body armour, shoulder holster, and a 40 calibre Glock. You got a carry permit?"

Gary dug it out.

"What're you doing out this late?"

"A group of us have set up a mutual community protection plan. One of the girls was kidnapped last night. We've been running around searching for her all night."

"And you guys decided to arm yourselves and 'git them guys'. Maybe do a little vigilante shooting? This is a job for the police. You stay out of it."

"No," Gary said wearily. "I've been wearing this thing for nearly three weeks, and I have yet to have to pull it. Pulling a gun unless you intend to use it is stupid."

"Anyway, you changed lanes back there without signalling."

"I didn't... Oh, I see. And is it possible to prepay the fine?" he said resignedly.

"Yes. A small donation to the benevolent fund would cover it."

"Twenty bucks I presume. Wait, I'll get it," and Gary knelt down and took off a shoe. Extracting the $20, he handed it over. The cop stood his ground, unmoving..

"May I have my pistol back, please?" Gary asked politely.

"I think I should confiscate it. You look like you plan on taking vigilante action."

"Oh I see. And is there a fine for that too?" Gary asked in exasperation.

"I can probably think of something."

He shook his head, knelt down, took the other shoe off, extracted its $20, and handed it over. He stood up. The cop stood there expectantly.

"What the hell do you want?" Gary exploded. "Do I look like a guy who has millions in my pocket? There's a Bank Holiday on you know. You're taking food from my family. In the meantime you're doing damn-all about a girl whose life, and worse, has been kidnapped and is in mortal danger. Give me my gun so I can go home and get on with handling my problems.."

The cop's eyes narrowed, and then he seemed to reconsider. He took Gary's pistol, jacked its clip empty, handed the weapon back, stalked back to his cruiser and pulled away. Gary found three of the shells, reloaded his pistol with them, and drove on to the exit at Stamford. The phone rang. "Where the hell are you?" Patti demanded

"I got stopped by a cop."

"And?"

"I managed to divert his attention with a little guilt trip about Heidi, and his bribe. Anyway, I'm off the highway, and on my way."

When Gary at last arrived at the house, they backed Patti's car into the garage and unloaded it. He drove his car in, locked the garage, and armed the alarms, entered the house to find a red-eyed Jan and Lynn awaiting him. He gathered them into his arms. Jan said, "Poor Heidi," and began to cry on his shoulder.

Lynn said guiltily, "Dad, it's all my fault. We got separated."

"If it's anybody's fault, it's mine for not giving everyone enough support. What is done is done and it wasn't done intentionally. She's been kidnapped. Now we have to get her back. I want you two to shower and get some sleep so we don't makeany more mistakes. Is Eric at the apartment hotel?"

Both Jan and Lynn protested that they couldn't possibly sleep. 'What did he think they were?'

"You have to sleep for Heidi's sake. There's only one way to win this and that's to think faster than her kidnappers. You can't do that if you are falling asleep or too numb to think straight. You too, Patti! The kidnappers are not likely to call in the next four to five hours, so I'll stand guard over the phones in the unlikely event they do call. You can relieve me in four hours.

Patti, and I'll go down for eight. Lynn, will you show her where Eric's room was? You can sleep there, Patti. I want you absolutely alert."

"Eric took his bed with him," Lynn said.

"Damn," Gary growled. "Patti, you go get showered if you want to. You have been going for about forty hours, with only four hours sleep. Sleep in my bed. I want you to wake Jan and Lynn in six hours. I want you two to take the money and go close that hospital deal. We absolutely need that hospital. Then you can start taking delivery of pharmaceuticals, Lynn."

"But what about Heidi?" Lynn was aghast.

"That is unbelievably callous," Jan said firmly.

"While you have been standing around weeping, Patti, Wayne and the SEALs have been working on this full time. They have done an incredible amount of work. Either Heidi is dead by now, in which case we have some other urgent matters and standing around weeping is not going to help. Or if there are hostage negotiations, they will likely take two or three days. Is that not right Patti?" Gary asked.

"Yes, usually."

"So, either way, you won't help anything by standing around getting in the way. We have some of the finest minds available, with lots of experience, working on this. You need something to divert your mind, and the hospital deal needs to be done. I want you in bed!" he roared.

"Patti. Shower or bed. I want your cell phone."

"Yes Sir." She handed it over and scooted for the bathroom.

Gary went into the office to set up a recording device. As tired as he was, it'd be easy to miss some obvious clues. The tape recorder was old and large, but it was a sophisticated model that had been the top of its range in its day. He had occasionally used it while head hunting if he thought he might want to review a conversation for clues.

Exhausted as he was nonetheless holding the fort while others slept. Moreover they couldn't lose sight of their main goals. Every individual in the community, including him, was dispensable. However he did think that Heidi was smart enough to give her captors reason to believe that she was a valuable piece of merchandise, better alive and well than dead or broken as and raped. A ransom situation was the most highly probable scenario.

Chapter 33

In order to keep active and awake, Gary went out to the garage and brought in the bags of cash. His hands were still faintly trembling but he no longer felt nauseous, simply so overwrought that he was numb with fatigue. He surmised that Heidi would advise her captors that Gary had cash, so they would feel disposed to keep her alive. The major problem then was one of how frightened Heidi would be, and how much she would blurt out under pressure. Would she mention the $10 million, or would she just say lots of money?

He knew that once an exchange was proposed, and assuming at least one side was willing to give a little, ransom money would be delivered to meet their demands. That did not necessarily mean that the hostage would live, or even be released, but their game had to be to keep the kidnappers tense and tired so that they might make mistakes.

As a tentative plan, and for part of any negotiations, he decided that their story would be that most of the money had been seized at the Canada – US border, and that they only had $2½ million left. Then he intended to make up as much as possible of that $2½ million with small bills, rendering it bulky, heavy, and difficult for the kidnappers to transport, let alone count.

Happily, at the bank pick-up points, the bills had been stacked according to denomination. Little mixing of denominations had occurred while packing it in the bags. The job went quickly. A simple calculation showed him that all the fives, tens and twenties totalled $1,980,000. The remainder would come from 208 packs of fifties. He took five bags and placed equal numbers of packets of fives in the bottom of each, tens on top, followed by twenties. Lastly, he scattered the packets of fifties across the top of each bag. In total, the bags weighed about 400 pounds.

Patti's phone rang. 'Patti's line," Gary answered.

"Who's this?" the caller asked suspiciously. He recognized Wayne's voice.

"It's Gary. I ordered everybody to bed to get some sleep, including Patti."

"Well get her. I need her. We're pretty sure we have found Heidi. Either she or one of the kidnappers appears to be moving around a house. Our resolution is only to ten yards, so we can't be sure. I need Patti to plant some listening devices.".

Gary walked into the bedroom and, recalling seeing Patti wake up unexpectedly before, carefully approached her feet. Leaning over he gave one a nudge bringing her instantly alert, fumbling for the dagger that she had obviously taken off. being in more secure surroundings.

"Wayne's calling," he whispered as Jan stirred slightly nearby. "Give me your keys, I'll fuel up your car."

Patti tried to reach for her keys, cover herself, and answer the phone all at once . He noticed how wiry and slim she was, not chunky as she appeared when she was dressed in her gear and body armour. She said into the phone, "One moment," and casting modesty aside got out of bed to retrieve the keys. She grabbed a handful of clothes and went into the bathroom. Gary headed for the garage. Moving his car out, he drove Patti's in and started to pump gas.

Patti came out carrying some things from her kit, looking very fresh and able in her combat gear.

"Is there anything I can provide?" Gary asked.

"I don't think so. I have only till dawn in which to act."

"Where do they think they're holding her?"

"Here in Stamford. I have to go to Wayne's house to pick up some things first,

"Okay. You should have enough fuel then." Gary gave it two more big pumps, removed the nozzle and replaced the gas cap. Patti roared off. Gary returned his car to the garage and fuelled it. After arming the garage alarm again he returned to survey his piles of cash and review his plan.

As he finished moving the packed bags into his car trunk, Jan padded out. "I can't sleep,"

Gary gathered her up in his arms, and kissed her tenderly. "Hi, sweetie. I missed you. You were asleep about an hour and a half. We think they may have found Heidi, or at least one of the kidnappers," Gary said in a low voice.

"Where? Is she okay?" Jan exclaimed, fully awake now.

"Shhhh. Here in Stamford. My best guess is that they somehow used her cell phone to trace her. Beyond that, I can't say," he said, still in a low voice.

"Why didn't you ask?" Jan blazed. "It's the least you could do."

"Listen Jan," Gary said testily but still quietly, "these people are experts. They are busy, busy trying to save Heidi. Being my, or your source of news is way down on the priority list. You know all that I know. If and when they need us, or have time, you will get more information. In the meantime you just have to wait and bite your fingernails, just like everybody else."

"But, I'm worried sick".

"So am I, and so is everybody else. Heidi will be more than worried if they don't get to her in time. She may well be dead! Now go back to bed, and stop waking up the whole house," he hissed. "There won't likely be anything significant happening for a few hours at least."

"I'm going to get a cup of tea," Jan said firmly.

"Will you please keep your voice down," Gary said quietly but with a hard edge in his voice. "Everyone here's exhausted. You're exhausted. I'm exhausted. Lynn is exhausted. If we are exhausted, we will make mistakes and Heidi may die. I can't stay awake much longer and there has to be somebody awake and alert. The longer you stay up, the longer till I can get some sleep. Please go back to bed."

"No. I'm going to have some tea," Jan repeated obstinately. "I'll stay up. I can't sleep anyway. You go to bed."

"Please keep your voice down. Please." Gary then considered. He wasn't expecting much action for the next few hours; maybe he should get some sleep. Jan had had some rest, so maybe she could stay up. There was no one else to relieve him with Patti gone. "Can you stay awake for sure?" he asked.

"Yes. I haven't been able to sleep a wink."

"Okay if the phone rings, before anything else, you must push this 'record' button here on the recorder. No matter where you are in the house, get back here and start the recorder. You should get a light like this. Then you yell for me. If the phone has not rung four times wait till it does. Then answer it, but be sure I'm awake, no matter what. In any case, don't let me sleep more than an hour and a half. Okay?".

"Okay."

He walked into the bedroom, sat down on the bed, and then sank back, asleep before he got his shoes off.

He awoke thinking he had heard the phone ring. It was strong daylight, and it shouldn't have been. He shot out of the bedroom. Jan was curled up in the living room easy chair and was talking on the phone. Gary bolted for the office. "Who is it?" he asked urgently. He mashed down the "record" button on the recorder.

Back at the office door he repeated, "Who is it?"

Jan made shushing motions at him.

"Is it the kidnappers?" he demanded.

Jan ignored him, and hung up saying, "Okay, we will do that."

"Was that the kidnappers?"

"Yes, it was!.

"Oh Jesus. What did you tell them?"

"That we would drop the $10 million in a dumpster behind the Orion Company."

"When?" Gary demanded.

"Right away I guess," Jan shrugged.

"And where is the Orion Company?"

"I don't know. We'll have to look it up." Jan shrugged again.

"What about Heidi? Is she okay?"

"What about Heidi? Once they have the money, they have to let her go."

"Once they have the money, they are free to kill their principal witness. I will have to get Wayne to debrief you. Why didn't you wake me up?"

Jan slowly unwound herself from the chair, obviously stiff from having slept in it. "I fell asleep. I'm going to shower."

"We have to brief Wayne first."

"Leave me alone. I'm feeling grumpy," Jan said. "I'm going to shower."

"Jan," Gary said, stepping in front of her. "Heidi's life is at stake. We are going to talk to Wayne first."

"I just arranged to have her freed. Besides, you already know where Heidi is. All you have to do is go and pick her up," she said, obstinately stepping around him.

"If it were that easy or that certain, why are we paying $10 million ransom? Why have people been worrying and working day and night to rescue Her? Why didn't you record the conversation like I asked? Why did you agree right away to do what the kidnappers asked? We have to delay. And we must know that Heidi is alive and well. Right now every second counts if we are to rescue Her. Kidnappers often kill hostages because the hostage can identify them. Please come and talk to Wayne now," Gary begged.

"No, I'm going to shower," she said stubbornly. "It'll only take a minute."

Gary glared at her, eyeball to eyeball, and finally said, "I hope Heidi doesn't have many more good friends like you." and stalked off to the office. He was in a bind. Now that Jan was a core member, they couldn't afford to antagonize her because she had too much dangerous information, but he was so angry he was certainly ready to dump her as a potential wife.

He dialled Wayne.

"Wayne, I or we, have a major problem. After Patti left, there was nobody to relieve me. When Jan woke up and refused to go back to sleep, I decided to get an hour's sleep. She was supposed to wake me but fell asleep too. I woke up to find her talking to the kidnappers, and giving away the farm. I think I managed to get a wee bit of the conversation on tape, but just the last few words. Apparently we are to deliver ten million at an unknown time, to quote Jan 'right away I guess', to an Orion Company dumpster, address unknown. I don't even have any assurance Heidi is okay".

Wayne was silent for a minute. "We're fairly sure it is Heidi in that house. We also think she knows one of the kidnappers personally, probably quite well, although judging from what we hear she is indeed a hostage. How well do you know her?"

"Not well at all. It's Jan I don't understand. She's hurting her friend, herself, and us, all for sheer bloody mindedness as far as I can tell. Maybe she gets an impulsive stubborn streak when she's tired, or in the wrong, I don't know," he lamented.

"Patti is on the scene at the house. We have the place wired for sound. I have five SEALs in full gear and Eric on their way. If some kidnappers leave we will pick them off piecemeal. One, obviously the telephone caller has just come back. He's the one with Heidi's cell phone. We were able to trace him when he was making the call, although we didn't know what he was doing, because we can't do anything but get a location. We believe there are five males plus one female and Heidi in the house. Where is the Orion Company?"

Gary looked up the address. "The only one I see is at 36 Lombard. That's over by the Woodland cemetery, near State Street. It's a built up area, not deserted."

"The kidnappers should be putting a lookout near the dumpster soon. We will check whether one or more leave. In the meantime pack the car. You don't actually need the $10 million but you do need a lot of cash," Wayne said. "In the meantime I'll detach one SEAL and send him there."

"I had been planning on offering $2½ million. I pretty well filled five large gym bags with small bills, total weight about 400 pounds," Gary informed him.

"Sounds right to me," Wayne said. "I doubt they'll have time to count it anyway."

Gary played the tape he had and his original premise was correct. There was little information of value.

Jan came in looking more refreshed, and said, "See, that didn't take long."

He scowled at her, thinking, Yes, but consciously or not, you have had time to embellish your story so you look better. We needed the truth, no matter how good or bad, not the embellished story. Aloud he said, "Wayne, Jan has just come in from showering. I'll let you debrief her." He handed over the phone, and left in disgust for the bathroom., then threw up in the washbasin as the knot in his stomach finally let go.

Almost before he had recovered some sort of composure, swilled his mouth out and washed his face, Chris Habel and Roy Bryant showed up at the door. He threw a robe over his shoulders and joined them.

Chris handed over the previous day's receipts. He said sales were slowing because fuel was now over $75 a gallon and his punters were running out of dollars. Gary asked that he then devote all his free time to purchasing things for the community and attend to his personal packing. He also asked both of them to try to complete all purchases by the end of the day. Packing and loading of containers was to take place as soon as possible, preferably tomorrow. They were to hire whatever help they needed.

Roy Bryant knew pretty much what he wanted and had just come for enough money to get on with the job. He gave half a million to each and urged them to pick up any spare parts they could get their hands on.

After they had departed, Lynn came up and Jan served breakfast which Gary gulped down, ignoring her and barely tasting his food. He was dizzy with fatigue and stress, feeling that he was barely holding himself together. He doled out $800,000 from his hoard to finalize their hospital deal and to begin purchasing pharmaceuticals. Delivery was to be immediate. He next called Wolfgang on his cell and asked him to come over and pick up some money that was now owed to him. Wolfgang said he would come immediately since he was actually on his way to work.

He showed Lynn where the remaining money was, and asked her to leave a note saying how much she had taken if she needed any. He also told her that Wolfgang would be in, and to give him $100,000, and Gary would explain later.

That instruction turned out to be very prophetic. Wayne called to say at least one person had left the house after discussions on picking up the ransom. He urged Gary to get underway soonest and said the SEAL would be in position before he arrived at the dumpster. The kidnapper would be allowed to see the cash, and hopefully ask for help moving the large bags, but would not yet be allowed to take it back with him.

Gary drove over, found Lombard Street, and then number 36. He checked closely that it was the Orion Company and went around back. Sure enough, there was a tall orange dumpster. He started pulling the bags out of the car, and found he could not get the heavy bags over the top of it. He tried to open the end gates of the dumpster but could not. Finally he moved the car over to it and piled the bags on the hood of the car. By then standing on it himself, with one foot on the dumpster rail, he was able to heave the bags into it one by one. All the while he was covertly looking for the SEAL but could not locate him, praying that someone was in place and covering the scene.

Given the difficulty he was having getting the bags into the dumpster, he noted that the kidnappers would have even more of a problem problem getting them out again. One person would not be able to. There was nothing much to stand on inside the dumpster except the moneybags themselves.

Gary immediately drove away. He passed a car on the street whose driver seemed to watch him closely. He drove on for quite some distance until he was sure he was out of sight and he had no tail, before doubling back. He parked about four blocks away, and called Wayne to report.

"It's working like a charm!" Wayne chuckled. "The guy in the dumpster's gotten stuck inside it and wants help. The SEAL on site can hear him trying to get out and crying. He has verified that there's cash in the bags and hey are sending two more men to help him. Stay where you are,"

He slumped back into his seat and instantly fell asleep as the tension fell off him.

Gary awoke to the beep of his cellphone.

"Okay it's all over. Heidi is safe. You can go and get the money. The SEAL is there. His name is Matt,"

"Thank you Wayne. The SEALs have been awesome," Gary said simply. "Absolutely awesome. There is no other word."

He called Lynn, and passed the news on to her and Jan. He then called Claude, Bruce, Chris and Roy for the same reason before going to the scene and the orange dumpster. Tall, gangly Matt was sitting with his back against it, watching the new arrival alertly. Discounting his perfectly clipped moustache and army cut hair, he looked more like an accountant than a SEAL.

"Hi Matt. I am Gary Alden. I presume Wayne said to expect me."

Matt relaxed infinitesimally and said, "Yep. Let's get that money and get out of here. I don't want no neighbours investigating!"

Gary drove up beside the dumpster, and then noticed a body lying by the corner. As he got out, staring at the body, Matt said, "They had a ladder. I'll get it," and went around the dumpster to reappear with an aluminum ladder, put it up the side, and sitting on the edge, swung the ladder over to place it within. Gary climbed on to the hood of the car to peer inside. At one end were two more bodies. Matt was ignoring them, just getting the moneybags ready to bring out. He glanced up, saw that he was in the right position and started up the ladder to hoist one bag over for Gary to set down on the hood, with the others following in quick succession.

Sitting on the top of the dumpster Matt swung the ladder back out while Gary started loading the moneybags back into the car. Matt lastly took the ladder around to the end of the dumpster where the body lay, and set it up. Struggling, he hoisted the body on to his shoulder in a fireman's carry, slowly mounted the ladder, and dumped the body into the dumpster. Gary watched horrified as Matt climbed back down, dusted off the palms of his hands, grinned and said, "Ready to go?"

Gary went over, repositioned the ladder at the side of the dumpster and climbed up. Swinging the ladder over he climbed down inside. Since rigor-mortis had yet to set in he was able to straighten out the bodies and close their eyes and mouths. Then he climbed out. Matt, who had climbed up the side of the dumpster to look, shook his head, climbed down and said. "They're dead. They don't care anymore."

Gary stumbled back to his car, feeling faint with exhaustion again, said, "Follow me back to the house," and wearily drove away.
Chapter 34

The atmosphere at the house became euphoric when Heidi, the SEALs and Eric came in. Jan and Lynn both hugged Heidi. Lynn was crying tears of guilty relief. Jan smiled but appeared distant and largely unemotional. 'Does she not understand the ramifications of her actions, or is she feeling guilty, or is she simply not affected?' Claude arrived and even he was moved. Everybody but Gary was grinning like Cheshire cats.

He was still angry about Jan's actions on the phone. She was supposed to be smart. Surely she would have at least asked how the exchange was to be made or gotten the Orion address. It had been the blindest good fortune that they had been able to rescue Heidi.

Gary gave Heidi a big hug and a paternal smile and, when she started to thank him, told her that it was all the fault of the SEALs. But that Eric, Wayne, and Patti in particular had played a big part in Heidi's release. He turned to Patti and said, "As soon as you are ready, take the blanket down to Lynn's bed and crash. You have been up for far too long. I'm concerned about you."

Patti said, "Okay, but I'm still on a high. Later."

Heidi started her story. "I got grabbed by these guys and couldn't do anything. They lifted me up and ran to the car. I was terrified. They started driving and one guy wanted to rape me. Then I realized I knew one of the guys. His name was Chuck and he was on my list of computer geeks to consider recruiting. I guess he realized about the same time as I did because he wouldn't let the other guy touch me. At first I was terribly relieved."

"I talked to Chuck and he seemed friendly so I poured on the charm. I asked him if they had a plan, and he said, not really, they just wanted to get some money to get some guns to protect themselves. I said that they had to make a plan and that Gary had lots of money. I told Chuck I was your girlfriend Gary, so he would believe you would pay ransom. Then I made a mistake and mentioned ten million and their goals went from getting enough money to get guns to pure greed. I realized then that I might get killed as a witness. But they did try to keep me alive and well and the talk of rape stopped," Heidi said,her voice still shaky with emotion.

"Smart thinking," Gary interjected.

Heidi continued, "After they got my cell phone they decided to use it to call you to demand the money. I expected it to be a slow process but Chuck came back all excited. They were going to get their ransom money right away. Chuck left to do the pickup, and a guy named Bill, who I was afraid of, started guarding me. He was looking at me in a really creepy way. Then we got a call from Chuck. He had bags and bags of money but was trapped in the dumpster. He was worried that they had so much that even if they got it out of the dumpster they wouldn't be able to handle it all.

"Bill was obviously of the opinion that I should be killed because he started making rape first comments. They went into a huddle, and the guy who first wanted to rape me and Creepy Bill decided to go to the dumpster to rescue Chuck along with the money. About half an hour later there were some huge explosions, the doors burst open, and there was shooting and dead bodies everywhere. I was so stunned I just sat there. Guys running all over yelling 'clear' and then it all stopped. My ears are still ringing! Patti came up to me and said 'It's all over. You can come home now'. I cried like a baby. I couldn't even stand up. I kept asking, 'How did you find me, How did you find me?' I still haven't found out. How did you find me?"

Patti said, "When Eric bought your cell phone, he thought to put an APP on it they call assisted GPS, which allows the cell phone to be queried as to its location in emergencies.. He had it installed on every phone he bought. It took us a while to get organized but once Eric told us about the assisted GPS we were able to locate your cell within minutes. That did not necessarily mean you were where your phone was, so just before dawn, we attached microphones to the windows to hear what was going on inside."

Gary interrupted, "Just before dawn, with no sleep for days, Patti installed listening devices?"

Patti flashed Gary a faintly embarrassed look and continued. "Once we knew you were there it was just a matter of timing to separate as many of them from you as possible so you wouldn't get harmed. A relatively easy operation against amateurs."

Heidi walked over to Patti and hugged her. "Thank you so much. I'll never be able to repay you." Then she walked over to Eric and grabbed him by the ears, and kissed him full on the lips. "You are one smart guy," she said. Eric looked stunned. Then she went around to each of the SEALs in turn hugging them and thanking them too.

Gary pulled some frozen dishes out of the fridge and started defrosting them. He asked, "Anybody hungry?"

The SEALs, almost in unison declared they were starved, and Heidi said, "Yes, they didn't have any food. Thank you so much." She took a breath and declared, "After going through this I'll never be frightened of anything or anyone ever again!" then burst into tears and slumped into the nearest chair

There was a general stampede toward the kitchen while Eric went to her comfort and they were left wrapped up in each other in a life-affirming way. Gary eventually drifted off toward the office because he simply couldn't eat a thing, he was all choked up inside and beginning to shake again with reaction. Claude came over and said, "That was textbook rescue yet you don't look happy?"

Gary heaved a big sigh. "Well, I'm pissed off with Jan for starters. Then, I know that's why we wanted them in the first place, but these SEALs scare me. They kill but not for pleasure. They seem totally emotionless about it. The guy who job is to kill animals in a slaughterhouse comes to mind. It is a job and nothing to get excited about one way or another. Once the target is killed they have no emotion about what remains either. If it's in the way they move it in the most efficient way possible. We wanted this but I wonder if we should have thought more about what we were wishing for. I think we got it. Now that we have it I'm not sure that was such a good wish, despite the fact that they will raise the probability of success for the community."

"You've never seen somebody killed before?" Claude queried.

"Well I've never been part of somebody being murdered before anyway."

"They have different world, a world that the whole country is gravitating towards. We thank our lucky stars we have them. You're having a common reaction to violent death. It's a shock to your system. Maybe you need a drink" He magicked a hip-flask from his coveralls, unscrewed the cap and put into Gary's hand.

"It wasn't the death. I admit, I wondered if all these deaths were necessary, but I wasn't going to try to second-guess the guy on the spot. The two bodies in the dumpster did not bother me, nor the one outside. Then Matt picked him up and just dumped him inside like so much garbage. He even dusted his hands afterwards!. The way he did it got to me.. I thought it should have a bit more dignity associated with it," Gary said despondently. "I don't know what I wanted him to do, but if he'd even said 'Sorry, Old Bean' before he dumped the body it would have been okay. With me"

"I think you are suffering from shock from the killings. Give yourself some time." Claude shrugged. "In any case we have 343 containers aboard ship. That's a near maximum load. I have my eye on two other ships, a 24,000 ton and a 17,000 tonner."

"That's fantastic. You are awesome Claude," Gary exclaimed, suddenly, almost hysterically elated. "So what kind of deals are they looking for?"

"They are both owned by two canny brothers," Claude replied. "They want two million per ship plus 5,000 ounces of silver each. They seem to know there aren't many empty, quality ships available here."

"I take it the silver is under the table?"

"Yes, they seem to know the value of the US dollar. I think they want the dollars so they can straighten out their books, and silver's for the real purchase price. Pay off everything so they can't be sued or charged and then take their profits outside the system."

"That 10,000 ounces is currently worth about one-point seven million in Euros, or $7 billion $US!. Are the ships fuelled?" Gary asked. "We have to get the Phoenix out of US waters but we have also got to make sure we have transport for our people. That was the primary purpose in the first place. I never expected to have a shipload of products crowding out the people coming on board."

"Not much fuel I am told. Thousand miles range at best."

"Do you have any ideas? How many buyers are out there anyway? I would imagine we could get fuel if we have to. They probably could too."

"I thought you might have silver. I didn't know how much or whether you would be willing to part with it," Claude said. "I doubt there are many other buyers for ships right now, particularly within the USA given that they've just gone bnkrupt."

"I have both silver and gold available but I judge that it's still way too early to part with it except for very high priority items like these ships. I have parted with some to Wayne as he spent his own money on the SEALs that aided you in Singapore. Actually he doesn't have it yet, I just brought it here for him. Which brings to mind, how much do I owe you and what kind of 'currency' do you want to be given.?"

"I did have a few things. I had tests to run on cargo, supplies and fuel, and they don't take dollars. I never thought of that when I left. I spent various currencies, Singapore dollars, Hong Kong dollars, Euros, Probably 100,000 Euros or equivalent in total."

"So how do you want to be paid? I do have some currencies hidden away in Switzerland. . Or, I can pay you in silver or gold. We have a recent quote in Swiss francs that I used for Wayne,"

Garry nodded in agreement. "I think Wayne's idea is good. Silver, it is then.."

"Okay, as of Monday, silver was selling on the open market at 171 Euros per ounce." Gary dug out his tablet. "100,000 divided by 171 equals 585 ounces, say 700 ounces to include 'good faith'. I will dig it out of what I have available here later on today. I suppose if we were really desperate, I could go along with four million, and 10,000 ounces of silver, providing the ships were fuelled and ready to go. But, I think they are in a bind too, because it is unlikely there are any other buyers, and that price is way up high so they might accept significantly less."

"I think so too. Do you have any objection to that type of horsetrading?"

"No. It seems to be a good method, but I would put the price of the ships more in the order of two million cash and maybe up to one thousand ounces of silver total. Before the crash, I calculated that, based on the prices everything was selling at then, an ounce of silver should have a purchasing power of $1-2,000. I'm not really interested in trading much silver for less than that. Say make the 'ballpark figure $1500'." Gary shrugged.

Lynn walked by the office door and he called out to her.

"Did Wolfgang pick up his cash?"

"Yes, and I said you would call him.

He turned back to Claude. "I have been thinking about a shipping broker I know for membership, named Wolfgang Perl," forgetting that Wolfgang had recommended Claude in the first place.

"Oh, I've known him for years. Strange story. He was a farm boy from a dirt-poor ranch. Then he somehow got into the air force. He trained in woodcraft to repair the old airplanes, just as they were being phased out. Those old WW II fighters even used spruce wood for spars in their wings. Somehow he became one of those guys that, if you wanted something you went to him and in couple of days whatever it was you wanted would magically appear! When he eventually got out of the air force, he bummed around for a while, winding up in Argentina handling sheep and then buying wool for one of the British houses. Eventually, he tired of that and landed here in New York working for a shipping broker. Then one day he got into an argument with his boss and left to start up his own company."

"What do you think of him though? Would he make a good community member?"

Claude leaned forward pensively. "I'd say so. He's versatile, along with the flip side of that he likes new mental challenges. Too long at one thing and he get bored. He's really smart although sometimes you wouldn't think so. Doesn't seem to have initiative to start things. He needs somebody to push him in a direction before he will act, then when he does take on something he's very good at it."

"So if we were to say to him we need 'X', go out and find it, he would likely do a good job at finding 'X'?" Gary asked.

"Look at his Air Force record. That's what he was famous for."

"Maybe we ought to have him looking for your ship's fuel then."

"That's a very good idea, he would make an excellent ship's chandler. Especially if he was community member." Claude added reflectively.

"How about Bruce Nott and his crew? Are they all to be recommended for membership?"

"Yes, I selected them with that in mind."

Gary leaned back with a satisfied nod of his head. "Okay. Let's get a meeting going for Saturday or Sunday at the apartment hotel to view some candidates and I will include Wolfgang too. At the same time could you contact your kids and get their nominees lined up? Does scheduling it for Sunday afternoon about two sound good?"

"Good as any other," Claude responded. "If you have Wolfgang's number I think I'll call him about the fuel situation as well."

Gary blinked and flipped open his tablet. "I have to call him too. Let's go do that now. Only before we do, I wanted to say also that it's about time you had a bodyguard yourself and I was going to suggest Jim?"

"Claude raised his eyebrows. If you think so then maybe I should. It would be a new experience for me!"

Gary called Wolfgang, Aboutbout the payment you picked up."

"What's wrong, Gary?"

"Nothing except it may not be enough. We got unbelievable amounts of merchandise for one million and I'm not sure that payment is fair. It was the magic of the number a million dollars that confused them."

"We agreed on two percent as the finders fee. One hundred thousand is ten percent of one million. I owe you $80,000,"

"If you knew how many containers we got you wouldn't be saying that," Gary said. "Okay I'll want you to understand by knowing what we got before we settle this one way or another. I also wanted to talk to you about a couple of other things. First, we expect the US dollars you are holding to drop dramatically in value so spend anything you can for real goods as quickly as possible. Okay?"

"I certainly have lots of places to spend money," Wolfgang laughed.

"Okay today or tomorrow is best. Next, I was hoping we might get you to do some other things with us, and toward that end, I'm calling a meeting on Sunday at two PM at an apartment hotel we are taking over for security purposes. We want everybody to briefly meet everybody else in the gang. We'll be explaining more during the meeting but the idea is to assess as many new people as possible to see whether you would feel comfortable working closely with them over a long period of time."

"Should I bring my wife?"

"By all means. Do you have children?"

"Yes I got started late in life and I have two teenagers."

"I suppose we could find somewhere for them. Is there any TV still running?" Gary asked. "I haven't had time to notice if even newspapers are coming out."

"Yes to TV. There are a couple of channels open and . AL-Jazeera is one of them. No to newspapers but the NYT online is still live when the internet is up - which is only intermittent now unfortunately."

"Good. They can watch that then!

The last thing I wanted to talk about was the type of work we see you doing with us. I'm presuming that your usual business is down to near zero?"

"You're bloody right about that, Mon. What were you thinking of having me do?"

"Well your first assignment should you choose to accept it," Gary grinned, "is to spend some money quickly for some marine diesel and heavy fuel oil to be delivered here in New York, hopefully tomorrow. Latest Saturday. I'll likely be out of the country by Sunday, so I'm turning this all over to Claude D'Antonio and you link to him in my stead.. Ships are his area of expertise anyway so he will be in overall charge of our operations."

"Oh, I have known Claude for years."

"Well, that's excellent then. I would like you to think how you might be compensated for successful completion and let me know." Gary slid his tablet across to Claude and left to see whether Patti was still up.

He found her in animated conversation with Jan and Lynn. He was still disgusted and angry with Jan but he was also afraid to antagonize her in front of his daughter and, now, of course, Patti, lest she turn vindictive and everything blow up in his face. He was keeping as much distance from her as possible because he didn't want to accidentally burst out in the anger that he still felt simmering below the surface.. He said, "After this morning, neither of you are going anywhere without a body-guard. Period. Patti, do you think Wayne might still be awake?"

"Yes, I just talked to him."

"Good, I'll call him right away. Would you bring Heidi and come into the office please?" . Lynn did you get your hospital deal done?"

She smiled, evidently pleased with herself. "Yes, it's done and paid for. The doctors are supervising the packing. We sent some containers over there,".

"Fantastic" He beamed his approval of his daughter.. "I'm sure we will really have need of that hospital! Can you have Chris store the full containers at the hangar and the same with any pharmaceuticals you may have been able to line up. Get Roy Bryant on the business of helping dismantle the equipment. And can you see that everything is paid for and delivered by the weekend."

"Yes, oh my Father! and we may have the second hospital as well by tomorrow."

"Even more fantastic. You two are doing brilliantly!. Do you feel more comfortable with these kind of deals now?"

"We're gaining in self-confidence, but I would have messed it up without Jan being along. She's great in negotiations."

"Humph!" He cleared his throat. "You and Jan work that out together then. We are having another 'meet the prospective new members' get together on Sunday at the apartment hotel . They are coming on thick and fast as we get more people involved in recruiting. Listen Lynn! Starting in about an hour I'll be sleeping. I suggest everybody else get a good night's sleep too," He kissed her, waved distantly towards Jan who pulled a face back at him, suppressed annoyance in her eyes, and headed for the office. Patti followed. Gary called Wayne, and then Eric to conference him in, and put them on the speakerphone.

"Wayne, it is Gary. I have Claude, Lynn, Eric, and Patti here for a conference. I am presuming you will need money especially since we want to get it spent by the weekend. That means that someone trusted has to bring it down, starting in a few hours time. Claude's about to go out negotiating, and I think maybe Jim or someone should accompany him. Eric has no big need as far as I know. While I have us all together and awake what does everybody have to say?"

Wayne asked, "How much money can you let me have?"

"Four million dollars, plus or minus. We recovered all the money this morning."

"Eric, how are your operations going?".

"Pretty good," Eric said. "Your plan to offer the tenants of the apartment hotel $1,000 cash to move out quickly, plus free transport within a forty mile radius, is working like gangbusters. We have the third floor cleared, most of the second, and a couple gone from the first. The chain link fence and gates are all installed. We're not getting much resistance. I don't need three SEALs."

"Good we have five there, plus Patti, and I have recruited five, so that's about our agreed quota fulfilled" Wayne said. "You might as well detach Jim to guard Claude, and Matt could start to Langley to carry the cash."

Gary said, "How about fuel? Does Matt need to bring fuel?"

"Not really. He might bring an extra jerry can or two if there is room but I think I can get whatever I need. The soldier boys down here going without their pay has ensured they're willing to sell their own fucking grandmothers if the price is right."

"Wayne, that was a superb job by you, Eric, and the SEALs. I can't thank you enough!. Matt should arrive tomorrow morning. See if you can spend four million in a day." Gary said and hung up. "Patti, do you know if Jim is reasonably rested?"

"About the same as everybody else. He'll be good for a few more hours without falling over."

"Make sure he is volunteering for this, brief him, and get him over here so Claude can get going. "Can you send somebody else in here next - I have a short side trip for them." Turning to Claude, he said, "How are we going to crew these extra ships that Wayne seems to be buying?"

"I'll work on that," Claude said wearily. "I already have to worry about crewing our two new acquisions."

"Well, they're navy SEALs after all. There should be some relief there. Wayne seems to have had this in the works, so he may already have thought of a solution."

Gary spent the next few frustrating minutes fuming impotently over the phone until he got through to a security guard at the IRS, about the only person there answering his phone. Even in government, few employees were by now going in to work and that most likely out of habit or a kind of blind faith that they would be paid at the end of the month. He took directions from him as to how he could get a signature for documentation delivered, photocopied everything and had a SEAL run over with the bank drafts he had obtained in Toronto.

Satisfied with another of his super-cautious preparations, he went with Matt to fuel Matt's car and get him underway. Claude shooed everybody out of the office and began phoning, recruiting yet more crew and looking for fuel.

Gary asked Lynn if she or Jan could phone around and try to find some mattresses, beds, and linens because of the sleeping situation. He looked at them looking at him, red eyed with fatigue and nodded. The showers were no longer working as the mains water pressure had dropped too low so he just threw off his trousers and fleece jacket , lay on a bunk and was instantly asleep..
Chapter 35

Thursday night, March 9th — Day 24

Gry awoke at 8PM, still stiff, but thinking about the crewing of the various ships. Jan was asleep beside him. He slipped on a robe and padded out to the living room. Patti was sleeping in Eric's old room. Lynn must have found some beds. He noticed that the lights in the house next door were ablaze and some sort of meeting or party was going on at the Gibson's. Unusual.

Gary had chatted with Brian Gibson and his wife Ana of course, but they were a quiet couple that tended to keep to themselves. Brian was some kind of librarian and looked the part, heavy glasses and slightly balding. Ana was a simple oriental beauty from the Philippines but looked as if there might be some Chinese in her background. She was a horticulturist teaching at the university. Gary often wondered how Brian had managed to snare such a good-looking woman. Maybe because Brian's hobby was breeding unusual plants, and their yard both front and back, was always a marvel. They had two attractive but shy daughters in their mid teens.

In his office the answering machine blinked at him. Claude had left a message to call as soon as he was awake. Gary didn't like calling with everyone so tired but decided that Claude must have thought it important. Claude sounded a bit out of breath and Gary could hear sounds in the background. "Hi Claude. You packing?"

"Yeah. Got crew in. I wanted to tell you we sign for ships tomorrow. Two million dollars plus 1,000 ounces of silver. We'll have enough fuel to move the ships, load them, and then get into international waters in case Wolfgang doesn't come up with some fuel. We wait for Wayne's fuel tender there."

"Well, it sure looks as if that military stuff could be useful."

Claude hmmmed. "I'm not sure destroyer was best idea. It chews through fuel at rate only government could afford. At cruising speed, the Queen Elizabeth liner gets about 12 feet per gallon. If that destroyer is at battle speed, won't get more than 14 or 15 feet per gallon, despite being much smaller. It uses brute force for that additional speed. Hull design doesn't help fuel consumption after certain point. Loafing along probably will double that."

"My god, I had no idea. Feet per gallon?" Gary exclaimed, and paused. "Still if the world reverts to what I think it might, somewhere along the line we will have to fight for our lives. It would be nice to have the tools to do so. Every coin has two sides," he grimaced. "Anyway it sounds as if we may have got her for $1,500 Canadian so we can scuttle her without great cost. She does make good protection for the rest of the fleet. Another negative is that the navy might get somewhat upset with their destroyer floating off without authorization and shoot back first."

"Wayne doesn't seem to think that will be problem. He's there. I assume he knows."

"Aside from fuel considerations do you see any other negatives?"

"I see one," Claude said reflectively. "If guy has gun he tends to think of solutions to problems in terms of guns. If two guys with guns facing each other, the possibility of solving problem in imaginative other ways goes down very much."

"True enough, but without minimizing that aspect, I do think we have to add, 'in normal times'. I doubt that most of the population is now completely rational. If the other guy doesn't have a gun it's not likely that any amount of rational thinking will save him," Gary countered.

"You asked me for negative. I think I gave you valid one. The SEALs have been trained that any problem they are handed is solved using force either defensive or offensive. That was case in our world till recently. They were never handed problem unless other avenues were not productive. They were trained specialists in application of force. Part of training will have to be undone or controlled. They must become more generalist. They must apply force if that is the only alternative."

"You have just put into words some of the things I have been feeling. These guys make me uneasy. I doubt there was another way but they killed everyone in the kidnapper organization as a matter of course. That was an assumed conclusion. I didn't help by saying 'anyone who messes with the community will regret it.' We'll definitely have to institute some controls and redirecting of goals, or they will be a great danger to the community. Imaginative thinking will have to take first place." Gary grimaced again.

"In fact we have the same problem throughout the community. Our age is one of specialists. We have been getting as many skills as possible, but really, we have little room for 'one shot' specialists. The whole community must be generalists each of which has one or more special skills. We are too small to be otherwise. This will take some serious thinking and I'd like to talk to you later on this subject." Gary paused. "Getting back to our more immediate problems, can I be of assistance to you in recruiting ship's crews? Do you have a list of people you would like to get but have not reached yet?"

"Yes I do." I'll email the details to you now.. Claude offered the information that he was moving into the hotel Saturday and some of his children were moving in tomorrow. His own packing was nearly done. The stripping of the Hospital was coming along well since a large crew recommended by Roy Bryant had been hired to pack.

"Are most of Bruce Nott's crew moving their families on to the Phoenix between now and Saturday too?" Gary asked.

"As far as I know."

"What about supplies for the two new ships?"

"We get whatever is there but won't be much," Claude responded. "We may be able to rob a bit from Bruce's ship."

"Do I need to get more money down for Bruce or whoever the captain of the next ship will be?"

"No. For first hours I will be captain of new ships. I'll take some money for ship's safe. We'll have about 150 containers to load at the container facility. I have minimum crew for one ship and captain and a couple of crew for the other. Captain is one of the guys on your original list. I can get him to do recruiting if he joins our community."

"I was wondering if we could get supplies in Canada," Gary mused. "I have some cash in Zurich. I could either deposit it there or try to bring some back. Would they take a bank draft drawn on a Swiss bank or maybe they have an account there that we could deposit to?"

"Canada might be a good idea. I'll check right away."

Gary went in to dress and when he came out the phone was ringing. It was Claude again. "We can get whatever we want in Canada including fuel. All we have to do is get to Halifax. They have account in Zurich. You'll be able to deposit directly to it. What did you do with Wayne's silver?"

"It's here in the office. He hasn't been in the city to take delivery," Gary replied. "However, Eric has picked up two or three safes from clunker cars we were using to hide things in. We'll give you one of those. So I have to go to Zurich eh? I'll do that Sunday."

"Leave my silver where it is. I won't have any place to keep it at a hotel anyway."

He separated Claude's two million dollars and 1,000 ounces of silver out into bags. Lastly, he made preparation to head hunt for Claude the following morning.

Friday March 10th And Saturday March 11th

Until he and Patti eventually departed for Canada, Friday and Saturday were taken up with a round of small but emotionally wearing emergencies. Wolfgang proved to be tower of strength though, as good as his reputation, and came up with some fuel.

The head hunting went relatively well. Gary was able to arrange five appointments between seamen and Claude on board the Phoenix in the container loading facility. The smaller of the two new ships, the oddly named "Magga Dan" was dispatched with Claude commanding her directly from the bridge, to pick up the balance of containers from Jack Sopper whose endlessly oily effusiveness was beginning to get under Gary's skin but he was nonetheless mollified when the last acceptable container was loaded, filling the Magga Dan to capacity.

The larger of the two new ships, " Eastern Trader" was dispatched to New Haven to receive containers of hospital equipment, machine shops and machine tools, electrical generating equipment, woodworking shops, goods stored at the hangars, and the growing number of containers from the families relocating to the hotel.

Gary and Patti were both, constantly kept on the run, dealing with what seemed to be never-ending rounds of transporting cash, doling out money to everyone who was busily spending on their assigned projects. The community seemed to have reached critical mass and events were moving ever more swiftly as time went on.

When they finally managed to get away they next had the frustration of creeping through back roads to avoid the masses of refugees streaming from the city.

They made it as far as the naval base at Groton, before being stopped at a roadblock. Four armed uniformed men approached both sides of the car and ordered them to get out. Gary was quick to comply, raising his hands while Patti was acting the frightened female, moving slowly and in an obvious display of panic.

Their spokesman, a brute of a man snarled at him "Come on, get your woman out here so I can see whether it is worth pissing on." Two of the others gestured him with their weapons in a display of aggression. The fourth man hung back.

"Okay, Okay. Take the money in the trunk but leave her alone," Gary said loudly, as. he reached down to pop it open, bulging with about $300,000 in a bag, which Gary had not even bothered to zip up at the last stop.

The fourth sailor came running, and went round to the trunk. "Jackpot" he yelled, holding up packets of bills in each hand.

The two on Gary's side started around to grab a share of the action and even the leering thug lustfully covering Patti was distracted.

Patti's wicked little knife made short and silent work of his heart. Before he even collapsed in a spurting fountain of blood she had grabbed his machine gun, screamed at Gary, "hit the deck" and stitched a row of bullet holes through the trunk lid and into the three facess that had popped up from behind it to see what was going on.

"Jesus you are some woman," Gary said shakily as he stared in bemusement at the carnage spread out behind the car

Patti nudged a blood-spattered packet of bills lying on the ground with the toe of her boot and said, "Sorry, it looks like I got blood and brains all over the money." She grinned and held up her hand for a high five.

"It will wash off," he said and gave her the high five weakly but reverently in acknowledgement. Something Gary had been afraid of was already happening. As Claude had said 'We are on a very slippery slope, my friend.' Here was mass murder again and Wayne also was very involved in stealing stuff on an industrial scale. I''t's not ALL our fault. Society is moving that way fast. We have to do something if we are to survive, but what?'

"It's time we got out of here before his mates respond to the sound of shots" she said, throwing the empty weapon down beside it's erstewhile owner.

They quickly gathered up the bag of bills and threw it back into the trunk, slammed it down to be sure it would still close and Gary drove off past the guardhouse just as someone else was opening the door and they were away, hopefully before their plate number was recognised.

"This is just bizarre" he thought, glancing sideways at Patti who seemed to be completely unmoved by the slaughter that she had just single-handedly carried out

The sun was shining brightly and some hints of green were evident, heralding a coming spring. It was the beginning of a beautiful day and all they had to do now was cross into Canada and make their way back home again afterwards.

When Gary eventually arrived back home, his insides still a little uncertain in the aftermath of the massacre he had been unwitting accomplice to, Jan was there and her house guard was chatting with Gary's guards. They had evidently formed themselves into a little military detatchment of their own which, he thought was probably a good thing in the circumstances.

Wayne stopped at the house a few minutes later. Matt, and Kirk, another new SEAL, who arrived back with him, had gone on with Lynn to the hotel. Jan said that the pharmaceuticals were done and were being loaded and wo SEALs were aboard each of the ships that they had acquired. Wayne told Gary that what little space was available on the deck and below deck was stacked with ancillary military equipment that Wayne had been offered as part of the same purchase.. The destroyer and the fuel tender were on their way out of US waters to rendezvous with Bruce's ship.

Gary went into the back yard to do a couple of quick chores. His next-door neighbour hurried out and accosted him. "Gary, Could you spare me a moment?" Brian called over the stone wall.

Gary looked around for an escape route still in high-tension mode, and then decided reluctantly that civility was a necessary part of life. "Surely, but I'm in a bit of a hurry. What's your problem?" Gary said, walking over to the wall separating them.

"I hate to bother you with this, but I don't know where to turn. I've tried everything and I can't think of anything else. You always seemed to be resourceful and I thought I'd ask you," Brian rambled on. "The world has gone absolutely crazy."

"And what did you want to ask?" Gary said patiently and gently.

"As you know, I'm a librarian at the university library."

"Yes."

"Actually I am the head librarian," Brian said distractedly.

"No, you never mentioned that. Go on."

"They're burning the books," he blurted. He was almost in tears.

"Who is burning what books?" Gary asked still gently and patiently.

"Some ruffians broke into the library. As you know the university was closed," he said, still rambling. "They're making a bonfire to keep warm. They have a gun."

Ah, the Alexandrian Librarians, Gary thought. He considered for a few moments.

Some people work for the love of knowledge and for the value of preserving that knowledge, not for money or fame. Over a thousand years ago, in Alexandria, there existed the greatest repository of learning and literature the world had ever known. It was sacked and burned by an invading army. A couple of current authors had raised and addressed the question of; 'what happened to the Alexandrian Librarians? Had they died defending that knowledge?' The conclusion seemed to be that the librarians perished in an attempt to save the library's contents. Some people love knowledge so much that they have dedicated their lives to it and are quite likely to put the survival of that knowledge ahead of their own.

This could be a tremendous opportunity for the community. While they had been trying to pick up skills, and while practical skills are absolutely essential, who knew what skills or information they would lack? If they could get that university library they would be half way to developing any skills they needed and didn't have. At least if they had to reinvent the wheel they know it existed, that it is round and moves things more easily. They had a picture of it.

Not only that, but here is someone trained to manage information, but also with horticultural skills, something we are sadly in need of. I should have thought of them as potential community members before, Gary thought. In fact I think I have a little Alexandrian librarian in me because I personally would hate to see humanity lose this information. The way things are going humanity is going to get knocked back several hundred years. There were many things that had to be reinvented in the 1500s, after being lost in the time of the dark ages, starting about 1,000 AD. Aloud he said, "But if you chase them out isn't there a great danger that they will simply come back?"

"Yes that has already happened. Now they have a gun and we have run out of food. I don't know how long we can last."

"If we could find a way to pack up most of those books and move them to somewhere safer would you be willing to help?" Gary asked carefully.

"Oh, yes. Everybody at the university would."

"Well maybe we can arrange something. You say that you are out of food. How long has this been going on?"

"We absolutely ran out of food on Thursday but we had very little before that."

"Why don't you and your wife come over for a minute? I'm sure we could find you something to eat. Bring the kids too.".

The gratitude in his face was almost humbling, Gary thought. 'Just for a crust of bread!'

"Oh thank you. We'll be right over."

He went back into the house. "Jan, that roast of beef we had last night? I need four of the thickest sandwiches you ever saw, rice, and milk or coffee. The people next door are starving and they are coming over for a bit of food. Wayne, could you please also stay. I think there is a job here. I should have thought of them as potential community members before. They've not eaten properly in days."

No sooner had he spoken than there was a timid knock on the door. He wheeled around and opened the door. "Come on in and meet the gang."

Their Four rather haggard, hungry looking neighbours straggled in.

"Everybody, I'd like you to meet Brian and Ana Gibson and their daughters. Brian is Chief Librarian at the university and Ana is a horticulturist. They both conspire to have one of the most beautiful and exotic back gardens in the antire city of New York!. Brian's hobby is genetics and breeding of unusual plants," He announced, in order to give those present some background.

Jan was by now busy cutting huge slabs off the roast beef and preparing the thick, dark heavy bread slices with margarine and just a touch of mustard. Four sets of eyes watched with an unbelievable and undivided intensity, matched only by their dog waiting anxiously for a treat from the dinner table.

"We have some rice pilaf. I'll heat it in the microwave," Jan spooned a bit of gravy over the meat and stuck the sandwiches into their microwave oven to heat for a few seconds.

"Won't you sit down here at the table?" Gary asked.

Four automatons moved over to the table so sit in a row without once ever losing sight of the food.

Jan served the sandwiches on plates, and stuck the rice into the microwave to heat. Four pairs of hands exercised great restraint and decorum while they carefully, delicately picked up the sandwiches which made it all the way to their mouths before the wolfing began. Gary poured four glasses of milk while Jan divided the rice, and they served the second course. It was consumed with equal eagerness but it was evident that they were now sated and relaxed into smiling relaxation.

Then the Gibson's just sat there, slightly slumped forward, breathing deeply, waiting as their stomachs converted the food to energy, and feeling the strength flow back into their limbs.

Finally, Brian straightened up and said simply, "I don't believe I have ever tasted anything so good. Thank you." Murmured 'thank yous' echoed around the table.

Gary said, "We have a bit of frozen stuff we can give you before you go home but in the meantime I would like to talk to Wayne about your problem."

"Oh please do," Brian said.

"Wayne, there have been some kids who invaded the University library who have been making bonfires with the books to keep themselves warm. I'd hate to see all that knowledge lost to mankind. I foresee that this particular thing will likely happen over and over again around the world. If we can chase out the kids, at least one of whom has a gun, then I thought maybe we could get these books into containers and haul them to somewhere safer. Besides I think that having this information available to us would be invaluable. Do you see a way of removing these kids without causing a whole lot of blood to be spilled?" Gary asked. "Brian assures me that the whole university would pitch in to help pack the books."

Wayne frowned elaborately. "On the face of it I think we could probably do that. I'd have to look at the situation to have a firm opinion but I think it could be done." Wayne then began to question Brian about the people involved, their arms, their numbers and ages, etc., and the layout of the building. He ended again with an opinion that it was probably doable but he would have to see first.

Gary went downstairs and got a roast of beef, a pork roast, a few tins of peas and corn, some rice, and a few loaves of bread and bags of milk. He struggled up the stairs and dumped the boxes at the front door. He then went back into the living room and queried the community present with his eyebrows as to their reaction to the Gibson's. Receiving affirmative nods he addressed the Gibson's. "We are having a meeting tomorrow afternoon at two. This meeting is for those people that are working with us, and for all the members to get to know one another. I suppose you have no fuel so I will ask Jan to pick you up and bring you back. I'll be out of the city. As yet it is secret so only your present family is invited or even to know about the meeting. No one else under any circumstances is to know. Do you understand?" he asked the girls. "No telling your friends in confidence please."

They nodded.

Addressing Brian and Ana, he said, "Would you like to attend?"

"Of course. Do you foresee further work together?" Brian asked.

"I certainly hope so. Someone will have to manage this information. In the meantime it is imperative that we act quickly to get those books to a safe place. We need a bit of time together to plan. Is your phone still working?" Gary asked Brian.

"Just my cell," answered Ana.

"Okay give us half an hour and we'll call you with the next steps." Gary said.

Gary saw them to their own door with the frozen food he had dropped near his door. As he returned he went over to the guard outside. "I'm pulling a guard from elsewhere to help here. I want you to keep an eye on the house and the people next door. They are to receive protection too, please."

Gary went back into the house. Wayne said, "That library could be a life saver. I'd hate to see that knowledge lost to us. It'll be invaluable in training. I wish I had thought of that while I was in Langley. I picked up all sorts of special equipment but I would have picked up texts too."

"I think we have to get those books on board the Phoenix as soon as possible, starting tonight. Jan would you get as many pot roasts as possible started cooking, please. We will have to feed the workers as part of their pay. Say we pay them $10 per hour, with a meal at the start and the finish of each six-hour shift. They could take a sandwich home to the family if they want to share. Better get lots of rice started too. Can you organize some of the people at the hotel to get a food preparation and distribution line going? Do you see any problems Wayne?"

"No we can probably wipe them out easily." Wayne shrugged.

"Now, there's something I don't want to happen. In the previous world you guys always got problems when there was nothing left but force. Now your job is much larger. Not only are you going to be our enforcement arm, you're also part of our diplomatic arm. No killing unless you are directly threatened or the community is aware, and approves ahead of time that killing is contemplated, along with the reasons for it. I concur that sometimes killing is necessary but it's not the first resort, it's the last resort. In this case if you kill anyone who does not actually have a deadly weapon, the whole university workforce will turn against us.".

"Yes, I suppose you're right. We don't have what might be termed a diplomatic arm. Okay, security to have an expanded mandate as a diplomatic arm."

"Exactly. Patti, I'm going to be up for a while, so I'll want to sleep on the way to Canada and I'd like you to drive. Can you take some rest now please?".

"Yes Sir," she responded, and departed for the shower and bedroom.

"You seem to have been elevated in her mind," Wayne observed. "I've never heard her bestow the honour of 'Sir' on a civvy yet."

"Presuming we can get those kids out of the library, I guess we need containers and a lot of pallets to stack the books on. And some cling wrap plastic to hold the pallet loads together. We also need somebody to take those racks apart and store them for reassembly later on. How difficult would you expect the job of getting the kids out to be?"

"Getting the kids out should be easy enough. The hard part will be inspecting the library to insure no one else is left inside there." Wayne said. "Two SEALs would probably be enough to get the kids out but we'll require a lot of time to do a thorough inspection."

"Okay more work for our already overworked SEALs. Would you look to the SEALs and I will contact Chris Habel about the rest of it."
Chapter 36

Gary called Chris Harbel

"I have good news and bad news. We've located a university library which we think is invaluable for the knowledge it contains. We want to get those books aboard the Phoenix as soon as possible. Yesterday would be best," Gary grunted. "I'm hoping to have a good number of people working at putting books on pallets and wrapping them in plastic. But we need containers in a rather continuous flow. We have the 'full container' lift truck at the docks in New Haven so we can get the containers off the trailers but I still have yet to buy some more. We'll need at least three tractors, and hopefully a lot more to yank the trailers around. Hopefully, it will be a 24 hour operation."

"The drivers will not be so happy going back to driving seeing the money they are getting for selling fuel. They have been bitching about hauling people's stuff to and from the hotel already!"

"That's easy enough! Pay them whatever they are getting from selling fuel from the money you have for me from fuel sales, I'll also need at least one, and preferably two forklifts together with their drivers and a number of manual pallet lifters for the library. Do you know where we can get those rolls of cling wrap plastic to hold the pallet loads together?"

"I have a couple of cases. I think I know where I can put my hands on several more cases quickly. I can bring two forklifts with the first container and a half a dozen pallet lifters. Are you going to need pallets?"

"Oh, God yes. Whatever you can round up that are in half decent shape and I'll try to get some more, too. This is a seven-story building so I expect to get several hundred containers of books, with about 48 pallets on average assuming pallets can be stacked two high in a container. We won't be able to take all the books of course, but I want to get as much as possible. We still have to get the family containers loaded on top aboard the Phoenix and containers for the animals."

"Okay."

Gary continued his rapid-fire delivery "One other thing we will need is some food from the hangars. Can you or Eric get a pickup truck over there to pick up a few sacks of rice, and some pork and beef roasts from the reefers? We'll have to feed these workers as part of their pay. I hope to get the operation started by midnight so hopefully we'll have some pallets there before that so the workers can start loading them right away. I'll be gone by then but I need someone who can take over. Would you do that?"

"Yeah, I'll be in it up to my neck anyway. Might as well. If not, I'll delegate it."

"I'll try and get somebody else looking for pallets and containers too. We'll need about fifty of the empty containers stacked aside at the docks for families to live in for a few days while we travel plus how ever many containers you need to transport the animals. By the way, buy food for the animals for at least a couple of months, preferably six or more months if that is possible.."

"Okay." Chris was scribbling notes furiously. "I think I've got all that!"

"I'll get Eric to locate some other stuff I want to put in the Trambull office container before we take it over to the Phoenix. . He'll need a small truck," Gary said. "You work it out with him. Anything else you need?"

"Not that I can think of."

Gary called Wolfgang. "What are you doing in the office?"

"Just sitting here crying or rather thinking bleak thoughts," he said. "I came to pack some of the files."

"Well, packing seems reasonable but I called because I have another rush job."

"More fuel?".

"No. I need at least another 400 weather tight, ocean-going containers. You might try Containerhaus in Jersey for those. You should be able to get them for less than $750 cash each, maybe as little as $300. As well, tonight I urgently need about a thousand wooden pallets or any type of similar sized pallet with a flat top. Ultimately, we will need enough pallets to fill those containers. What is it, 48 pallets per container, comes to arouns 10,000 pallets, probably by tomorrow. We're packing books on them so I don't need new ones just good sturdy ones. We also need a large quantity of cling wrap plastic to wrap around pallet loads of goods to keep them stable. Do you think you could find some this afternoon?"

"I could try Mon. That's awfully short notice," Wolfgang said.

"One more thing, absolutely necessary but not as urgent, is two or more good liquid food grade truck tanks. I need it for water for human consumption," Gary had suddenly realized that nobody had thought of fresh water supplies for the numbers of people and animals involved. The Phoenix would have some water storage but it wasn't designed for that many people and also the animals. Not only that, but there might not be potable water readily available at their destination. "The containers and pallets are top priority. I want them starting to be used by midnight

"Contact Chris Habel at this number, to pick up the money to pay for everything at my house. Coordinate everything with him. I'll be gone for a few days. Anything else you need? I'm in a terrible rush."

"No, I don't think so. " Wolfgang said dubiously. "At least 500 containers, pallets to fill them and cling wrap to stabilize the loads."

"Okay, I gotta hop. Please try to be at the meeting tomorrow even if someone has to pick you up."

Gary called Eric and brought him up to speed, asked that he informed the others at the hotel, particularly Lynn, who he wanted to coordinate the people working in the library, and getting meat and rice from the hangars. Then he was to arrange for changed guard assignments at the house. Eric said Wayne had already been in touch with him and the SEALs there. Gary then asked Eric if he could spell Wayne on the organizing of the packing.

Next, he called Brian Gibson back. "Hi it's Gary Alden next door."

"Oh yes Gary. I'm afraid your food overwhelmed us and we didn't thank you adequately when we left. I think we were in a bit of a state of shock.".

"Think nothing of it. We try to look after those who are working with us. I have an answer regarding the library. We'd like to go ahead and try,"

"Oh that's wonderful. How soon can we start? Do we have to wait for Monday to get those ruffians out?" Brian gushed.

"We were thinking more like the kids being out in three hours and beginning to work at midnight packing books on a 24 hour basis. The guy you were talking to, Wayne, is a SEAL. They'll move those kids out quickly. We need you to let us in. If you have any home numbers of people who might be willing to work and Ana can phone them, please have her do it. We want to get at least 50 to 75 people there by midnight, ready to work. We want hard workers only. This is not a place and time to philosophize and discuss. Once we secure the place I'll want you on the phone, recruiting workers. Anybody not working will be immediately let go."

"How can we let people go who are volunteering?"

Gary was mildly put off by Brian's hesitance. "Oh they'll be paid. Cash and food like you got. We don't know how many containers of books the library has but we can take several hundred containers but that's all. So we will prioritize what we take. The important thing is to recruit workers to start working at midnight tonight, so your job will be to start phoning people as soon as we get the premises secure. We'll pay $10 per hour in cash and the workers get a sandwich and rice like you had at the start of a six-hour shift, and at the end of that shift. If the workers want to work 12 hours then they get four sandwiches. They can bring a bag to take some home to their families if they want. Not extra, but if they want to save some of what we pay they can eat it there or take it home. If Ana can start phoning too it would help a lot. In fact, Jan might be able to help too. We have to move really, really fast on this because the ship that the books will go on may have to leave at any minute. Okay?"

Brian paused as if he had blinked at the speed with which events were moving, and said, "Yes I understand. May I tell Ana what is happening?"

"Of course. She can hardly recruit workers without both her and the workers knowing what is going on. One moment," and Gary placed the mouthpiece of his phone against his belly, and shouted, "Wayne how long till we will want Brian Gibson to let us in to the library?"

"Half an hour plus travel time," Wayne shouted back.

"Brian, we will be ready to pick you up in half an hour to let us into the library. Can you be ready?"

"Uh, yes. This is very fast isn't it?"

"Every minute that we delay more books are burned. Do you want that?" Gary demanded.

"No."

"Is there a problem with doing this?"

"Well, no, but it's very fast. I'll get ready."

"You said I was resourceful. The biggest part of being resourceful is actually doing something, not agonizing over it. We have a complete plan now and circumstances demand we act quickly. We're doing so. Nobody will get hurt unless they threaten us. If they threaten us then it's okay for us to defend ourselves and we will. You don't have to face them, just open the door for us so we can do what needs to be done," Gary said.

"I'll get ready."

He flipped his phone and said to Wayne. "He's getting cold feet. Not a good person to rely on in an emergency but he's a worker when he's left alone. I guess we can't all be chiefs, there have to be some Indians. Maybe he'll learn with a bit of exposure to the real world that once you have a goal, you should focus on it totally."

Gary, Wayne, and the others finished their preparations, picked up Brian and left for the library. It was a gray building, probably a formed concrete slab structure with few windows above the first floor. It was clear that the alarms that were sounding ringing were fire and smoke alarms. Eric arrived with a couple of SEALs. Brian showed them the window that had been smashed, boarded up, and then the boarding had been ripped off to regain entry. He then let them in through the main doors.

The SEALs fanned out, first investigating the immediate surroundings so they were not subject to surprise attack, then heading for the section of the main floor where the noise was coming from, the camping ground of the squatters. The section was located between the current popular fiction section, the telephone book reference section, and official government publications section, in a comfortable reading area with alluringly soft couches.

A small bonfire was burning cheerfully in a rough, homemade fireplace, venting into a service duct. Amazingly, the sprinkler system had not gone off nor had the fire spread, probably because it was small and the ground floor ceilings high.

Gary, who had been following Wayne, came out from between aisles of bookshelves. Further down a SEAL appeared, and finally, diagonally about one third of the way around the circle, another SEAL.

At first nothing happened. The self, absorbed and significantly stoned squatters did not notice the SEALs. Then someone did and consternation erupted. A young man jumped up into a crouch, pulled a gun and shot without aiming. Two machine pistols each burped three-round bursts and the young man fell back, blood spouting from holes torn throgh his body, his face imploded into bloody ruin. The SEALs had aimed, accurately. A young woman screamed and began to run towards their 'secret' exit.

Gary shot a round into the ceiling, and yelled, "Hold it! Take your friend, and your junk with you but don't go near that gun. Anybody touches that gun is dead." The young man was still twitching his death throes as the others watched in fascinated horror the bloody wreckage that he had become.

"Fucking move it," bellowed Wayne in parade square volumes.

A tall young man with a scraggly beard eventually stood up, shouldered his backpack and grabbed one of the dead man's hands. "Come on" he motioned to another."Help me!" Once started the crowd had a direction and they all moved to gather up their stuff, grab a piece of the dead man's clothes or a leg, and help drag him out. Gary and Wayne wedged the plywood on the window back into place and then the SEALs began a detailed search of the building, returning hortly after, pushing along two frightened lovers. They, too were escorted out.

A faint odour of cordite and a long, dark bloody trail across the floor, the only remaining evidence of their presence.

One of the SEALs found a fire extinguisher and doused the fire. Brian was then escorted in and Gary asked him, "Can you bypass that alarm system? It's driving me nuts. I don't know how those kids stood it going off all the time they were in there."

"Because they were all permanently stewed in case you didn't notice". He nodded and set about the alarm panel, the wailing abruptly ceased leaving only the sound of the elderly air conditioning system labouring as it gradually cleared the smoke.

"How many freight elevators have you got in this place?" Gary asked Brian.

"Two, but all eight of the passenger elevators are heavy duty because we are always transporting loads of books between floors."

"Okay. We're going to want all the card catalogues, technical and reference books first, our official government publications last. Fiction next to last." He checked his wristwatch. "It's time for you to get started on getting your workers down here. We're extremely short of time. We want work to begin sharp at midnight so you have a lot to do in very short order!. A guy named Chris Habel will back a couple of containers up to each of your loading docks. You have six. We will be using all of them."

He paused to clear his throat. 'I'm beginning to sound like a seargeant major' he thought. ''Barking out orders! I'll be so relieved when this lot is all over. I reckon I'm going to sleep for a week, Jan Kerr in bed with me or not!'

Chris and Wayne will be in charge of getting things actually moving. My daughter, Lynn, will coordinate the people stacking books on pallets," Gary said. "Can you get 75 workers into here by midnight? We have to arrange to feed them. We want double that number working by tomorrow. If you know someone who is persuasive get him or her in to help you recruit, although we may not be able to feed them till we get enough supplies down here."

"Yes, I know just the person, in fact I know several. But you don't seem interested in the great literature of our American history?"

Gary grunted. "All slavery and civil war! We were brought up on it and I had a gutful.

Anyhow, Good, get them down to help in recruiting people.. Strip out the computer servers, card catalogues and technological stuff including maps and other geographical stuff first. Any CD's or whatever you have, library programs, or other computer-based information is all of top importance. We need people to strip down and move the computers themselves. I'll get Heidi, a woman I know to help recruit computer people but you get university staff because they know the system. While we are at it o you have any other libraries besides this one?"

"Yes," answered Brian. "There is the engineering library and pretty well every department has a small group of often used texts and other useful data."

"Those are probably the most useful of all. We want that whole engineering library as a top priority after the card catalogues and computers. I want you to get a crew to go to every department and every professor's office and strip out any books on any subject you find. Get technical books then any history, followed by" he laughed humourlessly "the great thinkers. I am less interested in general fiction but it does have a very vital place, I guess".

Gary continued to issue a quickfire list of instructions lest Brian began agonizing over some new question and sidetrack everything. 'I'm becoming a bloody micro-manager on top of everything else' he thought grimly.

"We'll place pallets in the aisle between rows of bookshelves. Workers will carry books and load the pallets as level and as tightly as possible to about 40 inches in height. Try and get the pallets as close to the same height as possible, but don't stack them too high. We have to load one pallet on top of another inside the containers. And you mustn't, not on any account, stack books over the edges of the pallets. They'll get damaged, they'll get stuck and they're likely to start falling off as they're being moved around.. A second person or crew will come along and plastic wrap the load tightly so it won't slide around. A third crew will take the pallets to the dock. A fourth crew will disassemble shelves because we are going to need them later.

"We'll throw shelf parts on top of the pallets of books in every container. Keep the small parts like nuts and bolts in buckets or wastebaskets. We want the job complete by Sunday afternoon. Any questions?"

"Sunday! The whole library?" Brian looked at him as if he were crazy.

"Yes. We are going to have some problems soon that might stop us from getting more books and we've a duty to preserve literature for posterity. So the longer you dilly-dally around getting workers down here the fewer we can take. I know we've got computerised records of some of it but it will be far from complete or comprehensive and currently 'the cloud' and the internet have moreorless 'gone down' at least for the forseeable future. Any questions?" he repeated.

"No. In view of the rush, which I don't quite understand, your plans make sense," Brian admitted.

"Okay, Wayne and I are going to leave soon, as will the SEALs who are currently in place here. A few new SEALs will take their place. Their job is simply to guard, to act as sentries. Nothing else!. For food we will require access to the cafeteria and get things working as best as maybe. The people staffing the cafeteria will only deal with the food and the proper distribution of it, along with the cash payments. I'll be out of the country for a few days. Hopefully, we will have 300 to 400 containers loaded by tomorrow night but maybe that's pushing it!. Any other questions?"

"No. I guess I had better get started, hadn't I."

"You'll be alright Brian. Just stay on track and go for it. Get your people who can do recruiting first. It's vital you multiply your efforts as quickly as possible,"

Having briefed Brian until his head was dizzy, Gary conferred with Wayne, then left. On the way home he called Roy Bryant to see if he knew of anyone who would like to work disassembling racks at these rates of pay. Roy thought he did and said he'd send them along with enough tools to do the job.

Gary got back home and immediately began to take the necessities for the Canada trip into the garage. His overnight bag and things he would need, his tablet with his notes regarding what was stored at the various warehouses, and all the remaining Canadian dollars.

Following his nose, he checked the oven where roasts were cooking. He checked and basted them. He tiptoed into the bedroom where Jan appeared to be getting some sleep in preparation for a long night to come. He checked the clock radio and set its to go off in an hour. He was rocking with sheer fatigue. He climbed into bed and snuggled up to Jan. Sliding his hand toward her breast, she "ummm'ed," moved back towards him and raised her arm slightly to bring him closer, all apparently without waking up. Despite how upset he was with her behaviour regarding Heidi's kidnap, Gary felt a rush of tenderness toward her. Men in love are truly irrational beings he thought. We sure have not evolved far from the animals.

When Gary awoke to the alarm he was still feeling tender so he leaned over and clicked off the radio, and started kissing her shoulder and neck. "Hi sweetie." When she rolled over to kiss him back she discovered he was not only feeling tender he was also feeling horny.

"Oh HO, Don't move. I'll be right back," and she slipped on a robe and padded off to the kitchen to check her roasts. When she returned, she closed the bedroom door carefully and crawled over the foot of the bed not even taking off her robe, but merely undoing the belt so it fell open. Crawling, straddling his body until she reached a level that she could get her toes under the covers and slide back down onto him, she rode him to what is known in the trade as a quickie.

Gary showered and discussed with Jan a quick and easy way of controlling the food give-away and cash to pay the volunteers at the library. Jan informed him that a number of the women at the hotel were pitching in on shifts and that SEALs would be chauffeuring them back and forth.

He and Patti ate a quick meal and packed two sandwiches each for the trip. Gary's prepaid ticket and Patti's Canadian citizenship should forestall most questions at customs. They packed most of the available Canadian, Swiss, and Euro cash, as well as few $US for roadblocks and bribes, if necessary. The pile of $US cash had certainly been depleting, with six million for Claude and Wayne alone already spent and another 1.5 million immediately accounted for.

Gary and Patti left early, deciding that roadblocks and deteriorating roads would slow them considerably. During the first two hours they discussed Patti's assignment of recruiting farmers in Canada and keeping an eye open for specific products that might be useful. If Gary was delayed beyond a Tuesday return, and if it were possible, she was to fly to Halifax and try to pick up one or two containers of dried potato flakes and other vegetables. They could be picked up in Halifax while the two new ships were already taking on supplies there. Gary doubted she had enough money for even that.

He reclined his seat and was soon asleep. At customs there was the usual delay but no problems and they drove on to Toronto. Patti then drove him to the airport to drop him before making her final dash to her parents' home. In due course Gary boarded his plane and flew off to Zurich, studying, thinking about his plans and sleeping along the way.
Chapter 37

Sunday March 12th — Day 27

At Zurich airport Gary paused, looking around and trying to get a feel for the current level of crime and social tension. There seemed to be slightly more uniformed police around than he remembered from the previous trip so on an impulse he stopped one to ask.

"The crime situation has not changed appreciably. sir. Just the usual dunderheads, but things are getting tense and we are on higher alert."

"Is unemployment up? Are businesses operating normally?"

The officer sounded knowledgeable and well informed. He was also bright and alert given how late it was in the day. 'But then, he is Swiss!' thought Gary.

"Well, unemployment is up, sir, especially in the import - export sector because of currency problems. We can still trade in Euros, but things are pretty uncertain and seem to becoming more-so. We are alert but are waiting to get a better idea of circumstances before taking any further kind of action than we are already."

This was about what Gary had expected. Usually anyone who saw trouble ahead were either the 'survivalists' who essentially prepared for nuclear war in their bunker, or the gold bugs who were going to become wealthy instantly by owning precious metals and thought their wealth could buy them a super-rich life in today's terms, (people like me! - he reflected ruefully) but otherwise made no preparations for the guaranteed 'ripple effects'. In the US, the oil crisis had shut down the whole of manufacturing industry. Every heavy user of energy, steel mills, glass factories, or paper mills was stopped for the duration of the crisis. Every electrical plant that used hydrocarbons to generate electricity was also shut down and it was only where renewable capacity had been brought to scale that anything, mostly domestic and commercial supply were operating at all..

Gary checked in to the hotel and rented a car. He showered to try to combat jet lag, and as he was showering he thought, One thing that I am going to miss is long hot showers when we start rebuilding from scratch. The small things that made life so good. In the '30s, with wood or coal heating, there were no showers, and women used to wash their hair once a month. Personal hygiene in New York is already going to hell in a hurry.

He called his Zurich lawyer at home and discussed the possibility of buying a dormant private Swiss bank license. The lawyer thought it would be easy and under the current conditions possibly even inexpensive to get one. Gary left him with instructions to investigate further. As usual, he was thinking of events far into the future, part of his hoped for trade network.

"He called Claude, "Claude, it's Gary. Everything under control?"

"Yes, For me anyway. They're just finishing loading the Magga Dan at the container storage docks. I'll be taking her out into international waters shortly. The Eastern Trader is at New Haven taking pallets from the library.. I don't know much about books. Last I heard they were having the usual start-up problems. They were getting out a container about every twelve minutes but Chris hoped to have that cut down to one every four within the hour three minutes eventually. By now he should have achieved that. It was early this morning I last talked to him."

"He has to be pretty exhausted by now. Has anybody arranged to relieve him?"

"Yes, he's sleeping where he is. Roy Bryant and Eric have taken over."

"Good. How many families can you pack aboard the ships now at the docks without keeping them in containers?" Gary asked.

"We could probably get most of them in if we bunk them in the galley ways and such. Maybe we should call Bruce back so we can get few more people on board t he Phoenix.. We have quite a few people, but not nearly 300. Maybe 100."

"As you think best," Gary shrugged. "I think it could be a good idea but there are dangers. The reason I called is because I need to know how much to deposit tomorrow morning, and where."

"The chandlers bank is Union Bank of Switzerland at main office in Zurich", and he gave Gary the account information. "Now we have fuel I expect supplies to run to 100,000 Euros. I was thinking of taking extra because of uncertainties," Claude said.

"I certainly agree with that. I've been trying to find some dried potato flakes and vegetables, dried eggs and freeze dried foods at least. One of the big potato farm areas in Canada is near Halifax. Did you know that I asked Wolfgang to round up a couple of truck tankers capable of carrying potable water?"

"Good idea. If I call Bruce back I'll get Wolfgang to get more for him too."

"I think you should run the bill at the chandlers up to 150,000 Euros, unless you find a few containers of some food product that has a long shelf life, in which case call me right away and I'll deposit enough to cover. I'll deposit 150,000 Euros tomorrow morning. That is currently about half a million dollars Canadian. I'm planning on flying out tomorrow night late, but if I'm still here I'll happily stay over to deposit more later," Gary said. "By the way, in addition to the containers for the animals, empty flatbed trailers and tankers of fuel have to go on the top of the load. You should get Chris Habel to select say three, but preferably all of his tractors and trailers along with spares to be loaded. We'll probably need them at the far end."

Gary didn't go to bed but immediately took the car and belted off to Rapperswill. He stripped all the available cash out of Lynn's boxed safe except for one packet of Swiss francs, just in case. He was back at the hotel, in bed in three hours.

Monday March 13th — Day 28

The next morning he was up before 8 am and and arrived at the Storhaus warehouse that he was using for his boxed safe He was just locking up when the guard that patrolled the site came round and asked him for his ID to check he belonged to that locker. Gary was happy pleased be required to comply with this house rule. It was true, one needed a magnetic passkey and pin number to access the site, but after all once through the gate, anyone could visit anyone else's locker, even if they had not climbed over the high page-wire fences topped with barbed wire to start with. The only thing to stop them entering any locker was a simple padlock and a bolt-cutter would make short work of that!

Once outside with his cash, he noticed the office was now occupied so he decided to go in and chat up the receptionist girl to get a better reading on local conditions.

"Hi there!" He gave her his most engaging smile and she gave him a still, rather formal smile in return.. "

My name is Gary Alden, and I have a locker here." he said producing his company issued ID. "I also have a locker in the US where the storage company has closed its doors in view of the Bank Holiday there, and I am having a terrible time getting my stuff out. I wondered what would happen here in a similar circumstance?"

"Oh, we have quite strict laws here. If you are paid up, by law you can get access during normal business hours at a minimum. Here we allow 24 hour access though as we have staff-monitored premises."

"What about if your company goes bankrupt or something?" Gary persisted.

"Not much danger of that." She laughed. "Our company is an old conservative company that has very small mortgages on their properties that they could probably pay off instantly."

"Well, seeing what is going on in the US, it is a concern for me. Is unemployment suddenly rising here?"

"Yes," she said slowly. "My fiancé got laid off Friday, and he is very well educated. We thought his job was very secure. At least my job is so far safe. Aside from the security guards and maintenance people, I am the only administrator on the premises. Holidays are always a bit of a problem for me. I'm that important!" She smiled.

"I wonder then if I could ask a favour of you?. I would hate to have the same problems I have encountered in the US to happen here where I might not be able to notice or act on it as quickly. If you get laid off yourself, or if there is the slightest hint that the company is having difficulty keeping its doors open, would you phone me immediately?" He pulled out a business card and wrote his satellite phone number on the back. " I would prefer you call me collect, but if that is not possible here is 50 francs to prepay a short call. As soon as I can then get over here, I will pay you 500 francs cash for that information. We can't send money orders in foreign currency out of the US and that has become a big and worrying problem for me. If you do happen to get laid off or something, 500 francs could be useful to you. Would that be okay?"

Gary went immediately to Eric's storage space, pulled cash out and 20 ounces of gold but leaving one packet of Swiss francs as a backstop. He then had a virtually identical conversation with the administrator there. He called a coin dealer he had noticed in the hotel lobby and enquired about gold and silver prices. He was quoted 4840 Euros to buy one ounce of gold, and 220 to buy silver.

His next stop was at the Union Bank at 10 am where he started his chandler banking. He at once checked on the bid/ask of gold and silver in Euros.

As soon as he walked in to wall-sized market screens attracted his eye:

"Gold bid 5,117, ask 6,117. Silver bid 285, ask 350 Euros."

'God,' thought Gary. 'They really don't want to sell gold, with a 1000 Euro spread.! I'll bet the black market is way over 6,000. Too bad I have to deposit this money now for food for the gang. Later would be so much better. Oh, well, got to get on with it. I have no time to spare for a bit of gambling. Worse luck!.

Six thousand Euros times $4,380 US dollars per Euro equalled a selling price at an unbelievable, per ounce gold bullion of $26,280,000 US.

Next he enquired about cash. At first look, spreads were astounding. It seemed as if virtually all currencies were floundering. The bank was bidding half the rate for most currencies they would deal in, especially £ sterling and offering to sell at one and a half times the rate. That meant that while there was a risk, all they had to do was buy one lot of a currency, and sell that same lot, usually the same day, and everything thereafter was pure profit. Sure, they might eventually lose the initial investment, but they would rack up good profits even if the situation only lasted for a few days.

The bank refused to touch US dollars. They would accept Japanese yen, but strangely, would not accept Australian, Hong Kong, or Singapore dollars. With the exception of an extra packet of Swiss francs, Gary unloaded everything else he could at horrendous losses in order to buy Euros. Finally, to make up the balance of the 150,000 Euro deposit that he needed, he sold five ounces of gold.

Left with some gold and currencies, he again drove down beside the long beautiful lake to Rapperswill, put the balance of the cash and gold in Lynn's safe and had the same conversation with the company clerk.

Back in Zurich, while still in the car, he decided it was late enough in New York for him to call Eric and check up on progress. His mightily relieved son was a gleeful fount of information.

"It's all happening Dad! Last night, the US declared a State of Emergency, and is enforcing the Patriot Act. They have announced a new currency, the Amero, a Bitcoin variant, lopping two zeros off the greenback, and only minimal amounts are convertible into Ameros. After June first it becomes an act of treason to use anything but the Amero in settling debts.

They are busy fighting crime, or at least those were the reasons given. You must have a card to do any transaction, and it is going to be one of the new style with embedded biometric information. We're covered, just don't ask with what! You've gotta love the smell of bullshit around here this morning!

As well, Texas and Vermont have declared independence."

"Good God," Gary exclaimed. "That really tears it. I was expecting some extreme reactions. Certainly the Patriot Act and the new currency were things I thought might happen, but I didn't think of digital currency. Marry that up with whatever files exist on you and they control the finances of every individual in the US. They can monitor your spending habits, suddenly impose taxes to be taken automatically, decide you are an Enemy of the State, even an Al Qaida terrorist, and shut down all your resources in less than one second. I also thought the US and a number of countries might break up, especially Canada, what's left of Russia, and the European Union, but not this fast! The combination of Amero and Patriot shows these guys are panicking and fighting to save the US Treasury at any cost. If they're implicitly admitting ing it's that grim, it's probably much grimmer still!

Texas seceeding probably means civil war. That giant popping sound you hear is just another step along the way in the ongoing, seismic readjustment that is taking place in the global social, economic and political order."

"Yeah, the Patriot Act suspends all civil rights including the right of habeas corpus, as well all other law including the Constitution. No court needs an order for you to appear before it any more. Merely on a whim, you can now be 'disappeared' in the USA. There's no proof or hearing required to hold you or any other action. Just like Germany was under Hitler. The Homeland Security Officers don't answer to any higher law, or to any court. Just like under the Zazis, and the 'emergency' will last as long as the president decides it should. You can't believe how much pressure that put on us," Eric exclaimed.

"I can believe it. How far along are you?"

"We got most of the books we wanted, although Brian is threatening to stay and guard the rest. We probably could have gotten another 30 or so containers, but we shut that operation down as quickly as we could. We cleaned out the Engineering library completely. Last night we decided that while it was risky, there was no better time to take the risk than in the confusion when the Patriot Act was just declared so we ordered Bruce back with the Phoenix to cram as many people as possible on board. He should be back to New Haven any time now," Eric said. "Hopefully, he'll only be here a couple of hours, and then back to sea."

"I'm mightily relieved to hear it! You're a bunch of Patriots yourselves, that's for sure!. Tell Claude I deposited 150,000 Euros to the chandlers account, and it was confirmed by email. How about the new inductees to the community? Are they all packing up as fast as they know how?"

"Yes, they claim they are, but not nearly fast enough for me. I'm getting scared that the National Guard or Homeland Security are going to fall on our necks anytime soon. We are making far too many waves Which brings to mind that you are one of our worst offenders in that regard oh my beloved Father!"

He grunted "I'll get onto Jan next. Not much else I can do from over here. I'd say your rush to get offshore is the smartest thing we can do. Anything we are missing we will probably be able to pick up in Canada."

"That's good. Chris is dithering that he hasn't been able to pick up many animals," Eric said.

"Never mind. I'll be in Canada tomorrow if I don't miss the plane. What I will do depends on the situation when I arrive. In the worst case I can probably find some things in Canada, but exactly what I will use to pay for it is another question. Chris must have been going steady for days now with no sleep."

"Yeah, I think he's sleeping now."

"He might like it if we donated the rest of those two fuel tankers to his drivers. I think you are headed in the right direction. Get as many people and containers offshore as fast as possible. I'd like Lynn to go with the Magga Dan if possible. We'll just finish the loading of Eastern Trader with laggard people, their belongings, and some empty containers. We don't want all our senior people at risk at the same time, in the same place. There's less risk from government interference if you are offshore."

Eric laughed. "Wayne managed to spend some more of the old dollars, and got some more armament. He got everything from drones to armalite rifles, and 5 high-speed inflatables. Like the pirates used off Somalia". He added grimly.

"We can't have many dollars left now. I think you guys are doing better without me than with me. Leave you with it son. I'll get onto Jan now. Good luck and pass on my plaudits to everyone You're all doing an amazing job.!

I'll contact you before I get on the plane."

He called Jan. "Hi sweetie, how's it going?"

"This place is a disaster," she exploded. "Everyone ran out of here without even stacking their bloody dishes. leaving their mess. For me to clear up!. Gary, I've never been a good housefrau and right now I'm not appreciating being thrust into the role!"

'Oh, oh, she's got another bee in her bonnet', he thought. "That's because we're now all fleeing for our lives. When did you last get some sleep?"

"Yesterday," she replied crossly. "Everyone is running around yelling, and I can't get anyone to cooperate."

"Well, the situation is serious enough that I've been thinking of just abandoning everything we have, and getting you on the next boat out."

"Is this another one of your crazy ideas? Abandon all my things?" she exploded. "No way, Jose. I'm going to take my stuff and go up to my folks place till things return to normal. I'm sick and fed up with your crazy ideas. Things will return to normal soon enough. I'm not going to some jerkwater place to have babies. I want flush toilets and some normality in my life And besides my family need me right now and with the best will in the world Gary, you aren't family!"

Gary lowered his face on to the steering wheel and curled one hand over the top of his head. He felt himself getting dizzy. He tried to breathe deeply until it passed. Despite her personal quirks that had proved so dangerous during Heidi's kidnap he still loved her, warts and all. "Are you saying you don't want to get married?"

"Just now I can't answer that I need time and some space to think our relationship over and whether I want to go down the same road as you, and it sure worries me, I can tell you that!."

"Jan, I love you. I want you by my side for the rest of my life. I can't, and won't even try to stop you, if that is what you really want. I want your happiness above all else. I think that is what love is all about, putting the interests of your loved one before your own. If you're sure this, then I'll try to help you get your stuff up to your Dad's place." He felt a sudden lurching chest pain, thought he was having a heart attack, and just then realized he didn't care. "But please think about this. Please? I love you."

"Just now, Gary, I want out of all this. It comforts me that you clearly do love me in your own crazy way but that may not be enough"

"Where is your container? Have they picked it up yet?"

"No, it's in the yard. I haven't finished packing. I'm going to take what I have packed, put it back in the house and drive with my clothes up to the Adirondacks to my family. I don't want your help. Right now I don't want anything. I just want to go on my way and you can go yours."

"Jan, you're tired. Please get some sleep. If you change your mind, call me. I love you and I'll understand."

"Gary, I really think you've lost your way and you're half crazed with it. Don't try to call me because I won't answer you. What's happening isn't the end of the world, it is just another financial mess even if it is a big one".

She paused with a half sob into the phone, caught her breath and an edge returned to her voice.

"Now you just listen to me Gary and for once treat me with the professional dignity that I deserve. I am an American citizen with an American family and an American way of life. I don't want to go to Cuba and I'm not so sure that the Cubans would want us blundering into their way of life either. They must have had just about a gutfull of us Americans over the years and they seem to have made a better fist of it than we have. They don't have a financial crisis and they have a sustainable economic system, to boot!"

She clicked off and evidently switched her mobile off so that he had to be content with sending her an apologetic text.

Gary spent a few minutes surging from rage to remorse and then realized it was near checkout time, and he should be back home where it might at least be possible to do something useful.. He went into the hotel and asked that his bill be prepared. He felt completely numb and not a little lost. The clerk looked at him sympathetically and asked "Are you okay sir? You look to be a bit under the weather."

"No, thanks all the same. I just had a personal jolt, but I'll live, I suppose. My partner has just walked out on me and I don't know if she will change her mind or at least changes it before the ship sails."

"Ship? Where are you sailing to?"

"That's part of the problem, too. Nobody seems to know. Not even the Captain" he added morosely.

At the airport he found that there was no earlier flight than the one he had booked, so he sat in the departure lounge and busied himself with the seemingly endless list of chores. He called Patti to let her know he was expecting to be back on schedule but was uncertain where they would go from there.

Patti sounded anxious. She reported that she felt her farmer brother and a neighbour might be willing to join them but also had lots of queries, mostly related to agriculture which she couldn't begin to answer. She had spoken at length with her parents who had expressed suspicion about the very idea. There was absolutely no way that they would give up the land they owned to start over in some unknown foreign country where they would be reduced to the status of refugees. They were emphatic that not only could they look after themselves but they could take in and support the rest of their family, at least until things returned to normal.

He hadn't the strength to argue. Law and order might be breaking down and it was moot whether it would ever return to normal, whatever 'Post-Trump 'normal' would turn out to become.

All the US cash was gone. While waiting for people, they'd loaded the remaining road tankers of fuel from the hangars atop the containers and lashed them down. Eric was of the opinion that Bruce had already left or was leaving shortly. They expected the Magga Dan to leave within the hour. A good number of ships crew's families, and some of Claude's family were now aboard the Phoenix..

Eric thought that it totalled more than a quarter of the community population.

Claude, acting as captain, and the rest of his family, Lynn, Roy Bryant and family, Heidi, and about another quarter of the community population would be aboard the Phoenix.

Eric felt he wouldn't be able to catch the Magga Dan as he had too much of a critical nature yet to do. Gary was not happy with this, worried by now that it left too many members of the family at risk, still potentially at the mercy of the authorities but there was little he could do about it.

He was becoming increasingly concerned too about Wayne'. His enthusiasm was great, but it scared Gary as being out of control. Wayne was a man who had discovered a new religion, or a hoary new truth, and he was pursuing it with unreasonable fervour. His excessive zeal would have to be controlled without somehow killing his enthusiasm. It could become a danger to them all, he mused.
Chapter 38

Gary's flight back to Canada was uneventful, as was clearing customs. He slept fitfully, if at all, unable to get Jan out of his mind. As he and Patti cleared the airport and headed southwest, Gary was considering what was still needed for the community, and whether they could purchase it in Canada. The question boiled down to how they would pay for it now that they were out of dollars. Moreover, their fortune was tied up in Switzerland and in the containers now at sea. He could be better off holding Bitcoins, he thought glumly

Patti was eyeing him speculatively. "You are worried to death about all this, aren't you?"

He nodded miserably. "I'm scared sick that it will all come apart and I'm deep down worried that I'm leading a whole crew of people into some sort of disaster entirely of my making."

"Gary!" she leaned over in her seat and pulled him toward her. She cradled his head in her lap like he was a weary child, stroked his hair. "You've been carrying all this on your own for what – a month now? Nobody can carry that amount of stress indefinitely and you don't have to any more because you've assembled as worthy a bunch of people as any in America and it is down to them now. You've created your 'Project Pheonix', even named a ship after it and now you've done it and Wayne, Claude, John Nott and all those others are taking over the running of it.

I think we need a drink, don't you?"
Tuesday March 14th — Day 29

Once Gary and Patti had been underway for half an hour he decided that a stop for a bite to eat, with some time off to think, would be smart. He stopped at a still-open truckstop and over their hastily-eaten meal asked Patti if she had spent any of the money she had been given.

"No, I'm still holding most of it but I don't really know how to put any kind of value to it or even where I might be able to spend any other than at truckstops like this one!" She pulled a face. "Are you OK, Gary? You don't look well. Your hands are trembling"

"Sorry, I have a lot on my plate right now. I don't suppose you know, but we've had a bit of a bust-up. Jan seems to have gone off at the deep end. She thinks I've gone stir-crazy with all this stuff going on. I'm beginning to feel that perhaps she's right"

"I'm so sorry," Patti said, reaching over and covering his hand with hers. "I expect she'll come around if you leave her alone for a while."

"Everybody is acting a little strange these days. As long as I keep my mind on the community work I'm not too bad. Wayne has just spent our last grenbacks, not that the dollars are worth anything by now. The only cash we have left is what you and I are carrying at the moment. About $20,000 US plus bits of other currencies. All our other resources are either on a ship at sea or in Switzerland. We have good opportunities to get what we need in Canada though, if we can just figure out some way of paying for it."

Patti withdrew her hand, and said, "What do you have left in the States?"

"How do you mean? Personally not much, just what I have in my house." He paused. "Hey, wait a minute. Patti, I could kiss you. I do have some precious metals there," He abruptly flipped out his mobile and called Eric who answered the phone. Groggy with sleep.

"Sorry to wake you, son, but it is important.. "Did you collect the precious metals I had at home in my safe for inclusion in the container on the Phoenix?"

"No, I couldn't because I don't have the combination,"

"Oh, well, that's Fantastic! I'm in Toronto, and headed south. Go back to sleep. Sorry to have awakened you. I'll call again later."

"Patti, How do you feel about doing a bit of smuggling?"

"Same as we did last time?" Patti frowned.

"Probably, but from the US into Canada and I won't be with you. Someone else will be. Probably Wolfgang Perl if I can get him to. Have you ever met him? No, you couldn't have. He was at the induction meeting Sunday,. Wolfgang has a gift for sourcing things. I have least one million Canadian dollar equivalent at home in gold, about 50 ounces, plus a few hundred ounces of silver as a deep reserve in case we needed it. If we can get his abilities up here we can probably have most of what we need, ready to be loaded aboard ship in Halifax when she Phoenix docks."

"I wouldn't be looking after you?" Patti sounded disappointed. "Wayne said I was to stick to you like glue and not let you out of my sight."

"Yeah, but I will have Wayne and a whole bunch of SEALs there to look after me. Besides, you have become more of a partner in crime, than a bodyguard."

Her face brightened, her voice lowered. What exactly do you need of me Gary?" Her face was disconceringly close to his, her their breaths mingling. He shivered, felt a stirring that he wasn't supposed to, looked into her eyes and felt himself somehow surrendering to her strength, toughness and something primordially else besides. He touched her nose with his before replying in a voice that he did not recognise. "I'm so tired Patti! I need your skills, brain, and experience in Canada to help get the rest of the things we need. With the banks now closed in Canada too, cash and things like that are going to become extremely valuable. We should be able to pick up things for cents on the dollar just like we did in the US when their banks were closed. too We can use our experience in the US to be more effective when we live it all over again in Canada."

"Maybe we should drop off some, or almost all the Canadian dollars with your family so they can purchase containers and get things underway from Halifax? That way we don't have to smuggle money back and forth over the border."

Patti eyed him with disconcerting directness.

"Okay." she said, her voice dropping to little more than a whisper "and is that really all you want of me, Mr Alden?"

He paused for a long moment, holding her gaze for long seconds before continuing. "I need you Patti! He closed his eyes, leaned in towards her, barely whispering "I'm just so tired! You carry on driving to your parents, and then the border, and I'll try to get some sleep. Then I'll take over the driving, and you sleep. It's going to be a long day ahead for you as well as me!."

"And I thought they were pushing us hard in boot camp!" Patti laughed. "Those drill sergeants were patsies along side of you. I'd have complained by now but I know you'll be pushing yourself even harder."

He reached out and in an oddly old-fashioned manner, took her hand and kissed it. "Thank you" he whispered, straightened up, cleared his throat and smiled. "Well then, let's get going."

Back in Stamford, Gary was appalled to find just how shaken up he was about Jan and yet he could hardly picture her face or recall the sound of her voice. He couldn't somehow think logically at all and he never had more need to have his wits about him. There sitting beside the house was his container with two boxed safes inside, containing thousands of ounces of gold. He had almost forgotten about it entirely in his quest for assets with which to buy things in Canada. If Jan had become vindictive in her anger, nearly half of his US gold was sitting in plain sight and up for grabs by anyone to take if they searched at all, as sooner or later, they surely would.

He turned to Patti, "Could I get you to do something for me?"

"Yes." She nodded, made a wan, tired smile.

"You're supposed to say 'what?' not 'yes'" He took a deep breath, took hold of her forearms, a thrill that he couldn't help at the wiry strength of her shivering inside him "Could you go around to about four houses in every direction till you find half a dozen strong adults that could help me pack and load a container? I will pay them $100 per hour, plus sandwiches before and after, to start as soon as possible. Six hours tonight and probably some tomorrow. Then I'd like you to go down again and try to get some sleep. You might want to shower too, because you will have another long day to come tomorrow."

She nodded tiredly "I'd like to get some washing done too."

"Good idea," said Gary. "Throw your stuff in the washer, and I'll change it to the dryer when it's done. In the meantime I'll get to work on arranging for the Canada purchases."

He heard the shower unit beginning to gush hot water as he called Chris for a rush pickup of the container in the front yard. The best Chris could do was have a driver over in about three to four hours and he had to settle for that. The driver would drop a new container and pick up the old one.

Next Wolfgang. "How's the packing going?" he asked.

"It's been pretty frantic around here, but we're about finished packing."

"Great. I'm just back but I have another job for you, if I can talk you in to it. It's in Canada this time. Can you get your packing finished ASAP and get your family over to the hotel for protection?" Gary asked.

"And?"

"I have a SEAL I've been working with as an assistant and bodyguard. She's one of the smartest, best looking, and deadliest women I have ever met. She's a Canadian. I was hoping to have both of you drive to Canada. The first objective is to smuggle a bit of gold or silver across the border. She'll show you how. Once there, I'm hoping you can dispose of it a bit at a time, and buy the list of stuff I'm going to send to you shortly. I don't want to dispose of any more gold than I have to but we need the goods even more.

A lot of the list is foodstuffs and animals, so you will probably want to source it near Halifax to reduce shipping time. For most of the other things you should be able to get them for cents on the dollar cash, just like we did in the US when the banks were closed. For the food, you'll likely have to pay top dollar. Would you be willing to try? You could meet up with our ship – she's called the "Phoenix" \- in Halifax."

"Sounds like a challenge," Wolfgang paused. "Why not, though? We're about done here. Email me to confirm what you just asked me for, it was too much to take in all at once. And Gary, take care of yourself, it is getting evermore dangerous out there. Our world seems to be collapsing in on itself"

"Same to you too, Wolfgang!. Thank you for what you've already done, and by the way, those pallets and containers were an unbelievable job. See what you get for being good at something?

I'll have Patti meet you at the hotel. You'll need to fuel up when you arrive and it maybe a problem finding a filling station that is still open by the time you get there. I'll be at home packing if anything else comes up in the meantime. We have still a few loose ends to wrap up here."

He started off a roast in the oven and set out some rice ready to be microwaved. He pinged Eric, but he didn't answer. Puzzled and worried, he called Wayne who was in the midst of packing. " Do you know where my son Eric is?"

Not exactly but he was still packing up a library when he last checked in with me. That was this morning." he added.

"Oh, good. How about your girlfriend, Mona?"

"Her son was killed and I wasn't there to help though it was nothing to do with me. I'm somehow in her bad books. She has to blame somebody, I guess, but despite that I persuaded her to come along as there's space for her.. She's packing now."

"I have Wolfgang going to Canada to source some things, primarily foodstuffs. I wondered if you had anything that I should add to the list?"

Gary busied himself with his manifest. His eyes were blurring over his tablet and he stopped to make himself a strong, black coffee.

He had momentarillay dosed off in his chair when Patti came back to report success in her search for helpers, then went off to shower and to bed. Gary finished his list, changed Patti's laundry to the dryer, and began to prepare for the packing up of the house. The helpers began to straggle in, as much for the offer of sandwiches as for the dollars that nobody seemed to want anymore.

He fuelled his car at an outrageously expensive garage that was at least still open so long as the attended was motivated by an extra £50 bill, and started two of his new labourers to work packing the remaining contents of his garage. He started a second crew of three on packing up the living room. Full boxes, furniture, and so on, were then moved into the container for stowing.

He noticed that one particular gentleman appeared to be growing fatter by the minute. He waited until Patti was up, and called him out on it. After some blustering and threats, the man began to empty his pockets of an astonishing variety of things he had found to steal. After patting him down and finding another couple of valuables, Gary paid him the hours worked and fired him. Even then he had the audacity to demand his second sandwich and a distracted Gary gave one to him

. Thereafter he announced that everyone would be searched by a SEAL before they left their shift.

The books, bookcases, and ornaments from the office were next. So far Gary had not allowed anyone to touch his desk, safe, files, or to go downstairs where they might view the food that was stored there or wake Patti. The Habel driver arrived with an empty container and changed it for the full one to drop it at the New Haven docks. He said Bruce Nott's ship had come and gone, and that the second, smaller ship had just left.

A combination of jet lag and general fatigue forced Gary to call a halt after five hours. He prepared the sandwiches, and as a gesture, cut the remaining roast in five equal pieces, wrapped it and with the remaining rice, handed it to the workers with their pay. After checking for theft, he offered them more work the following morning and the offer was accepted gratefully.

Ushering them out and calling Wayne for a SEAL guard tomorrow, he put another roast on to slow cook, alarmed the house, and crashed out into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Chapter 39

Wednesday March 15th — Day 30

At 6 am he was up and doing, mightily refreshed albeit still physically fatigued but putting it down to jet lag or ongoing anxiety about Jan and a disquieting emotional crossover with Patti who was now rarely out of his thoughts.

Sometime during the night his subconscious had dragged up another 'stash' of gold. In the rush and confusion of the moment he had thrown the nine ounces that he had purchased from the 'bright kid' at Premet, into the top drawer of his desk and it was still there. He checked his freezer for frozen spaghetti sauce containing bags of gold. There was none. Obviously Eric had efficiently collected it. He packed his desk, moved the contents of the now half-empty basement freezers together into one, and closed the pantry door.

The workers of last night began to show up, in addition to three times their number of hopeful assistants who morphed into hopeful beggars when Gary explained that he didn't need them, however he did take on one who claimed he had electrical experience and immediately put him to work salvaging as much of his security system as possible. A SEAL by name of Kirk also showed up and Gary briefed him on his guard duties.

The day was cool but sunny with a few puffy clouds, about 40 degrees. The breeze had freshened just slightly, possibly indicating a coming storm front.

He started a couple of workers cleaning up and packing the main floor, and took the other three downstairs to start clearing everything but the freezers and the pantry.

The doorbell rang. He peeked out through his peephole, saw a lone, well dressed man and cautiously opened the door but with the chain still in place. "Yes?"

"Are you Gary Alden?"

"I'm with the treasury department. You purchased some gold last month and I'm here to secure it."

"I did?" Gary asked to gain time and information. His worst nightmare was coming true.

"Yes, nine ounces. I have a copy of the receipt here somewhere but it would take me all day to find. We are in the process of packing to move house."

"Under the Patriot Act, sir it's now illegal for private citizens to own gold," the agent said. The government was simply following paper trails of gold purchases, and Gary had forgotten the credit card purchase he had made from the bright kid on that first day, seemingly so far back in time that it felt surreal 'It was his own damned fault that he had come to the attention of government. He had left an audit trail'.

"Oh, that!" he said. "I've been so busy trying to stay alive, I forgot. It's okay. I'm a goldsmith and I'm exempt. It's inventory."

"What do you mean? You surprise me!"

"I am a registered goldsmith and goldsmiths are permitted to own gold, no matter what. Wait, I'll show you," he opened his office, pulled out a file marked 'defence-Armageddon' and extracted a couple of documents. Returning to the door he thrust the papers through for the man to scrutinise. "See, my government tax licenses and my membership in the American Society of Goldsmiths. I have been a member for at least ten years. I bought that gold as inventory because the price was going up. Goldsmiths are permitted to own gold," he repeated emphatically.

"Oh. I didn't know that." The man seemed confused but he handed Gary's papers back. "Okay, thanks," and he turned to leave.

Gary smiled and offered his hand. "I'm glad that the Civil Service is still alert and functioning in these worrisome times".

He immediately called Wayne. "I have just been visited by a Treasury Department official wanting to see my gold.. I got out of this one cheap but we're on their radar and they'll be back. We have to move ASAP now!. Please contact everyone. Are you packing too?"

"Yes I'm packing. I'll alert the SEALs and start a chain going. Will you do the same via Chris."

He thought ''That was an order, not a request and that's beginning to worry me some!'

Chris at once replied that under the circumstances he would send a bobtail tractor over ASAP, and the truck driver should remain at Gary's house while the container was loaded. He also said drivers would be dispatched to every container being loaded for pick up right away.

The doorbell rang again.

Gary peeked out and the Treasury man was back. He cautiously opened the door with the chain lock still on. "Yes?" he said.

"I've just been talking to my boss and he says we are seizing it under the Patriot Act, no matter what you told me" He looked distinctly uncomfortable.

Gary exploded. "What the hell, that's not fair. As if there isn't enough starvation and unemployment around now? You want to take my livelihood and what is properly mine away too?"

He made an appearance of then calming down and a show of appearing to be mulling things over in his mind. There was no doubt he would have to hand over the gold to them just to get them off his back, but he nonetheless had to appear to be making a bit of a scene!.

He finally made a show of reluctantly acceding to the demand, "Okay, but I want an official receipt. I'm going to get this back. You can't just take my livelihood away from me like this" letting his jacket fall back so his shoulder holster was visible.

The officer blanched slightly but stood his ground. "So long as we understand each other Mr Alden. This is not personal, I'm simply doing my job. If you will kindly surrender the bullion, I'll get a receipt from the car."

As soon as the official had gone he called both Wayne and Chris "I got rid of him but he didn't ask to search the house. Not that he would find much but they'll be back soon enough with the 'heavies' and a warrant and they'll want to open every box and every bag It's just a matter of time till this gets out of hand. We'd better get everybody moving, grab whatever they can reasonably carry and abandon the rest."

He raced downstairs. "Finish packing whatever boxes you're working on. Here's your pay for four hours and $100 bucks bonus. If we get out of here without incident there will be more work to do and some more food as well. I want it to be really fast. Get all the packed boxes and that freezer," pointing to the empty one, "outside to the container right away. The other freezer is full. I want to distribute what is in it later because most of it will likely spoil and you guys might as well have the benefit of it. Next, pick up all the boxes in the pantry and get them upstairs into the container."

He grabbed an envelope, stuffed it with cash and sealed it. He ran outside to the commercial guards on duty and handed it over, saying it was for the company owner. Miraculously, the Habel driver then pulled in.saying "I was close by and Chris redirected me."

"Fantastic," Gary was overwhelmed. "Hook up and then I would like to ask a favour. Do you have any experience packing household goods?"

"Sure," said the driver. I've done enough of it in my time!"

"Can I persuade you to do the packing in this container while you wait?" Gary asked. "There's a lot of stuff in there. I'll pay you an additional $100 per hour, old dollars."

"You don't have to pay me anything. Chris told us you have given us the tankers of fuel."

"Well I'll pay you anyway. By the way, if anybody asks, you think the container is going to Wyoming with a truck convoy . Maybe o Medicine Bow, Wyoming," a place Gary had once visited.

"Gotcha," the driver grinned.

He hurried next door where a container was backed up to Brian, the librarian's house. He did not see any loading being done. Brian answered the door.

"Oh, hi Gary. Won't you come in?"

"There's no time. How close are you to being packed and ready to go?" Gary demanded.

"We are packing carefully because it's a long trip."

"Well, did Chris Harbel not call you and ask you to be ready in an hour?".

"We can't pack in an hour!" Brian said askance.

"Well," Gary said, taking a deep breath and looking down in frustration for an instant, "If you want to go with us you'll have to be ready because that's when we are leaving, whatever!. Do you have any helpers?"

"A couple, but we spend so much time overseeing them we might as well do it ourselves."

"Forget overseeing them and grab whatever you can," Gary almost screamed. "This has become a matter of do it now, or die. The ship will be leaving in about two hours. Do you want to stay here and watch your family starve? That is your choice but I would hate to see it happen. I'll try to get a couple of more hands over here. Just point at a room and say, 'Get that room out into the container, I don't care how.' If anybody asks including your helpers, say you are going by truck convoy to Medicine Bow, Wyoming."

Ana Gibson and the girls came to the door to stand beside Brian.

"But we're not." He sounded puzzled.

"Just do it. If someone asks, you're going by truck convoy to Medicine Bow, Wyoming. There's less people there and there's food to be had there as well. In the meantime, I'll be gone in about an hour. If you want to come with us then you should be gone from here too."

"Well, we do want to come but we want to bring our stuff. We're already giving up our house, maybe forever and becoming refugees. It doesn't feel very good, Mr Alden!"

Gary gave a heavy sigh of despair. "On the way back yesterday I saw a dog eating on a dead human. Disease is starting to spread in epidemic proportions There's no food. Do you want to stay for that or do you want to go?" Gary demanded.

"We want to go, of course."

"Well, what's more important, your house, your stuff, or your life and the lives of your children? You have very little time left maybe only an hour. Get them loading stuff into the container, packed or not. Furniture first, tight at the front because it is heavy. Okay? I'll try to get some hands over here if I can to help you."

"Okay," Brian said, bewilderedly.

"We will be ready," Ana said firmly. It appeared that her velvet glove had a rarely displayed iron fist within it. Brian almost stood to attention.

"Good, I'll see if those guys that are guarding us will lend a hand," He scurried back to the guards. "Guarding is your first job, guys but would you be willing to lend a hand helping to get the container next door packed? I'll pay an extra $100 old dollars an hour extra plus some food. We're now in a terrible rush."

The mention of food obviously worked its magic. They both grinned and said, "Let's get stuck in!."

"I'll pay a minimum of three hours if you are done in an hour and a half. Don't let anyone distract you from keeping an eye open as guards, or in getting stuff aboard that container. He likes to act the philosopher so don't let him get in your way. Just get in there and start grabbing stuff, boxed or not, and hauling it out to the container. Pack it as tightly as possible, heavy stuff on the bottom. It has to travel to Wyoming. Since time is so short if we want to join the truck convoy, I'd appreciate it if you could start right now. But remember, your job is also to act as guards."

He actually ran back to his house past Kirk, his new SEAL guard, who was trailing along but never quite catching up. Aside from his military quarter inch haircut, Kirk didn't look like a fast moving SEAL. He was a square block, a bit shorter than Wayne. If there was a brick wall ahead he was a bulldozer who would pause for a second, snort once, and then march right through it.

In the office he gathered up the stuff he had packed from his desk, handed Kirk his keys and said, "Would you put these into the trunk of my car please? While you are there, you'll find a small tool kit. Bring it with you as well."

"See this safe. It's screwed down. You should be able to unscrew it with the wrench. If anybody asks we're trying to catch a truck convoy to Wyoming. You're not sure where. You're just a dumb guard. Okay?"

Kirk nodded, slightly bemused but went at once to get started.

Gary finally went downstairs and started packing the shelves of his pantry. He was nearly finished when Kirk yelled down, "You have visitors Mr. Alden." Two men with briefcases stood outside the door.

'Oh, SHIT! 'he thought.' They're coming back to search for gold. Damn.'

"Gareth McTier Alden?"

'That's why children are given middle names. They can easily know when moms are really mad, or officials are being really official and serious.

"Yes."

Kirk walked up to stand by his side. His two guards had followed them in and stopped a pace short of the foot of the porch.

"We're from the IRS, and we're here to collect taxes on a windfall profit you made in the stock market. You made approximately 58 million dollars, I believe."

"I paid an instalment. Don't you guys ever look at your records?" Gary said in disgust. "First of all, it wasn't a windfall profit, it was long term since I had been using that vehicle for some long time."

"How much did you pay on your instalment, Mr. Alden?"

"$20 million and change, and another $5 million on something that's not turning out to be so damned profitable at all. So, a total of over $25 million," Gary said. "I expect to be demanding money back when I send in my return."

"Can you show us how you paid it, an endorsed check perhaps?"

"It was bank drafts drawn on American Citybank. I have photocopies in the car. Come with me," and he led the way to the car trunk. As the two gentlemen turned around, their shock at seeing two more armed guards was almost humorous to see. The bulge under Gary's armpit was already ominously apparent.

He dug into a box and pulled open his defence file, without pulling it out of the box. He selected the photocopy of the bank drafts, and the signature, time stamped, by the IRS. Holding the paper up, he said, "Feel free to make note of any details you may find pertinent. As you see, I paid $20 million, 357.23, and another $5 million as an estimate. I'm not trying to avoid paying tax. Lord knows the country needs the money. But recently I've been losing my shirt. With the food situation who knows even if everyone is going to survive? This is the signature for the drafts, date and time stamped."

"May I have them please?"

"I'd rather not. They're my only copy,"

"We're empowered to seize them, you should know. that. Especially if you are a goldsmith!"

"Yes, and I'm entitled to have a copy and a receipt. Unless you have a photocopier with you I'm afraid I must refuse," Gary said adamantly.

Looking at the armed guards lined up beside him, with four against two, apparently the gentlemen decided that prudence was in order and began making notes.

"You seem to be moving Mr. Alden. May I enquire where to?"

"Wyoming, I expect." Gary said shortly. He noticed that loading the container was proceeding apace.

"Do you have a forwarding address?"

"No. The urgent question is to get away from the huge and increasingly desperate population here, the lack of food, and the death and disease, to somewhere where there are fewer people and more potential for us to survive. I have a family to consider, by the way!. I think Medicine Bow in Wyoming would fit that bill but I have to determine whether I can find a suitable property in order to settle there."

The gentlemen exchanged significant glances and one said, "It's apparent that you are making some effort to meet your tax obligations so we'll accept that for the moment. Kindly forward your new address when you settle. Here is my card. Do you have one by chance?"

"Yes, but I can't see what good that will do. I'm moving and probably won't be back." He dug into his wallet and handed one over.

"Thank you and have a good trip." The IRS Officials left.

Gary stared after them in puzzlement. Somehow I have the feeling they put one over on us, but I can't think what. That was a bit too easy. Turning to the two guards he said, "Thank you for showing up. That was beautiful, the way you did it and the timing. Now let's get back to packing. I'm afraid they may be back and it might not be so pleasant next time. I don't want to be here when they do."

On the way over to his container he whispered, "Thanks, Kirk. That was exactly the right attitude. Walk softly and carry a big weapon."

At the container he spoke to the driver. "Did they talk to you at all?"

"Yep, all sorts of questions," the driver grinned. "Where you were going and all. I told them Wyoming, maybe Medicine Bow but I couldn't remember specifically."

"Fantastic. That was what that exchange of looks was about. They thought I was confirming what you said. Wonderful. I owe you a big one. How are we doing with packing up?" As he spoke, the guys were manoeuvring the empty freezer out of the house. Before they tried to get it as far as the container, he said, "Put it down, I have a few more boxes to go in first. Have you moved everything out of the kitchen?"

"Yes, the whole main floor is clean except for your desk, the safe, the fridge and the stove."

He started for the house, went into the basement. "I'll finish packing these shelves, but in the meantime can four of you try to get that safe out of the office and onto the truck. After you're finished I would appreciate it if you would move next door and get them loaded too. Okay?"

"We're getting pretty tired."

"I'll bet. I can't believe how fast you have worked. We'll take a break before we move the fridge in the kitchen, and empty the contents it into our stomachs. How does that sound?"

The atmosphere brightened immediately. In short order, the boxes and sacks from the pantry were moved. Gary called a halt. He beckoned the driver and his worker assistant in and at his signal closed the container doors behind them. He started cutting the roast and had a couple of guys buttering bread. After sixteen sandwiches were made, he put eight aside, and handed out cold pop. He ran next door and asked everyone there to come on over, handed out the other sandwiches and more pop. Then he spoke privately with the Gibson's. "I want these workers to feel good about us after we've gone. There'll be more food for you later. Keep an eye on the containers and move some boxes. I want to finish up here just as soon as we can."

"Come on back downstairs," he said to everyone else after the Gibson's left. "I want everybody to have a box to put your stuff in and line up over there, everybody including the guards. Kirk to keep a lookout upstairs please."

"This is all frozen goods and we can only use so much of it," Gary explained. "I'm going to try to divide this up as equally as possible. I am going to take two portions for our group. The driver will take two, one for himself, and one for all the other Habel drivers who are also working hard. He must have a minimum of seven pieces of meat for all seven Habel drivers. If we don't have seven rounds. I want each of you to take one piece of meat. You have to be able to see it and once you point it out, it is yours regardless of whether it was what you thought it was or not."

He drew out two pieces of meat, and said. "I also want everyone to take a loaf of bread on this first round so we can empty the freezer faster." So saying, he took out two loaves of bread and added them to his box thinking "He took five loaves and two fishes and did brake the bread..."

The line wound around and Gary estimated what was left. To the driver he said. "I want you to take seven pieces of meat this time, one for you and six for the other drivers."

On the final round there were two pieces of meat left over. Gary added them to the community box. They did one more round of bread, one of desserts, and a round of milk. He added the leftovers to the community box.

Once they had done that he ordered the two steel shelving units that were in the pantry to be hefted into the container, and divided up the remaining food in the fridge. The two guards and the two Gibson workers, looking replete and belching in appreciation went back to their duties.

Gary's crew finished up with just enough room to include the desk, the last item. After locking the container he asked the driver to be sure he wasn't followed and if he thought he might be to call right away and not drive into the dock.

It was just going on to noon, and another driver pulled in to pick up the Gibson container and was given his pick of meat out of the driver box. He paid the first driver his extra money.

Finally he sent all his workers and their boxes of food over to the Gibson's and then called in the guard company. "I've given Jake an envelope of cash that should more than cover your bill. As of tonight we have no more work. We're headed out to the wide-open spaces. You have my tablet and cellphone details if you want to contact me.".

"I'm real sorry to hear that! It's your cash that has been keeping us alive. But I wish you all the best and you know where we are anytime you need us."

At long last he locked the house then went over to the Gibson's, paid off everyone lavishly, noticed that there was very little more work to be done, and spoke to the driver, Brian and Ana privately. "With the visits of the authorities this morning I expect problems soon. I want you out of here in half an hour. If you think you are being followed don't go into the docks. Call me and we'll set something up.. If anyone questions you, remember we are going to Medicine Bow, Wyoming. Any questions?"

He gave Brian a muted 'high five'"Okay, see you later."
Chapter 40

When he got back outside, his container was gone. Kirk drove them to New Haven, putting a few twists into their route to check whether they were being followed, reaching the Phoenix at her moorings as Gary's container was being loaded aboard.

"Who's still missing, Wayne?"

"Just Chris Habel, the Gibson's, and the McClouds."

"Who are the McClouds?".

"They're a Roy Bryant recommend. Millwright and general all round super machinist, I gather. They were at the meeting Sunday. He's being delayed because he has a lot of machinery to pack. I gather it's alll essential stuff."

The captain came up and introduced himself as Captain Julius Struckless, one of the names on Gary's original list. The accent was obviously from Newfoundland, Canada, as was his use of 'boy' the way Wolfgang used 'mon', except he pronounced it more like 'bye'. About Wayne's height, he was slim and dressed neatly in jeans and a plaid shirt. Gary said, "I'm so glad to finally meet you. I'd heard of you even before Claude sang your praises." He shook his hand warmly. "Are we ready for off?"

"Soon as you give the word Mr Alden"

Wayne said. "I was talking to Chris, and the McClouds, and they are pretty much finished. Mostly, it's travel time. How about the Gibson's?"

"If we got him to stop acting the philosopher they were ordered to leave within a half an hour of our coming over here or else risk getting left behind I think Ana at least believes I mean it. So they should be underway now."

"I've had people asking if we can take their cars?"

"Can you take them without danger?".

"I think so. I can swing some empty containers down. We can probably get three cars into a container."

"I can get that organized right away. The natives are getting restless with nothing to do but get nervous".

"I have some frozen food to get out of my car. Where do you want me to put it? The car, I mean!?"

"The containers will be coming down over there. Park directly across the dock opposite."

As he made his way toward the gangway a red headed man he did not know approached him. "Mr. Alden? I gathered we were waiting for you. Why are we not now getting underway?"

"We have three other families we are waiting on.".

"Can't we just leave them and let them catch up with us?"

"This is a community," Gary began in revulsion. "We look out after each other at all times. One of the families is the guy who neglected his own family to get you down here on time. Unless something like shooting starts we're not about to leave him under any circumstances. That's why we formed a group, to look out after each other. Absolutely not."

"So you think there will be shooting?"

"In the past month, have you heard gunfire? Anybody that decides we have something they want is likely to try to use guns to get it. Anything is possible. We're preparing for the worst and hoping for the best. Now if you will excuse me." He turned away in disgust.

"It's my right to know when we are going to leave."

The words 'my right,' along with the tension caused Gary to snap. He whirled and began to rant. "Listen you dumb fuck, one of the reasons we are in this mess is that everyone has rights and no one has responsibilities. Here it is different. You have no rights till you earn them by being a good community member. You will automatically get those rights when you earn respect. So far you haven't earned anything. Now get out of my face. I am busy trying to save lives, including your own You will know when we are leaving as soon as I do. We will be casting off the mooring lines."

"Do you know who I am?"

"I neither know nor care. What matters is what kind of a man you are. If you're not that kind of man, now is the time to get off the ship." He again turned away and followed by Kirk, made his way down the gangway.

Gary and Kirk parked their cars as directed leaving the keys in, and gathered up the food out of the back. A line was forming at the head of the gangway for car owners to park their cars. The first empty container was coming over the side. A crew was headed down the gangway to tie down the cars in their containers.

Wayne walked Gary and Kirk to the galley with their boxes of food, and directed them to a freezer and a fridge.

Outside, Wayne's radio squawked. "Single car coming in. A blue Chevy with four people in."

"Sounds like the Gibson's," Gary said.

"Right, expected," Wayne said into his radio. To Gary he said, "I have a guard posted at those administration buildings over there. There's just a single road leading into here so he can come up behind any trouble. I also have two machine guns posted on the high points on the ship."

"Sometimes I wonder whether I should worship you or be scared as hell of you," Gary laughed. "You think of everything. Sounds good to me."

Nine Habel trailers pulled in, followed by four McCloud containers, and the families in their vehicles. "We had planned on taking a few tractors and empty trailers if possible. That container lifter too. Is it possible to lash that equipment on the top of containers?"

"Yes, I suppose so." "Julius nodded

"Good, let's do it and get the hell out of here. I'm getting twitchy,"

He went to the stern to watch the imminent departure as Patti suddenly appeared at the top of the gangway and waved to him. Blew him a proprietary kiss. He felt a surge of anguish, suddenly aware that he didn't know where Jan was and that he hadn't even given her a thought.

"Where's Jan" he shouted to her and winced at the change in her face as she pointed over toward the keyside At first he didn't understand where Patti was pointing until he saw her. Jan was standing on the dockside looking up towards them. She seemed as though she was already far away, a distant look in her eyes. She was wearing her formal business suit and holding on to a suitcase. She looked aching beautiful but fragile and lost and he felt as though his heart would break.

In sudden anguish he knew that he was losing her and somehow this was the moment that would decide their future if they were to have one and for once he didn't know how or what to do nor what to say

A voice bellowed over the ship's loudhailer. "We've got visitors. They're armed and dangerous. We need to cast off. Now!"

Wayne spoke to the captain by radio. "How long till we cast off? I have a guard to bring in."

"About ten minutes. I have power up, but we still have to get a few things lashed down."

Wayne spoke into his radio. "Call Peter in. We're about to get underway." Almost at once a heavyset man, obviously Peter, jogged around the corner carrying a sub-machine gun. As he went up the gangway a crewmember went down and cast off the bow mooring lines from the dock.

One of the machine gunners yelled down from his vantage point, "Convoy coming sir. Looks like one army half-truck and a couple of jeeps."

Wayne said into his radio, "Looks like trouble. Army convoy coming. Get that stern line cast off and everybody below decks."

Gary screamed"Jan!"

She looked directly at him as though seeing him for the first time. "I'm not coming with you."

"There's no time for this! We've got to leave now"

Her voice was distant but clear. "Gary, I've told you that I'm an American citizen. People like me are needed in our country's hour of need. You've already stolen the biggest library in New York State and we're going to want it returned one day so take good care of it in the meantime."

The convoy reached the dockside opposite, the half-track spewed out soldiers, who spread out, covering them. The crewmember passing the gangway decided that he wasn't going to make the stern line in time and shot up it in a blur of arms and legs.

An official with a bullhorn yelled, "Gary Alden, you are under arrest. This ship is detained in quarantine by order of The Patriot Act!"

The bow of the Phoenix, which had been slightly moving, swung away, the gangway hung on its hooks for a moment before falling into the dock. Gary watched in horror as the stern line tightened. He spotted a fire axe and grabbed it. He ran to where the line went over the rail. He swung at it, making a nice cut, but not severing it. He swung again. Still not severed. He swung a third time and the taut line lashed as it separated. with a loud 'twang'. . The Phoenix sprang clear of her berth, propwash boiling under her as she went astern.

"Jan!" he screamed.

"Goodbye Gary, Maybe you can make it with Patti now I'm out of the way. Look after yourself!"

"Wait, I'll jump" he cried.

She waved ironically back. "Something else I needed to tell you, Gary." She was holding her hand across her abdomen.

"I'm carrying your baby!" and she was gone behind the customs shed.

END

