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Post by ncsfsgm on Jul 16, 2023 10:53:37 GMT -6
Chapter 15
Dan took the Barrett out of the case and disassembled it. He hadn’t shot it in over a year, but he religiously checked it once a month. He had taken his last elk with it from almost 900 yards. He figured that elk’s last thoughts were wondering exactly when it was that his day turned to shit.
Dan liked to keep his weapons in good working condition. You never knew when they might be needed for quick preemptive action.
He went through all his guns including the guns Jeremy had given them. When he finished, Dan put away the cleaning equipment and donned his coat. He went down to an outcropping above the lake and watched the variegated sky as the sun set. As far as he knew he had no overt enemies that could threaten him, with the exception of one…fire. He had a lot of state and national forests around his property and an out-of-control fire could wipe him out. He had talked to representatives at the district forest service office, and they had a pretty good handle on everything. Unlike many districts in the United States, they did conduct controlled burns and readily supported firewood harvesting in the forests, with the stipulation that vehicles that entered the borders of the forests and used the fire roads and breaks had to be inspected, and the inspection paperwork had to be maintained with the vehicle while it was in use on forest service property. Being out of compliance brought hefty fines. Dan found out the schedule dates of prescribed burns, which depended on temperature, humidity, and weather conditions. These burns reduced hazardous fuels, protecting human communities from extreme fires; minimized the spread of pest insects and disease; removed unwanted species that threaten species native to an ecosystem; provided forage for game; improved habitat for threatened and endangered species; recycled nutrients back to the soil; and promoted the growth of trees, wildflowers, and other plants. The forest service had limited areas where they could pump water from the lake to replenish their tankers but were getting roads and trails built for access points. Dan was looking for something to protect his property from out-of-control prescribed burns conducted by the forest service. Talking to one of the supervisors of the team that kept the pump equipment operational, he found out he could rent a portable pump to have in place during dangerous periods. Dan contacted the company, and the cost quoted didn’t make sense to rent the equipment. The man did let drop that they were replacing some of their pumps with higher capacity pumps to handle taller buildings. It was code that if a building’s fire suppression system was to be out 4 hours or more, they had to have an emergency system in place or evacuate the building. Dan managed to purchase one of their diesel-powered enclosed trailer systems that was rated at 2000 gpm @ 119 psi. He was having the intake exchanged for a heavy-duty siphoning system and a manifold that allowed five and a half inch hose connections. He had ordered extra hoses and nozzles from Grainger. He would set the trailer up on blocks down near the lake, and have enough fire hoses to cover a perimeter around the house and outbuildings. He was researching a sprinkler system he could permanently install that would saturate the area around the house to wet the forest down before the fire reached the endangered area. Dan had all that on his plate and would have the pump trailer by the first of the year when the controlled burn schedule started.
The next morning the furniture started to be delivered. Right after lunch, Andy got a call from Jeremy informing him he was sending two 53-foot trailers of things to be stored in the warehouse.
Archer had come over to Andy’s to help with the furniture placement. As the deliverymen brought it in, Andy and Archer did the fine tuning under Crystal’s direction. Crystal was having a wonderful time, the men, not so much. When the delivery truck was unloaded and everything in its place, Andy and Archer were walking to the boat house when Andy’s phone buzzed with a notification from the gate app.
Puzzled, Andy didn’t recognize the man in the video. “Can I help you?” Andy asked.
“Delivery from Colonel Cassidy,” The driver said.
Andy frowned and buzzed the man through the gate. As the truck drew nearer, Andy squinted and asked. “What the hell is that?”
Archer chuckled. “Looks like Jeremy sent you a wheeled skid steer.”
Sure enough, on the back of the lowboy trailer was a CAT skid steer with several attachments, of which Andy only recognize the bucket and fork attachments.
“What the hell? I’ve never operated one of those!” Andy said.
“Better learn how or you may be unloading the stuff Jeremy is planning on putting in that “warehouse” by hand. Archer grinned.
Archer helped the driver unchain everything, jumped in the seat, and drove the Cat off the trailer, lined it up and drove it back on, picked up the next implement and carried it back off to set it down by the storage building. There were the pallet forks, combo bucket, grappler, landscape blade, snow blower, auger, and a chipper.
“What the hell do you need a snow blower for around here?” Andy asked.
“You would be surprised how much snow you can get around here at times. Archer said. “They sometimes get twenty or more inches around here. I checked.”
“Well, I guess I should put a lean-to roof on the southeast side of the warehouse to keep the equipment out of the weather.” Andy said.
“Let me know and I’ll come over to help,” Archer replied.
Andy called Jeremy.
“What’s the deal with the skid steer and all the extra attachments for it?” Andy asked.
“Oh, I just included those I thought might be useful around there,” Jeremy replied. “Look, I’ll see you in a couple of days. Expect a couple of truckloads to store in the warehouse."
Andy took some measurements in his notebook. He’d work out the materials list later. Archer parked the skid steer in the warehouse.
Jeremy flew in an hour before the two 18-wheelers arrived and explained to him the procedures for anyone drawing supplies out. Archer saw the plane land and came over in his boat.
“It was kinda strange what happened to that Congressional Delegation, wasn’t it?” Archer asked.
Jeremy’s eyes narrowed. “That wasn’t one of our operations. I’ve got people looking into it but initially, it looks like one of the cartels weren’t pleased with three of the people on that plane pressing to close the border.”
Archer shrugged. “Okay.”
The trucks arrived and Andy got the skid steer out. He had been practicing moving some of the attachments around to allow for support posts on the lean-to shelter, so he was fairly proficient in operating the skid steer. It took a while to unload the trailers and drag the next pallet forward with an attached chain so it could be reached with the forks.
Once they unloaded the trailers and the drivers left, Jeremy went over to the pallet marked with “#3” He cut the shrink wrap off, pulled out six boxes, and began opening an elongated box and a square box.
“These are for you, Dan, and Archer. There’s a set of boxes for each of you. The elongated box contains an AS-2259 NIVIS antenna."
"I saw them used by the Peruvian Army", Archer said.
“What is a NIVIS?” Andy asked.
“Near Vertical Incidence Skywave,” Archer replied. “It’s for High Frequency communications in distances less than 600 kilometers. If you want to communicate further, you need to put up something else.” Jeremy said.
“Oh yeah, our Commo Sergeant gave us classes on that, but he would just drop a dipole closer to the ground for short range shots,” Andy said.
“You can do that but a lot of the people we have on our net know Jack about HF communications,” Jeremy said. “All they have to do is erect this and they are good. Now in the square boxes are four reworked hand-held radios and a base transceiver. All are keyed to the same encryption. The instruction manual here will tell you what to do even if you haven’t had any communications experience. It is very simple but very secure. We don’t use the bases except in an extreme case of emergency. The hand-helds are more often used. Last, but not least there is a Yaesu FT-891 with instruction manual and the Communications & Electronics Operations Instructions (CEOI) we use.”
Andy Left the forks mounted on the skid steer and parked it in the warehouse. Locking the warehouse up, he and Archer walked Jeremy back to the plane. Jeremy started to get on the plane but turned around and reached into his shirt pocket. Pulling out a flash drive, he handed it to Andy.
“I almost forgot. There is an inventory program on there, and a database that has everything on it that you now have in the warehouse. Anytime we send you anything, we’ll include a database that you can import into the program to update it.”
“I appreciate this,” Andy said. “I was looking at several hours to develop a spreadsheet.”
“Well, I’m glad I saved you some work” Jeremy said, a grin forming.
They watched as Jeremy and the pilot taxied out onto the lake and took off.
“I’ll check on where to buy coax for that antenna," Archer said.
“I saw a coil of coax in the box.” Andy said.
‘Yes, but it is only 25 feet. I guaran-damn-tee you it won’t be near long enough to reach where you decide to put the radio,” Archer said.
“I guess that’s the first thing I need to do then,” Andy said.
Dan drove down to Dexter to the Dead Fingers Gun Shop to pick up the two DP-12 Double Barrel Pump Shotguns he had ordered. He wished they came in other calibers and were a little lighter for Holly, but he thought she could handle it. He would set her up with a 3-point sling. Dan was becoming concerned with the latest rumblings from the Marxist/Democrat/Hate America Party. Things weren’t getting any better in the country and looked like it would get worse before it got better.
James (Jim) Collinwood watched as the day workers got the last machine loaded on the gate lift and moved up into the truck. He jumped up into the truck and made sure everything was tied down and secured. After paying the workers, he released them and checked his watch. He needed to go pick up Katie from school. It might seem as though Jim was acting rashly, but he had been planning for something like this for a long time. Now was as good of a time as any, plus, he had everything in place, and he was going to make the leap. Besides, he wanted to get out of town before Able Jefferson found out about the patents. He was going to be pissed. It wasn’t Jim’s fault he didn’t do his due diligence. It just showed just how much he knew about business.
Jim had worked at Blue Planet Arms for six years on their design team. He loved his work so much he bought his own CNC equipment to work on projects at home. He owned a dozen patents used by several arms manufacturers but the design work he had done on them at home, mainly so the company couldn’t claim rights to them if he had done the work at the plant. He was making more from the patents than he was in salary at Blue Planet. Unfortunately, he had also met Julia and he thought they had a good thing going, until he really got to know her better, and her being a rich Daddy’s girl didn’t make things any better. Her father had turned her into a wanna-be high society debutante who thought her boyfriend should be better than a mere mechanical engineer. To make a long story short, her father ended up buying Blue Planet in order to make sure his baby didn’t have to settle for a blue-collar worker. Jim had gotten word through a friend in the front office that Mr. Anderson was going to reorganize the company, and since the product line they already had was doing very well, he thought they could do just fine without all the engineers they were paying good salaries to. It was time for Jim to make his move.
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Post by gipsy on Jul 16, 2023 11:31:32 GMT -6
Sounds good. Thanks for the update.
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Post by CountryGuy on Jul 16, 2023 13:26:42 GMT -6
They always think they don't need the engineers and then after they fire them always wonder why things go to shit and no one knows how to correct or fix things...
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Post by feralferret on Jul 16, 2023 15:47:28 GMT -6
They always think they don't need the engineers and then after they fire them always wonder why things go to shit and no one knows how to correct or fix things... Been there, done that. That's why I was doing "engineer" work for a small defense contractor where I worked years ago, even though I was QA. I wrote a lot of procedures and other technical documents that had to be approved by both the prime contractor engineers and DoD engineers. Before the engineering cuts, I was lucky enough to work with one of the top pyrotechnic engineers in the country. Thankfully I learned a lot working with him, including where to research information on related components.
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Post by ncsfsgm on Jul 20, 2023 16:57:30 GMT -6
Chapter 16
The movers would be here tomorrow, and he needed to pack the things he and Katie would need until they had a house established at their new home and take them to the trailer.
A couple of years ago, Jim and Katie had begun traveling. Some. They’d see some travel documentary and decide they would travel to see more. He had discussed it with her and decided to get a travel trailer because sometimes overnight accommodations were hard to find on some of their spur-of-the-moment excursions. Then they went to a rodeo held in Hartford and Katie quickly became friends with a girl whose father rode broncos and her mother barrel raced. They were invited to their trailer for refreshments after their events were over. Their trailer was a combination horse trailer and living quarters for the four-person family and four horses. Jim had been amazed at the quality of the workmanship of the living quarters and inquired where he had bought the trailer. It was a better-quality construction than any travel trailer he had seen so far. It was custom built in Nebraska especially for rodeo riders. When they got back home, Jim looked the company up in O’Neil Nebraska and called them. He told them what he’d like to have, and they said they could build it if he could come out and select the design.
Jim downloaded floorplans of different travel trailers and he and Katie picked out the features they liked. Jim made arrangements for Katie to stay with a school friend while he made his trip to Nebraska. When all was said and done, they had a 24’ land yacht built on an 8.5x24 Colorado cargo trailer on the drawing boards. Jim paid a deposit and six months later he and Katie went to pick up their new toy. They outfitted it with everything for getting out of dodge at the drop of a hat. They didn’t need to do anything but hook up the trailer to his RAM and they were on the road. They would have to stop for fresh food and milk but other than that it was kept prepped for immediate departure. They had clothing for four seasons already stored in the trailer, plus both had travel packs they could pick up and go. Well, Katie actually had two, one for clothing and her “DO IT” bag which contained her electronics. They spent many three-day weekends out on Cape Cod or Green Lakes State Park.
When Blue Planet and another arms manufacturer landed a couple of government contracts, Jim’s patent residuals rose dramatically. He had invested 75% and bought gold and silver with the other 25%. Before he made his transition, he would liquidate his investment portfolio and buy gold and silver. It would be easier to keep control of.
Dan called Archer to make sure he was aware of the polar vortex. Archer, in turn, called Andy.
“You might get some use from that snow blower!” Archer said, laughing.
Dan checked his tire chains and decided to just replace them. Deciding to head to Poplar Bluff that afternoon, his departure was sped up when sleet began to hit the metal roof of the house. He quickly called Holly and asked if she had chains, and she didn’t. He had her read off the tire size off the tire wall and told her he would pick her a set up. Dan hurried to Poplar Bluff, got the chains, and returned back to the Cove. There were no groceries to get, he had everything he needed. He had plenty of alcohol, food, and firewood.
Holly called later and asked if there was anything he needed. He asked her to pick up a couple of cans of crushed pineapple and rings. He wanted to make an upside-down cake. When asked about ice cream or whipped topping, Dan told her he had a can of Hoosier Hill Farm Whipped Topping Base Powder, and he would make his own topping. He told her she could pick him up a gallon of milk.
Freezing rain was falling when Holly got off work. She carefully drove to Dan’s place just before the snow started falling.
“You should have just gone home,” Dan said. “The roads are going to get really dangerous. The temps have fallen ten degrees in the last hour.”
“Then I guess I should hunker down here,” Holly said, grinning.
“You’ll get no complaints from me," Dan said.
“I’d better not!” Holly fired back. “What are you making for dinner?”
“Sloppy Joes and beer.”
“If you can get my bag from the trunk of the car I’ll start cooking the ground beef.” Holly said.
Dan took her keys and went out to the car and retrieved the bag. He set the bag in the hallway going to the bedrooms to let her decide what room she wanted to sleep in.
When he got back to the kitchen, he pulled out a bag of buns he had made the day before. “How many do you want?” He asked Holly.
“Two is good,” Holly replied.
Dan took out four buns and got out a pot and a steamer insert and put water in it. Once the water began steaming, he placed the basket and buns in and put the lid on. He got the Dutch oven he used for deep frying and the fryer basket, and began heating oil. Getting two big russet potatoes from the pantry, he peeled them and cut them up into fries. When the oil was at frying temperature, Dan put the fries in the basket and put it into the pot. Holly drained the ground beef, added two cans of Sloppy Joe sauce to the pan and let it simmer. While Holly watched everything on the stove, Dan went out on the porch, turned around, and came in chuckling. “Why do they even pay the forecasters for doing what they are so inept at doing? I could have gone out in the forest, caught an owl and looked at its butthole and told you as much as the so-called ‘experts’ about what the weather was going to do. Hopefully, one day they will figure out that when moisture is coming out of the Gulf and hits a cold front, someone is going to get cold and wet.”
“Holly pulled the fryer basked out of the pot, shook the oil off back into the pot as Dan lined a bowl with paper towel. Holly dumped the fries in and placed the basket back in the pot, and set the pot on a trivet on the counter.
“Sit down Mr. Weatherman, everything’s ready. Placing the rolls in a cloth lined bun warmer basket. She set it on the table, along with another trivet, and placed the hot pan of Sloppy Joe mix on the table. Going to the refrigerator, she got a glass of ice, a bottle of beer, and took the beer to Dan and she poured a glass of Pepsi.
They ate their meal and talked about their day.
After cleaning up the dishes and kitchen, they went to the great room to watch some TV.
After about an hour, Holly got up and went toward the bedrooms. Dan got up and went out on the porch with a flashlight. He shined the light out to a post he had tacked a yardstick to, and it looked like they already had four inches of snow accumulated. He went back in and sat back in his chair and was about to raise the footrest, when Holly came back in dressed in a plush, long, fleece hooded bathrobe and sat down between his legs, reached down, and lifted the footrest, and leaned back on his chest. He didn’t know what she was wearing under that robe, but it appeared to be a scooped neck. Dan reached around her and laid his arms on hers. They watched Rio Bravo until they decided to go to bed.
Andy got up the next morning to about 8 inches of snow. After eating a bowl of oatmeal with buttered toast, he decided to go out and play. He got the Skid steer out of the warehouse and attached the snow blower and cleared the drive out to the gate. He shrugged and said, “frig it” and started clearing the county road on down the ridgeline to the bottom of the slope. He was pleased with the snow blower. Once he had cleared the road that far, he decided to call it quits. The cab wasn’t heated, and he was getting cold. Andy pulled the skid steer back into the warehouse and left the snowblower attached. It didn’t look like the storm was over.
Later that morning, the temperature hadn’t risen but a couple of degrees, but was still below freezing. At 11:00 it began snowing again, and continued into the evening, putting down another 8 inches of fluffy white. The storm seemed to be coming in waves. For two more days, the pattern continued, an extended period of snow, then freezing rain, building layers that would take time to thaw. DOT had trucks and road graders out trying to keep as many of the roads open as possible, but still there were dangerous spots.
Holly and Dan stayed at home watching the weather develop.
“I hate this.” Holly said. “The weather is weird, and there are going to be people out there that think they can beat it.”’
“Survival of the fittest,” Dan said.
“What do you mean?”
“It boils down to what Darwin has called 'natural selection’. Stupid people die through their own dumb actions, cleansing the gene pool. Smart people live, procreating and enhancing the gene pool.” Dan said.
“Are we going to have children?” Holly asked.
“Depends on how you want to do it,” Dan asked. “Do you want children first or a husband first?”
“I would prefer a husband first,” Holly replied.
“Then I guess I need to get a ring,” Dan said.
“Are you asking me to marry you?”
“Not until I get a ring. We’re kind of snowed in right now,” Dan said.
The firer pulled back the bolt, snatching the cartridge casing out of the air. 2000 meters away, the car veered, fishtailing slightly, and continued two hundred meters down the road before stopping. The accompanying vehicles, blue and red lights flashing, quickly formed a perimeter and requested medical evacuation.
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Post by gipsy on Jul 20, 2023 18:07:36 GMT -6
Some gene pool cleansing going on. Thanks for the update.
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Post by ncsfsgm on Jul 23, 2023 9:08:43 GMT -6
Chapter 17
Thomas Jefferson, in a letter in 1787 to William Stephens Smith, the son-in-law of John Adams wrote:
I do not know whether it is to yourself or Mr. Adams I am to give my thanks for the copy of the new constitution. I beg leave through you to place them where due. It will be yet three weeks before I shall receive them from America. There are very good articles in it: and very bad. I do not know which preponderate. What we have lately read in the history of Holland, in the chapter on the Stadtholder, would have sufficed to set me against a Chief magistrate eligible for a long duration, if I had ever been disposed towards one: and what we have always read of the elections of Polish kings should have forever excluded the idea of one continuable for life. Wonderful is the effect of impudent and persevering lying. The British ministry have so long hired their gazetteers to repeat and model into every form lies about our being in anarchy, that the world has at length believed them, the English nation has believed them, the ministers themselves have come to believe them, and what is more wonderful, we have believed them ourselves. Yet where does this anarchy exist? Where did it ever exist, except in the single instance of Massachusetts? And can history produce an instance of a rebellion so honorably conducted? I say nothing of its motives. They were founded in ignorance, not wickedness. God forbid we should ever be 20. years without such a rebellion. The people cannot be all, and always, well informed. The part which is wrong will be discontented in proportion to the importance of the facts they misconceive. If they remain quiet under such misconceptions it is a lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty. We have had 13 states independent, 11. years. There has been one rebellion. That comes to one rebellion in a century and a half for each state. What country before ever existed a century and half without a rebellion? And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signifies a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure. Our Convention has been too much impressed by the insurrection of Massachusetts: and on the spur of the moment, they are setting up a kite to keep the hen yard in order. I hope in God this article will be rectified before a constitution is accepted. Thomas Jefferson
The norm for the District of Columbia was institutionalized political bigotry. Instead of coming together as a united body and solving the nation’s problems, anyone to the right of the political spectrum was chastised and not supported on any bill, no matter how liberal the politician’s constituents thought their idea was.
Andy woke with a start and peeled the sheet off his body. Swinging his legs off the bed, he sat for a moment trying to push the dream out of his mind. They needn’t have resettled him out here. He wouldn’t have killed her and her lover, he didn’t think. Taking a deep breath, he stripped his boxers off and walked to the shower and turned the water on. Adjusting the temperature, he stepped under the rain shower head and let the water run over him. Scrubbing down with a washcloth and shower gel, he rinsed off and turned the water off. Grabbing a towel, Andy dried off and hung the towel on the heated wall-mounted towel rack. He pulled on a pair of running shorts and a T-shirt and dragged the bed linen off the bed, stripped the pillowcases, carried the bundle to the laundry room and started a wash. He glanced at his watch before taking the coffee container out of the cabinet. 0400. Just right. He was up before the French and Indians attacked. Setting up the coffee maker, he walked over and turned on the TV to check the Weather Channel. It looked as though they might have a few days of clear weather, but storms were forming out west. As the coffee maker gurgled the last of the water out of the tank, Andy poured his mug full and took a sip. His stomach growls a little, so he made a bowl of instant oatmeal with plenty of butter and a couple of swirls of maple syrup. It would be enough to last him for a while. After washing up the dishes, he got the spray mop to clean the high traffic areas of the wood floors. Filling the reservoir tank with warm water, then adding teaspoon of Murphy’s oil soap, he cleaned the floors. It didn’t take that long and by daylight he was done. He threw the cleaning pads in the trash and went to get dressed. At 0700, his phone rang. The caller ID told him it was Crystal.
“Whatcha doing?” Crystal asked.
“Twiddling my thumbs. What’s up?” Andy asked.
“Want to go down to Dave’s Diner and have breakfast with Archer and Siobhan?”
“Sure! I could use some waffles this morning.” Andy replied.
“Good! I’ll meet you there.”
Crystal ended the call and Andy tucked his IWB holster in the middle of his back, put on his puffy vest and went out to his C-10. He had parked the truck in the garage the night before, so he had no frost to clear. Andy unplugged the block heater and as he pulled out and headed for the gate, the engine slowly warmed up and heat began coming out of the vents.
When he got to Dave’s, the group was already sitting in a booth drinking coffee. The waitress took his order and Andy got caught up in the conversation.
“So, what do they have in Poplar Bluff besides Sam’s Club? Archer asked.
“They don’t have a COSTCO, but you can buy food and spices at MO-AR Provision Company. It’s a restaurant supply house,” Crystal said. “And, of course, you have the big Walmart.”
“Well, that’s a start. Do you want to go, Andy?” Archer asked.
“What’s going on?” Andy asked.
“I’m just stocking up on food. I want to have a several month’s supply, so I don’t have to keep going for groceries all the time and in case something does happen and it’s too dangerous to go out.”
“Makes sense to me,” Andy said. “I guess I need to think about doing the same.”
“Well, let’s go together then,” Archer said.
“Let’s ALL go together!” Crystal said. “Can you go Siobhan?”
“I guess, when are you going?”
“Archer and Andy looked at one another. “Tomorrow?” Archer asked, shrugging his shoulders.
“Works for me.” Andy said.
“Me too,” Crystal said.
“I can make it,” Siobhan said.
“Good!” Archer said. “Can everyone leave around 0900 from my place?”
They all agreed and finished their breakfast.
Crystal followed Andy back home and went inside with him.
“Let’s check to see what you need,” Crystal said.
“I have no idea what I would need. I usually cook simple things.”
“Well, the key is, don’t buy stuff you wouldn’t eat. It’s a waste of food and space,” Crystal replied.
Andy got a spiral notebook and they started to make a list. They discussed the foods he liked to eat, and Crystal filled in the blanks and made sure he could put together nutritious meals.
What are your favorite meals? Something you like to cook just for the love of it.
Andy thought back to the meals he used to cook for his wife and lost it.
For the first time since he had come back from Syria, Andy broke down and cried. Cried? No, he sobbed. Huge, wracking sobs so wrenching he couldn’t catch his breath! Silent, whole-body spasms shook him as the enormity of the betrayal of his wife hit him like a ton of bricks. Up to now, Andy had remained stoic. Everything he had been holding at bay, pushing to the back of his mind, suddenly came out in shamefully self-pitying tears. Andy hid his face, hoping Crystal wouldn't see.
“Tell me,” Crystal said softly.
“My wife….I was overseas and found out my wife had become the town pump.”
"It's okay, Andy," Crystal said softly. "I get the picture."
“Did she? Could she? How the hell could anyone know what Ann’s betrayal meant to him?" Andy thought. “How could she know that, for the first time in his life, he had found someone worth sharing his life, only to throw him away like a used tampon? How could she know what a gaping cavern Ann had left in his heart because he never got a chance to confront her. Maybe it was for the best. He might just have killed her in a moment of manic depression."
Andy swiped his sleeve across his face, wiping the tears and mucous away, vowing never again to show such weakness in front of another.
“I’m sorry, I don’t normally react this way,” Andy said.
“Nothing to be sorry about,” Crystal said. "All of us have a boiling point, but you should have let it out before now. It isn’t healthy to hold it all in. Now tell me about your future plans, I want to be a part of them,” Crystal said.
“Crystal, I’ve been trying to think more objectively. What I’m seeing in this country gives me some concerns. I’m starting a new life here and this is where I’ll make my stand. There are a lot of things going on in this country I don’t agree with, and I know it’s all going to collapse someday, maybe sometime soon. I’m going to spend my time getting prepared for it.”
Andy took a deep breath and looked up and the millions of stars and slowly let the air out of his lungs.
"Thank goodness you were able to get that out, Andy. It must have been weighing heavily on you."
Andy felt as if a great burden had been lifted from his shoulders They didn't speak as they walked back to the house, until they neared Crystal’s vehicle.
“I’ll leave you alone to have some time to reflect,” Crystal said.
“Would you come in for a while?” Andy asked. “I could use the company.”
“Sure,” Crystal said, smiling.
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Post by gipsy on Jul 23, 2023 9:22:28 GMT -6
Fine update for sure.
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Post by feralferret on Jul 23, 2023 14:20:17 GMT -6
Outstanding chapter. Thank you.
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Post by iamnobody on Jul 23, 2023 15:32:01 GMT -6
Repeatedly in your stories, you very realistically describe the pain felt by the person betrayed by infidelity. Whether it is a man or woman betrayed by adultery, it cuts deeply and hurts with a pain that is hard to describe to someone that hasn't experienced it.
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Post by ncsfsgm on Jul 27, 2023 15:04:01 GMT -6
Repeatedly in your stories, you very realistically describe the pain felt by the person betrayed by infidelity. Whether it is a man or woman betrayed by adultery, it cuts deeply and hurts with a pain that is hard to describe to someone that hasn't experienced it.
Never experienced the emotions myself, but I'm a good listener and had too many of my friends and soldiers who did experience them.
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Post by gipsy on Jul 27, 2023 16:40:16 GMT -6
I found a good one the first time, and we are in our 51st year.
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Post by bluefox2 on Jul 27, 2023 17:05:47 GMT -6
I found a good one the first time, and we are in our 51st year. Took me a second time but we are coming to the end of our 49th year. don't slow down sir or us kids will catch ya. I tell people that I do NOT ask why she has let me stay around this long. I simply say thank you
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Post by gipsy on Jul 27, 2023 18:07:11 GMT -6
Peddling as fast as i can
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Post by feralferret on Jul 27, 2023 20:32:15 GMT -6
I'm at 33 years with the first one. I didn't get married until I was 35. My brother is on his third wife. He married the third one about two years ago. He just turned 82.
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Post by ncsfsgm on Jul 28, 2023 12:01:53 GMT -6
Chapter 18
Andy and Crystal sat and talked for hours. They talked about their lives up to that point in sometimes sad, sometimes gleeful discussions of their personal lives.
“You know, you, Dan, and Archer could have been peas out of the same pod,” Crystal said. “We women talk too, you know. All three of you men have settled on the same goal and are taking steps to make it through to the end of whatever you think is going to happen.”
“Well, as far as Dan and Archer go, I think they are two good men. I’ll stick with them any day.”
“Well, I think you are pretty special too,” Crystal said.
“Crystal, I’m still married.”
“Well, that’s a legal problem that will iron itself out in the future,” Crystal said. “I think I’ll stick around anyway.”
Crystal left after a couple of hours. Andy sat and pondered about the people he had met since moving to the Wappapello area and felt confident about it being a good place to start his new life. If, and when, the balloon went up and things started getting really bad like he expected, this was likely to be a place that would be overlooked at the beginning of the collapse. It was in an obscure area usually ignored except by summer vacationers. His eyes had picked out defensive areas as he took his walks around the peninsula along with possible escape routes. He would pick cache sites to bury enough weapons, food, and equipment to support himself when the time came. The people around here were suspicious of those who didn’t live here full time so they kind of acted like a tripwire. Yes, he could make this work.
Jim and Katie watched as the movers loaded the last items and closed the doors on the moving truck. They would spend the night in the trailer and leave in the morning. The cleaners were coming this afternoon and said they would easily be finished before evening. His realtor, Lisa Haden, already had a bidding war going on over the house. The 4 bedrooms, 4 bath house had been on the market only two days when she was bombarded with offers. Jim had been expecting to get around $650,000 for the house but it looked like it would run higher than that. It was really more house than he needed but since Katie moved in after her parents’ death, he had tried to make it as nice for her as he could. The utilities were still turned on, so he had connected the water and electrical connections to the trailer and the transition to living in the trailer had been easy. It was a big adventure for Katie. She had researched the route they were taking and picked out the sights she wanted to visit on the way to Asher Creek. He didn’t mind. He had a general contractor handling the construction and the place wouldn’t be ready for three more weeks anyway, so they had time to kill.
Jim had realtors searching for weeks before he finally found the property he liked. He had two rigid criteria that kept the search going for so long. First, it had to be below the 37th parallel; he was weary of the harsh winters and two, it had to have a mill pond. Jim had a romanticized vision of producing his own power for his CNC machines and living as much as he could without outside support. There were several places available in the northeast, but again, it was just too damn cold. The winters with snow were beautiful, just too damn cold to really enjoy them. He’d found a nice place outside of Nashville, Tennessee but it was snatched up by a music star who was willing to pay more than Jim was. He finally found the Asher Creek property northeast of Poplar Bluff, in Butler County Missouri. The old mill site dated back to the early 1790’s and had the original dam and raceway. Jim only needed 1.5 to 5 feet of head to run the generator he wanted to install, and he had 8 feet. It was a dream location for Jim’s idea. One thing that had concerned him was the property’s nearness to the New Madrid fault. However, after checking out the mill pond dam, it had survived through the 1811 quake, even though it lay in the area designated as moderate to heavy damage during a quake. After doing a lot of research, phone calls, and six trips to the area, it was game on! Katie and he sat down, and she helped pick out the house design. He was surprised when she read the history of the area Jim had compiled. She read through everything and did searches on her own. She loved history and was thrilled there were so many historical sites in the area. She decided she wanted to live in a log home and picked a design from a company in Springfield, Missouri, with Jim’s concurrence. It had three bedrooms, 3 and a half baths and the floorspace was slightly larger than the house they had in Connecticut, but there was also a study off the master bedroom and a billiard room. Jim had flown to Springfield and ordered the house and a contractor to build it.
Jim was using his truck GPS, but Katie was their “official” navigator. She was picking out stops she wanted to make and identifying RV parks for them to spend the night. It got to a point where Jim had her picking out places for her to look around only if the place or places were near where they were going to stop for the evening.
Katie giggled. “Getting to be too much for you, old man?”
“Not on your life kiddo! I have to plan fuel stops and where we eat also. If we chased all over the place it would take us two months to get to our new home. When we get to Missouri, I’ll take you to plenty of places of historical significance.”
“I want to see the museums about Native Americans. This website says there are 28 of them,” Katie said.
“We’ll have to work on that,” Jim said, grinning.
They stopped that night at Hamburg, although they did stop in Kutztown to visit the Crystal Cave and let Katie buy a memento of her travels. Their next day’s travel brought them to Winchester, Virginia. Katie wanted to visit the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley, where she got her next memento.
“Uncle Jim, I feel sorry for the Native Americans,” Katie said.
“Why is that?” Jim asked.
“Well, the Indians were living peacefully in the forests and the white men came from Europe to kill and run them off.” Katie replied.
“And just where did you learn that?”
“In school. Our teacher Mrs. Hendricks told us all about that,” Katie replied.
Jim snorted. “And did she tell you the Indians weren’t the first people here in America? That they came across the Bering Straits and killed and ran off the natives who lived here first, completely wiping them from history. Any time they wanted lands to hunt and live on they killed the people who were there first? As far as living peacefully, well, they were in constant warfare with other tribes to keep their own land or trying to take other tribe’s lands. White people were no worse than the Indians.
“My teacher never said anything about that,” Katie said.
“Yeah, schools could fill a stadium with what they don’t teach you.” Jim said gruffly.
The Shenandoah Valley had its beauty, even in winter, and they picked spots to eat or grab a drink where there was a plethora of gaudy souvenirs for Katie’s collection. As their journey continued, Katie’s collection began filling with books on historical sites and events rather than garish trinkets. The storage area under her hide-a-bed was rapidly filling as they drew closer to Missouri. They laid over in Nashville for a couple of days to rest up, do laundry, and restock the trailer.
Jim refueled the truck in Hefner and dropped the trailer in a space at Bullwinkle’s Rustic Lodge, as he and Katie scouted their new home site. He wanted to check things out before bringing the trailer in. Workmen were scurrying around finishing up this and that. He was met by the general contractor who briefed him on the completion of the house and outbuildings. They were putting in and painting moulding and other touch-ups, but would be finished by the end of the week, ahead of schedule. The GC took him down to the mill pond and showed him the concrete structure built below the dam that would hold the vortex hydro turbine and the structure that would hold the batteries and controller for the system. Turbulent had called and would be there Thursday to install the power system. During construction, they had been running off a portable solar trailer and occasionally diesel generator power, depending on the work being done. Satisfied, Jim decided they would just stay the night at Bullwinkle’s and pull the trailer up to Asher Creek and park it on the prepared pad tomorrow. They then went sightseeing to see what was around the Wappapello community and its namesake lake.
Dan watched as the trucks dropped their dirt and rocks onto the concrete culverts to fill in the slightly marshy area of the small stream that emptied into the lake The marshy area separated 36 acres from the rest of the property. There were a lot of blowdowns over there that were not only a fire hazard but firewood that was not available to him. Satisfied with the work being done, he walked back up to the house. Holly was warming up vegetable beef soup and making grilled cheese sandwiches.
“Smells good!” Dan said. “You keep this up and I’ll have to make this arrangement more permanent.”
“Don’t joke about that!” Holly said.
“I’m not joking,” Dan said.
“Well, I wouldn’t mind,” Holly said.
Andy was helping Archer hook his cargo trailer up when the girls arrived. Siobhan and Crystal went in and made travel cups of coffee and brought them out to the men.
“Are you ready to go?” Archer asked the group.
When all nodded or affirmed vocally, they got in their respective vehicles and headed down to catch MO – T to Poplar Bluff.
They pulled into Sam’s parking lot and Andy went in to get a membership. Everyone else already had one. Archer and Crystal got flat carts and Siobhan grabbed two shopping carts as they started to methodically cruise the aisles, waiting on Andy. When he finally caught up with them, the moved a bit faster, with three of them knowing the layout of the store. Andy did snatch a pack of work gloves as they went along. When they came to the first aisle that had products on his list, Andy loaded a case of bleach onto his flat cart and a couple of jugs of laundry detergent. Crystal added two double packs of dryer sheets, and they moved along. When they couldn’t keep anything else balanced on their flat carts, they went through checkout and went to load their trailers.
Taking the list he and Crystal had put together from Crystal’s hand, Andy looked it over.
“How much more is left?” Andy asked.
“Everything that’s not struck through goofball,” Crystal said, grinning.
“Well, DUH!” Andy replied, handing the list back to her.
They went back in for round two, to finish out those things on the list they could purchase there. Their next stop was the Mo-Ar to pick up meats, a case of Beef & Bean Burritos, and a case of Buffalo Chicken Wings. Crystal also added several large containers of spices to the shopping cart. They stopped around lunchtime at the Fishin’ Pig restaurant and ate some good fried catfish.
Waiting on their meals, Andy asked Crystal, “Do I really need that much toilet paper?”
“You should have seen the shelves in the Food Rite at the beginning of the pandemic. They were empty for weeks and then we couldn’t get deliveries because of everyone insisting the drivers be vaccinated. Unless you have an affinity for using leaves, you should keep plenty of those things you use frequently so you don’t do without if deliveries stop.” Crystal explained.
“I’m working on six months’ worth of supplies for now,” Archer commented. “ I’ll add to it as I go along. I also ordered a 1-Year, 4-Person Emergency Food Supply from Augason Farms for long term storage.”
“How do you know how much you need for a year’s supply?” Andy asked.
“I’ll give you a spreadsheet developed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Ladder Day Saints. Just keep an inventory of what you buy and match up the numbers.”
Andy looked at Crystal.
“I’ll help you out,” Crystal said.
After eating they went to Walmart where Andy picked up more kitchen utensils and several tubes of his favorite toothpaste and dental floss. Crystal added several cans of deodorant, large packs of soap, and two big bottles of shampoo she had seen in his bathroom.
Thinking of nothing else they wanted to get, and their lists checked off, they returned to Wappapello Lake, Andy and Crystal going to Andy’s place, and Siobhan and Archer heading to his.
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Post by ncsfsgm on Jul 28, 2023 12:04:02 GMT -6
Chapter 19
After getting the trailer set up on the pad, Jim gave Katie a tour of the house and property.
Uncle Jim, It’s beautiful!” Katie said, standing in front of the house. The house was shaped like a shallow “V” with a central section that contained the great room, dining area and foyer and two wings that came off at an angle on each side. The left wing contained the master suite, library, office, utility room, and stairs to the basement. The right wing housed two bedrooms, each with a full bath, and the kitchen. They walked through the house, sidestepping materials the workmen had laying around and Katie picked out her bedroom right away. They moved down into the basement and half was walled off for storage and the rest was set up as a game/media room with a half-bath.
“It’s better than I dreamed it would be!” Katie squealed. “When can we move in?”
“Soon, Honey. The workmen still have a few things to do. As soon as we do the final inspection, we can have our furniture delivered and set up, then decide what else we need to buy.” Jim said.
“We’ll need a bigger TV in the basement,” Katie said, grinning.
Jim chuckled. “All in due time, Sweetheart.”
They checked the garage out, the transfer building, and walked down to the mill pond. Water was rushing down the raceway and the generator was turning. Jim walked them back to the power transfer building and checked the control panel. It showed all the power to the buildings was being sent from the hydro generator and the solar and wind were on standby. Perfect. Exactly like he wanted it. The circuits were already in for his shop and the industrial size inverters were in place. He could call and have the moving company go ahead and have their household goods delivered, or maybe just wait and have everything start moving at the same time. He’d give it some thought. He checked the power draw from the house, and it was minimal, and the in-floor heating was on. Of course, the on-demand electric water heater was there to supplement the geothermal system he’d had installed, so he shouldn’t have that much power draw. Jim checked again and the EMP shielding was in place. With the help of the solar people, the latest in EMI Shielding technology had been used in the construction of his haven and was protected from everything (as much as possible), from nuclear EMP to the effects of strong solar flares. In the workshop where his CNC machines were going to be, the walls, ceilings, and floors had even been painted with the latest electropaint that basically turned the room into a large Faraday cage.
“What do you say we go out to eat tonight?” Jim asked Katie.
“I’d love to, I’m hungry!” Katie replied.
They went to the trailer and washed their hands. Katie did a Google search and found a restaurant about a mile up the road on Missouri route “T”. The pictures looked good so that’s where they headed.
The place was easily found, and the evening crowd was just arriving. Katie ordered a Mountain Dew and Jim ended up with half and half iced tea. The “sweet” tea was just too sweet. The waitress sat down a basket of fried hush puppies, Jim ordered some gator bites and Katie ordered smoked shrimp for appetizers. They had a variety of seafood and local fish, but Katie ordered a chicken strip sandwich and Jim ordered the smoked frog legs with fried okra and a baked potato.
They ate slowly and enjoyed their meals. When the waitress came to clear their plates, Katie looked at Jim and said, “I wonder if their banana pudding is as good as yours.”
"Honey,” The waitress said, “our banana pudding was made just this morning with fresh eggs and whole milk from the dairy down the road. The only thing we don’t make around here is the bananas and the sugar.”
“Could we get two servings, please?” Jim asked the waitress.
After taking her first bite of the pudding, Katie announced that it was almost as good as Jim’s pudding.
“And what makes mine better than this? I think this tastes just fine,” Jim said.
Katie got a pensive look. “I think because they made it this morning for all the customers to buy. When you make it, it’s because you know I love it and you love me.”
Jim nodded, “Good point.”
The waitress sat a small tray down on the table with a leather folder with the bill. Jim looked at the receipt and paid in cash, adding a 35% tip. They got up and left the restaurant.
“I’d like to come back here sometime and try something else,” Katie said. “Everything was so good!”
“We will, Sweetheart,” Jim said.
Andy measured and cut the five-foot sections of 16" Grey PVC Pipe and used pipe dope and sealant to attach the sleeves and caps. He had several places he wanted to establish caches, and these would work well. He had five of them lined up inside the warehouse. The contents to go into the cache tubes were placed in easy to carry 25-pound packs. Each pack was labeled as to its contents and a code of what cache it went into. Andy had locations selected on the peninsula and off the peninsula on both sides of the lake in case he couldn’t make it back. He had talked to Jeremy, and Jeremy had supplied him with extra supplies and weapons to establish the caches. Andy would give Jeremy locations of the caches and instructions.
Andy was an analytical thinker. He was never content to simply accept on faith what someone else told him. He’d learned that quickly in the Middle East. Even if they sounded like they were making sense, he still did his own analysis to be sure it made sense to him before he would accept it. It had served him well since becoming a “civilian.” No matter how it was sliced and diced, the pieces he was being fed on the national news and from politicians just would not fit together and make sense. Andy couldn’t believe his luck on ending up here. In his pondering he decided to dig his heels in and start preparing unless he wanted to be devastated when the balloon finally popped. He had been hammered enough already, and he did not relish the idea of being totally stomped in the mud and shattered again. This time he was going to fight, after all, that was what he had been trained to do. When he was taken out of the fight he was out of his element, and it froze his senses for a while. He was taking in what he was being fed through the news and the videos of politicians speaking, and tracing out what they were really saying.
In an era of political puppets and corporate machinations, you have to wonder who has their hand up whose backside.
And, for many reasons, did it matter more than the bird crap on his truck windshield? He was going to be ready when their tons of lies collapsed around them, burying them in their own deceit.
“Tomorrow, you start on your home school lessons,” Jim told Katie.
“Aw-w-w-w-w…”
“Now you promised Miss Jones and me you would do your lessons. Do you understand where to start?” Jim asked.
“Yes, Miss Jones marked it in the binder and a day’s work is tabbed. I don’t think I’ll have any problems.” Katie replied.
“I don’t think you will either. If you finish early, you and I can go into Poplar Bluff and get a utility vehicle to ride around here.” Jim said.
Katie’s eyes brightened. ”YES!”
Actually, Jim needed some dollies to move the CNC machines around when they unloaded them in the shop building, but he also wanted Katie to have some fun and freedom to explore around too. He wouldn’t let her go off on her own until he was confident she could operate the vehicle safely.
The workers came back the next morning while Jim and Katie were eating breakfast. Jim started doing the dishes and cleaning up and sent Katie to start on her lessons. When he finished, he went out to see what the men and women were finishing up. A couple of men were putting up the stone tiles in one corner where the wood stove was set. Others were doing touch-up painting and cleaning and polishing floors upstairs. Another team was finishing up placing the stone panels on the bar of the outdoor kitchen. He couldn’t wait for their household goods to get there. He’d had a Solo fire pit back in Connecticut that he liked to burn to piss off a neighbor who was a Karen environmentalist. She didn’t have a leg to stand on because the solo fire pit design allowed it to burn the smoke like a catalytic converter, but he just liked to pull her chain. Jim loved sitting outside by a fire at night and was looking forward to doing plenty of that on his deck. He wanted to pick up a Solo PI pizza oven when they were in town, but there didn’t seem to be any place around here that sold them that he could identify. He had checked and they sold them at Sportsman’s Warehouse. He could order one off of Amazon, but he thought he and Katie could take a day trip down to the nearest Sportsman’s Warehouse in Southhaven, Mississippi, about three hours away.
Early that afternoon Katie announced she was finished with her studies, Jim got out his binder of proctor’s materials and had her take the test for the day, she passed with no problems. He told her to get a snack and they would go into Poplar Bluff. Katie poured a glass of Kool Aid and got two cookies and headed for her room.
Jim headed first to Bluff Powersports to see what they had. He liked the Polaris brand, and they were a dealership. The first model Jim looked at was the Polaris Expedition ADV. He went over the brochures, specs, and accessories available for it. He, the salesman, and Katie took a test drive, and he liked the machine, and Katie did as well. As he and the salesman were doing the paperwork, Katie drifted off and was looking at the 4-wheelers and was paying particular attention to a Sportsman 850. Before they left the dealership, Jim and Katie had a Polaris Expedition and a Sportsman 850, two helmets with integrated GRMS communications systems, two Polaris ball caps and two insulated travel mugs. The vehicles would be delivered to Asher Creek the next morning. Jim headed to Tractor Supply and purchased the moving dollies, fuel caddy, and a couple of ramps for his pickup. On the way home, Jim filled the fuel caddy and unloaded it at the garage. Katie was happy and skipping around as Jim made them some dinner, spaghetti and meatballs and a salad. She finally settled down before dinner but was still jabbering and asking when the ATVs would be delivered the next day.
“First young lady, your studies always come first,” Jim said. “There will be no riding until they are done. I’m going to teach you how to maintain and safely ride them under strict supervision. I never want you to just take off and go riding. After I allow you to go on your own, you will always have the radio on, and I will know where you are going. If you can’t operate the vehicles safely, then you will be forbidden to take them out.”
“Yes sir.” Katie said. “Thank you, and I love you.”
“I love you too Sweetheart. That’s why I want you to be safe,” Jim said.
“I will be,” Katie said. “I was looking over tomorrow’s lessons and I have a couple of questions.”
“Let’s finish dinner and the dishes and I’ll help you,” Jim said.
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Post by gipsy on Jul 28, 2023 12:26:23 GMT -6
Nice two in a row. Thanks for the updates.
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Post by feralferret on Jul 28, 2023 18:24:09 GMT -6
Thanks, ncsfsgm. Two fine chapters.
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Post by ncsfsgm on Aug 1, 2023 18:26:25 GMT -6
Chapter 20
Andy shook the rest of the dirt off of the tarp and folded it back up. Taking a double handful of leaves and needles from about 20 meters away, he began sprinkling them over the cache site and added a few broken limbs lying around nearby. Checking his work carefully, making sure the dead leaves matched, he finished covering and camouflaging the site until he couldn’t detect there had been any activity there at all. Stuffing the tarp back in his pack, he stepped off the number of steps in the prescribed direction and placed the entrenching tool and the fabricated wrench, that was used to take the top of the container off, in a stump hole and arranged debris to conceal it. All of his caches would be set up the same way. He verified the coordinates with his GPS and headed back to the house.
Andy checked his watch and saw it was still before noon, so he brushed himself off and headed to Poplar Bluff to get a couple of tomahawk steaks at Ozark Meats for the weekend. He had heard they were the best butchers in the area and called them up to make the order. He wanted to have a little cookout to thank her for her help in getting everything set up. Andy had asked about their specials and was told he could see their latest specials on Facebook. Andy replied he would never get an account of that Marxist inspired piece of crap and the lady read the specials list to him over the phone. Andy went ahead and reserved a half beef special online. He had to pick it up before 5:00 PM today. As Andy neared Poplar Bluff, the news station announced the FAA emergency and about a stolen FEDEX 757 being shot down near Campbell Army Airfield in Kentucky. Andy just shook his head. “The craziness just continued.” When Andy got to the butcher, they had his beef side order packed in insulated wax boxes packed around dried ice. He inspected the two tomahawks before they packed those the same way. He also bought some beef sticks and summer sausage they made themselves. Andy headed straight back to Wappapello with one stop at Kroger to pick up carrots, spinach, carrots, a package of Pepperidge Farms Frozen Artesian Dinner rolls, and two bags of mesquite grill pellets.
Jim watched as the two men unloaded the vehicles and rolled them into the garage. He checked the oils and was filling both with fuel when Katie came running out of the house.
“Can we go riding?!” Katie asked.
“Have you finished your schoolwork?” Jim asked.
“Aw-w-w-w Uncle Jim!”
“You know the rules.” Jim replied.
With slumped shoulders, Katie went back to the house.
Jim took the operator manual for the Expedition and went back to the house to sit and read over it. He would teach her to drive the Expedition first, then try her out on the 850.
When Andy got home, he put the meat away in the chest freezer, except for the tomahawk steaks, which he put in the fridge, then started frying up a pound of ground beef. When the pinkness had cooked away, he added a pack of taco seasoning and a couple of dashes of granulated garlic. Getting out lettuce and a tomato, he chopped them up and placed them in separate bowls. At last, he ground cheddar cheese with the grater, got out the sour cream, and a bottle of taco sauce. Just as he was finishing, Crystal came in the door.
“Feel like Tacos?” Andy asked.
“Crunchy or soft?” Crystal asked.
“The box says it has both,” Andy replied.
“I’ll have one of each then.”
“Well, come on. This is as far as I go. It’s build your own, now, lady.”
Crystal giggled and grabbed plates. Andy got a couple of beers for them.
“Andy, why did you join the military?” Crystal asked, wiping sour cream off her lip with a napkin.
“I joined the Airborne Infantry to really see the world. Later I was enticed into Special Operations. Besides enjoying the dangerous aspect of the work, I already knew how to sneak through the woods and survive. The thrill of the possibility of death made me feel surprisingly alive or at least I started enjoying what it meant to be alive. I had seen and done enough to be considered a veteran quite early, having actually pulled a trigger with the righteous intent of killing someone who was trying to kill me. I would still be in the service today, but life pointed me in another direction.”
“Well. I for one, am glad you had a change in direction,” Crystal said.
“Yeah, me too, in a way. I doubt if we would have ever met if I hadn’t ended up here, and you have been a big help.”
Dr. Leonard Fauchette was enjoying his stay at the Pelican Reef Villas Resort on Ambergris Caye, Belize. The pressure had gotten too much in Washington and he needed to take some time off before he started a new speaking tour. Taking his drink off the table next to his beach chair, he took a sip and closed his eyes.
The drone operator watched the man who had funded the deaths of thousands while in the meantime, made a lot of money from the pharmaceutical companies. Well, he could forget about the money he had made. Thirty seconds before, his money mysteriously disappeared from his accounts in Mexico and Belize and had been transferred elsewhere in a tangle of bank transfers across the world. With a flick of a switch, the drone’s weapons were activated and a rocket was launched as soon as the last group of tourists had cleared the area near the Doctor’s chair. The rocket had a small bursting radius but it was so accurate it really didn’t need a bursting charge. Just as the doctor took another swallow of his drink, the small missile, riding the laser beam to its target ,hit him in the torso and burst with the sound no louder than a car backfire, staining the lounge chair and the sand around it with a red mist.
The news stations were ablaze with the news of the death of the well-known doctor in Belize. Dan soon became weary of the platitudes thrown willy-nilly at the man who had been knee-deep in the government chicanery that cost many so much misery. He wondered if the doctor’s death was just another cover-up. After all, dead men tell no tales. To much paperwork with empirical evidence was already turning up outlining misdeeds during the pandemic at high government levels. Someone was making sure the miscreants were paying their dues. A funny thing though, the FBI was stating the doctor was killed by a weapon they had never seen before. Dan was sure that was highly unlikely, and they were either being dishonest and covering their asses or the CIA had been up to its tricks and keeping silent.
The movers arrived and first unloaded the box truck with the CNC machines. Jim had them sit the machines in the dollies and he would place them where he wanted later. When they began unloading the furniture and boxes in the house, Katie helped with what went in what rooms. The movers assembled the furniture and placed it near to where it would finally sit. Jim and Katie would do the fine tuning later. Jim had them place one of the gun safes in the shop building. He would use it to hold current projects. The other safe went into the office. It held his personal guns. In three hours, the movers were finished. Jim gave them a good tip for helping out with the assemblies, even though it was part of the contract. As the trucks pulled out of the yard, Jim began working to put the kitchen in order. He was setting it up similar to what they had in Connecticut to lessen any confusion. Katie began making their beds and putting the extra linen in the closet. Jim opened a can of tomato soup, fried up some bacon, and made grilled cheese and bacon sandwiches.
Katie came into the kitchen and looked at what Jim was doing.
“Mm-m-m-m, my favorite! I love you Uncle Jim!”
“I love you to Sweetheart. After we finish dinner, do you want to take the Expedition out and practice?” Jim asked.
“Oh yeah!” Katie replied.
Jim had already talked her through pre-operations checks, so he just watched as she got the side -by-side ready to go out. She checked the oil, the fuel level, checked to make sure the first aid kit and fire extinguisher were in place, checked the GPS, and tested her radio. Putting on her gloves and helmet, she made a comms check with Jim. Jim got in and told her he wanted to go check the dam. She carefully made her way down the Asher Creek trail and drove to the dam. Jim watched her carefully and she was doing a good job. Once they got there, he had her back up and turn around to go to the trail that came out next to their future garden spot, and take the trail to the national forest. Not all of the national forest land was adjacent to other parts of the forest. It was a patchwork of sections. Jim didn’t know who owned the land between his property and the forest, but there were no trespassing signs and the only way you knew you were entering the forest was one, almost hidden sign that stated, “University Forest Conservation Land.” The University Forest area was actually to their west/southwest. He assumed this portion was added at a later date. Anyway, Jim had cautioned Katie not to do anything that would churn up the soil on the trail and if she did any damage to let him know as soon as she could. They kept going until the trail came out on someone’s private drive and turned around. He had her take the trail back and circle their property He had her turn her lights on, it was getting dark enough to use them, and to pull back up to the garage. He watched as she topped off the fuel tank and backed the side-by-side into the garage.
“Tomorrow, I’ll let you take the 850 out,” Jim said. “There are a couple of more things you need to check on your pre-ops but they are pretty much the same. We’ll go over them tomorrow. Just like the Expedition, no hot rodding and kicking up dirt. Every rut you make can cause soil erosion and next thing you know you end up with a bunch of ditches you don’t want to ride across.”
Andy had finished burying another cache and on the way back, thought of the worse-case scenarios. True, terrorists could use dirty bombs in economic centers like New York City and Chicago, but if it was him, he would hit their industrial base and/or food production. If there was a way to strike a blow at food production and get the citizens distrustful of what was available for them to eat, people would go crazy. The industrial base would be difficult to strike, it was now so spread out, As soon as he got back to the house, he ordered another one year’s supply of food for four people to add to his stocks. He still had plenty of space for storage and hadn’t started using the root cellar and cold room yet. Before shutting the computer down, he also ordered another 1-Year Emergency Food Supply from Mountain House, and buckets of beans and grains from another supplier after doing some calculations on the spreadsheet. Although Jeremy had said he could get him whatever ammunition he needed, Andy scrolled through AmmoSeek and did some searches for what ammo was available. He found some Czech 7.62×54mmR and ordered it for his Moisin Nagants.
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Post by gipsy on Aug 1, 2023 18:43:07 GMT -6
Thanks for the update.
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ydderf2
Member
"I'm from the government and here to help" hahahaha
Posts: 321
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Post by ydderf2 on Aug 2, 2023 20:39:30 GMT -6
enjoyed the updates thank you
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Post by ncsfsgm on Aug 6, 2023 12:36:28 GMT -6
Chapter 21
The next morning Jim went down to Wappapello hardware and bought two sets of furniture sliders for wood floors, and he began the final positioning of the furniture in the house. Katie popped her head in occasionally to make sure he was doing it right.
He went out to the shop and started moving and placing the CNC machines, the deep hole drill, and the Pratt and Whitney rifling machine. He set up his racks of blank steel and blank barrel stock for pistols and rifles. He wanted to get a couple of more pieces of equipment and then be able to manufacture just about anything out of metal that you could need for a gun, and even build whole guns.
Along one side of the shop was a delivery of freeze-dried beef, and also contained staples such as 5-gallon pails filled with rice, wheat, potatoes, and dehydrated vegetables. Other boxes contained various McCormick gravy mixes, as well as other spices and flavorings. He needed to get this moved to the basement and pantry. Katie took a break from her algebra and helped move a good portion of it. Using a set of hand trucks, Jim moved the big box containing the grill insert to the outdoor kitchen. Jim had a pellet grill in Connecticut but after giving it some thought, figured there would come a time when the pellets would be impossible to find. So, he searched around until he found a wood fired grill and smoker insert that he was going to put to good use. Katie loved his smoked chicken wings, so he had bought two big bags of chicken wings to make a batch for Katie. She could sit all weekend and eat wings with ranch dressing if he let her. Sometimes Jim thought her veins must run with Ranch dressing. They used so many packets of dry ranch dressing that Jim finally searched for a place to buy it in bulk and found a recipe to make their own. The recipe turned out to be perfect and Katie liked it better than the named brand dry dressing mixes and she could throw together the reconstituted dressing herself. This grill insert had layered racks for smoking meats so it would be easy to lay out three dozen wings and drumettes on it. Jim would add a dozen legs for his benefit. Once the grill was in, Jim took a break, settling into an Adirondack chair on the deck and sipped on a mug of hard apple cider. It was chilly that January day but with the sun shining on the deck, it was comfortable.
Jim put his mug down, grabbed a catalog and a high lighter from the house, and settled back into his chair. He and Katie didn’t watch much TV, but rather listened to music and audio books. They found a few in bookstores but mostly ordered out of a catalog. Both Jim and Katie had an eclectic range of interests in books and music, so Jim just kept a catalog around to mark and they’d order what they wanted.
“I’ve finished my schoolwork,” Katie said from the door.
“I’ll be right in,” Jim said.
Jim drained his mug and went in, taking the catalog in with him. Getting out the proctor manual, he turned to today’s test, pulled out the test, and handed it to Katie. Katie took out two sheets of paper and began working. Jim washed his mug and placed it upside down on a dish cloth. Going over to the stove, he added more wood and turned on the stereo, selecting an Eagles CD to listen to. Ten minutes later Katie finished the quiz and handed her answers and worksheet to Jim.
SOLVE WORKING ANSWER а+2=6 a=4 b-1=8 b=9 c+c=10 c=5 d+6=11 d=5 e-5=7 e=12 F+F+F=30 F=10 1/2g=8 g=16 2h=12 h=6 i+9=13 ¡=4 14-j=10 j=4 3k=15 k=5 11-I=4 I=7 2m-1=5 m=3 2n+1=15 n=7 6o=24 o=4 P/3=5 p=15 q/5=3 q=15 r+4=16 r=12 20-s=5 s=15 t+t+3=13 t=5 3u-1=17 u=6 v+v-2=12 v=7 W-4=0 W=4 2x-10=0 x=5 12-3y=0 y=4
Katie went into the kitchen and got out some celery sticks and pimento cheese for a snack while Jim checked her work.
“Very good!” Jim announced. Taking her work and answer sheets, Jim slid them into a document protector, placed them and the test sheet into the proctor binder, and put the binder away.
“Let’s go get you on the 850.” Jim said, smiling.
Katie squealed and ran to her room to change into her boots.
Dan placed 8 bulbs of garlic in his basket and checked around the root cellar. Not seeing any problems, he turned the light off and went back upstairs. In the kitchen, he transferred the garlic bulbs to the terracotta garlic keeper and checked to make sure he had the other ingredients for the stroganoff. Dan began browning the beef, occasionally sipping his whiskey. Dan drained the meat and placed it in a bowl. Adding butter to the still hot pan, he sauteed the onion he had chopped, stirring occasionally to scrape up the browned bits in the pan, until the onions had softened. Dan added two more tablespoons of butter into the pan, along with the mushrooms, and cooked them until they began to crisp. He heard the front door open, and Holly came prancing in.
“Hey sweetheart, whatcha cookin’?” Holly asked.
“Beef stroganoff,” Dan mumbled, adding the chopped garlic to the mushrooms and onion. After a minute Dan added dry white wine and turned the heat down to simmer.
“What can I do?” Holly asked.
“You can do the noodles,” Dan said.
Holly got out a pot and was boiling the water. while Dan added the rest of the ingredients and was allowing the sauce to reduce. When the noodles were drained, Holly served up the noodles and ladled the sauce over them. Dan opened up a bottle of Barolo he had found when cleaning up the basement. By the date printed on it, it was almost 30 years old. He had no idea where it had come from. His grandfather had been more into moonshine than wine, but the wine paired perfectly with the meal.
“Oh, my goodness! This is wonderful!” Holly said, tasting the first bite. “What’s the big occasion?”
“I got tired of microwaved beef and bean burritos,” Dan said, then took a sip of wine.
“Well, I’m glad you did. This is the best thing I’ve had in a very long time.”
Jim sat in the Expedition and watched as Katie rode around the field. He started the engine and waved to Katie to follow him and told her over the radio. She acknowledged and followed him to the driveway and down to the mailbox.
“Okay kiddo. You have a new chore,” Dan said over the radio. “Every afternoon, I want you to come down here and get the mail after you have finished your studies.”
“Yes Sir!” Katie said, grinning.
On the way back, Jim enjoyed the scenery and thought, “This wasn’t the Berkshires, hell, it was even better!”
After Katie refilled the fuel tank and wiped everything down on the bike, they went into the house and started supper. First though, Jim loaded the CD changer with CDs and pressed “play”. An Everly Brothers CD began playing. Jim took out a pizza mix and began preparing the dough.
“I see no problem with your idea, Bob. It falls within the mandate of what we are supposed to be doing with our state lands. I recommend you set up a meeting with the local residents and the Trail associations and get a feel for your plan.” Bob Dennison pulled out of the parking lot next to the Missouri River grinning like a kid in a candy store. This just may work. He could only credit Winnie Thurgood for its success. The woman was amazing. Her abilities in finding the right information, people and money were beyond anything he had ever encountered. He needed to find some way to reward her. Winnie was from the Wappapello area and knew a lot of the full-time residents. Without her help none of this would happen. Flyers were printed announcing a meeting at the Wappapello Community Center the next month. Meanwhile, surveyors were contracted to survey out the entrance road and complex area.
Katie followed the trail until she saw the little signs on the trees that said, “Lake Wappapello State Wildlife Management Area.” Turning around, she called her uncle to check in.
Andy brought in another armful of wood and filled the woodbox. He got the broom and dustpan and cleaned up the bits of bark that had fallen off the wood. After tossing the bark into the stove, he put the broom and pan back in the utility room. Getting a can of hard apple cider out of the fridge, Andy popped the top on the can and took a long drink. He went to his computer and booted it up, pulled up one of the political blogs that wouldn’t kick you off if you had a contrary opinion. There were several divergent topics being discussed, one discussing inner-city violence.
People were noticing the rising level of belligerence, disrespect, and violence among the youth. The gangs from cities like Minneapolis, Detroit, New York, and Chicago were making their presence felt by organizing the teens into a sort of youth movement for the gangs. Organizing them into the fledgling branches of the organizations and rewarding criminal behaviors such as assault and possession with intent to deliver with praise, drugs, prestige, and money had begun to show results for the gangs. Crimes such as simple battery were up, mostly from one of the youths of one organization battling another. That's what the murders were all about. Not content with pool cues and knives, someone had brought a gun to a knife fight. Drug related crimes such as burglary, robbery, and prostitution were up as well. Christ, young girls turning tricks to pay for a methamphetamine habit. Most were associated with one gang or another, though more as chattel…a whore… than a member. One of the bloggers wrote about one of her friends that worked for Social Services talking to this kid in an interview room about her gang initiation: All the gang members got a turn or two between her legs. Andy shook his head absently in disgust. Another life effectively ruined. This kid, provided everything else went exactly right in her life, might have a chance of appearing normal on the surface, but she would, no matter the amount of psychotherapy, live the rest of her life as a deeply scarred person.
As the mostly black gang members from the cities moved into the suburbs, racial tensions began to rise. Television news from the cities showed an endless parade of black faces charged with murder, arson, beatings, robbery, carjacking, drug crimes, and even prostitution. Although there were certainly white criminals, they never seemed to attract the notoriety that the blacks had. For that reason, the acceptance that the long- time black residents had enjoyed was becoming more and more fragile. Local news rightly blamed gang members from the cities for the increase in problems with the youth, and everyone knew they were mostly black. While no one had yet attacked long-time black residents, hostilities were increasing. It came down to be a big effin' mess. White kids trying to act black, blacks trying to sell drugs, and other blacks just trying to live in peace, and the Democrat city and state leaders turned a blind eye. Chicago was out of control with dozens shot and many killed every weekend. These young men, those that could stay alive, would soon turn from high school kids to gang leaders in a short while.
Andy was so engrossed with the posts he almost didn’t hear Crystal come in.
“Whatcha doing?” Crystal asked.
“Reading through the troubles of the outside world,” Andy said.
“Depressing!” Crystal said.
“Tell me about it!” Andy said, closing out of the site and shutting the computer down.
"Well, if you aren’t too morose, I’d like to take you out to dinner,” Crystal said.
“I’ll need to shower and change clothes,” Andy said.
“I can wait.” Crystal said.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Andy replied.
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Post by gipsy on Aug 6, 2023 12:57:00 GMT -6
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Post by imahic on Aug 6, 2023 13:32:44 GMT -6
Fauchette. Fauci. Coincidence? I like it. Great story.
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