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Post by 9idrr on Jan 3, 2018 21:30:17 GMT -6
Not bad, but we're hopin' you don't run out of steam with anything short of a hundred chapters or so. ;^)
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Post by forthteller on Jan 3, 2018 23:17:46 GMT -6
Not bad, but we're hopin' you don't run out of steam with anything short of a hundred chapters or so. ;^) Thanks for the interest. I have barely finished introducing my main characters so I think there are many more chapters to come before SHTF and then ? after that. Another thread perhaps. I also have ideas for several other threads. Everyone I know is sick of hearing my doomsday predictions, it is actually kind of nice to find people who actually want to read them.
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Post by crice118 on Jan 5, 2018 5:01:00 GMT -6
Read them? No we're living them with all the characters to see how we'd handle that situation better to role play in the stories instead of doing it real life as we can erase bad scenarios and put in better responses - there's very few do overs in real life so this is mental rehearsal for the real thing, or at least it is for me, keep writing as I am "stealing" ideas from everyone to prethink what I would do in that situation or in other words "Moar, moar, moar!" from everyone (yeah I need to write more too)
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Post by forthteller on Jan 6, 2018 15:48:30 GMT -6
Chapter 8
On more trip to the well
World debt November, 2018 61,493,800,390,650
US unemployment less than 5.1 percent
Inflation rate, 2.5 percent
US Fed rate. 2.25 %
Real Fed rate -1.93
With the 4th rate increase in the last 12 months the treasury has its hands full trying to curtail growth in the inflation rate. Unemployment is up but still historically low at 5.1 percent. USA debt is at all time highs as servicing the debt alone now consumes over 6.5% of the federal budget and represents 1.4% of the GDP.
Here are a few of the most striking American debt statistics according to a sept 2018 Nerdwallet Report.
• The total pool of consumer debt has surpassed $1.39 trillion.
• The median student loan debt for a person who has attended some college or graduated from college is more than $52,000.
• The average household credit card debt is about $5,000 with the median debt at more than $17,000.
• The average mortgage debt is nearly $184,000.
• The average auto loan exceeds $32,000.
• Personal loans and other miscellaneous debt are more than $10,650 per household.
• The total average of debt combined (including those who have no debt at all) is $148.5 thousand per household.
•
Personal bankruptcies are up by at least 10% over the same time last year.
In Canada, consumer proposals have become the go to for people who have gotten into serious debt. Loses due to bad debt are increasing. Finance and credit card companies are scrambling to make up for loses and lost revenue due to voluntarily tightening credit.
Meanwhile, with the interest rates increasing by a full point in just 12 months, many people who were on the edge are finding themselves unable to renegotiate new mortgages and have put their houses on the market. While most are able to sell, the extra inventory on the market has begun to weaken prices which have fallen 10% or more in most markets.
Foreclosures, which hit 11-year lows in 2017 are now increasing at an alarming rate. Those foreclosures are not on the market yet so it is too early for them to affect the markets.
NAFTA talks between Canada, United States and Mexico broke off with no agreement in august. The previous agreement is back in force backed by the WTO. Several disputes are already in the courts with many more to come. Job losses and price increases have been experienced in all three countries but actual numbers will not be available until more time has passed to provide more data.
Germanys minority government fell and new elections are in December. Riots in the streets, the rise of the Nazi party and massive increases in homelessness has devastated Most EU countries.
England has had to increase taxes to mitigate the costs of exiting the EU. Riots in the streets and a growing divide between the two groups have increased dramatically. 7 fatalities have been the direct result of these riots.
Scotland, Wales and Ireland have all expressed their desire to remain in the Union and Scotland is expected to hold another separation vote early in 2019.
Italy has demanded a debt restructuring similar to the one given to Greece in 2010. Total cost to the IMF will be in the billions, possibly trillions. Greece has received 3 bailouts so far and no end in sight and now Italy wants the same. The difference, Italy’s economy is almost 10 times the size of Greece and a bailout is simply not possible.
In north America a New movement is taking root in almost every post secondary institution. It started in Canadian institutions and has now spread into the US. It’s called the United Nations Now activist association. Their stated goal is not only continued membership in the United Nations but an enhanced role where the United Nations should have veto power over any laws and economic legislation that has an international impact. This would include all military actions both national and international and all trade between UN members. An international common currency administered by the IMF is seen as the way the UN could truly unite the world and public debt could be dealt with more efficiently.
Demonstrations and riots in the USA have evolved from the anti trump and Black Lives matter riots of 2016/17 and now encompass many more groups such as the UNNAA, 99% and several anti poverty groups.
Even in Canada the demonstrations have turned to riots in Montreal and Toronto.
In other economic news.
Most States and all of Canada will have a 15 dollar an hour minimum wage by the end of 2018.
Guaranteed minimum income is now the big talk in liberal government circles and at most universities.
Minimum wage increases the speed of development and implementation of automation and robotics as merchants and manufacturers scramble to maintain a competitive advantage. Unemployment remains steady for management, skilled, technical and administrative jobs but the low skilled and entry level jobs are rapidly disappearing.
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Post by forthteller on Jan 6, 2018 15:49:42 GMT -6
Chapter 9
Max and Sarah
October, 16, 2018
“All rise”, proclaims the Bailiff.
Everyone stands and nervously Sarah watches as the older female judge enters the room, surveys the area, walks behind the bench and takes a seat. “everyone please take a seat.” John, would you please read out the charges. Looking at the defence table she says “could you please stand.”
“We are here about the matter of the people vs Sarah Wingham. The charges are assault causing bodily harm.” “I have information here that the two sides have reached a plea deal and come to an agreement to what they believe is an appropriate sentence.”
With that he hands a small sheath of documents to the judge.
“Would the two councils approach the bench.” As they approach she quickly reads the documents and continues to do so as they silently stand before the bench. After a few moments she looks up from the documents and surveys the two lawyers, the people at the two benches and her bailiff.
“Is this a sufficient deterrent to others who may do the same thing in the future,” she asks the prosecutor.
“your honor” the prosecutor replies, “the people do not believe there was intent or premeditation in the action. We also believe that a long-protracted hearing would achieve a guilty verdict but the circumstances would likely result in a similar sentence.”
“Do not presume to know what verdict or sentence I would pass on this case, shouts the judge.”
“looking at Sarah’s’ lawyer she askes, “why should I give the defendant such a light sentence when the victim was injured and unable to work for a number of months?”
Defense council responds, “your honor, my client has no previous record of any kind, is a mid level manager in her company and like the prosecution says there was no intent. The incident in question was not actually an assault, it was more of case of two people jostling for one thing and the younger fitter individual winning out, negligence at worst. A criminal record will harm the future of a woman who has never done anything like this before and in defenses opinion will never repeat this action.”
The judges waves him off of any further talk. “please take your seats gentleman.”
Looking at Sarah she says “please stand.”
Sarah stands, inwardly terrified but looking stoic on the outside. “Yes, your honor.”
The judge looks down at Sarah and takes a long moment before saying, “what have you learned from this experience?”
Taken aback, Sarah blurt out, "Pardon me.”
“what have you learned?”
With that the defense attorney stands and interjects, “your honor, I fail to see the relevance, we have already agreed on a plea and my client has already apologized and has has great remorse.”
“Sit down counsellor, I can read and I wold like her to speak for herself.” “Young lady, what have you learned from this experience?”
Sarah who is still standing stammers, “I need to try to be less aggressive when I am trying to get my way. I have to be fairer.”
“Since I know there is a video in evidence could you tell me what I would see if I watched it?” Inquired the judge.
Sarah thought about this a moment, beginning to feel a little less embarrased.
“two women greedily fighting over a TV and I pushed the other woman away so I could get it.”
Quizzically the judge looked at Sarah, “Nothing else, she did fall and break her arm in two places.”
“Crap” thought Sarah.
She turns to quietly talk with her lawyer who responds with equal volume, “You are under oath and perjury is a criminal offense.”
“I tripped her as well when I pushed her but I didn’t think she would get hurt, I just wanted to get the TV and I thought if I had a few seconds I could get far enough away so she couldn’t grab it back.”
He attorney one again jumps to his feet, “I object your honor, this testimony will become a matter of record. I f you don’t accept her plea the prosecution can use it as a confession.”
Objection overruled counsellor. “I have already decided to accept the plea, I am merely trying to determine if the sentence both parties recommend is appropriate.” “And yes, the particulars do need to become a part of the public record.”
The judge slams her gavel down and says she need some time to consider the case and to render judgement. She tells the court that she will write out and read her decision at 9:00 AM tomorrow. With that she stands and exits the side door into her chambers.
Sarah is still standing and she is back to being terrified.
The bailiff stands, “court dismissed, be back for the decision at 9:00 AM tomorrow.”
Outside in her white BMW X5 Sarah thinks she is getting off easy, whew. Out of the parkade she drives and heads home to her condo in the new section of town. Pulling into the parkade she notes that Max’s tesla is plugged in and is glad he is home.
On the way up to her unit she shares the elevator with another couple. She has seen them several times in the 2 years she has lived here but has never spoken to them. She nods a greeting, pushes the button to her floor and turns to face the door as they close. Ten floors later the elevator stops, the couple exits and as the doors close she hears them resume their conversation. 2 floors later the doors open and Sarah exits.
Walking down the hall, Sarah reflects on the fact that she does not know anyone at all in this building and that the only people she ever talks to are on line or at work and of course Max. She opens the door and says Hello, no answer.
She walks into the condo, closes and locks the door behind her, “Max, where are you?” No noise, “Max, this isn’t funny.” Into the kitchen she walks, mail is strewn on the table, his schedule book is there and so is his briefcase. She knew he was only at work for the morning and was supposed to be home but, where is he?
Into the Living room she wanders and slumps down on the imported Italian leather sofa. She reaches for the remote and flips it on. Going through the channels she finds the one she is looking for. It is the Fashion Network and today they are discussing and displaying some new styles by a couple of French Canadian designers. “Nice,” thinks Sarah as the designers talk about their creations and display the construction and materials of the garments. They then talk about the cost and why they have contracted an Indonesian manufacturer to produce their collection at a good value. This would put it in a price range where her store may be able to carry it. She pulls out her I phone 11 and quickly types a note to a buyer she knows in head office.
About an hour later a key rattles in the door, as it opens she turns to looks but as she cannot see down the hall she goes, “is that you Max.”
“No, it is one of the other 10 people who have keys to our place.”
Not funny Jack, “I had a tough day and you have to make jokes.”
“Ok. You are not in jail so what happened.”
Stomping into the kitchen, Sarah shouts, ”Is everything a joke to you?”
“Ok, Ok. I’m sorry, what happened.”
“I wanted you there. The judge accepted my plea but she wanted to look over the case to see if the sentence we agreed on is appropriate. I thought if we both agreed she had no choice.”
“She, who was the judge?” A suddenly engaged Max said.
“I don’t remember the name, older lady, mid 50’s I guess, dyed black hair, kind of looked like a mean schoolteacher.”
“Thatcher, did she have an accent?”
“That’s the name, do you know her?”
“I have met her but she never presides over corporate or contract stuff so she has never decided on any of my cases. You are lucky you got her, I hear she was a really good lawyer and is a pretty fair judge.”
“Did she ask you for a statement?”
“She only asked me a few questions but my lawyer kept objecting.”
“really, why?”
“Legal stuff, he said it wasn’t pertinent and might be prejudicial if the case went to trial. She said it won’t go to trial because she would accept the plea. We go back tomorrow morning to get the sentence. Can you come?”
“I can’t, I present opening arguments in the Mercer defense.”
“Fine, can’t be so bad, we agreed on a plea of no contest to a count of negligence causing injury. I won’t get a criminal record out of it for sure. I will be home by noon a free woman.”
Max isn’t so sure but he says nothing, To himself he murmurs “I will call Steve tonight and find out what he thinks.”
“What's that, interjects” Sarah.
“Oh nothing, Chinese?” Says max as he picks up the phone.
The next day, 9 AM
“All rise,”
Once again, the judge enters, surveys the courtroom and pauses for just a moment as her gaze crosses Sarah. She takes a seat and says, “please be seated. “
The Bailiff reads his statement about the case and what today will bring. As he finishes with it he pauses and with a flourish he says, your honor.
Thank you John. Do we have anything new in this case?
“No your honor.”
Looking at the prosecutor and the then the defense attorney she asks them, do either of you have anything to add before I pass sentence?
“No, your Honor,” “Nothing to add your honor.”
“Very well, I have thought a lot about this and to be honest I have seen some very disturbing trends not just in my courtroom but in the news as well. Regardless we have this one case before us and it stands on its own merit.
The Judge opens a folder and begins reading, “In my opinion I see no evidence of remorse in the defendant, what I see is a woman who is remorseful for the consequences, namely a woman suffering a fractured arm. Had no injury been sustained the defendant would not have though for a second what she had done was wrong and would most likely have done it again should the circumstance occurred again.”
‘I also know this type of incident happens on a regular basis in stores, streets and roads daily, almost always without the serious consequence or any injuries but I seriously doubt making an example of the defendant would serve any public purpose.”
“There is the issue of the woman who suffered a fractured arm and who was unable to work for several months due to this incident? What duty does the court owe to her in delivering justice?”
She continued reading for a few more minutes and then tapped the gavel down and says, “It is my judgement that the defendant gets a conditional discharge with her full record expunged 2 years from today. The conditions are as follows.”
“60 hours of community service and I highly recommend it be done at a charitable second hand store like Penny Pinchers or the Salvation Army.”
“Monthly meeting with an anger management counsellor paid for by the defendant.”
“No recurrence of this type of behavior or the defendant will be brought back before me and I will review my sentence.”
Slam, gavel hits the pad. “Court dismissed.”
Meanwhile, same day
Max is just finishing up in his opening defense of a client’s litigation case. “So as the court will see, not only did my client not have a choice but that even if he had a choice he would have done the same thing. In fact most reasonable people would have done what he did as well.” With that he looked around, looked over at the other bench and lingered for a moment on the complainant. He then looked up at the judge and said, “that’s all your honor.”
With this the judge looked at the court and said to the complainant’s bench, “You can make your case starting tomorrow. Court is adjourned until tomorrow at 9:00. Slam.”
As Max is just collecting his folders and putting his things into his briefcase his friend and fellow lawyer Steve places his hand on Max’s shoulder. “Absolutely excellent opening argument. I wouldn’t be surprised if they weren’t talking settlement before you get out of the building.”
“So, what happened in Sarah’s case?” “where is she?’
“She is downstairs in the cafeteria. She wanted to get away from the courts as soon as possible.”
“So?”
“Sentence is what I expected but yesterday we had a serious bump.”
“Oh?”
“The Judge questioned her and she admitted she had tripped the victim. It doesn’t appear to have figured into the sentencing but her response is a matter of record now as well as the judge saying she does not believe Sarah is remorseful.”
“Dam. You objected?”
“I did on the questions she asked but she overruled me and Sarah had to answer truthfully, it was obvious in the video and the prosecutor saw it. I have no grounds to object to her reasons for the ruling and we got the ruling we wanted so there is nothing I can appeal.
Saturday, Oct 20th, 2018
Very rare day off and Sarah always works Saturday, means that max can work on his latest passion. Several major international firms have been swallowed up by smaller, seemingly less capitalized privately held corporations. Max is trying to figure out how they are doing it because he doesn’t believe they are acting within the law.
He gets up at a late for him 7 AM and leaves Sarah sleeping. Wolfing down a quick breakfast of toast and coffee he pulls on a warm jacket and heads out the front door. In the parkade he stops at his sea can and opens the locked door, once inside he deactivates the alarm and inspects its history. Inside, on the shelves are several new and 1 now used laptop computers. Max takes it and exits the sea can. He resets the alarm and closes the door. Once bolted and locked he walks over to his Tesla.
On the way to his office he listens to right wing talk radio and the topic is the rise in bankruptcies amongst major corporations. Interestingly they are either mothballed or bought up and closed by competitors. Federal, State and Municipal tax base is shrinking at an alarming rate and reduced production is driving inflation. As a result, the government has had to increase interest to control inflation.
The guest is an economist named Dr. Rodgers. He believes the USA will be bankrupt within 2 years and that the United Nations will push for a world currency that would be 100 percent electronic. He has been vilified by the mainstream economics community and has had a rocky tenure at the state university because of his views.
Interestingly, there has not been a mention of this on any mainstream media sources. Max wonders if it isn’t true or if they are not reporting on it because they are somehow prevented. He is going to fact check this information when he gets into the office and try to find out why it is not being reported. “Opinion can vary but numbers never lie,” thinks max.
In the parking lot, max always gets a premium parking spot because his car electric but today all the charging spots are occupied. Several of the cars are not even electric. Max is going to report them to the front desk security and have the cars ticketed. He parks in the second lot and walks briskly in the cold wind to the front entrance. Inside, he walks over to the security desk and there is nobody there. A sign at the desk informs the public that the desk is no longer staffed during the weekends and that any issues can be resolved by calling the office at 555-5555. “Just fucking special, more budget cuts and another unemployed person.”
Once in his office, Max boots up his computer and while he is waiting he calls the security number and reports the parking cheats. The computer comes to life, does its self checks and then connects to the WIFI.
Max pushes enter and types in his password and logs into his Trade Commission account. He has access because as legal counsel for corporate mergers and litigation he needs to be able to search his client and opposition finances, corporate holdings and corporate history.
He queries, corporate mergers and pushes enter. A list of mergers appears and he quickly browses the outlines, none look out of the ordinary except a small privately held pharmaceutical company who has just merged with a publicly held company and with a massive infusion of cash has acquired controlling interest. He researches both companies.
Being a privately held corporation, there is not much on Silade Pharmaceutical. They develop, manufacture and distribute several synthetic opioid pain and arthritis medications and are working on vaccines to mitigate the advance of juvenile arthritis. Founded in 1969, they have never ventured outside France until the sudden death of its founder Francois Poulin and the takeover by his younger brother Patrick. It looks like Patrick has been an advisor and key administrator since it was founded but Francois has always been the face of the company.
The American company they merged with is a key player in publicly mandated vaccines and a bit player in government vaccine research. Gillespie pharmaceutical was founded in the early fifties and joined forces with a German firm to market a new drug called Countergan. It went public in the early sixties during the Thalidomide catastrophe and was renamed Lifespan industries. Even though they were one of the primary distributors of the drug in north America, they somehow managed to dodge most of the legal consequences of the billions in compensation that was paid out.
Researching the deal further, several inconsistencies and even some possibly illegal details emerged. In addition, it appears that when the foreign company took over an American corporation there were no federal approvals on record. Max quickly summarized the details and wrote a report. He sent a copy to his immediate supervisor and to the office of the Trade Bureau.
It is now noon and Max still wants to know who this Dr. Rodgers is so he googles him and reads his wiki. University professor who is seen by a majority of the economics community as an alarmist. Recently he has been using a new model and has correctly predicted several sovereign insolvencies. Max thinks to himself, “the guy has been right with all his predictions so why is he labelled an alarmist? They other economists must know the truth, why don’t they want to inform the public? This makes no sense.”
Next, max looks at corporate bankruptcies and whistles when he sees the number of companies who have closed down and how many jobs have been lost. Most of the losses are in the north central and east so he has not heard much about it but in this case it is the media that doesn’t seem to be telling the public what they should know. With the loss of hundreds of thousand of jobs, surly the media would report on that, “interesting and very disturbing. Enough for now, thinks max. Time to go home.”
In New York, someone is monitoring the Trade Commission data base and is making notes about an online enquiry about a merger that they wanted to keep out of the public eye. After determining the source to the enquiry and the account holder, he prepares a report about the forms and documents requested and the information accessed. Once complete he sends it off to an offsite email and then deletes all traces correspondence.
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Post by 9idrr on Jan 6, 2018 16:05:12 GMT -6
Not sure that 60 hours will be enough for Sarah to learn much. Thanks for the new chapter.
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Post by papaof2 on Jan 6, 2018 16:34:22 GMT -6
60 hours *could* be a long time - it depends on the circumstances, which takes us to "How long is 10 seconds?" and that depends on whether you're watching the second hand of a clock, kissing your significant other or have your hand on a hot stove. If Sarah experiences some "hot stove" moments, her 60 hours could be very educational.
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Post by forthteller on Jan 6, 2018 16:45:46 GMT -6
Not sure that 60 hours will be enough for Sarah to learn much. Thanks for the new chapter. It wont be, me thinks she wont make the two year mark to get her full discharge but I cant give everything away. You just have to stay tuned. Thanks for reading. This is more fun than writing essays nobody reads.
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Post by forthteller on Jan 6, 2018 16:47:12 GMT -6
60 hours *could* be a long time - it depends on the circumstances, which takes us to "How long is 10 seconds?" and that depends on whether you're watching the second hand of a clock, kissing your significant other or have your hand on a hot stove. If Sarah experiences some "hot stove" moments, her 60 hours could be very educational. In a PAW you either learn or you die. Stay tuned. Thanks for reading.
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Post by freebirde on Jan 6, 2018 17:52:58 GMT -6
The ones I feel sorry for are her coworkers during the community service. Can you be "fired" from community service jobs? Didn't see a time limit on the 60 hours unless it is within the two years, what are the odds she puts it off as long as possible? I was going to ask about payment of medical bills then I remembered where this part of the story takes place.
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Post by jpr9954 on Jan 7, 2018 11:24:45 GMT -6
“The Judge questioned her and she admitted she had tripped the victim. It doesn’t appear to have figured into the sentencing but her response is a matter of record now as well as the judge saying she does not believe Sarah is remorseful.”
It's on the record, it can't be denied, and it will be used in the civil suit by the injured woman's attorney. What is going to hurt Sarah and Max a lot more than the 60 hours of community service are the actual and punitive damages that the injured woman is going to collect from these big spenders and small savers.
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Post by forthteller on Jan 7, 2018 14:26:14 GMT -6
“The Judge questioned her and she admitted she had tripped the victim. It doesn’t appear to have figured into the sentencing but her response is a matter of record now as well as the judge saying she does not believe Sarah is remorseful.” It's on the record, it can't be denied, and it will be used in the civil suit by the injured woman's attorney. What is going to hurt Sarah and Max a lot more than the 60 hours of community service are the actual and punitive damages that the injured woman is going to collect from these big spenders and small savers. I am pretty sure she will be meeting Brad in his next chapter. She and max also missed 2 house payments in the 2nd chapter and had to get an equity loan to get their maxed out credit cards up to date. Guess what could happen when they go in to get their mortgage renewed?
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Post by forthteller on Jan 11, 2018 1:19:56 GMT -6
Chapter 10
Jessica
Monday October 16, 2018
The halls are almost empty as Jessica wearily heads to her locker. Depositing some books and taking others, she heads down the hall towards Mr. Rodgers office. She handed in her Macroeconomics policy paper last week and when all the other students got theirs back she only received a not asking her to see him.
When she got to the door she knocked and from inside, “enter.” She opened the door and the haggard scholar was crouched over his computer with notes and a half-completed graph. Looking at it she could see the two axis were time in years and the side was trillions starting at 60. A solid line was across the middle at about the 105 trillion point.
Hello Dr. Rodgers. I got your note today, did you have some concerns about my paper.
“Please don’t call me Dr. I am not in medicine and I think the tittle is a little pompous otherwise.” He continued, “actually, I was extremely impressed with your theory. I am constructing a graph that illustrates your theory in layman’s terms.”
He went on, ‘I think most economists suspect that some variation of the theory you presented is the case but they are reluctant to voice their concerns because of political and personal fears. The fear of ridicule, of being labelled an alarmist or having their professional credentials questioned far outweighs any ethical commitment to present an unwanted truth. Look at what happened in Greece. They know without a doubt their country is bankrupt. Without major concessions and years of restraint they will lose everything yet the population refuses to make any changes and the elected government is unable to actually force change. The pain austerity would cause is nothing compared to what it will be, if and when the EU and the IMF cut off future bailouts and they are ejected from the EU.’
‘My hope is that I can start a ripple of economists who will begin to sound the alarm and that before it is too late we will have an elected government who will do the right thing. Then using practical visual evidence such as the graph I am making and others we may be able to convince individuals to curtail their spending and demand financial accountability of their leaders.’
As he said this he passed her report across the desk with an A++ and said to her, “as with every great theory we can use the scientific method to test it. I suggest you apply your theory to Greece, Ireland, Spain and Portugal. If it proves out with smaller economies where we know the results, you can then apply it to a much larger economy, Italy, that has not yet failed. If what we believe about Italy is true and we make our report public before Italy fails, we will be looked at with more credibility by the economic community.”
Jessica gets up to leave and thoughtfully looks at her professor. “I will do the models and write it up. I have a few connections who will make it public. I got to go. Work tomorrow morning and the classes in the evening. See you.”
“I really encourage you to come back full time next semester.” “I can get you financing and possibly bring you in as an assistant.”
“I really can’t professor. My new job is great and I am learning a lot about real world economics.” “besides I just got a big raise and they are now letting me work with buying to help them become more profitable. I showed them how some product lines they carry do not make much profit despite a great profit margin and good initial sales. The designers bring out new styles so quickly that the items we have from their line in stock become practically worthless overnight. We then have to discount our remaining stock to a liquidator as we need to quickly get their new designs onto our racks. They were very surprised by my numbers.”
“With a sigh, professor Rodgers says, I thought that may be the case but I tried. Have a safe trip home.”
Out in the parking lot Jessica is musing about all the economic calamity that she thinks is just around the corner, “Why can’t everyone see that we are on the road to disaster. Anyone?” She shouts into the empty parking lot. She gets to her car and notices a flat front tire. It is dark out already and it looks like some of the lights are out as well. Terrified, she contemplates going to security to get them to watch over as she changes her tire but decides not to. “They would just think of me as a weak female.” She knows that it is campus policy and they would do it but they would be laughing about it later. “I will not give them the satisfaction.”
She takes her keys out as she approaches her car and opens the truck. Reaching into the trunk she grabs a Glock from a holster she has attached to the inside of her fender. She inserts a full magazine, chambers a round and she tucks it into her waistband. She removes the cover and takes out the spare tire. Laying it on the ground she covertly looks around for any signs. Nothing so she returns to the trunk and gets the jack. Putting it under the car she cranks it and stops before the tire is off the ground. Feeling for the gun she feels reassured. She loosens the lugs and then lifts the car off the ground. Quickly she spins the nuts off, removes the tire and goes to the trunk and tosses it in. She then returns to the front and stands up the spare, glancing around she rolls it into position and lifts it onto the lugs. Spinning the nuts back on, she listens intently. Nothing, she looks around before she lowers the car and slides the jack out. She tosses it into the trunk as well. Returning once again, she does a full 360 looking intently and listening keenly for anything out of the ordinary. Taking the wrench, she snugs the bolts up one by one and then another star pattern just to be sure. She unlocks the door, goes to the trunk and tosses the wrench in and spins. Nothing there so she opens the door and gets in. With the door safely closed and locked she inserts the key into the ignition and starts the car. As she drives the car out of the parking lot she thinks how she may have been over reacting. She feels for the gun and takes it from her waist and puts it in the center console. “Better to have a gun and not need it than to need a gun and not have it.” She quotes form her friend Brad who does need his often.
Once in her driveway, Jessica gets out of the car, takes the Glock from her center console and clears the chamber. She then ejects the mag, reloads the round and puts both into her pocket. Getting out she quickly unlocks the trunk and put her Glock and its magazine back in the holster. Returning to the driver’s door, leans in and grabs her books. She heads into the house an downstairs to her little home.
Wednesday Nov 1st
Its 9’45 and Jessica is waiting at her store entrance to get let in. Store opens and 10:00 and someone is always here, “where is everybody”, she wonders. Rapping on the door once more she waits a few more minutes. Picking up her phone she cycles through numbers and gets to the one she wants, the other assistant manager, Sarah. She calls the number and waits. 1 ring, beep. “Hello this is Sarah, at the beep you know what to do.”
“Hi Sarah, this is Jessica, I am at the store and it is almost 10 and nobodies here.”” I can’t get in. Call me back please.”
From around the corner she hears a voice, it’s Sarah, nonchalantly walking down the sidewalk and talking on her phone. As she gets to the front, she acknowledges Jessica, puts her phone away, pulls a key ring from her purse and opens the door. She walks around the corner and punches in a code on the security system. 10:02 AM. Dumping her bag on the reception desk she looks at Jessica and says would you mind working the floor this morning, we are short staffed and nobody else is coming in until 11:00.
“Sure”, says Jessica. “I will be over in ready to wear putting out some new items, if any customers come in I will take care of them.”
With that, Jessica goes into the staff room and puts her things into her locker. She goes into the stock room and retrieves the rack of clothes she set aside last night and rolls it out to the area she is going to work in.
The door chimes and two customers walk in, Jessica puts the blouse she is holding back on the rack and walks over to the 2 customers. As she nears, Sarah breezes in and waves her off. Jessica turns and heads back to her merchandise. Sales staff get a bonus for sales volume on top of their base salary and Jessica knows that the two women who just walked in will spend a substantial amount this morning. Its no wonder Sarah scooped them up but Jessica was not considered sales staff and did not get a bonus on sales. Jessica, in fact got her bonus based on store profits so in a small way Sarah was actually helping Jessica.
About an hour later Jessica hears a “humf”. Looking up she sees and obviously upset Sarah.
“Is something wrong.”
“You called me this morning because I wasn’t here yet, it was not even 10 yet.” Who else did you call?”
“Only you, you walked up just as I was finished leaving you a message.”
“Its not like I was late, you don’t need to be so pushy.” “Can you just mind your own business and get out of mine?”
“I don’t have keys so it was my business, I was late this morning and it was because you didn’t open up in time.”
Stalking away, Sarah scowled. “bitch’ she said under her breath.
Jessica smiled and went back to her work.
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Post by 9idrr on Jan 11, 2018 19:40:44 GMT -6
Boy, sometimes co-workers can be almost as much fun as family, huh? Thanks for the new post.
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Post by misterjimbo on Jan 11, 2018 20:37:25 GMT -6
Great story. I am liking it and cant wait for the punch line. Thanks.
Just a small edit to do. These statements can't both be accurate.
She walks around the corner and punches in a code on the security system. 10:02 AM.
“You called me this morning because I wasn’t here yet, it was not even 9 yet.”
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Post by forthteller on Jan 14, 2018 1:38:17 GMT -6
Chapter 11
Brad
May 16, 2018
“Routine service. Sealed envelope, signature from recipient or authorized representative. Easy peasy,” thinks Brad. “Yeah right” he says to nobody as he pulls into the downtown high-rise condo development.
He backs his truck into the visitor parking spot and turns the wheel to the correct position so he can make a fast exit if need be. He leaves the drivers door unlocked.
He had learned his lesson early on when a man he had served ripped open his envelope and was so enraged by what he saw he tossed the envelope down and chased Brad all the way to his truck. By the time Brad had the door open, the man was pounding him from behind. Brad had to use his greater physical strength as he spun and pushed the man to the ground but that still was not the end of it.
Brad had managed to get in and had the door locked but as he was inserting the keys the man smashed his windshield with a series of blows from a rake that must have left behind by the gardeners. Brad then backed out of the parking spot so quickly that he sideswiped the car next to him because in this case he parked his truck and left the wheels cranked hard to the right.
The fallout from this incident cost Brad plenty. Hours and hours of paperwork and lost time due to court appearances as the man was charged with assault and vandalism. The case was eventually settled with a plea deal and his insurance paid the costs to repair his and the other car. What was worse was having to listen to Jessica as she berated him for how much it cost in increased premiums and the insurance deductible. She had told him that this service cost him over 2000 dollars. He now carried even more insurance and was very careful how he parked but Jessica still occasionally recommended he do something else for a living. This despite the fact he was earning over six digits now at only 23 years old and with no post secondary education.
Walking across the street brad enters a trendy coffee shop. Purchasing the cheapest overpriced coffee and muffin on the menu he tucks the receipt into his wallet. Taking a table in front of the window he begins to watch the building waiting for a white BMW x5 or a grey Tesla.
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out his wallet. Taking out the receipt and a pen he writes the service number, date and reason. Thinking to himself, “Jessica likes it when she doesn’t have to spend time trying to match expenses with income”. He has begun to do this as a habit. While it does not save him any money it does save in reduced nagging. “Pain avoidance.” He says to himself as he tucks the receipt away and puts his wallet back into his pocket.
Settling into what could be a long wait he pulls the sizable check he had gotten today from the IRS. Wow, he smirks, as he looks at it. “She really knows how to balance my books!” With this check and the fact that she had also sent a request to his employer to deduct less income tax at the source meant he now had even more money to invest. Add to that he was doing more repos and less process serving so he was making even more money.
He had built and paid for the laneway house over his mom’s garage and would not be paying rent for at least a few more years if ever, so he was doing very well. Pulling out the glossy flyer he was holding he looked once again at the cover. 61 acres of land at the base of Mt Rainer, to be owned jointly for recreational users. Everyone gets ¼ acre for personal use, are allowed to have 1 permanent RV up to 30 ft and 1 40 ft sea can for recreational vehicles but what is not in the brochure, a survival shelter. The property has a gun range, large air soft range and other amenities that Brad really liked. It is close to some great 4x4 and RV areas and some good fishing. Everything he liked to do.
As he was looking at the brochure he saw the white BMW turning into the parkade. Before the entrance gate is open, he is up and out the coffee shop door. Crossing the street, he gets to the front of the lobby of the building he knew the target lived in. He knew who he was looking for, in fact he has served her before and with a little smirk of satisfaction he remembered how rude she was the first time. Probably the same issue.
He waits a few moments and when he sees the elevator doors open he steps into the lobby, walks over to her, introduces himself and hands her the envelope. “excuse me Ms. Wingham, I have a delivery for you.”
After she reflexly takes it he asks for her signature. “Could you sign here please?”
She takes his clipboard and signs the spot where he points to the correct line. She hands it back to him and as she does so, she shocks him immensely. “I have to apologize for the way I treated you last time I saw you. You were just doing your job and I was having a bad day but there is no excuse for being rude. I am sorry.”
“Apology accepted Mam,” “I appreciate it.”
“My grandma may be a Mam but my names Sarah”, she says as she holds out her hand. I wish we could have met in better circumstances but whatever, pleased to meet you,” looking at his ID badge, “Brad”.
Taking the offered hand Brad shakes it and replies, “pleased to meet you Sarah.”
With that Sarah laughingly says, “gotta go see what other crappy mail I get today, I can’t honestly say I hope to see you again.”
“Understand completely’
With that Brad is off to his truck with a feeling of incredulity. Pedro had been coaching him on better ways to deliver bad new and wow this one took the cake. Once into his truck he is just driving out as the grey tesla signals its intention to turn into the parkade. Instead of barging in, the driver waves him out even though he had the right of way. “Nice people” thinks Brad, “I wouldn’t mind meeting them in better circumstances’.
October 16, 2018
Brap, brap brap cugs the small diesel as it come to a stop. Nothing but sizzling and crackling can be heard in the quiet cool air. Brad climbs out of the Kubota KX18 Mini excavator. It was a little small for the job but brad was able to truck it in on his flatbed. He had purchased two prefabricated underground tornado shelters and buried them both with the entrances opposite each other. One he was going to stock with weapons and survival gear and place the entrance under his sea-can. The other he was going to put tight to the first with its entrance beside the sea-can. It too was going to be stocked with the same items only its entrance could be accessed with about 15 minutes digging. 5 years of experience had taught him to always have a backup plan and a backup plan for that.
Walking over to his 22 ft travel trailer he steps on the deck and opens the door. Feeling the comfortable heat wafting out he quickly enters and closes the door. Popping open a door he pulls a can of stew from the cupboard, opens it and dumps the contents into the cleanest dirty pot on the stove. Using high heat and rapid stirring it is fully warmed in minutes so he scrapes it into the cleanest dirty bowl. Shoveling the stew into his mouth he takes the pot and puts it into the sink and runs water into it until it is full. Once he finishes his stew he drops the bowl into the pot of water and leaves it to soak. Taking the other dirty dishes, he drops them into the pot of water or fills them up with water and places them on the counter beside the sink. He walks over to the gas line and turns it off, hearing the pop as the furnace goes off and obviously all the pilot lights.
Once outside he closes the door, goes to the propane tanks and shuts them off. He disconnects the tanks and carries them to the sea-can and puts them on the shelf with 4 other tanks. Inside he shuts down the generator and closes the lid. Inside the sea-can are two quads, a motorcycle, a 6000 watt generator, a row of shelves stocked with canned food and a locked steel gun cabinet. Beside that is a very heavy, very old locked safe. Both the gun cabinet and the safe are securely bolted to the floor and wall and Brad double checks that they are securely locked. He then takes a very heavy-duty cable lock and loops it around and through his quads, his Yamaha 250 enduro motorcycle and through the steel legs of his racks. He locks it and looks around to see what else he needs to do. Nothing.
Outside he picks up all the digging tools and puts them in the sea can. He grabs the rake and with a few swipes he smooths out the disguised entrance to his shelter. He puts it in the sea can and closes, clamps and locks the doors. Once outside he takes some debris and tosses it over the spot he just raked and climbs into the small excavator. He starts it up and lumbers across the yard and up the trailer ramp that was still down from when he unloaded.
Shutting it down he gets out and starts to tie it down to the flat deck trailer. As he is doing so he hears the familiar sound of a Cummins turbo diesel rumbling in the distance. Several co-owners have dodge pickups so he is not sure who it is.
Finishing up he checks the site and re enters the trailer. He dumps all the water out of the pots and dishes, rinses the remainder off them with the pleasure from the tap and puts them upside down on a dish rack beside the sink. He closes a few doors, sets some rat traps and exits. After he has locked the door he goes around the back and turns off the water. He then unhooks the water line and puts an insulated bucket over the exposed tap. Going to the front of the trailer he opens a tap that he was told drains the entire water system. At the rear he opens another that holds grey water that he is hoping will be washed away by the rain before spring. He uses the community washrooms which are actually fancy outhouses for any other business.
All complete he climbs into his lifted truck and starts it up, the rumble shattering the mountain silence. Driving to the front on the main drive he can see the truck that came in a while back. It belongs to two hunters he knows from Bellingham and since it is not hunting season he doubts they are up to any good. Maybe target practice but who knows. As he nears the gate one of the men, he only knew as Tex, motions him to stop so he does and rolls down the passenger window. Jack climbs up the side step and his face appears in the window.
“How ya doin Brad, didn’t expect to see anyone up here this late in the season?”
“Just doing some year end cleanup, grading my site and closing my trailer for the winter. What you boys up to?”
“You by yourself?”
“No, I was up here with my uncle says Brad”, lying naturally. “you probably passed him on the road on the way up. This is his machine and I gotta return it before close tonight.”
“Close”
“Yeah, he works at Cyclone rentals in Puyallup. Got me a deal. Let me know if you ever need one. They close a 9”
“Well, see ya in the spring, we are gonna do some shooting practice, make some noise if you know what I mean. Hope nobody else comes in.” With a wink he jumps from the truck.
Noticing the gate is open Brad shouts from the truck, do you want me to lock the gate?
“Nah, we will lock it when we leave.”
Brad starts up the truck and drives away, knowing they weren’t leaving and will most likely be looking his site over at first light. “I wouldn’t trust those clowns as far as I can throw them,” he says aloud as he shifts into overdrive. “Obviously I must have forgotten something” he muses, “I will come up here with Pedro tomorrow morning just to make sure they know I’m not stupid.”
Next day
Brad and Pedro are on Mt Tahoma Canyon Road E. coming up to the campground. Brad stops at the gate to punch in the code that unlocks it. Its dummy locked. Someone has rigged it to stay unlocked but to appear to the sensors to be locked. He gets out of the truck to investigate. The gate is not supposed to be open and the code records who comes and goes and how long they stay. He opens the gate and climbs back into the truck.
He looks at Pedro, “you packing?”
“Of course.”
Leaning over into the space behind the seats he opens a thin case and pulls out a shotgun and an AR15. Then two boxes of cartridges. Handing the shotgun to Pedro he says “take this.”
Pedro takes the shotgun and a box of shells and begins loading them. “What’s going on?
“Just a hunch, got a bad feeling is all. Could be nothing but we need to be prepared just in case.” says Brad as he loads rounds into the magazine.
“lets just call the police, let them handle it.”
“Tell them what? Gates dummy locked and we are afraid to go in without police support?”
“Kind of sounds stupid when you put it like that. What is your concern then?”
“When I was leaving yesterday a couple of yahoos had just arrived, said they were going to do some shooting, except the range is closed and so is hunting season. They asked me to leave the gate open and now it’s dummy locked. They saw my excavator, waned to know what I was doing. I don’t know what to expect. Could be more than two because I cannot see any other reason to dummy lock the gate.”
“I thought they had surveillance cameras here.”
“They do, in all the common areas and the entrance but I cannot tell if they are active and recording or not.”
“OK, lets go”
Brad drives into the compound and past the site of the two yahoos. Nobody there but now there are three trucks. Brad takes pictures of the three license plates and drives on. He drives to his turnoff, hangs a right, drives 4 sites down and pulls into his parking spot. Everything looks as it did when he left except the debris he threw over his shelter entrance was not there. Walking over to his shelter entrance with his AR15 at the ready he casually looks at the ground. He knew he had raked it over and tossed some debris over it and now it was smooth and looked like someone had carelessly recovered the spot. Reaching down he feels the soil, loose and fresh when he had packed it hard yesterday.
Whoever did this was too lazy to put it back the way it was and probably expected the winter snows and rains would do the job for them. He decided to dig it up and see if they took anything.
He opens his sea can, goes in and gets a shovel and digging bar. Leaning his rifle against the se can he sets to digging up the entrance. 10 minutes later he has the hatch uncovered, lock still intact. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out his keyring. He selects one and puts it in the lock, click, it opens so he flips the clasp back and opens the heavy door. Taking a clean sheet of plywood, he lays it beside the access hole. He asks Pedro to stand guard as he goes in.
Brad flips on the emergency light switch and descends into the tornado shelter. Going to the gun case shelves he takes his most valuable and lethal weapons from the shelves and in three trips up the shaft deposits them on the plywood beside the entrance. After the third trip he went back in, relocked the gun case, climbed the stairs, shut of the lights and exits at ground level. He then closes and locks the hatch and takes the weapons into the sea can and puts them on the shelves.
Brad dials a number into the lock and opens the gun case then reaches behind the top jamb and punches a code into the keypad. He puts the guns into the cabinet, resets the keypad, closes and locks the door. Once finished he joins Pedro who had seen no one else. Quickly, Brad reburies the hatch, stomps it flat and leaves it the way the other men had.
“Time to go” said Brad.
“Okay. Not going to show me around?”
“sorry, now that’s done we have a few minutes.”
Brad gives him a tour of the facility and his little domicile. “Plus, I have the hidden bomb shelter which is really a survival shelter in case shit hits the fan down the road.”
“But you just cleaned it out.”
“I left enough in there to not raise suspicions if it gets searched. It still has supplies and some weapons I can use if it doesn’t get stolen. Call it a decoy. I don’t trust those guys and I know they know about the shelter. I have a second shelter that I know they don’t know about. You can come with me in the spring when I restock it.
With that they lock up the sea can, climb into the truck and back out of the driveway. As they pass the Tex site they still see no evidence of anyone so they exit the gate.
Brad hops out of the truck and takes some pictures of the jury-rigged gate locks. He then removes the tape and wire and locked the gate, punching in his exit code.
“Hey, Pedro can you drive? I need to call our security company and ask them to check out the gate.”
“No problem. Always a joy to drive this beast”, Pedro said jokingly.
Once on the road, Brad calls the security company and explains the issue. He then hangs up and texts several pictures to the number they gave him. 5 minutes later he gets a call from the police asking him to repeat everything he had told the gate security company. They then asked if the truck they saw was still there.
Brad responds, “not only is the truck still there but 2 more are there as well. The gate is locked but Tex has the code so they can still get out. I took a photo of the three plates if you want them.”
“Excellent Mr. Collins, if I give you a number can you text me the pictures?”
“Sure can.”
“Anything else?”
The officer responds. “No, I have everything I need, I will contact you tomorrow to let you know what we find out unless I need more information before that.” Click.
Brad quickly texts the three pictures and the pictures he sent security to the number sent by the police.
Looking over at Pedro he says, “I have to thank you for your help on this. To be honest I doubt I would have gone by myself and I would have always wondered if someone knew about my shelter.”
“why does that make a difference? It was still locked and its not likely they will break in and take anything.”
“I can’t say for sure when but shit is going to hit the fan. 5, 10 maybe 15 years at the most. We cannot continue on the path we are on; government debt, world overpopulation, growing divide between rich and poor, racial divide growing, global climate change and idiot countries armed with nukes. I want to ready to survive and be there for my friends and family.”
“but why does it matter if a bunch of yahoos know where your shelter is?”
“You don’t understand. If shit happens others will try to get whatever they can and if they know where mine is they will get it too.”
“I think you are overreacting but you sound like Jessica, she thinks we are going bankrupt. I just take it one day at a time, I can’t save the world.”
“Got a transport repo to do in Everett, you interested?”
“of course, lets go get it.”
November 26th 2018
Morning meeting was just adjourned and Brad casually leaf’s through his weeks assignments. 4 repos and 12 items to serve. “man, there is gonna be some serious surveillance for a couple of these he thinks and then he comes to the second last service in the pile, Sarah Wingham. Crap, another one.”
Nothing to trace here, recent addresses and workplaces for most. A few are unemployed but if he cannot find them at home he has learned how to talk to people in a way to get information without arousing suspicion, Great skill to have.
Out the door he heads, down the stairs and out the bottom door. Outside are several of his co workers huddled at the other side of the parking lot smoking and a few are passing a joint around. “idiots”, says Brad to himself. “You have to be sharp in this business”.
“What do you mean by that”, comes a female voice from behind him.
Spinning, Brad looks at the speaker and doesn’t recognize her. “oh, didn’t know you were there. I was thinking out loud, sorry.”
“My names Cheryl, I’m new here and I wanted a chance to speak with you so I followed you out.” She replied as she thrust out her hand in greeting.
“Brad Collins, about what?” he said as he gripped her hand and noted the strong yet somehow still soft grip.
“Mr. Sanchez says you are one of his most successful contractors and one of the longest serving. He thought I might want to talk with you for a few moments to get a better idea of what I may be getting into.”
“We can go for a quick coffee and you can pepper me with questions for a bit but what I think really needs to happen for all new recruits is they spend a week or two with a veteran agent to see what really happens.” Says Brad, “You can only learn so much in school.”
Tucking his keys back into his pocket, Brad looks at Cheryl and says, “Recover-all or someplace the mud is better?”
“Let’s go to Starbucks on the corner, I’ll buy.”
“Toss in a fruit muffin and I’m in.”
“Let’s go”
As they walk to the corner, she says , “didn’t answer my question.”
“question?”
“idiots, being sharp.”
“do you want the long or the short answer?”
“both but how about the short for now.”
Once inside they stand in line and he starts the story, “ever had a gun pointed in your face?’
Quietly she says, “Lets wait until we get to the table.”
They get to the front of the line and order their drinks and snacks. Cheryl pays.
As they stand at receiving end, Brad asks. “so why process serving and repossessions?”
“Money and opportunity. Every time I look you guys are hiring, either huge turnover or huge growth.”
“Both. Most don’t last the three-month probationary period and we have more than doubled our size since I started 5 years ago. I am not an employee, I am a subcontractor. I was an employee for the first few years. I like this better, I choose.” At this moment the barista interrupts with coffee and muffins.
“Brad takes his coffee and motions to a corner table with four empty seats.”
As Brad sits down, “Cheryl, in a very loud and angry voice yells at him, I don’t care who she is, I don’t want you talking to her”
Brad jumps to his feet and exclaims, “what the hell.” As the two people sitting in the adjacent table get up and quickly move further away.
Cheryl holds up her hand, “easy, just clearing some talking room.” She smiles, “I don’t want to hear anything they are talking about and I doubt they need to hear what we are talking about.”
Chuckling, Brad says, “you are going to do great here. That was truly embarrassing but worked out great. just wished I was in on the ruse beforehand.” Continuing Brad prompts, “gun in face.”
She answers his question. “Several times, spent 12 years on the street and 8 in patrol. Was with the Mt. Vernon police for 20, retired 3 months ago.” Looking away she continued, “Worst shootout was just last year, one of my fellow officers nearly died when some crackhead gunned him down, I helped carry him from the active shooting and to the ambulance. I thought for sure he wasn't going to make it. I decided to get out when the getting was good so I took early retirement and decided to settle down.” she looked down, "I guess I am not much of a settler."
“not much better with us.” Says brad. “I personally have looked down the barrel of a gun several times and my partner, Pedro, was shot in the arm when we were repossessing a truck last year. 20 years, you could try FBI or somewhere else."
"Thought about a larger police force or the military but I still want to stay local, my parents live in Mt Vernon and I guess I'm not ready to leave yet. I may buy a place near here if this job works out."
They talk for about an hour and at the end of it Cheryl says, “I’m in, what kind of money can we really make, seems a little too good to be true.”
“Its not if you put in the work and if you learn your lessons.” I barely made minimum wage the first year and some months if it was not for the minimum salary I wouldn’t have even made that. Wilson was great and stuck with me, so I owe him. I can’t tell you exactly what I make now but it is a hell of a lot more that a police officer makes.”
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Post by forthteller on Jan 14, 2018 16:27:12 GMT -6
Great story. I am liking it and cant wait for the punch line. Thanks. Just a small edit to do. These statements can't both be accurate. She walks around the corner and punches in a code on the security system. 10:02 AM. “You called me this morning because I wasn’t here yet, it was not even 9 yet.” Thanks. I fixed it. Keep reading and if you find any more issues let me know. The punch line is not too far off, in the book and in reality as well. Did you watch the golden globes and who made the presidential speech?
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Post by forthteller on Jan 14, 2018 16:36:07 GMT -6
Boy, sometimes co-workers can be almost as much fun as family, huh? Thanks for the new post. They sure can be. I don't know if you noticed, she did get the promotion to assistant manager at the large head office store, she just got it after Jessica got there first. She is going to find out that it was Jessica running the numbers at the various stores who pointed out to head office how good she was doing in her little boutique store. Jessica is not a marketer, she is a numbers person and doesn't really care about personalities, only results. I did not put these details in the book, I wanted my readers to get it themselves. My question is, does it work? Sarah is probably going to start seeing the error of her ways but she needs a couple more swats from the Karma belt before she gets there.
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Post by 9idrr on Jan 14, 2018 18:39:04 GMT -6
Maybe by the time Sarah has another 3 or 4 interactions with Brad, she'll start gettin' the idea. I'm curious as to how Cheryl is gonna fit in here.
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Post by forthteller on Jan 21, 2018 12:38:45 GMT -6
Chapter 12
Jason
November 8th, 2018
Beautiful fall day in the Lower Mainland, Jason turns onto the Fraser highway off 208th and heads north up the hill to Murrayville. He is meeting at a coffee shop with a contact who wants at least 5 and possibly more shelters.
Balvinder Singh Grewal had immigrated to Canada in 1980 and was the elder of his large family of second, third and now fourth generation Canadians. As a leader in the Abbottsford Sikh temple he also had many friends throughout the valley. As Jason was soon to learn, many in the Sikh community were also concerned with world events and wanted to be prepared for any and all eventualities.
Jason pulls around back of the small strip mall and parks. He walks into the rear door of the coffee shop and with a quick sweep of his eye he quickly locates the distinguished looking 70ish man wearing a blue turban.
Walking up to the seated man he asks, “are you Balvinder Singh Grewal?”
Standing up he says “I am” and extends his hand. My friends call me Bal.
Jason takes the hand and firmly shakes it, amazed at the firmness for a man well past his 70s. “I am just going over to get some coffee, would you like anything, Bal.”
“I have my tea but thank you anyway.”
Jason gets some coffee and a plain bagel. Stuffing the receipt into his pocket he returns to the table and sits down. I’m Jason Smit. Pleased to meet you.
He opens the soft sided briefcase he is holding and takes out some home printed flyers. Handing them to Bal he says “these are some of the units I can get and install. I also manufacture my own custom sized units, concrete and fiberglass.”
Bal looks them over 1 by one and separates out the largest one. “we all have farms and large families, can these be doubled up and linked together?”
“Sure, I can do whatever you want. With a larger area I can bring in a bigger machine.”
“Do we need permits?”
“Langley, Aldergrove and Chilliwack, no. Inside Abbottsford city `limits, yes.” Jason went on, “they have to be 30 meters from any watercourse but other than that there are no regulations, yet. The key is to get them in the ground and buried so only you and your immediate family know where it is.”
“do you help with setting them up with supplies and food?”
“There is a large online community and lots of literature. I can help you with lists and sources for everything you may need.”
“What about firearms?”
“That you and your people have to take care of yourselves. You and any adults can easily get an firearms acquisition and possession certificate. It is a 1 or 2-day course, depending on whether you wish to get unrestricted or restricted weapons. There are several good training courses in the valley, I can recommend a few to you.
“Looking thoughtful, Bal leaf’s through some of the literature Jason has given him. “So, do they need to be secret.”
“I think they do. To most people it looks like you are putting in a septic tank or possibly a root cellar. After a year or two they don’t even remember you digging something up. I like to bury them so there is about 18 centimeters of cover over the hatch so in order to access it you have to dig it up. Should take about 15 minutes with a shovel but makes them hard to find unless you know where to look.”
“I think we would like to do this but I have to check with my partners. We will be wanting 12 units on 6 different farms. How long would it take you to get them?”
“I make them myself in my shop. But I can make and install 2 doubles a week. Right now, I am booked until January.”
“Rising to his feet, Bal says, “we will be in contact, I will have answer for you in 1 week.”
Jason stands and extends his hand, “thank you for you interest, I hope we can work together.”
Shaking his hand, Bal responds, “I believe we will, my friend.”
November 12, 2018
“reason for visiting the USA sir?” asked the US border crossing guard at the Aldergrove crossing.
“going to visit my sister in Mt. Vernon.”
“and you are?” He asks looking at David sitting in the passenger seat.
“David Smit.”
Handing back the passports the guard waves them on, “Have a nice stay.”
David puts the truck in gear and eases out the clutch. As he gets out on the highway and into 5th gear he turns to David and says, “hungry.”
“Not yet. Let’s eat in Linden, burritos at the place you like are awesome.”
Glancing over at his youngest son, now fourteen and in a mix of grade 10 and 11 classes. “you know Jack will be at your aunts this weekend?”
“I hope he doesn’t have too much stuff to do, Last time all he did was study and write essays.”
“well David, you have to remember, he is not as smart as you so he has to work harder to do well. He may play some ball with you and take you into town to check out the go Kart track”
“I was working on some passing plays, I hope he wants to try them out.”
“You know he will.”
“I have to make one stop between Linden and Mount Vernon. Meet a man about getting a survival shelter for your aunt.
“Does she want one?”
“She knows I am building one for her but she doesn’t know it will be this week. If he has a good one in stock I am going to buy it and have it delivered to her place. Then you and I can dig a hole in her yard and pop it in.”
“Does she have an excavator?”
“she has a tractor with an backhoe attachment. It will be slow but it will work. Or I could rent one.”
They arrive in linden and before they get to the entrance to I5 south Jason pulls into a restaurant he goes to every time he passes this way. As he shuts off the engine, David wakes. “we there?”
“No, we are at Torretoes, time to grab a bite.”
They head into the restaurant and stand just inside the entrance. The Hostess greets them, “good afternoon gentlemen, table for two?”
“yes Mam,” says David.
“Right this way.”
She leads them to a booth along the window and bids them to sit. As they sit she launches into todays specials. After they are both seated, she hands them both menus. “would you fellas like something to drink.”
“Coffee please, and rootbeer for my son.”
David and his dad sit sipping their drinks and have decided on meals when a group of come in. They wait to be seated. Their conversation is loud and anxiety filled and they seem quite upset. The Hostess speaks with them a moment and leads them to a booth right next to Jason and David. David can hear their conversation as if he was sitting with them in the booth. “What are we going to do.? We have nowhere to go and nowhere to keep our stuff. Where are we going to sleep?”
The middle aged male says, “I still have a job and we can sleep in the Van. Mom will take you guys to school. We will Put all our things into a mini storage. We will find a place to rent but I don’t know how long that will take.”
One of the girls, about 8, was clutching a doll and crying, “dad, why did they make us leave our house. You said police were good, they took our house.”
The mom, comforting her daughter sadly replied, “they were not police honey, they were sheriffs and they were just doing their jobs. Looking down at the foreclosure notice she thought about how things had changed for her and her husband since she had been laid off. On one income and unemployment insurance they fell behind on their mortgage. The best job she can find is less than half what she was making and she would need daycare so she would make even less than on unemployment insurance. House prices had not risen in the past few years. In fact, they owed more for their home now then it was actually worth.
Their strategy was simple, stop paying the mortgage and wait it out until they get forced out by the courts. That was 15 months and all the money they saved they used to buy a camperized van that would sleep all 5. They would stay in that camper, parking on the streets, until a social housing unit comes available or they can find an affordable place to rent. It was going to be a long cold winter.
After the reply to her daughter the mother sighed and did not speak again. the father tried to cheer up the kids by talking about some of the tings they might see on the weekends in their new camper. He said it would be cool waking up every morning together, just like camping. He talked about this being a new adventure and how they would all be stronger for it.
David sat quietly with his dad and ordered his meal when the waitress arrived. He ate it in silence and was relieved when his father asked for the check so they could pay and leave. At the till his father handed him the keys and told him to go warm up the truck, so David took the keys and headed out the door. When he turned the corner, he saw his dad handing the waitress some cash so he hurried to the truck to start it before his dad got there. He sat in the idling truck for a few moments and then a few more and after what seamed like an eternity he shut it off and went back to the restaurant to see what it was taking so long. As he got to the window he could see that his dad had another receipt and was paying another bill. Quickly he raced back to the truck and restarted the engine.
Jason exited the restaurant, turned right and glanced in the window and could see the family finishing their meal. Sadly, he looked away, “they will have lots of company,” he said to himself as he trotted to the idling truck. Opening the door, he said to his son, “Skoosh.”
David hops over the center consul with ease and plops into the passenger seat. Quickly he snaps his seatbelt on and relaxes as his dad pulls out of the parking spot. When Jason signals and turns onto the road David looks over at him. “I will never understand him,” He thinks. Quietly he ponders what just happened and waits until they turn onto the I5 and his dad is up to speed before he speaks.
“you paid that families bill, why?”
"how do you know I did.”
“I just know, plus you took too long to get to the truck.”
“Yes, I did. They are a hardworking family who has fallen on hard times and I gave them a little help.”
“how do you know they are hard working?”
“I just know.”
“you never give money to the homeless with the cardboard signs and you never give to Christmas hampers or to food banks. Why not?”
“Because most of those people expect a handout on a regular basis. Because we keep giving it they lose the incentive to do what it takes to not need handouts anymore. It’s like we condition them to always need charity.
"I prefer to give people a hand up, sometimes they need help finding a job or a place to get cleaned up for a job interview or to get their mail delivered to or even taken to an NA meeting. To truly help people you have to help them to help themselves. " We have the spare cabin and we have had lots of people stay there long enough to get a job and not need welfare anymore like Mr. James next door.”
“But you still give him free electricity form your solar panels.?”
“True but even though Mr. James is disabled he still has a job. He cannot make enough to pay all his bills so I help him out because he earned it by serving his country and working to the best of his ability. Guess who is feeding our chickens, goats and dogs while we are away and watching over our property. The electricity he uses is nothing compared to knowing I have a friend who has my back.“
“I see, it is like trading.”
“Kind of, but I would give him the electricity anyway. It was Mr. James who offered to look after the animals when we were away, I never asked him.”
“so, those people in the restaurant didn’t ask for your help but you decide to do it anyways. They wont ever be able to repay you.”
“You understand then. Charity is helping people on a short-term basis so they can help themselves. Its not charity when you make them dependant on you for help and they never learn to help themselves. Guaranteed minimum income is going to do that to millions of Canadians.”
“we were debating that in my poly sci 11 class. My teacher says it is going to even the playing field. She says there will be no more poverty and homelessness because everyone will have enough to pay for basic needs.”
“did you argue with her?”
“I did but she didn’t want to hear my side.”
“you know that guaranteed basic income can only work if the people receiving the money are forced to spend it on rent and food. If they are allowed to spend it on drugs, alcohol, tobacco and other non-essentials they will still be hungry and homeless. You cannot be free and dependant at the same time. When we are at Alana’s house you and Jack can go visit with your aunt and cousin Jessica. I bet she can help you with a reasonable argument. Why not write a paper on the subject and hand it in for extra credit? I know Jessica would love to help you with that, if she has any time at all. She is already published in several journals and she is not even half way through her masters.”
As Jason finished his comment he pulled off on exit 140 to Alger. Less than a mile east and he comes to a Septic and plumbing supply store. Behind the plumbing store is yard full of concrete, fiberglass and plastic septic tanks and storm basins. Even further back it looks like several types of premanufactured storm shelters and other strange looking objects.
Jason parks and shuts off the truck. “do you want to come in and look at these things.”
Chuckling, David replies, “sure, I might be living in one some day.”
The door chimes as they enter and it is almost 2 minutes before a dust caked man enters from the back doors. Wiping his hands on a towel draped across the back door he walks over to Jason and David. “Hi there, can I help you?”
“You can, I am Jason Smit, we talked on the phone last week?” Jason replies with an inquiring tone.
“yes, I remember you, the Canadian, eh. I’m Hector, Hector Álvarez.”
Laughing Jason holds out his hand and responds “That’s me, eh, but I am actually a US citizen. I have lived in Canada for over 20 years but I still speak American. We are looking for a survival shelter that would comfortably house 6 and more if necessary.”
“To take back to Canada?”
“No, I want to install it for my sister, she lives in Mt. Vernon.”
“They expect you to get a permit in that county and they want the right to inspect it periodically to check for illegal firearms and munitions.”
“No way around it.”
“I cannot advise you on that but if you want to look at what I have available you can see if you could transport it yourself. If I deliver it, it will be on my records and a routine audit could target you. I cross all my t’s and dot all my I’s. Survival shelters are on the radar of all the municipal agencies. If you were to pick it up, I would have no way of knowing where it went.”
“As Jason was speaking to the man a tractor with a flat deck loaded with several shelters exits the yard and heads west on Alger road. Moments later another truck comes in from the east and turns into the yard, it is loaded with crates and mats of fabric and other things.”
“where are those shelters going?”
“Don’t know, don’t have to know. Paid cash.”
“So, do you make your own shelters or do you bring them in from other manufacturers.”
“Mostly make our own here in house but I have several from some of the big Midwest manufacturers as well. I cannot get them shipped in fast enough to meet demand.”
“You sell that many.”
“there are at least three suppliers North of Seattle and none of us can keep up. The state has impending legislation so all the preppers want to put them in before it is too late.”
“Too late.”
“Legislators are trying to make it illegal to have secret shelters and they even want force demolition of shelters installed without proper permits and government access.”
“how would they know?
“My guess is Satellite photos and nosey neighbors. But there are thousands in this part of the state so it will take them decades to find them all.”
“Same crap happening in Canada. I had to start making my own because I couldn’t get them across the border anymore. The federal government wants to stop them but the province does not seem to care. We are under the same magnifying glass as you though. I have personally installed almost 500 of them in the last 3 years.”
“Let’s go see what may work for you, we will figure out how to get it there later.” With a beckoning wave he exits the back door. Jason and David follow.
Jason and David follow him out into the yard. They pass by the septic tanks, catch basins and storm sewers and enter the rear yard where several storm and survival shelters are. Some with top entrances and built in vents, some with entrances at one end and some with an entrance and an exit. Jason stops at one that looks like a honeycomb but has no top. The sections are six sided and look to be joined to form separate connected rooms. Jason is interested in these so he asks some questions.
“What goes on the top of these.”
“You put these in the ground in the pattern you choose, I have fiberglass roofs for them but the earth you cover them with will crush them so you need to fill the sides to a few inches beyond the roof and cover with 4 x 6 pressure treated timbers. Costs a bit more to install but very difficult to locate, even with x-ray equipment.”
“I’ll take 5 of the six-foot ones. How much do they weigh.?”
“The 8” precast units are about 2800 pounds” You can carry 2 on a good car trailer.”
“how soon can you have 5 ready to go?”
“1 week.”
“great, I can dig the hole and wait to see if I get a visit by the authorities in the interim. I can pick them up and drop them right in. My sister has 15 acres and lots of outbuildings so I can probably dig it up without attracting attention. Have you heard from anyone how they deal with the satellites?”
“Some are doing them at night but I think they can still be seen by satellites. Best chance is under a good canopy of trees in my mind. I am going to need a deposit for the hexagon units”
Jason and Hector proceed to the office between the two yards. Hector opens the door and wave Jason in. David is till climbing in and out of shelters, having a great time evaluating their size and effectiveness. Offering a seat to Jason Hector sits behind an old desk and pulls out a multi copy form. As he fills it out Jason pulls a large wad of cash out. At about midway down the form, Hector asks for an address. “It can be anything you want, I would suggest somewhere in Linden.”
Jason takes his phone out and googles Linden. He zooms in until he sees a street name and recites it, picking a number between two houses he gives the rest of the address to hector who writes it down. Hector tells Jason how much he needs for a deposit but Jason tells him he will pay the whole amount now. Hector quotes the price and Jason reels off the cash and hands it to Hector. “must be good money installing survival shelters in Canada.”
“The other two companies charge a lot more but I do it because I believe they are going to be needed very soon. Building survival shelters and helping people be prepared is one of my life’s 2 missions. I do make enough to get by and with a very simple life I do okay. Money is going to worth nothing in ten, fifteen years.”
“Sooner than that I think.”
2 days later.
David is sitting with Jessica at her table in the basement of the Martine home. As he watches, Jessica traces curves and graphs and explains to him how debt is truly the rapacious creditor. Once it gives, it never stops taking, she tells him. She shows him on her graph how once the government passes 100% of the GDP in debt there is no return without massive voluntary restraint, which has never been the case in every sovereign bankruptcy to date and there has always been a larger entity to bail out the smaller dependant state. Currently, several cities and 3 states that are over 100% and are effectively bankrupt. By supporting them, the federal government is only driving its own debt up.
David takes notes and makes his own graphs using the numbers he has for Canada and British Columbia. Looking up he says to Jessica, "Canada is not far behind but BC is doing Okay." he says.” What happens if the bigger economies fail and there is no other source of bailouts?”
“Have you ever read the old testament?”
“Yeah, what’s that got to do with this?”
“year of Jubilee.”
“Year of jubilee?’
“In ancient Israel, every 50 years was the year of Jubilee. That was the year that every debt was cancelled, every piece of land was returned to its original family and everyone went back to zero.”
“So, what happened, and why can’t we do that now?”
“Original sin my dear cousin. We are all too greedy and all too lazy. The Bible calls charging interest usury yet we still do it and not only condone it but we call it commerce. Do you know what the Government puts up for collateral when it borrows?”
“Bridges, roads, parks, government land and buildings.”
"They do but that is not enough, it is not like it can be repossessed. They use the right to charge fees and the right to tax for collateral. If the USA goes bankrupt someone else will have the right to tell the government how much to tax us, how much to charge for our service, how much we get for pensions and health care, where we can build roads. They will be able to dictate who gets to own property and who will be in charge. We will have given them that right by selling out to greed and selfishness.”
David eagerly listens and takes more notes. When Jessica is done he asks for a copy of her research paper which she hands him without a murmur. “I am going to write a paper on this from a political perspective and hand it in for extra credit in my Ploy sci class.”
“Sorry to say David, your teacher will probably not be too pleased to read your report.”
Jack pops into the room breathlessly, ready to go little bro?
At Alana’s house, Jason shuts the John deer backhoe down and listens as the engine cools. It is 3 o’clock and he is finished digging. Before he has his tools put away a white municipal vehicle and a police cruiser pull into the driveway. “Crap,” Thinks Jason.
Pulling his gloves off he puts them on the backhoe seat and walks to the front of the house and the 4 waiting people. As he approaches, a woman introduces herself and her colleague as Municipal inspectors and that they had received a complaint of someone digging on this property. She had checked and the city has no active permit on the property so they wanted to know what was going on here.
Looking at Jason she asked, “and who are you.”
“Jason Shmit, I am the brother of the owner, Alana Watts.”
One of the deputies looked at the municipal worker and said to her, “do you know who owns this house?”
“Registered owner is Alana Watts.”
“do you know who she is?”
“Name rings a bell but is she someone I should know?
“She saved the life of deputy Lawson during a shootout on this property last year. Because of her actions a large drug manufacturing ring was taken down.”
“I remember that. A couple of the dealers were killed too, weren’t they.
“They were. They were cooking meth and other drugs so I bet they did some serious damage to the plumbing and septic field. I don’t think un upstanding person like her would be doing any illegal construction. " "Makes sense to me. I will put this house on the list for a follow-up visit. How about first week of December?” With that she opens the driver’s door of her car and drops into the seat. I’ve seen everything I need. “Try to keep the noise down sir, have a nice day.”
As the two municipal inspectors drive out of the driveway the deputy sergeant says to Jason, “your sister is a hero to us and anything we can do for her we would be happy to.”
Jason looks at the men and asks, “what did she do? She never told me anything about a shooting.”
The younger deputy replied, “you need to ask your sister, she may have her reasons for not telling you. Where is she anyways.”
“On the road, I am hoping to surprise her when she gets in tonight.”
“surprise her with what, a big hole in the ground,” says the younger deputy.
“something to do with her septic probably, I bet her toilet doesn’t work after the crackheads wrecked the place,” says the older deputy as he shooshes the younger one to the passenger side. With a conspiratorial wink to Jason he jumps into the driver’s seat and backs out onto the road and quickly drives away."
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Post by forthteller on Jan 21, 2018 12:49:39 GMT -6
End of Part one.
Quick synopsis of who the main people are.
Three Siblings.
Jessica's mom who we have not met Pedro is her stepdad and works with Brad
Alana who is a veteran and trucker Son Nick is a marine
Jason who is also a veteran and now lives in Canada. 3 kids. Jack, Alicia and David
Intertwined in the three siblings and their children's lives are
Brad Collection agent Sarah and Max Dr. Sam Rodgers economist Cheryl Burke new repo agent
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Post by 9idrr on Jan 21, 2018 16:20:43 GMT -6
Thanks for keepin' this goin'.
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Post by forthteller on Jan 21, 2018 17:18:22 GMT -6
Twist is next chapter. Had to string you all out for a while first. I hope to post chapter 13 soon. Got lots of work to do in the real world though.
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Post by motherhen on Jan 21, 2018 18:16:34 GMT -6
Forthteller, thanks for the story, I am looking forward to reading more! Do you have anyone to help with proofreading?
Oh, and thanks for using a large text size, it makes a story much easier to read!
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Post by misterjimbo on Jan 21, 2018 18:21:50 GMT -6
Thank you very much for some great info. I will definitely have to start over and read this again.
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