part0040

Rick didn’t go throw up; instead, he went out on the wide veranda surrounding the house. He just sat there looking into the distance. Marsha who was in the room when the call was going on could tell it was big. She came out onto the porch with him and just sat quietly. After about twenty minutes, he stirred and asked her to get him a drink.

She asked, “Coffee or iced tea?”

“Double Jack Black straight up,” he replied.

“As a heart attack,” was his response.

Rick seldom drank hard liquor much less before noon, so this was serious. Marsha didn’t comment, just went and fixed the drink. He sipped it for a few minutes; then proceeded to tell her about the phone call.

“Marsha they want me to run an army, be a dictator, own a multi-billion dollar bank, and give me all the gold in Fort Knox. This is insanity!”

Marsha who was having a hard time comprehending what she was hearing gave the time-honored response.

Rick looked sharply at her. “Aren’t you supposed to say I’m sorry?”

She giggled as she replied, “That goes with, you are right, I’m wrong, I’m sorry. Weren’t you paying attention in husband class?”

Rick gave a bark of laughter, “Yes Dear,” and the tension started to wind down.

They went in and while Marsha was fixing them grilled cheese sandwiches with salsa on them, he gave her more detail of the phone call.

“Well it makes more sense now that you have told me all,” she commented. “That is the individual points make more sense. The big picture has got me lost, how will we ever accomplish everything. As a group, we don’t have the required knowledge to implement each item, much less make the entire project come together. ”

“Actually, I don’t see that as a problem. As Rob told me; for the bank, they would bring a professional team. I would be the owner and Chairman of the Board but they would run it. I would be the public figurehead. That is the way every one of us would work. We could question and give our input, but they would run it.”

“That is the issue, they would run it. It is going to be very difficult for us to keep control. Another question is do we want to keep control? But then who are they? What are their motives? I would be a lot more comfortable if I knew ‘their’ long term vision. I’m not for a strongman type of government even if I am the strongman.”

“If someone has to be the single person in charge I would rather it be you than a lot of people.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, but remember, a good strongman can be followed by a bad one. That is what bothers me.”

Just then the phone rang.

It was Rob calling back.

“Feeling better,” he asked?

Rick replied, “Yeah with a little help from my friend Jack Black and a lot of help from Marsha.”

Rob barked a laugh, “Yeah I have visited him myself recently. ”

Rob proceeded to recap their previous conversation. Rick had correctly understood what was being said.

Rick then told him about his concerns about a martial law governor being followed by a poor one.

Rob agreed that this was a major concern. He also agreed with Rick that there might be a long term vision for the CSC that they weren’t aware of.

They both ended up agreeing that all they could do was pay attention and keep the project moving along.

“Speaking of moving along, I think it is important that we gain the group legitimate standing within the community as soon as possible.”

“I agree with you Rick; could I attend your next group meeting and explain what has been proposed?”

“Sure the sooner the better.”

“Okay, put me on the agenda for next Monday and I will be there.”

“Rob why don’t you come down Sunday night and stay with us, we could have an extended conversation about all of this.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“Be here before six so you can join us for dinner.”

“Okay, see you around five in the afternoon on Sunday. ”

Sunday night the three of them had a long conversation. Nothing really new was brought up, but they did get a firmer idea of where they were going and what had to happen.

Monday brought the Valley Group meeting. The General presented well as one would expect from a General. He explained that DHS was very interested in creating CSC’s which could support the recovery of a breakdown of society.

He presented it as FEMA writ large. The only difference rather than coming in after the fact they were trying to be proactive.

Paul Kettler’s, “Now I have heard everything,” spoke for the group.

It also set the stage for Rob to present how they were going to legitimize the group and set the stage for them to be the leaders if the events they were predicting came to pass.

“DHS is going to ask for an advisory group to be established to represent the Valley. The fix is in. The County Commissioners will appoint everyone in this room to be the advisory group. No, you don’t want to know how that was accomplished. I will just say it was a carrot and stick approach. Some of the County Commissioners had some things they didn’t want to make public, others took a payoff, and one of them actually did it for all the right reasons. Bill, you can stand up and take a bow.”

“I can announce it now; Bill Wigle saw the possibilities before anyone else. He approached a friend at DHS and presented his thoughts. There was already a project of this nature in the pipeline and Pikeville was on the shortlist.

Bill then helped vet every one of you to be certain you were the people we needed in the group. He has been in constant contact with DHS. Now we think he can help us more by being our voice in Congress.”

To say that took everyone by surprise was an understatement. Rick started a round of applause which all joined in. Bill stood up but was speechless. Rob came to his rescue.

“What we have here tonight is a group who are risking their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. We have here the founding fathers and mothers of a future nation. You are the few, the happy few, a band of brothers. Now I have mangled the Declaration of Independence and Henry V, so I am sure Bill is now comfortable to speak.”

This brought some general laughter.

Bill said simply, “It needed to be done and I was the one who did it. But now it is time for me to turn it over to you as a group and Rick King as our leader. For what is coming, Rick has the background to make it happen and follow through. ”

Now it was Ricks's turn to respond, but he had his thoughts in order.

“My background is what is needed. The vision has been seen by Bill, the DHS has set the policy and is providing the support, now is the time for an honest sergeant to work for his living and make it happen.”

General King went on to explain about the working groups at various Universities and think tanks around the country. How each of them would have a role as an advisor to them.

How once the plans were laid out professionals from hospital administrators to 3D printing plant managers would come in and set them up. However, this group would be undergoing training to become the nucleus of the new government to bring the country back under control.

Judge O’Malley said, “Why wouldn’t Congress just move here and run the country if the cities fall.”

“Mark, if the cities fall I doubt if any of us will make it out,” said a sober Bill Wigle. “I won’t be moving my family to Washington.”

This remark brought everyone down. A somber group went on to discuss the bank which Rick was going to buy and then was quick to adjourn.

That meeting was the start of the whirlwind. The first gust of that wind was the announcement that Rick King had bought The Pikeville Valley Savings and Loan .

A team led by David Christensen was brought in to run it. Construction was started immediately on some bank-owned property for a large expansion. Not only was the bank itself going to move there but there was enough space for a staff of fifty people.

New vaults were put in place two levels below ground. These were large vaults. Some jokers down at the diner told Mary they thought they would be moving Fort Knox there. Mary didn’t spread that rumor.

A new subsidiary of the bank started buying land. Hope Popule, a new employee of the bank headed this effort. Within six months she and her team had acquired ninety-five percent of the available land in the valley.

The last five percent were holding out for more money than it was worth and those parcels weren’t really needed. They then started work on the property that wasn’t for sale but had been identified as needed.

One such land parcel was spread out over three farms adjacent to the old Watkins land. DHS needed it for a runway they were putting in. The runway would go with the long axis of the valley and would be seventeen thousand feet long.

It could handle any aircraft in the commercial or Air Force fleet. There would be secondary runways but of necessity, they wouldn’t be as long .

The group all began to accumulate frequent flier miles as they visited the support groups around the nation. They still met weekly but half the members would telecommute from around the country.

The nuclear reactors went in on schedule and without protest. The reactors weren’t put out to bid, they were deemed unique items which come from a sole provider, so no announcements were made.

They were small enough to move in the dead of night on flatbed trailers. Of course, that was the easy part. Getting them set up and working with the proper infrastructure took another six months.

The next issue to be addressed was housing. Some of the newly arrived higher-level executives had contracted the building of new homes. This still left a housing shortage. Rick was forced to open another division of the bank.

The bank loaned itself the money to build tract housing and apartments on some of the lands it had purchased. This, in turn, led to a need for water, sewage, and electric services. These were paid for completely by impact fees by the developer.

This included new schools for students who hadn’t even arrived yet and health care facilities for the patients that weren’t ill yet. The school buildings were Rick’s problem .

The school curriculum was Marsha’s. She had to have one in place for the current laws, and one that would work for the future.

Many were the night that Rick and Marsha would collapse in bed. Many were the night they had a little leftover for each other. Though they were running like crazy, they both seemed to be getting stronger all the time.