part0042

Marsha mused, “If we could control the records twenty or more years in advance that would take care of it.”

“What do you mean? ”

“Well, if we were involved in creating birth and death certificates we could be who we wanted.”

“Wouldn’t it be more complicated than that, what about school records, driver’s licenses, school pictures?”

“Yes it would, but we have to start at the beginning. I am going to see about getting a job in the records department at the courthouse now that my major tasks on education are under control.”

Their lives were in a spin. They barely had time to adjust to one situation when another would pop up. The Valley group settled down and was actually getting it together.

Each member was interacting in their respective field with the corresponding expert groups. Each member set up a sub-team in their field to aid and guide. No one person could keep it all together.

As Judge O’Malley put it, “This is so much fun it should be illegal. Oh, wait I’m the one making the laws!”

One guiding principle was that if it was too long to read, then it was too long to use. There wasn’t going to be any, “You have to pass it to find out what is in it.”

Another battle that was constant was, “That sounds good, but that is not our culture.”

The schools and think tanks had a liberal bias which they were trying to impose on the gun-toting, god-fearing Bible belt. The Valley group finally quit arguing and just accepted what they were given then changed it to suit themselves.

Hope Popule was in a realtor’s heaven as she bought every property on the market and made offers on those they needed, but weren’t listed.

She had signed on with the bank but still got a reduced commission of one percent. So far, she had over five hundred million dollars in transactions and going strong. She wondered if there was a billion-dollar real estate club.

Rick was brought in for a presentation of the financial status of the bank. This was a high-level review prior to their first financial audit. On their two billion dollars, they made a profit on the books of fourteen percent. This worked out to two hundred and eighty million dollars.

When Rick asked, “Now who gets this profit if we cashed out?”

The President of his bank looked at him like he was crazy. “Rick you own this bank lock stock and barrel. You would get all of it.”

It was Rick’s turn to look at the President like he was crazy.

“How can that be? ”

“Well, you put in the startup capital. The government put deposits into the bank. You loaned the money out, made a profit. The government could ask for their money back, which could create a mess if it demanded it all at once, but that isn’t going to happen.

Now the question is how much do you want to leave in the bank? If you withdraw it, it will be taxed; and taxed heavily.

Rick’s response was to say, “Let me think about it for a few days.”

What he really meant was Holy Cow; I need to talk to Marsha about this! He and Marsha had several long conversations, and he came back to the bank President with a question.

“Can I leave the money in the bank, but buy gold and hold it as reserves?”

“Yes, that would work well. Especially, if after you have the gold in place you let it be known that is how your reserves are stored. It will give the bank enormous credibility. Combine that with the good loans on land and this has to be one of the strongest financial institutions in the world.

“Then let’s proceed on that basis, plan to do that every year until further notice. ”

A few days later, DHS Director David Paul made an appointment to see him. Rick took it as a good sign that Paul elected to call and ask if he could meet him and Marsha at their home, then later if appropriate be introduced to the Valley group.

David Paul came across as low-key and affable. However, there was something about him that left both Rick and Marsha wondered what his temper would be like.

Though he seemed easy going there appeared to be a fury waiting to be unleashed. They agreed they would always treat him like a stick of dynamite waiting to go off. They could work with him, but he would never be a friend or confidant.

He explained that there were several scenarios that could play out.

“One nothing happens and there is no need for the CSCs. Two there could be a partial failure of the country where the cities collapsed but the countryside held. Three it went all to Hell and the only things left were the CSCs.”

David added, “There are also subsets of the above. We might lose it all on the coasts, but the center of the country holds. There are many possibilities, but we are preparing to some degree for the three. If nothing happens, then a lot of money has been spent for nothing. ”

“If the second scenario plays out the CSCs will have to coordinate to bring it together. If the last one plays out, it is every group for itself.”

“This has been war-gamed to death. The highest probability is the middle ground. So we are planning on the CSC’s being the core of each region as we put the country back together again.”

Rick said, “I am confused about one issue. We are going to a lot of work to come up with simpler laws that will work; the education system, government structure, and a whole host of other items. If all the CSCs are doing this, it will be a complete confusing mishmash.”

“Ah, you are catching on. Yours is the only CSC doing this. You are the model for all the others. Since the Valley group formed itself, your CSC had a head start. You had people in place to get things moving, so we are taking advantage of that,” replied Paul.

“In the next month, you will have to start visiting each CSC to get an idea of how they are progressing. We will be basing a reinforced company with high mobility at each DHS facility. They will have a Major in command since it will have higher than normal staffing. We are also trying to attach a heavy element but the logistics of supporting tanks or artillery are pretty stiff, and we don’t see how we can do it.”

“Wait a minute I will outrank all the others. ”

“That’s the idea, Rick we want you to have overall command of the remaining armed forces.”

“Oh my God, what have I gotten into?”

“Simple Rick, with your heritage and military background, you are the most qualified person who we know will be absolutely loyal to the idea of the United States of America and all it stands for.”

“How will I get around?”

“Why do you think we have those runways at the Ranch? You will have five C21’s, as those are the most adaptable in the current fleet since they replaced the old C17 they have proven themselves time and again as being reliable and versatile. Plus, we are looking into basing some Blackhawks and Apaches here, but the logistics once again are the problem.”

Also, we are really being selective on the personnel of the reinforced companies. Single where we can get them, but fewer attachments the better. Also, most of them will have had training experience, so they can be the cadre for enlarging your forces as needed.”

“Okay, I will be in command, which scares the hell out of me, but who will be in charge politically of the combined CSCs?”

“We won’t know till after the first elections, but that will not matter for a long time to come. We will start out under martial law and hold the elections after things are under control. You will be running things for about the first ten years.”

“You have got to be kidding,” exclaimed Rick!

“Not at all, as a matter of fact, your nickname in the DHS planning group is not Richard King, but King Richard!”

“Why me Lord,” groaned Rick. “I don’t understand why you guys are giving this country to me.”

“Rick, we don’t think we are. The best estimates are a less than one-percent chance that it will come to pass that your group will come into play.”

“We fully expect the current military will be able to step in restoring order; then restore the Republic. Yes, I do mean the Republic.”

“Then why are we going to all this bother and expense, it must be billions by now.”

Paul replied, “About fifteen billion at this point. That is chicken feed compared to the multi-trillion dollar budgets that we now have. Since the advent of the ‘Live’ drug and conquering Alzheimer’s health care costs have become a very small part of the budget.”

“Social Security used to take a significant portion, now it is almost gone. We as a nation can afford to plan for events like this. If we quit spending money, it might hasten the end. We are in a delicate balance I am told, so must continue the dance.”

“Yeah, dance right of the edge of the cliff,” Rick retorted.

“That may be the case, but it is the only thing we can do. Rick, you have no idea how scared the real powers that be really are. You just think you are in survivalist mode. Some of these guys have retreated to underground fortresses.”

“Exactly what do your planners see happening,” Rick asked?

“That is the problem. They don’t have a clue. All they know is the History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme. We are well overdue for some sort of event that will change the civilized world as we know it. It may be for the better for all we know.”

“It could be supercomputers taking care of all our problems. No death, no work, no problems, or it could be the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. Where do you want to put your money?”

“I see what you mean David. Where do we go from here,” Rick inquired?

“The next step is for you to become familiar with the other CSCs.”

“Where are they, I have never been told. ”

“They are in the countryside like this one; western New York, western Virginia, southwest Georgia, the upper peninsula of Michigan, Arkansas, Utah, and Oregon. The idea is to give them a healthy buffer from the cities.”

“You have given up on the cities?”

“Under this scenario yes, with the modern supply chains, they don’t keep three days of food on hand anymore. We could never get relief in before the rioting and looting destroys them.”

“That is sad. Marsha and I have some very good friends in the Baltimore area. Would there be any problem inviting them to move to our area?”