End of the World

by D Thomas Jewett

  The three met at the foyer.

  “Did you find any trace of them?” asked the team lead.

  Sturstill replied. “Only that the bed was slept in. I checked the temperature – it was luke warm. Otherwise, no sign.”

  “Well,” said the team leader, “we’ll leave a few men here tonight and come out tomorrow to investigate.”

  * * * * *

  Bill and Brandy had prepared themselves for some time. So when the perimeter alarm went off, they grabbed their clothes and their bugout bags, and quickly made it out of the house. They ran across the grassy field toward the back side of the property, staying low and making the best use of the meager cover. They made the tree line and blended into the forest without incident.

  Their property consisted of 40 acres, and near the center of the property was a grassy area that encircled their homestead. But beyond the grassy area, there was a substantial expanse of forest that merged into adjoining properties and government-owned land. Bill had installed the perimeter alarm back in the forest and some distance from the tree line. Because of this, they knew they could reach the forest before insurgents traversed the forest to the open area. They need only move quickly to avoid detection!

  Once in the forest, they found themselves among hills and mounds – natural terrain features that made it difficult for approaching military or SWAT personnel to detect movement. With their night-vision goggles, they moved through the forest slowly, stealthily, until they came upon a depression on the side of a hill. They crouched down and listened – at first silence. But then the sound of dry crunching brush began to intrude on the silence – footsteps moving through the forest.

  Even with his goggles, Bill could not see any movement – but they could hear it! The sounds continued, becoming louder. Damn, Bill thought. This guy's more like an elephant than an agent! Bill grasped Brandy's shoulder as the sounds moved closer. They remained in their crouch, waiting, listening. And then the footsteps began to recede as the insurgent slowly moved away.

  But then the footsteps stopped, and there was no sound save the rustling of brush off in the distance. Bill and Brandy stopped breathing as well. They remained motionless, silent, listening.

  And then the insurgent resumed his movements, shifting, and then moving away. Bill and Brandy exhaled together, and they listened as the sounds of footsteps and crunching brush receded; until finally there was silence.

  Once the footsteps passed, Bill and Brandy arose from their crouch and made their way along a well-used deer trail. The trail weaved in and around the hilly forested terrain, but it made their escape easier, and with much less noise.

  Following the trail, they emerged onto a logging road. There was a sport utility vehicle parked a short distance away, and they made for it. And as he hurried toward the car, Bill felt a sense of relief wash through him. Great. It's just where Murray said it would be!

  Bill checked the underside of the vehicle and retrieved a magnetic case. He extracted the key from the case and unlocked the car – they were soon driving along the logging trail with the aid of their night-vision goggles.

  Bill stopped the car when they reached the highway. They turned toward each other; and as their eyes met, feelings of relief washed through the two of them. Brandy's eyes sparkled as she whispered, “I think we've done it.”

  “Yeah,” Bill whispered back as he nodded his head.

  Once out on the road, they turned on their headlights and headed north. And since the car was not known to the Feds, they didn’t worry about bugs or GPS[35] tracking.

  * * *

  The sunlight was filtering just beneath the horizon when the SUV turned into the secluded homestead and pulled up in front of the house. Tired but still wide awake from the night’s excitement, Bill and Brandy got out of the car and stretched. They were pulling their bags out of the car just as Murray emerged from the house, wearing his bathrobe.

  Brandy looked up at Murray and giggled. “Hey Murray,” Brandy said. “Y'all better tighten that robe.”

  Murray looked down to see that his belly was beginning to fall out. “Whoops,” he said as he blushingly tightened up the belt around his robe.

  “Nice night for a drive, don’t you think?” Murray’s voice dripped of sarcasm.

  Brandy laughed, her tension releasing still more. “Now that was quite a ride!”

  Bill and Brandy grabbed the bags out of the car and headed up the porch and into the house.

  Murray pointed off to the left as he said, “The living room is through there. And the bedrooms are upstairs.”

  “Cool,” Brandy said. They put their bags down in the foyer. And Brandy gazed around at the interior of the home. “This looks like an old farm house,” she said. “I like the wallpaper and woodwork, although it looks like colonial America.”

  They walked into the living room as she looked around some more. “So this is what we're paying for?” She asked to no one in particular.

  The living room was at the front of the house with a large window looking out toward a flat meadow and circular driveway. She looked out the window at the shop, about two-hundred feet distant. Why did they put such an unsightly building in the middle of the front yard, she thought. Oh well – it will do! She turned and gazed at the room, decorated with a colonial-style wallpaper and traditional living room furniture.

  “Can I get you something to drink? Coffee? Wine? Water?” Murray asked.

  “Wine!” Bill and Brandy spoke in unison as they seated themselves on the sofa.

  Murray went to the kitchen and returned immediately with a bottle of red wine and some glasses. He poured the wine and handed a glass to each of them.

  “So,” Murray asked, “what happened?”

  “Well,” Brandy began, “we were asleep when the perimeter alarm went off –”

  Bill interrupted, “And with this kind of alarm system – it’s magnetic, you know – we don’t get many false alarms. So, we scrambled into some clothes, grabbed our bags, and made a dash for the door –”

  Then Brandy interrupted, her eyes bright and sparkling, “We high-tailed it across the field and into the woods. While we were making our way through the forest, I caught a glimpse of a man over yonder working his way through some trees. I knew this was it. And so we skedaddled out of there and headed like Texas jackrabbits for the car –”

  Bill chimed in, “And thankfully, it was right where you said it would be. Thank you, thank you Murray. We couldn't do it without you!”

  A broad smile on her face, Brandy walked over and hugged Murray. And then she gave him a big kiss on his cheek.

  Murray's face turned red. “Wow,” he said, “that’s more excitement than I’ve had since I was a kid!”

  Brandy smiled and tilted her head. “You’re not the only one, pardner. That’s as much excitement as I’ve had for years, too!”

  “Hey Bill,” Murray was excited, “do you think that asshole agent, ah – what's his name, ah – Kehoe was there? Huh?”

  Bill smiled. “I sure hope so. Hey – maybe the neighbors shot a few of those agents? But really,” Bill said, his voice becoming serious. “We were in too much of a rush to check.”

  Murray snickered, and then they all laughed.

  The three watched the sun rise as they sat together, sipping wine, laughing, and speculating on the government agents’ disappointments. What did they think when they found nobody there? And what did they think when the Golden Mint raid came up with nothing? They would probably never know.

  * * *

  Bill was the first out of bed. Donning a robe, he found his way downstairs and into the kitchen. There was sunshine streaming through the window, and the clock read 12:30. He searched the kitchen until he found the coffee filters and the coffee. After he had the coffee brewing, he began rifling through the drawers, hunting for food.

  Just then, Murray walked in. “If you’re looking for breakfast, I have half-a-dozen donuts left over from yesterday. They're wrapped up in the pantry,
” he gestured, “over there.”

  “Donuts? Really? Oh my Gawd! Didn’t anyone ever tell you those things are bad for you?”

  Murray’s smile changed immediately to a frown as his mouth clenched.

  But Bill didn’t notice Murray’s change in mood. Bill was ravenously hungry. And so he began eating a donut. He offered one to Murray as well.

  “I’ll tell ya.” Bill said with his mouth full. “These things are bad for ya – but they sure taste great! And right now, I need something that’s easy.”

  “Who’s easy?” Brandy’s voice piped up just outside the kitchen as she reached the bottom of the stairs.

  “Oh,” Bill replied, “Murray has some donuts – and he’s willing to share!”

  “Great!” Brandy replied as she walked into the kitchen. “I could use some coffee too!”

  “Hi Murray!” She went up to him and kissed him on the cheek. “Did I say thank you? Because if I didn’t say it enough – I’m saying, thank you!” Then she stood back and watched his face turn red as though a light bulb on a Christmas tree.

  Bill chimed in. “We couldn’t do this without you, Murray. Thanks.”

  Even as the small talk took over, Murray’s face remained red for a while. They talked more about the raid and about the Feds.

  Finally, Murray blurted out, “Do you want to see the shop and equipment?”

  Bill and Brandy looked at each other. “I thought you'd never ask,” Brandy replied. “As soon as we get dressed, let’s see what y’all got for us!”

  Within minutes, they crossed the open area between the house and the shop; and when they walked in, Bill let out a loud whistle. “Damn Murray, you've set up a big operation!”

  While Brandy and Murray watched, Bill walked around, taking stock of the shop and its machinery. Bill turned and engaged them both. “Damn! I was expecting something like an auto repair shop. But this – this is like an ultra clean machine shop!” He spun around and pulled out some drawers from tool cabinets. And then he said, “Just look at these tools! Just look at these parts!” And then he held his arms wide as he focused on the middle of the shop floor. “And look at this equipment!”

  Bill had seen a similar level of cleanliness and organization during his electronics career, but that had nothing to do with mechanical systems. Excited, Bill turned and looked at Murray. “This is really neat, Murray. Can you show me how it all works?”

  Murray’s faced beamed. “Sure. Let’s start over here ...”

  The three of them spent the remainder of the day going through the operation of the equipment. Murray explained how they would buy coin blanks on the open market, and how they would make them into finished coins. He further explained the operation of the upsetting mill and the stamping press, and how to correctly mount the dies into the press prior to running it.

  * * * * *

  Bill’s experience in electronics and engineering gave him some insight into process management and production. But watching and learning from Murray gave him an entirely new perspective, especially on the most efficient ways to produce coins.

  Bill observed how Murray had seemingly thought of everything. He had acquired a good backlog of coin blanks, and he stocked a substantial number of dies[36] – the metal stamps used to imprint the design on each side of the coin blank. He also acquired the master hubs that could be used to create still more dies, if necessary

  Interestingly, he also considered the potential of a longer-term power outage, and he outfitted the shop with a backup generator of significant capacity along with several hundred gallons of fuel. Along with the generator, he outfitted the homestead with a bank of backup batteries and an inverter. Of course, in the event they lost grid power, the generator and batteries would easily produce enough power to keep the homestead running.

  In Bill's mind, Murray's attention to detail became legend. And so Bill was not surprised to find their manufacturing operation quickly up and running.

  Bill thought back to their visit at the Golden Mint, following Agent Kehoe's ultimatum.

  “So,” Murray joked with Bill. “Now that you and Brandy are fugitives, how do you want to handle the manufacturing and distribution process?”

  Bill shifted his weight as he thought. And then he spoke. “I suggest that we use a plan based on indirection.” Bill paused and then continued. “We have Dwayne purchase coin blanks on the open market and ship them to you. You give them to us so that we manufacture the coins. And we give them back to you so that you can ship the finished coins back to Dwayne – and then Dwayne can distribute them via his network. What do you think?”

  After a moment of thought, Murray responded, “I think I have a simpler plan. What if I have the blanks shipped to my place, I bring them up here, you and Brandy do your manufacturing, and you give them to me so that I transport them to Dwayne?”

  “But that puts you at a lot of risk, doesn't it?” Brandy asked, concern in her voice.

  “Not really,” Murray shrugged. “I already buy blanks on behalf of my clients. I already carry the blanks to the Golden Mint where I manufacture coins for those same clients. And I already ship the finished product back to my client.” He paused. “So, your coins will just be mixed in with all my other clients’ stuff. No one will be any the wiser.”

  “But what if they find you out, Murray?” Brandy asked.

  “Well, the only way they could find me out would be to catch me transporting Freedom Dollar coins to Dwayne. And since Dwayne gets lots of customers visiting his shop, they'd have to stand guard and search everyone who went in and out.” Murray took a deep breath and continued. “And there'd be a huge outcry over that kind of police state, 'cause they'd have to do it everywhere else!”

  And then Brandy asked, earnestly, “but what if they trace the coins back to Dwayne? What then?”

  Bill interjected. “C'mon, Brandy. Dwayne already said he would use only his most trusted dealers – dealers with which he's had a long relationship. And he already said those dealers wouldn't give the Feds a path back to him.” Bill paused. “Do you trust Dwayne? Or not?”

  For once, Brandy hesitated – not sure what to say.

  “And if we're caught,” Bill continued, “we'll have to fight 'em in court. The only question is: are we up to it?”

  “I am!” Brandy responded with a passion deep in her soul.

  “And so am I,” Murray responded.

  “Okay!” Bill said. “I think we have a plan!”

  Chapter 6

  Joe was watching TV in the den when he heard the front door close.

  “Honey? Is that you?” Joe asked.

  “It's me,” Jane replied.

  A minute elapsed, and then Jane walked into the den.

  “How was your day?” She asked.

  “Great,” Joe replied. “How about you?”

  “It was more of the same,” Jane replied. “Except we didn't lose any deals today.” An ironic smile crossed her face. “We had no deals to lose.”

  Joe’s eyes were sad as he looked at her. “I'm sorry.”

  “Yeah. So am I”

  She turned around and looked at Joe. “Did you call Nate today?”

  “Um. Ah – yes. But he was too busy to talk. He said he'd call me back.”

  Jane's face turned red, and she glared – a glare that could have sliced Joe's throat. “Damn it! You're not taking this seriously. Somehow, you think that doing nothing is okay!”

  Joe hunched his shoulders and looked down at his hands. I'm doing everything I can.” He looked up at Jane, his lips quivering. “There's no jobs out there.”

  “Bullshit. Nate got a job. And there's other people getting back to work too.” She inhaled deeply and then shouted, “This is about you, Joe. It’s about you getting off of your lazy ass and getting a job. A job that brings a decent income! Hell – even Len with his 'woman's job' is bringing in money. What is wrong with you?”

  Joe was silent as he looked down at the floor.

  “Joe. I
'm doing everything I can. I work, and I work. And I come home to find you sitting in front of the TV. Hell, you don't even have dinner waiting for me!” Jane was beginning to cry. “Joe, I can't do it all by myself. If you don't get a decent job – soon – we'll be out on the streets!”

  Joe looked down and nodded. “Okay.”

  * * * * *

  Bo was crouched in his favorite spot, under the porch. He liked it here – hiding, and watching the world pass by. He liked watching the birds, and so he would sometimes abandon his post to catch one. But today was peaceful, at least – until the hair on his neck prickled and he turned his head to the left. He looked further up the sidewalk, watching as a young girl was walking that dog – coming closer to his hideout. He didn't know much about the girl, but he knew the dog's name – Sammie.

  Bo watched as the girl and the dog approached. The dog knew he was hiding under the porch, and the dog started to pull on her leash and yelp and growl. Bo crouched warily – if the dog came too close, he would have to bolt. The girl passed by his hideout, pulling the yelping, lunging dog behind her. Whew! That was close! He thought. That girl needs to get a grip on that dog!

  Bo enjoyed the ensuing peacefulness in his crouch, until a few minutes later an old truck drove slowly down the street. Bo knew the truck well, and he didn't like it. It always made a lot of noise – and it smelled bad! The truck turned into the driveway across the street, and as usual, that man got out of the truck. Bo watched as he walked into the house. The door closed.

  Bo liked the woman that would go in and out of the house, but he wasn't so sure about this guy. The guy had a strange aura, as though he was defeated, maybe even helpless. If this guy were a mouse, he'd be the perfect dinner – fearful, helpless, and somewhat plump. What a meal! Bo licked his chops at the thought.

  And then Bo was startled by a blood-curdling scream coming from the house. And then banging, as though things were breaking. Bo remained in his crouch – guarded now – expecting he would have to run any second.