by Mark Goodwin
“You mean like a GED? No way!” Stephanie protested.
“No, it’s an actual diploma. Kids whose parents travel, or kids that are in the Olympics, actors, kids like that, they take online classes. It might be easier than transferring, and I could probably knock out all the work in a matter of weeks. I could have my diploma before the grid goes dark.”
“That might actually be a good idea,” Josh admitted.
“So the grid really is going dark!” Micah exclaimed with all the excitement of someone who’d accidentally guessed the million-dollar question.
“I didn’t say that!” Josh replied.
“You didn’t deny it either. It’s an X-Class solar flare hurtling toward earth. This is going to kill like 90% of the population! You have to let me warn Kendra.”
“It’s not a solar flare, and you can’t say anything to anyone.” Josh lowered his brow. “Where did you learn about all of that anyway?”
“YouTube. Believe me, they’d never tell us that stuff in school. They’re training us up to be mindless sheep who go about our daily business until they can get all the government agents relocated to places like Frankfort, Kentucky. Once they’re all in position, then they can initiate Operation Doomsday and usher in the New World Order.”
Josh’s stomach sank at the accuracy of Micah’s banter. “Ha, ha, very funny.”
CHAPTER 5
For it is a day of trouble, and of treading down, and of perplexity by the Lord God of hosts in the valley of vision, breaking down the walls, and of crying to the mountains.
Isaiah 22:5
Back at the hotel, Josh called Brooke. “Hey, I think I’d like to make an offer.”
“Great. Why don’t you come on into the office? Do you know where it is?”
“Yep. I’ll see you there soon.” Josh ended the call.
“So, that’s it? You’re just going to buy the place? I don’t have any say in this decision?” Stephanie asked.
He’d never done anything like this without involving her. He looked down at the hotel room floor. “If you had the same information that I have, you would support me on this. I need you to trust me right now.”
She flopped down on the bed and turned on the television. “But I can’t be trusted with that information, so I guess I don’t have a say.”
Josh wished he knew of a better way of handling the situation, but he was doing the best he could. He put his trademark ball cap on and grabbed his keys. “I’ll see you in a while.”
“Does this have anything to do with why we left?” Micah pointed at the television.
Josh paused to look at the screen. Stephanie had stopped channel surfing at the financial news network. The tickers at the bottom of the screen were solid red. “Turn this up, please.”
She complied.
The male commentator was reporting from the floor of the NYSE. “The market’s confidence in the Fed’s ability to address inflationary concerns after this weekend’s announcement from OPEC appears to be waning. The big board is a sea of red this afternoon with the Dow shedding more than 1,900 points, making today’s loses the largest single-day point decline on record.
“Oil continues to skyrocket and currently sits at $140 per barrel. They say a rising tide lifts all ships, and that saying is proving true in spades as far as the commodities markets are concerned. Corn, soybeans, sugar, coffee, and pork are all up 15% or more.
“Inversely, global currencies are taking a nosedive. The RMB, euro, and dollar alike are all in freefall. FDIC Chairperson Teresa Katzenberg has issued a memo to member banks requesting that they voluntarily enact a $5,000 per day limit on cash withdrawals. The move is in anticipation of widespread bank runs as several branches are reporting of depositors seeking to close out accounts for all-cash withdrawals.”
“Once again, they’re not mentioning gold prices.” Josh looked down at his phone to check the price.
“What does gold have to do with any of this?” Micah asked.
“It’s up $200 since yesterday. I just find it curious that they’re reporting on soybeans and not gold.” Josh looked up. “I’ve gotta go. I’ll be back.”
Josh rushed to the Charger. He wanted to wrap up his business with Brooke and make a couple of runs to the grocery store before things started getting hectic.
On his way to the realtor’s office, his phone rang. “Hello?”
“Josh, hey, it’s Chad, from next door.”
“Hey, Chad. Sorry, I didn’t get to say goodbye, but I got a last-minute transfer from work. We had to move fast.”
“Yeah, I figured it was something like that.”
“And tell everyone I’m sorry about the eyesore out front. I called bulk trash, and they’ll be by this week to pick it up.”
“Sure. Actually, it looks like most of your stuff is gone already. I guess free-cyclers are picking up the lion’s share of it. Your furniture looked like it was brand new.”
“We remodeled three years ago, and we take care of our stuff.”
“I know, but listen, the reason I called was that we took one of the flyers from the realtor’s info box. Are you really only asking $325K?”
“Yeah. We’re looking for a quick sale.”
“But the comps for the neighborhood are around $475,000. You could have probably asked for five. Did your realtor talk you into listing so low?”
“No. It was my decision. We have an opportunity up here, and I feel it’s worth taking a haircut if we can get our cash in time.”
“I understand your position, but the whole neighborhood is going to take a haircut when your sale gets listed in the comps. Can I get you to reconsider?”
“Chad, it’s my house. Two years from now that sale won’t even factor into the comps. What are you worried about? In the meantime, maybe it’ll reduce the appraised value for your property tax.”
“Well, the property tax is a smaller…”
Josh cut him off. “Thanks for calling, Chad. I gotta go.”
Josh pulled into the realtor’s office already in a bad mood. “Great. Now I gotta go deal with this brain-dead woman.” He took a deep breath and tried to relax before walking through the door.
“Can I assist you?” asked the chipper young receptionist.
“I’m meeting with Brooke.”
“Mr. Stone?”
“Yes.”
“She’s expecting you in the conference room. First door on your left. You can go on back.”
“Thank you.” Josh wondered how this well-spoken, seemingly-capable young woman had ended up answering phones while Brooke was trusted with big-money deals.
“I know, I know!” Brooke was a frantic mess on the phone when Josh walked in.
He knocked gently on the door frame to announce his presence.
She glanced over at him. “He’s here. I gotta go.” She hung up and put her phone on the table. “So, you said you’d be presenting an all-cash offer, is that correct?” She fumbled through a mess of papers looking for a certain one.
“Yes. I can pay $170,000, and I’d like to close before the end of business on Friday. At five o’clock Friday, either we’ve closed, or my deposit is returned to me in full, and I walk away. That must be clearly stipulated in an addendum. Also, I need possession of the property by tomorrow. You can stipulate in the addendum that if I default, the seller can keep my entire deposit. I printed out a redacted screenshot of my bank account home page, which should serve as proof of funds. I’ll wire the deposit to the title company as soon the seller accepts my offer.”
Brooke stammered, “I…we… usually it takes, it can take, even on a cash deal, the normal time is no less than two weeks. It’s just that, well, the title companies…”
Josh had already anticipated her incoherent rebuttal. “I realize this is short notice, and I’m willing to pay a rush fee to any title company that can get it in gear and close this thing by Friday. I’ll pay a $1,000 extra for expedited service.”
Brooke nodded as if trying to th
ink through a smoky haze of Xanax and anti-depressants. “I can try, but I’m just not sure…”
“Then maybe I need to keep shopping. All the details of the deal are non-negotiable. It’s a take-it-or-leave-it offer. Call the seller right now and tell him he has until 2:00 PM to accept. That gives title three and a half days.”
“Two o'clock.” She looked at the time on her phone. “It’s a quarter ‘till one. Mr. Stone, I’m not sure if what you’re asking for is possible.”
“Okay, then I’ll keep shopping. You’re getting both sides of this deal. It’s your listing, right? Three percent on the listing side plus three percent on the buyer’s side. That’s what? Like ten grand, less your brokers cut, right?”
“Mmmhmm.” Brooke looked like she’d just stepped off the tilt-a-whirl.
“So, you want to let that go because this is too difficult?”
She examined the standardized contract on the table in front of her. She took a seat and began filling in some of the blanks. “I’m having trouble keeping all of this straight in my head.”
“I thought that might be a problem. I took the liberty of itemizing the important points for you.” Josh passed her a sheet of paper with hand-written notes in print form with larger letters. “I’ll give you ten minutes with that, and I’ll step outside so you can concentrate. But call the seller first. See if he’s even open to my offer. If not, we can save us all some time and energy.”
“Thank you,” she took the notes and filled in the blanks on the contract.
Josh stepped outside and checked the price of gold again. “Up another $30 since I left the hotel!” He quickly checked for gold coin dealers nearby.
“Lexington is the closest. That’s an hour and a half round trip. I could get there and they might be completely sold out.” Josh instantly shifted gears to online retailers. “Not bad prices here. But where am I going to ship them?”
Josh looked down the street for a post-office. He grimaced. “I need this deal to go through. Then I can just send them straight to the house and nothing else to worry about.” He looked up, thought about praying. Then, his eyes dropped back to the pavement beneath his feet. “I haven’t been to church since last Christmas. I’d have to be a real creep to try calling in favors now.” But he felt a sense that perhaps he should, as if something or someone were prompting him to.
Reluctantly, Josh looked heavenward once more. “God, I know I haven’t really made time for you lately, and I’d never ask this for myself, but for Stephanie and Micah, God, please, I really need this deal to go through. I haven’t been the best father, and I need to try harder with my marriage, but I love them. I love you, too, but I get so busy sometimes. Forgive me. I want to change all of that. I’m going to make time for you and my family, no matter what.”
“Mr. Stone?” Brooke called from behind, standing in the open door of the office.
He turned around. “Yes?”
“Oh, I thought you were on a Bluetooth call.” She pointed at her own ear.
“What?”
“I thought you were talking to somebody. I didn’t see anyone there, and I didn’t see your phone.”
“Oh, I was praying.”
“In the street?”
“Yeah, you think God isn’t allowed outside or something?”
“Oh, no, I…anyway, the seller said he’d accept your offer. He said you can pick up the keys as soon as the deposit wire hits the title company’s account. Here are the wire instructions.” She handed him a sheet of paper. “You can sign the contract now if you want. I think I have everything filled out the way you requested.”
Josh looked to the sky once more. “Thank you!” He followed the realtor back in the office to complete the paperwork.
Once he’d initialed and signed all the appropriate lines, Josh headed back to the car. From there, he initiated the wire transfer for the house, using the funds from his IRA.
After he completed that task, he resumed his search for gold coins. “These look familiar. I’ve seen these coins on television or in magazines.” Not knowing what else to purchase, Josh loaded up his cart with four one-ounce gold American Eagles from the US Mint. With the premium and added 4% charge for paying with a credit card, the purchase went just above the $10,000 he wanted to spend. “Maybe I should get some silver also.” Josh decided to get $5,000 in silver. Like the gold, he opted for the US Mint’s American Eagle coin. One hundred and twenty of the coins took him slightly over his target amount. Josh filled in the address of the new brick house for delivery and completed his purchase.
Next, he placed an order on Jungle for new memory foam mattresses. “I don’t mind used furniture, but I draw the line on used mattresses.” He purchased a queen for Micah and a king for Stephanie and himself. He also ordered metal frames that didn’t require box springs. “I better get a set up for Nicole. She’ll be here soon enough.” He added an additional queen mattress and frame.
“Now let’s try to find some ammo.” Josh searched for the nearest gun store. “Here’s one right in town.” Josh placed his phone on the magnetic holder and followed the GPS to the store, which was only a couple miles from the realtor’s office. He pulled in and paused before getting out. “I probably shouldn’t wear my thin-blue-line hat in here. I’d imagine any militia groups operating in the area at least frequent establishments like these. But more likely, they’re pretty cozy with the owner.” Josh folded his hat and stuffed it in the glove box. He exited the vehicle and went inside.
The shop was busy and Josh had to wait for an attendant. In the meantime, he perused the selection of hats. He saw a black hat with the gray join-or-die slogan from the Revolutionary War. Above the slogan was the segmented snake, also in gray. Josh wasn’t overly familiar with the modern militia movement but knew this symbol was popular with them. He passed over several other hats with gun-rights-advocacy messaging and opted for the join-or-die cap. He tried it on and then placed it on the counter.
An attendant finally came to help him. “Is this going to be all for you?”
Josh smiled. “Not quite. I need 2,000 rounds of 5.56 green tip, 500 rounds of 5.56 ballistic tip, 1,000 rounds of .40 caliber ball, 500 .40 caliber hydra shock, 500 rounds of 12 gauge #4 buck, and 100 rounds of slugs.”
“Well, at least you know what you want. That’s efficient,” said the attendant who looked to be in his early sixties. “I’ve got your .40 cal ammo. I might have some buckshot left. Not sure if it’s #4. All the 5.56 is gone. We try to stock up for news events that create these feeding frenzies, but we always sell out within hours of big stories that get folks upset about one thing or the other.
“I’ll tell you what I tell everyone else, you gotta stock up before something spooks you. This will probably all blow over in a week or two. We’ll get stocked up. That’s the time to buy.”
“Yeah.” Josh didn’t argue. “What about the slugs?”
“I’ll check. I’ve got target load. It’s $75 for a case of 250 rounds.”
“Throw a case of that in, whether you have the other or not. What about .223?”
“Nothing cheap. Whatever we’ve got left is all high end, hollow point. Of course, you were going to pay a pretty penny for that ballistic tip ammo anyway. It’s just that you’ll be spending the money and not really getting what you wanted.”
“That’s okay. I’ll take whatever you have.”
“You could wait a couple of weeks, and we’ll have it back in stock.” The man lifted his shoulders.
“My fault for not being more proactive. I’ll just pay whatever I have to.”
The man began gathering Josh’s selections from the shelves on the back wall. He placed the various boxes on the counter. “We try to save old boxes for these runs also, but I’m afraid we ran out of those early this morning.”
“That’s okay,” Josh said. “I can make several trips to the car if I have to.”
The man continued stacking box after box of ammunition in front of Josh. “To be honest, I
don’t know what all the fuss is about. This is about oil prices and inflation. I know the liberals will use any excuse they can get to grab the guns, but I can’t figure how they can parlay this one into a weapons ban or even a magazine ban.”
“I hope you’re right,” said Josh.
The man placed the last load of boxes on the counter. “I believe you’ve got about 400 rounds of .223. You could check with Gilbert’s. They’re right outside of town on Louisville Road. They might still have some 5.56 in stock.”
“Thank you.” Josh took out his credit card. “What do I owe you?”
The man totaled up Josh’s purchases. “$2,273. Sorry, that sounds high, but all the cheap stuff is long gone. I suppose if the dollar doesn’t stabilize, prices for ammo will go up along with everything else. I reckon one might argue that this is a good investment.”
“Yeah, maybe.” Josh gave him the card, then signed the receipt.
“I didn’t charge you for the cap. That’s the least I can do.” The man smiled.
“Thank you. I appreciate it.” Josh pulled the hat over his head and began hauling his ammo out to the trunk of the car.
Once everything was loaded, he found the second gun store outside of town. There, Josh was able to purchase the last 600 rounds of 5.56. He bought 200 rounds of ballistic tip and another 400 of green-tip 62 grain. From there, he headed back to the hotel.
CHAPTER 6
Then said he unto them, but now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one.
Luke 22:36
On the way back to the hotel, Josh called Emilio. “Hey, have you left yet?”
“No. I’m standing in line at the bank. I’m planning to head out first thing in the morning.”
“What are you doing at the bank?”