Bandy decided trying to talk would be too difficult, he just touched Ana-Bella on the shoulder, turned, and walked just a bit unsteadily down the hall to his own bedroom.
Watching the news the next morning during breakfast, the family learned that they had not been alone in their loss of power. And it wasn’t caused by someone running into a transformer. Actually, the power companies were not being at all clear on just what did cause the rolling power outages that covered five states, one section of grid at a time.
“Now, that is really strange,” Bandy said, looking thoughtful.
“I don’t know,” Bob replied. “Considering the shape the national electrical grid is, I’m just not all that surprised.”
Bandy shook his head. “I know. But this seems so… directed. Like someone was doing it intentionally. To see if it could be done, or what would happen… Or something.”
“Chinese hackers?” Magdalene asked.
“Possibly,” Bandy said. “But they seem to be having similar problems themselves at times. I don’t know. We might never find out.”
This time when Bandy said he was headed out to see Angus Longhammer, and Ana-Bella told him she was coming along, he didn’t argue. But he made a point to see if she was going armed. She was.
Like Bob Sheridan had done at the family ranch, Angus Longhammer had made a few changes at Farm Supply and Implement dealership. Only some of them were Bandy’s ideas. Those that were, Angus had done up even better than Bandy’s minimum suggestions.
Though a permanent fence was out of the question due to the highway easement, there was now a barrier along the highway side of the dealership even better than a simple fence. A string of 53’ long, 102” wide, 9’6” high, high cube intermodal reefer containers were lined up, end to end, with just enough room between them to get to the reefer power units.
There was a pair of 20’ high cube dry containers in the string, flanking each driveway entrance. To maintain the portability requirement of the highway easement, and still have substantial gates, those 20’ containers were equipped with fully self-contained sliding heavy steel pipe gates with chain link fencing to close off the driveways.
The existing side and back fences, consisting of 8’ high chain link fabric, were now reinforced with a two rail barrier structure made from oilfield drilling pipe. There was also a combination of blackberry brambles and rosa rugosa rose brambles planted on the inside of the fence. Tightly spaced honey locust trees were planted along the outside of the existing fence.
The Farm Supply store part of the main building was rearranged, to produce more room for the new line of products that Angus was bringing in. Much of the space was obtained by emptying the warehouse portion of the store and placing that stock in the new warehouse structure attached to the existing building on the back side.
Bandy asked Angus, after Terri called him to the office from where he was supervising even more changes to the place, “When I took a quick look out back I didn’t see any signs of the fuel tanks you installed. I did see the new tornado shelter. It is the design I gave you?”
Angus said, with a slight smile, “Yes it is. And the fuel tanks are underneath the new warehouse. I wanted to leave some space available for possible future projects. So they are next to the large underground shelter, with the new above-ground quote, tornado shelter, unquote, on top of it. Still leaves me quite a bit of room back there for other projects.”
Bandy smiled back. He noticed that Terri and Ana-Bella were engaged in an intense discussion, so he took the opportunity to ask Angus, “Colin? What’s he saying about all these changes?”
Grimly this time, Angus answered Bandy’s question. “Oh, he’s all in favor of them. He is convinced now that I am fully with him on his scheme. He is a bit annoyed at a couple of things that didn’t get done in the shelter, or he thinks didn’t get done. But the other things are keeping him distracted.”
Angus looked over at Terri and Ana-Bella, lowered his voice even more and added, “But he is still hot and bothered about you. I told him you were just a friend of Ana-Bella’s, thinking about moving up here and going to work for Bob as a consultant on expanding the Ranch operations with much more farming.
“He likes the idea of more farm production, but he really intends to kill you at some point.”
“Yeah. Well, he can try. Now. How close are you to finishing up everything and when will you be fully stocked in the new prepping section of the supply store?”
“Oh, a bit sooner than you might think,” Angus said with a grin. “Those intermodals out there? They are all loaded up with prep items. No one has seen inside any of them. They were loaded at the various suppliers, sealed, delivered and dropped.
“I’ve been telling people that they are going to be converted to more office space and space for some of the events I sponsor here at the dealership. I don’t think even Terri suspects there is anything in them.
“The rest of the floor stock, and warehouse stock should be here within three days, if that storm up north doesn’t delay them. And you know that guy… that writer you told me about? Well, his stories are kinda off the wall at times, but he had a couple of ideas that I really liked.
“I am now an official Bobcat dealer, a Mercedes Benz Unimog importer, dealer, and repair station, a used Unimog dealer, and have added several lines of other equipment to the dealership. Various items for inventory should start showing up this afternoon.
“And the amazing thing is, that after all the changes, I am in better shape financially than I was before. What I used, June and I discovered, were not nearly the potential retirement investments we thought they were.
“We used them, while they still had value, to do the changes, and the rest went into much better long term investments.”
Bandy nodded. “Bob told me he and Magdalene did something similar. And you have the chance to come out very well with some of these newer investments, but if things disintegrate very soon, most of that could be lost. ”
“I know. June pointed that out. That the suggestions you had in the plan were reasonable, though somewhat expensive. But nothing like what I’ve spent. But the more I talked, the more June came around. She is seeing the handwriting on the wall.
“I’ve been saying for months that China is going to attack us in some way, probably economically, through cyber warfare, and possibly with EMP devices. I’d rather have what I am accumulating rather than the paper investments we had before.
“And I didn’t buy everything outright. Much of the new equipment is on regular dealership agreements. I’m only out a limited amount of money up front. If things do go belly up, I’ll have the equipment and supplies and whatnot, and I’d rather have them than just more cash. ”
“Well, for you and your family’s sake, I hope that things don’t go bad, and you make all of it back and more.”
Again with a grin on his face, Angus said, “That is the plan, my boy.” He put his meaty hand on Bandy’s shoulder and squeezed slightly. “You’ve been a big help in getting things done. I don’t intend to forget it.”
“There is no need…” Bandy was saying when Ana-Bella interrupted.
“Forget what?” Ana-Bella asked Angus.
“What this boy has done for me and my family. You found a good one here, Ana-Bella.”
Ana-Bella smiled and nodded. “Yes. I have. Now, fill me in on what you two have been talking about. Terri has given me her take on all of this, already.” Ana-Bella smiled again.
“I’ll let Hawkins here fill you in. I see one of my deliveries is coming down the highway.”
Bandy and Ana-Bella turned and looked through the expansive showroom windows, now covered with protective film to make it much more resistant to impacts. Sure enough, there was a truck with a line of Bobcat Skid steers on the trailer. Another and then a third truck showed up. The third had two of the easily recognizable Unimog trucks on its trailer.
“June is home,” Angus said, moving toward the showroom front doors
. “She can show you everything we’ve done at home.” It was obvious that Angus’ mind was on the business, so Bandy nodded his head toward the other door and told Ana-Bella “I guess we should get out of the way.”
Ana-Bella laughed lightly and nodded. “But as he said, June is fully on board and really into the things going on at their home. Desiree is really helping, too. She is badly spooked. She feels the pressure of being a target.
“Both as being a target of persuasion for her father, and as a target for being female.”
“And how is Junior doing?” Bandy asked.
As they got into Bandy’s truck, Ana-Bella frowned. “I’m getting a bit worried about him. He is trying to find out everything he can about Colin and the group, through Boots. June has confided in me that Junior won’t let Desiree out of his sight before school, between classes, and until they get home. It is driving poor Desiree crazy.”
“Hmm… I will try to talk to him about putting them both at more risk for doing what he is doing,” Bandy said. He was watching the traffic, but gave no indication when they passed an intersection and he saw Colin in his truck pulling up to that intersection on the left as Ana-Bella was looking off to the right.
Bandy tensed ever so slightly when Colin pulled onto the highway behind them. But either Colin didn’t recognize Bandy’s rig or had something more important to do as he turned off the highway at the next intersection, without Ana-Bella ever noticing.
Relaxing slightly, but still staying on alert, Bandy drove out to Longhammer Ranch. Bandy noticed the security changes immediately, even as Ana-Bella started to point them out as they approached the new gates and fence along the county road.
Though they were incorporated into the gate posts, Bandy spotted the cameras. Ana-Bella was dialing her phone and then the gates began to slide apart.
“Pretty slick,” Ana-Bella said. “Special number. Someone has to answer the phone and release the gate or it won’t open. June told me there is a bypass system at the gate, but she wouldn’t tell even me how it works.”
“Good system,” Bandy said, his eyes roaming as he drove up the driveway. He began to smile when he saw some of the new landscaping features. It would be extremely difficult to come up to the house now, except on the driveway.
Desiree and Junior went with them as June showed Bandy the many other changes; the two teens enthusiastically adding their comments to their mother’s.
Like the changes at the dealership, the changes at the Ranch were far and above what Bandy had recommended. They were all things that Bandy had mentioned in passing at different times that would be nice, but had dismissed as not really required to accomplish the goals they had in mind.
Bandy was more than pleased with the new arrangements. It would be relatively easy now to cut Colin out, when the time came, as long as Colin didn’t have a hostage or simply happened to be on hand when something happened. But that wouldn’t keep him from causing trouble.
Already having made the decision, Bandy reaffirmed his resolve, silently, to make sure that Colin would not be in a position to cause the families any problems from inside. And outside, well, Colin was a rabid dog and would do something that would get him killed at some point. Preferably by someone besides Bandy himself. But if that happened, so be it.
Bandy took Junior aside when they split up to use the various bathrooms. An earnest conversation and Junior was looking a bit hangdog. But Bandy cheered him up when he told him how well his part of the operation was going otherwise, and gave him a few pointers to keep up some surveillance, without putting him or anyone else at risk.
CHAPTER SIX
They were just sitting down at the counter in the Longhammer ranch house kitchen for a quick lunch when the lights flickered, went out, and then came back on.
“That’s the third time,” Junior said. “Last night, just before you guys got here, and now. And there has been something screwy with the satellite system this morning, too.”
“One before we got here?” Bandy asked.
Junior nodded.
“And he is right about the satellite system. I was online doing some homework earlier and the internet went totally wacko,” Desiree added, setting out the dishes while Junior did the flatware and glasses.
“Hmm…” Bandy let slip out before he could stop himself.
Ana-Bella and Junior both caught the look and the sound. “You think it is something?” Junior asked.
“The Chinese?” Ana-Bella asked quickly. “Cyber warfare?”
“I don’t know. Somehow this just doesn’t fit with the Chinese. If the satellite system is up we can check the sun and space weather and see if there is something out of the ordinary.” Bandy was already pushing back from the counter.
“I’ll fire it up for you,” Junior quickly said and got up, too.
“But lunch…” June protested.
Ana-Bella and Desiree both laughed. “It will do no good,” said Desiree. “Not even food will distract Junior when he’s on the trail of something.”
“I’m pretty sure Bandy is the same way,” Ana-Bella said, her eyes on the doorway the two had gone through. “And I’m afraid he is worried about something. Something he hasn’t figured out yet. And it is bothering him.”
Ana-Bella looked back around and saw the two Longhammer women looking at her with smiles on their faces.
“What?” Ana-Bella asked, feeling herself blush slightly.
June set the taco makings on the counter and said, “Nothing, my dear. But let’s go ahead and eat. Then we can find out what they are up to.”
“Yeah,” Desiree said. “Junior has been acting strange lately, too. Well. Even more so than usual.” She didn’t elaborate; instead, she began to assemble a taco.
They’d barely begun eating when Junior and Bandy were back, talking animatedly with one another.
“You found out something, didn’t you? Desiree asked, putting her taco down. “Is it the Chinese?”
“That we can’t tell,” Bandy said.
Junior let Bandy continue as he made his first of several tacos. He knew what Bandy knew, and felt no need to not eat to tell the others about it, since Bandy was already doing that, pleased with the fact that Bandy had said ‘we’, not ‘I’.
Bandy was more slowly making a taco as he continued, “But what we did find out is that these… anomalies… have been happening all over the world. Including China. And they, along with most of the rest of the world, are blaming the United States for the problems, since the majority seems to be originating from here. Though… there is something about that…”
Bandy fell silent and shook his head. He took a bite of the taco, much to Ana-Bella’s annoyance. She was beginning to dislike that trait of his to trail off a thought like that.
She did wait until he had swallowed and was reaching for the glass of iced tea before she tried to find out the rest of his thought. “And?” she asked.
“And?” Bandy asked blankly. “Oh. The fact of much of the stuff originating from the US?”
“Yes, Bandy.” Ana-Bella looked sternly at him. “You left that thought hanging. What is it about that idea that has you perplexed?”
The three Longhammer’s were following the conversation intently, even as they continued to eat. It was fun watching these two falling in love and learning about each other, despite the seriousness of the discussion.
“I don’t know, Ana-Bella. There is just something nagging at me that I can’t put my finger on. Something is causing this. And I don’t think it is random. Things are too precise… too orchestrated… like someone is testing systems and reactions. It is like some entity is checking…”
Bandy froze and fell silent, the taco half way to his mouth forgotten. He set the taco down absently.
The conversation from the night before suddenly came back to Ana-Bella. “You don’t mean aliens!”
Slowly Bandy shook his head and then looked around at the others. “This is going to sound crazy…”
“C
razier than aliens?” Desiree asked.
“Yes. Even crazier than that,” Bandy replied. He looked over at Junior. “Can we get on the internet again? I want to check something.”
“Sure,” said Junior. He’d just made a taco from the last of the makings. No need to hang around for something else. At least until his mother brought out the brownies he’d smelled cooking earlier. But that would be on her timetable, not his.
“Oh no you don’t, Junior,” Desiree insisted. “This time I’m going to be there.” She crunched the last bite of her taco, drained the glass of iced tea and stood up. “What is it you want me to look up, Mr. Hawkins?”
June wavered a moment, but left things sitting on the counter as she followed the others to the family’s study. Junior and Desiree had essentially unlimited access to their computers, but they were kept in the study where June and Angus could have some type of idea of what they were doing online.
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