Survival Family

by Stephen Brandon

  The next Monday in a downtown auditorium Scott took the podium and the first thing he said was, “I apologize to all the stockholders for not keeping a better eye on the corporation board of directors and their lawyers. It wasn't until I informed them of my plans to retire that their dubious actions came to the front and the mess that they made resulted in the loss of millions in just a week. I hold over 50% of the stock as part of my fortune. I've lost millions also, so I have hired an outside lawyer to help draft a plan to recover and rebuild the corporation. You will pick up a copy at the doors on the way out and after lunch we will reconvene. Counter proposals may be presented for consideration. I've retained this auditorium for all week so we have a few days to find the best solution. Thank you.”

  After lunch one of the competitors that guessed at what he was doing when he started buying up the stock bought as much as they could afford. They suggested that the corporation be broken up and its divisions sold off at market value.

  With a scowl Scott announced, if you think that will help you, you are mistaken. When I took my company public I retained all rights, privileges, and ownership of the patent that has made the corporation its fortune. Now a merger might be beneficial if the stockholders were given a decent price for their shares. That would convince me to sell the patent to that corporation. By now all of you probably know that I was intending to retire and the corporation was going to purchase all my stock and the patent for fifty million plus an annual payment of one million dollars for the next fifteen years. The corporation may own improvements to my patent, but without my permission to use the basic patent, the improvements and subsequent patents are useless. The stock price high was $47.23 two weeks ago, and now it has stabilized at $13. Get your corporation to make a fair offer allowing everyone present to save some of their investment and we'll vote on it. If you pay $19.50 per share and purchase all physical assets this will cost you just under $100 million. The walls have ears and if word of this gets out we all can expect the stock price to start back up. That's just under cost of materials last year and just over expenses. That's also a little less than all sales. I will be loosing half of my stock value, so that is my punishment for not keeping a better eye on those scoundrels. We'll adjourn until 8 am in the morning.

  In the morning there were 2 offers from competitors and after a short discussion Scott announced. Neither offer allows shareholders to save even a portion of their investments. My counter is, I will not retire, I will reorganize the corporation, I will bring the company back to prosperity, then I will sell to highest bidder and it will cost you more than you are willing to pay now. Your option at $19.50 a share and 54.9 million for all physical assets plus a guarantee that none of the lower level employees or their direct supervisors will be dismissed or have their pay changed. The mid-level and upper-level management will automatically be terminated without any further benefits. Make your choice and take it or leave it! Meeting adjourned, my lawyer and I will consider offers in the morning at 8 AM and decision will be announced at 9 AM.

  At 9:05 Scott announced that both competitors offered $19.51 per share to edge out each other. The representative now have 30 minutes to contact their management and up their offer. I will accept one sealed bit from each with no argument. Time starts now. Thirty minutes later when he opened both bids at the podium he announced that ZZY corporation bid the highest at $19.75 per share. I'll give them 10 days to finalize the buy out. If they can't then I'll be forced to accept the other bid or rebuild the company myself. If there are no objections I'll accept a verbal approval. Any nays. The ayes pass the proposed sale.

  Four days later Dale called and told Scott that he would sign the sale contract for him. $100,498,306.16 has been deposited in an account to cover the sale. Scott, you are now retired.

  ~ ~ ~

  Chapter 7

  When Scott returned to Biscuits for Breakfast Sunday evening he went up to his room kicked off his shoes and collapsed across the bed and fell asleep. The next morning he realized he was under the covers, and had been undressed. Looking around he saw his luggage stacked by the door and his cloths neatly folded over the chair. Damn, his underwear was folded over the arm. Jumping up he rushed to the bathroom and after a quick shower, dressed, and went downstairs to the dining room in the lobby. Sitting at the table after ordering breakfast he contemplated who could have stripped him and put him to bead.

  Brenda brought his breakfast out and sat down across the table from him. “Guess?” was all she said as she sipped her coffee.

  Scott replied, “You brought my luggage up and stripped me and put me to bed.”

  With a smile on her face she said, “Well now we've both seen each other naked, but you weren't very lively last night. Kinda limp from what I observed. For some off the wall reason Dale and Jesse want me to train you, and have arranged two months at a private survival camp in Montana, a month in Alaska, and then a month in Tennessee. Dale said something about a cool down period before you show yourself again in the business world.

  “I'm supposed to take you over to see Fred for a wilderness outfit. Also to pick up a PI correspondence course and satellite communications gear. After familiarization we will pack everything in your new trailer. You also have a new 4x4 that you need to register this afternoon.”

  Don't I even get a full day off?” asked Scott.

  “Your day off begins when we pull out of here headed northeast. Your first assignment is to be a well to do tenderfoot with the new gear and make contact with a certain survivalist group in Montana and then when we get to Alaska we are to find and deliver some more equipment to one of Fred's contacts. Jesse told me I was to travel as your wife or girlfriend, the wife bit will be a cold day in hell.”

  Arriving in the target area of Montana a week later they leased a hundred and fifty acres on the side of a mountain for a month. After a night in a local motel they headed into the wilderness. Two days later finding an out of the way campsite they setup. It was almost a mile from the one the agent had recommended. Then they hiked to the recommended site and setup overnight and burned a nice fire to leave traces that they'd been there. In the morning they put out a bit of food and left, knowing the scavengers would find it and overlay their footprints and scent trail.

  Further up the mountain near a stream they located an empty cave and set it up as their refuge camp and cache.

  Between the hiking, camping, hunting, and trying to avoid Brenda and her paint gun Scott got comfortable in the wilderness. The third weekend they went back to town for supplies and to see the land agent. They told him that they wanted to buy the lease and also a few acres in the valley that bordered it. That night in town they played the boyfriend girlfriend bit and retired to a single motel room. Scott took the first guard shift and they swapped at 3 AM.

  At breakfast the next morning a napkin was dropped on their table by a passerby. Turning it over the note requested a meeting in two hours, a mile north of town where a black pickup would have a flat tire. Brenda blew her nose using it to mop up the remains of her sausage and eggs in her plate.

  ~ ~ ~

  Chapter 8

  The meeting went without a hitch. After verifying that the grisly old man was Jesse's contact they gave instructions on where to meet to pick up the supplies.

  He asked, “What did Jesse send me this time?”

  Brenda replied, “We don't know. It's in a sealed crate in our trailer. You can pick it up on the mountain or we can deliver it.”

  His reply was, “Give me ten minutes and I'll follow you to your trailer, and then you can follow me to my place.”

  Later they followed him up a dirt road. When they came to a tree that had fallen across the road Scott saw him poke what looked like a garage door opener out the window and press the button. The tree raised up about eight feet and stopped. There were hydraulic lifts on each end of it.

  Another half mile up the road they pulled into a farmyard and he directed them to back into the barn a
s he opened the doors. Six men with weapons sundered over and started to open the trailer.

  “Stop”, yelled Brenda. “It's booby-trapped. She walked back and spun the built-in combination lock dial and then pressed two icons on her cell phone. Then turning the dial to 14 she pulled the doors open.”

  “Neat”, said one of the men. “What kind of booby-trap is built into this trailer.”

  I replied, “Thermite, hot enough to melt the contents and my new truck so don't dick around with it. Not to mention start a big enough fire to piss off every fire fighter within 500 miles.” Blocked in the front of the trailer was an 8x6 crate that was half the length of the 14 foot trailer. The grisly old man looked and then said, “Guys, get the block and tackle out. That puppy is going to be heavy. Scott, can you back the trailer over there on the left side near the tack room?”

  “Sure thing”, Scott replied.

  It took thirty minutes to unload the crate and then old man walked around to the trailer end and inserted his crowbar. With a screech each time it was quickly removed.

  The first thing Scott noticed was what looked like a commercial air conditioning unit, but it had places for several filters plus a flange that looked like it could be connected to a large pipe.

  Ooh, said Brenda, that's the new filtration system. With my look of inquiry she continued, a pipe is run to a chamber that is half filled with water so the water filters the air first and then it's sucked through the filters. Properly installed it cleans the air as good as the best HEPA filter system with less maintenance. However, you must have a clean moving water supply. On top of the unit were six boxes labeled filters.

  Then he commented, “I understand you are trying to buy the mountain next to my valley and some adjourning flat land. If you get it I'll have my boys start on a refuge for you. My equipment is in the valley. If it wasn't for the old mining laws the damn government would have chased me off long ago. So make sure you get all the lumber and mineral rights and then file a claim. I'm sure you can find something of value in the streams. My boys can show you how to pan and build a hand sluice.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Chapter 9

  The purchase of the mountain and trim at the bottom bordering his valley I left to my lawyer. We dropped a few hints down in the town that I was thinking about setting up a wilderness camping corporation and wildlife amusement park.

  A week driving through Canada and we crossed over into Alaska. My new pickup and trailer looked like they'd been dropped in a creek and then rolled through a dust storm. Both sides had dents and scrapes from minor accidents. The only accident that wasn't minor was when a big rig had clipped the front left fender and tore it halfway off with the steel bar on the back of his trailer. I had to chase him ten miles before he could pull off the road.

  I was pulled by a local not 50 miles in and told that if I was going to do any hunting I needed to stop at the next town and get a out-of-state hunting license. Then he wanted to know what I was hauling in the trailer. Brenda just batted her eyes at him and said a bunch of camping gear and other personal stuff. We have paperwork from the customs at the US border and you can check the seals if you want. After a quick look at the papers and seals he walked back to his cruiser and made a U-turn and left.

  Late that night in the middle of nowhere Brenda's phone lit up and when she answered it all she said is we'll need a guide. We just passed mile marker 203.

  Within an hour we had a tail and then he passed us and signaled a left turn. When he made a right Brenda told me to follow him. Just past a cabin the road disappeared and the ruts looked like two red light stripes underneath his taillights. After following him over several hills he pulled over and stopped. As I stopped another guy with a rifle stepped up to my window and said, “You're trespassing.”

  Brenda simply held up her phone and pressed a button and said, “If you want your stuff, you'll open the cave and let us back-in, or we'll have a bonfire.”

  Squinting, he said, “Oh hell, he sent you! Now I'm going to have problems with my wife for another six months. It took that long for her just to quit prancing around the last time you were here.

  “The ground on the right is firm, just pull up beside the truck and you'll see the entrance. The mine now has a turnaround inside.”

  It looked like an entrance to a mine, but as I pulled forward the rock around the entrance folded back making it look like a garage. A few hundred feet in I could see someone with a flashlight signaling me to come ahead. The tunnel ended and he said, “Swing wide right and park over by the other truck. We'll get you unloaded in the morning.” Brenda walked to the trailer and disarmed it and then we got in the other truck and went further up the trail to another cabin.

  When we walked in a monster of a woman looked at Brenda and said, “So you brought a boy toy. Don't look like he has enough meat on his bones to keep you warm.” Then she hugged Brenda and swung her around in a circle. Dropping Brenda she stuck a meaty paw at me and asked, “Whats your name boy-toy.”

  At six two I'm not a shrimp and can press over 400 pounds. As I grabbed her hand she started ratcheting down on mine. For about five minutes we had a squeezing contest and then she jerked me forward and wrapped her other arm around me and lifted me off my feet.

  Brenda then quipped, “Don't break my boy-toy. He does most of the driving.”

  Sue gently set me back on my feet and said, “He'll do until winter, then you got to get a man with some meat on his bones.”

  To try to retrieve some of my dignity I said, “I'm hungry, any bear steaks around.”

  Sue looked at me and then stated, “We've already had supper, but I flip one over in the pan for you, rare or medium.”

  I replied, “I don't want to have to chase it down or bleed it. Just don't burn it either.”

  Brenda said, “Cook it like I like mine, I'll just take the end off his.”

  Sue then said, “Then you get in there and cook it. I got to get fancied up now that we have company.”

  Tom just slapped his forehead and moaned, “Not already,” then went and sat down. Looking at me he announced, “Scotch is in that sideboard, bring two glasses.”

  I noticed my 2 inch steak had a hole cut in the middle and Brenda had it plus the tip on her plate. What was left covered my plate. A humongous split baked potato with onions, bacon, chives, and sour cream was on a plate between us and Brenda simply indicated that when there was room on our plates for it, we could split it. My steak was cooked to perfection and tender. Together we ate less than half the potato, but we did finish our steaks.

  Sue came back in dressed to the nines. For a big woman she had all her curves in the right places. The baggy clothes she was wearing when we arrived fooled me and as I was looking at her Brenda slapped me upside my head and said, “She's already spoken for so reel you eyes back in.”

  Sue was laughing as she dropped into Tom's lap and announced to everyone, “See, I can still turn heads when I dress up. Brenda, I hope I didn't get your boy-toy in to much trouble, we only have one empty bedroom. Alice and Daniel are in the other one. They dropped by for a few days on their way back from Japan.”

  Brenda squealed like a school girl and demanded that Sue not let them out of the house until she got to talk to them. I don't know what I expected this far out in the country, but when we opened the door to the bedroom it put to shame a high end hotel suite. The two king size beds were dwarfed by the size of the room, a very large table was between us and what looked like a wet-bar, and a desk occupied most of the far wall with radio's and a monster of a TV. As tired as I was I just pulled off my shoes and belt and flopped on the first bed.

  In the morning I found the bathroom and was soaking in the hot tub when Brenda came in and demanded that I move over. I still had my hands covering my lap as she pulled the nightgown over her head and dropped in beside me. I thought, evidently modesty wasn't one of her faults as she demanded that I scrub her back.

  Shortly therea
fter Sue stuck her head in the door and announced that Alice was up and breakfast was almost ready. Then snidely she said, “Brenda, your boy-toy missed a spot down there.” and ducked out without closing the door.

  Meeting Alice and Daniel in the dining room I expected Sue to introduce me as boy-toy, but to my surprise she gave them my full proper name. Then she told them that I worked for Jesse and Dale. After a huge breakfast I realized that I missed the teasing.

  The next morning Daniel announced he had to get back to Tennessee and get some work done. After all a months vacation in one block was more than he was used to.

  Then Alice commented, yea, I guess teaching all those kids organic farming wasn't work. His reply was, teaching isn't work.

  For the next two weeks I hiked up more hills than I wanted to count and the only fun was the hunting we did with a camera and then going back and using a rifle to harvest some of what we took pictures of. I left my truck at the camp and we flew by private plane to Anchorage and flew back to California and then on to Nashville.

  Visiting Dale's office he invited us up to his valley for a week. It was very nice and peaceful camping for the weekend. Then he took me on a tour of his refuge. I'd been by the entrance several times and hadn't spotted it. The cavern was more like an underground motel on steroids. Dale said he could support twenty families for a year on stored supplies if they couldn't get a stockpile of fresh food before they buttoned up.

  Back at his office he brought out plans for my amusement park and campgrounds on the mountain.

  ~ ~ ~

  Chapter 10

  We were met at the airport by the local sheriff. Not ten feet behind him was an individual I realized must be a political hack. I was right, because not two minutes later he introduced himself and said he had to inspect my work sites to insure they met federal standards.

  When I asked him what federal standards campgrounds and hiking trails must meet he looked puzzled and stuttered, your mines of course. I laughed full in his face and said the only mine I have is a gold panning set I bought the last time I was here and I have a nice collection of water polished rocks to show for all the work I did with it.