by Tj Reeder
This was the same system we had put into all the Mall units so we were all on the same page, As far as the Mall and Ranch were concerned most of the stuff we had build was as bomb and bullet proof as we could make it, all except the Dorms, but after most of the work was done we would bring in a small contractor to put in metal culverts as tunnels running from the Dorms thru an escape hatch through the slab floors, into a tunnel to the barn shelters, the tunnels themselves were as good a shelter as we could want as they were going to be 12 ft in diameter with a concrete floor to make movement easier with pallet jacks to move supplies around that we would store in them, All of this planning came out of a thick book that Jody had with him all the time, reading and making notes in the back of it.
I was glad for that because I wouldn’t have thought of a 10 of this stuff, even the smallest of details seemed to be in there, Once he even said we needed to think about boxed puzzles and games to keep small minds occupied, It was worth the sore ribs when I asked if he was thinking of Jade, but I really need to get that body armor vest, but then god knows where she might hit! Maybe just keeping my mouth shut would work…now there was a concept!!
Time was moving fast, the building projects were moving faster then we had figured, Ellie had noticed one of the contractors crewman starting to talk a bit to much about all the goings on here but his boss took him outside and when they came back in the guy never said a word again, this was good
News.
Jody and I decided to speak to him about the tunnels so we picked him up and went to Ellie’s I told her as soon as I walked in the door that if she called my wife and told her we were there I’d…that was as far as I got, she walked in the door and seeing my look said. WHAT? I gave up right then, I don’t know how she does it and I may not want to know, hell her brother probably has access to bugs that placed in my truck would allow her to listen to all my conversations, I didn’t want to know, I was forewarned to always be good.
Ellie and Jade sat together and talked in low voices while we talked to the contractor, Jody told him we had a job that we did not want even one word of to slip out and it would require him and his top two men only and should be done in a week or so, he was very happy to accept the job without knowing more then that for the moment, he would have a few days to go home and get together what equipment would be needed when he was done with his part of the mall work which was maybe a week away, we wanted the work done before the other Dorm buildings were in place as it was easier to do with no building in the way.
Jody took him back to the job to look over some stuff and I joined the two conspirators who were plotting something which would surly mean problems for me no doubt, and sure enough they stopped the low talking as I sat down and went to normal girl stuff, when Jade was done eating the place empty I told her I needed a ride home.
I won’t go into what riding with her was like, she had asked for a Jeep and I let her pick it out, Shiny and as Black as the Jonas brothers with enough chrome to blind the blind, I’m not real sure what model it was but it went too damn fast and she drove like she was at Daytona most of the time, but with roll bars and a upgraded set of seat belts she was as safe as she was going to be. But she was doing much better since I reminded her how I came to be single, which made her cry and promise to do better.
I must admit she had done so, but it was still like driving with a wild person, long hair blowing back, laughing and having just way too much fun.
I guess she was spoiled as Jody said but I had not yet figured out how to say no, hell the Jeep cost less then that foolish ring I was going to buy her so I had no complaint.
In a shade less then 6 months the Ranch was finished for the moment, the Mall was done as was the ranges. With little fan fair the stores were open for business.
The locals had all been there for the whole job and knew as much as any about how and what went into it all, but by some quirk of agreement nobody was telling anybody a thing.
I guess in truth these folks here in the Piney Woods were as close knit as the Clan on the ranch and frankly most of the locals were in fact part of it all and understood that and seemed to feel good about it all.
The Clinic was up and running and Doc Ellen as she was called by all was working her buns off and proving to be worth her weight in gold, she had found and interviewed her own PA and office staff as well as the nurses who really did 80 % of the work.
All were living in the dorms as none were married and were happy with the job and the whole scene, none were aware of what was really going on but they were adapting very well to rural life and as the nurses were all new fresh from school and known to Ellen and not to mention good looking, the guys working on the place were content to hang out after work instead of heading off to get drunk as most youngsters do.
The Vet was a different story, he was a crusty old coot who had decided to get out of Dodge as he put it before he strangled the next over pampered over fed poodle in the door, he also made it plain that if it was a choice between a cow a horse and a poodle, well the poodle could wait and if it died tuff shit!!, Jade really liked him, he brought his own crew with him, most were only a few years younger then he was but all worked together.
,During the so called interview he said that if he ever found a good young person or three who could work and keep quiet he could teach them more in a year then 4 years of vet school…I was sorta impressed, when I mentioned it to Doc Ellen she said he was right, that back in the old days the skilled people had apprentices that they taught all they knew too who then passed it on to their apprentices or sons and that it was the approved way for century’s until somebody decided you must be taught about your trade buy a person who had never done the job but had read about it once or twice, she used the phrase, them as can , do , them as kain’t, teach… I told her that seemed a bit denigrating toward teachers but she wouldn’t back down said it was true and the medical field was full of people like that… she was as hard to argue with as Jade but I could kinda see it too.
The gun shop was up and running and every good ol boy for many a mile around was coming in and spending their money, John had the thought that selling a guy a gun that had little room for profit at near wholesale and he would buy all his other needs there, ammo, slings, scopes, reloading gear etc etc, all items with a lot of wiggle room to offer a good deal and yet still make a decent profit, return customers were to be desired.
Bob had taken over running the ranges and was having a ball, he had the idea of starting a gun club to encourage people to shoot more and at the same time to pick out future possible folks to man a security force down the road a ways, also the more they shot the more they bought!!! And even with a store discount for members it was still turning a profit.
Until the time for a school, Mary was running the grocery store and it was doing very well, prices were on par with the big stores in the city but we also sold case lots with a deeper discount, about wholesale priced, and we now had most of the area prepping and not even knowing it!!!
Our fuel station was doing great because our prices were less then the nearest station 20 miles away, and would remain so, we didn’t “Have” to make a profit, just break even.. Might really piss off a bunch of folks but we figured most had been milking every thin dime out of the folks around here for way too long and it was time they got a break.
All in all the whole plan had taken form and had filled out faster then we had ever believed possible, all in all we had recreated a corner of this county
Into a small bustling community with jobs for the locals who wanted one… wages were good and we had a great medical plan!!…No need to belong to a national health plan, I could see problems in the future with that.
Doc. Ellen saw them too and made the early on decision to not be involved with Medicaid or any other Government controlled plan, if somebody needed care they got it, and paid what they could when they could if they had no insurance , We were also tossing around the idea of forming an LLC insurance compan
y but it was just too much hassle, we did though restrict any care of “outsiders” as strictly emergency based care only, we sure didn’t intend to become a welfare health clinic, as a private unit the clinic could get more done with less cost then it ever could by allowing the state and Federal government’s to run things or be involved in any way.
So far in the short time things were up and running it was working great, in the first month alone all the different units had shown a nice profit and looked to keep doing so.
John and Bob were turning into best of friends, their love for all things involving shooting was a good glue.
Their plan was for Bob to find the best of the young shooters in the newly formed gun club and to integrate them into working in the gun shop which had more traffic then a strip bar, but they wanted only real shooters working there, people who not only could shoot but could help the customers without being condescending, they wanted no Rambo wannabes just people who could not only do it but teach it in a good manner, to me it looked like they had it going.
Mary was having fun with the grocery store and while never complaining wanted to be back teaching, she and Jade spent hours together, Jade was working with Mary just to be busy and be with her first real female friend of her life. I had hopes Mary would have a calming influence on Jade but It seemed to be headed the other way , as on the day they both took off with nary a word and returned hours later with Mary driving a mate to Jades jeep except it was an ivory color.
Bob and I just stood there and never said a word, John looked it all over and said you two are learning, bout damn time, then burst out laughing and got out of there.
I just shook my head and started walking towards the café, a nice hunk of Ellie’s pie would help, Bob caught up and the two wild cats blew past us and got inside before us, inside we found the girls being served and ours was in place so we did as we were supposed to and sat down to eat, Neither of us said a word about the not so matching Jeeps and just for a change had a nice quiet time of it and surprising the hell out of us we got to keep all our pie, this was getting real scary real fast. I didn’t know how to handle it cause it had never happened, but the girls were their normal selves, chattering away and ignoring us, I was scared to move because it would break the spell.
About six months had passed, seeming like either 6 days or 6 years depending on the moment when we got a call from Jim Daniels the Sheriffs Deputy for this end of the county, it came about dark and he said he needed to speak to Jody and I as soon as possible but on the quiet, he was off duty and driving his own truck and we told him to head to the gun shop and act like a customer we would come in the back way and John would get us together.
We were both very curious about this call but there was no sense in talking it to death so we headed for the door when Jade jumped up and grabbed her coat announcing she was coming too, Jody smiled and said “your on your own…son” he’s a laugh a minute, I looked at her and decided that whatever concerned her father and husband concerned her too ( this was very smart fast thinking on my part but ruined the beautiful temper flair she had already to fire off at me) when we got outside I noticed Jody was sitting in the back seat of her jeep with nary a smile on his face, he’s smart too!
We arrived at the narrow trail we used to access the back of the mall area which was unknown to most people and entered thru the grocery store back door and down to the basement then thru the steel doors to the gun shop basement, I felt it was a bit James Bondish but we were trying to avoid trouble for Jim, when we go to the top of the stairs we stopped and tapped a button which caused a small buzzer to vibrate quietly behind the counter, we saw Jim and John laughing and talking while Jim looked over a new handgun, at the sound of the vibrator, he said something to Jim who nodded and John grabbed a box of ammo and headed for the door to the downstairs range, telling one of the guys that they needed to cover for him.
When they opened the door and entered John lead the way down and to the door marking the indoor shooting range for customers to get an opportunity to fire their choice of weapons, nobody had said a word and John motioned us into the sound proof observation room then taking the gun and ammo he headed into the shooters area, where he started slowly shooting rounds like a guy learning a new weapon.
We looked at Jim and he said boys yawl have attracted a lot of attention over at the County Seat, the Commissioners seem to think maybe yawl ain’t paying near enough in tax’s so they asked the Sheriff to try to come up with a way to get into all your business mostly to snoop into just what’s really going on here, but as yawl may not know, the Head Commissioners is the Sheriffs brother and between us, both are as crooked as a dogs hind leg and if they can find a soft spot they will be down on you like stink on a road killed skunk, but of course what they want is a nice piece of what you bringing in.
We thought about it a bit but Jade spoke right up and asked why Jim was telling us? Easy answer was , in a round about way he was kin to Miss Ellie ( no surprise there!) and so he talked to her and she sent him to us to spill the beans and then to resign from his job because no kin of hers was gonna work for then snakes no more.
Jade then asked one of those questions that usually come later in the movie, who else are they screwing? Jim said he only had a rumor or two but he named them, Jade wrote their names down. Then asked if he wanted to come work for us? He said no but thanks a lot, but I grew up wanting to be a Deputy and maybe someday be the head sheriff.
Jody and I had learned that when she was in this mode to let her run with it so said nothing, she found out he had 5 years in the department and was the youngest by 20 years, good ol boy network in action, she asked why he even got hired, Jim turned a bit red and said well they’s all too old to work the streets and saloons at night so they hired me as somebody to send in the door first.
We needed time to digest this and Jody said well if they find out about this I will hire you in a heart to run the ranch security force so old John can sleep in a bit more often, we all looked at poor old John who was just finishing putting the last round thru a hole in the center mass of the target 50 rounds thru a 3” hole at 25 yards with a gun he never shot before, yes poor old John sure needed more sleep.
Jim said he would take the job but wanted a shot at tossing the old fart outta office and then cleaning the place of dead wood, Jade and Jody both got the light in the air over the head look I’ve seen them do so much.
John came back in and he and Jim went back up stairs, we went over to the lounge that John had built for his better customers and getting a hand full of beers sat down at the table, John came back down, and said ok, Jims safe away and it worked smooth I told him in a few days come back and pick up his new gun and thanks for the business.
Jody laid it out as Jim had with Jade adding in a lot more from her notes, John and I sat there red faced and quiet until John said, I was a cop for over 15 years and never took a penny of payoff, I did accept a free cup of coffee at one café but the owner was a good friend, he looked at me and I just nodded and said same story, but we were pissed that these scum bags were using a nice honest young cop like a pimp uses women.
We finished those beers and Jody beat Jade to getting more, I looked at her but she was looking down at her notes and then looked around and said, this is good, this is the best break we could hope for, as usual we just stayed quiet and let her get to it in her own sweet way, which turned out to be scary coming from my sweet little wife.
She said well first thing we do is get all their names and pictures then we get those to Song, Jody sat still while I choked on my beer, and without thinking I blurted out the no way in hell were we getting involved in getting them to have accidents…when Jody and John stopped laughing and Jade quiet glaring I said “WHAT!!”
Jody held up his hand and wiggled it at Jade who had to stop glaring at me but did so, she sat a moment and said, look, we knew this County commission was dirty, as well as the Sheriff ( We did? Hell I didn’t) and this is a perfect way to take
over this whole county, clean it up and turn it into just what we need when the SHTF!
More come on hand wiggles from Jody and she was off again, first we get Song into their pockets and bed rooms, all of them including Jim who we will make sure is squeaky clean.
While they are trying to do us, we will be doing them. Jim will be a shoo in for Sheriff and we can hand pick honest people to run for the other offices, and weed out all the kin folks who have been sucking off the county tit for so long.
Well I sat and listened to this stranger who was taking over my wife’s body, where was the charming, sweet, pie stealing coffee chugging doll that loves me??
Jody sat just watching the show, then looked at me and john, John shrugged and said hell I go with the kid’s idea on just snuffing the sleeze bags.
Jade chimed in with an agreement to that too, but said well yes , but we can’t, we need their outta work, flat busted , going to jail asses for all to see and then to see how wonderful the county looks shortly afterwards… I was just lost, I had been here 10 years and didn’t know the whole county court house was a gang of crooks as well as the Sheriffs office.