Since Bernard had private deeded each family half an acre for their house, it was Nelson and Michelle’s property that couldn’t be traced to them. Taking the opportunity, Nelson wanted a place he could safely store stuff. It wasn’t a question of trust in the others, but if things ever went bad, Nelson only wanted his family to know about this.
That day, the cement truck came out and poured the foundation. After a few days, he and Michelle set the cinderblock walls then built the second wall, creating dead space. Putting a cement roof over the dead space, they covered it up. When Gerald, Matt, and Ashley came out to help build the rest, no one could tell there was a twenty-foot gap behind the left wall.
Once the house was built, Nelson rented cement saws, cut a hole in the wall, and put up the bookshelves. Then, doing some special cutting on some cinderblocks, he mounted them on a frame, making a door, and built bookshelves over it. Since the door opened in, no marks were left on the floor. Support and shelves for the bookshelf covered the narrow gaps for the door.
Gavin just liked the idea they had a secret room. A tall safe sat in the back beside a refrigerator, and filing cabinets filled the end wall. Nelson took the coins out of the velvet bag. Opening the safe, he put them in with the others then Gavin put his cards in.
Shelves lined the wall in this room as well, but they held stuff that could get them in serious trouble. The fridge held medications they had gotten from Mexico, Canada, and mail order. Some of the shelves were empty, but most held plastic bins and metal boxes. Some of these contained gun parts that were illegal, and some held radio parts that were illegal. Others contained stuff that wasn’t quit illegal but was frowned on by the government for private citizens.
They walked out and closed the door, and Nelson looked down at Gavin. “How do you feel?”
“Great,” he said with a grin.
Putting his hand on Gavin’s shoulder, Nelson asked, “There is some stuff I would like to get out of the truck now. Want to help?”
“Sure,” Gavin said. “Dad, can I carry a gun when I go with Nancy?”
Looking into Gavin’s eyes, Nelson thought hard and finally nodded. “Yes, son, but I want you to remember when you squeeze the trigger, you can’t call that bullet back. If you think someone’s going to hurt you, don’t hesitate, but your first course is to get one of us. You use a gun as a last resort, understand?”
“Yes sir,” Gavin said in a serious voice.
“If I hear about you not treating your weapon with respect and carelessly, the deal’s off,” Nelson told him firmly.
With determination on his little face way beyond his years, Gavin nodded. “I understand; I won’t let you down.”
Pulling Gavin in for a hug, Nelson really hated this new world. “Let’s get some of that stuff in here,” Nelson said, letting Gavin go.
As they carried in the first load, Michelle looked up from the couch. “Thought you were taking today off?” she asked with the “tone.”
“Baby, this stuff needs to come in,” Nelson said, shutting the door with his foot. “I really want all the electronics and scopes inside.” Seeing she wasn’t going to argue, Nelson followed Gavin down to the basement.
Not able to argue that point, Michelle got up and joined them. When she opened the back door of Nelson’s truck, Michelle stood amazed. It was literally packed tight from floor to roof. Carefully, she started pulling stuff out so she didn’t create an avalanche.
When the front of the truck was emptied, all three stood looking at the piles on the floor. “We need to separate this and keep the piles in the same category,” Michelle said, moving over to start separating the stuff, “that way, we know where to put the rest of the crap.”
“Crap?” Nelson snapped, offended.
Michele stood. “I’m sorry—vital equipment,” she offered and went back to separating the stuff. Satisfied, Nelson did the same.
As they worked, they talked till they heard the front door open. “Michelle?” they heard Nellie call out.
“Down here,” Michelle answered.
Hearing footsteps coming down, they continued separating the stuff out. “I thought we were going to unload tomorrow?” Nellie asked, coming down and seeing the organized stuff around the basement.
“Gung ho Joe wanted some of his toys in here, afraid they would cry if he left them outside,” Michelle said, waving her hand at Nelson.
Nellie laughed. “Supper’s almost ready,” she told them. “I’ll get Devin,” she added with a smile, turning and heading back up the stairs.
Hearing the front door close, they continued for a while longer until Michelle looked around, satisfied. “If we don’t have a pile for it down here, we’ll put it in the empty container out back,” she said, wiping her forehead.
Nelson walked to her and put his arm around her. “That sounds good,” he said. “How about some grub?”
“Now that sounds good,” Michelle answered as Nelson led her up the stairs. Jumping up, Gavin followed. Stopping in the living room, Nelson grabbed the box and carried it back to Michelle. When they walked outside, Gavin ran around them to the house. “I wish I could bottle that energy up,” Michelle said with envy.
“Now you’re talking about making money,” Nelson noted then grunted, changing which hand was carrying the heavy box. They walked in and found everyone in the kitchen. Nelson could hear the two girls playing in the front room. He didn’t know what they were playing, but it involved lots of giggling.
Swinging the box up, Nelson set it on the bar with a thud. Bernard looked at the box. “What the hell’s in there?” he asked. “Sounds like it weighs a ton.”
“Well, over a hundred pounds,” Nelson said, and the others moved over. “I want to make a group rule,” he announced. “What we get off the ones we take down belongs to the group.”
Gerald shook his head. “Now hold on a second. If they have a weapon I want, I don’t want to share,” he replied.
Nelson hadn’t thought of that, and he couldn’t argue. “Okay, how about you can claim something off them, and the rest is the group’s?” he offered.
“How about stuff of monetary value?” Gerald offered back.
“Guns and ammo will have monetary value,” Michelle said. “They will be the currency along with food until this is over.”
Bernard stood. “How about if you get something, you ask the group if you can have it? It’s not like we don’t have a bunch of stuff, and if two people want one item, the rest vote on it?”
Nelson looked at Michelle. “That’s pretty good,” he said, and she nodded.
“Hey, Ashley and I don’t care as long as we are here and fed,” Matt said with his arm over Ashley’s shoulder. “What’s in the box?”
“The first of our group deposit,” Nelson said, opening the box. Several gasped, and the rest just gawked, staring at the shining metals.
Slowly reaching in, Matt pulled out a clear tube that held one-ounce gold coins. “You got this from the cop car?” he asked.
“Yep,” Nelson said with a sad expression.
Matt looked away from the gold and turned his eyes toward Nelson. “The way you said you found some gold he took off someone, I was thinking a small box, not a tub,” Matt said in awe.
“There’s four families, so I say the group splits it four ways, and if we need to buy something, we use the group account,” Michelle offered.
“Michelle,” Matt almost shouted, “that’s got to be over half a million dollars, and you two are just giving it to the group?”
“We are a family,” Michelle told him. “This will end, and we need to make sure our kids have a future.”
Leaning over the bar, Nelson told Matt, “It’s about thirty pounds of gold and double that in silver. Have no idea what the stamps and stuff are worth.”
Putting the roll back in the box, Matt said, “Guys, you don’t have to do this.”
“Yes we do,” Michelle told him. “We are in this together, and that’s the only way we’ll s
urvive.”
Clearing his throat, Gerald said, “I agree with that. This is a very good idea; I don’t really need it, but I like it for Nancy.”
“If we own a fourth of that, this is the most Ashley and I have ever had,” Matt mumbled.
“Bernard,” Nelson said, “you have that safe downstairs. How about you and Nellie keep tabs on the group fund?”
“We will be happy to, but we need another place to store stuff like this,” Bernard answered. “If we get overrun, we need this safe.”
Nodding, Gerald said, “He has a very valid point. We need to make a hiding place for it that will be protected from people and fire.”
“Well, everyone, think about that, but I really would like to eat,” Nelson said.
Laughing, they all moved to the table and called the girls in. Sitting down, they all held hands as Bernard led them in prayer. In their little corner of America, the principles that built the country still survived.
Chapter 13
Early the next morning, Nelson and Michelle had grabbed Devin and got back into their routine of heading to the gym. They were there for a half hour before Matt and Ashley came in carrying Mike. They all worked out then climbed in the Jacuzzi. Matt and Ashley started laughing as Devin started his war with the bubbles.
Leaving the gym at sunrise, they gathered the other kids and headed in the house for breakfast. Seeing Nelson and Matt walk in wearing tank tops along with the girls, all of them sweating, Gerald shook his head. “We have enough work ahead of us to stay in shape,” he told them.
“Have to stay in shape,” Nelson said, pouring a cup of coffee and kissing Nellie on the cheek.
Nancy came over to Michelle. “Can I work out with you?” she asked. Hearing that, Gerald almost fell out of his chair.
“Of course you can,” Michelle said, putting Devin in his high chair.
“Nancy, you’ve never worked out,” Gerald said, shocked. “You avoid stairs like they are a plague.”
She whipped her head around. “Shut it, bubba,” she snapped. “What time do you get up?” she asked, looking back to Michelle.
“We like to start at five so we can get done before sunrise,” Michelle said, heading back to the kitchen to get Devin’s food.
Sitting in his spot, Nelson sipped his coffee as Matt sat down. “When we finish our load, Ashley and I’ll come and help you unload your caravan,” Matt told Nelson.
“Thanks,” Nelson said. “I’m hoping we can get it done today.”
“I’ll be out there as soon as breakfast is over. Since you have the most, I’ll start with you, Nelson,” Bernard said.
Nellie carried plates of food over. “You just leave the babies here with me,” she said.
“I’ll bring over Devin’s playpen,” Nelson said.
“And I’ll bring Mike’s.” Matt grinned, filling up his plate.
“No, leave them there,” Nellie said, walking back to the kitchen. “We bought two.”
Picking up his plate, Nelson kept his mouth shut as he loaded it. The group ate then headed back to their cabins. The girls stayed with Nellie, promising to help with the babies and lunch. Nelson just wanted them to stay out of Nellie’s way.
After breakfast, the group headed out as the sun rose above the tree-covered hill to the east. As they unloaded his truck and trailer, Nelson didn’t remember getting some of the things he pulled out. It was eleven when the trailer was empty of everything except the pallets of ammunition and UTVs.
Bernard drove one of his small tractors that had a front-end loader over. He put two forklift blades on the bucket and drove up on the trailer, picking up the first pallet. As he backed up, Michelle came over and stood beside Nelson.
“I have no idea how you loaded that much shit on there even with help,” she told him, handing him a bottle of water.
Thankful for the water, Nelson opened it and took a long drink. “I don’t remember loading some of it,” he admitted, wiping his mouth.
She watched another pallet come off. “Just where in the hell are you going to store these eight pallets of ammo?” she asked. “We already carried down one, and we already have two down in the basement, not counting the ammo on the shelves.”
Nelson shrugged and replied, “I’m thinking the storage container.”
“Babe,” Michelle said, taking off her sunglasses. “We still have two more vehicles to unload. We are going to run out of room.”
“The ammo is in cases, so it can sit here until we figure out where to put it. Matt and Ashley don’t have that much, so I’m telling them to put a pallet in their basement, and I think we need one in the house,” Nelson told her as Bernard grabbed the last one. “I think Gerald has more ammunition than we do.”
Dumbfounded, Michelle shook her head. “There’s no way,” she mumbled.
“He worked for the military, baby. He wasn’t impressed with the amount of ammunition I had. He was impressed with the weapons.”
She pointed at the UTVs. “We have two of those now not to mention four-wheelers and electric and hybrid buggies. Why did you need two more?” she asked.
“Those are diesel like the last one I got,” Nelson said, “and I’m giving Matt one.”
“Thank God,” Michelle mumbled as Bernard set the last pallet next to the others beside the house. Matt and Ashley came out of the house after dropping their load off and stopped beside them.
“Nelson, I hate to say this, but I’m getting tired of carrying guns,” Matt admitted.
Michelle looked over at him. “Well, that’s half of one more trailer,” she informed him.
Digging in his pocket, Nelson pulled out a key ring. “The side-by-side that’s loaded with everything is yours,” he said, handing the keys over.
Matt and Ashley just stared at him. “Dude, we can’t take that,” Matt said.
“The hell you can’t,” Michelle snapped. “We have enough crap to open our own store. You two will take it, and that’s final.”
Taking the key, Matt grinned. “You don’t know how much we wanted one,” he said.
“These are diesel, and we can make that,” Nelson told Matt as he and Ashley walked up on the trailer.
As they unhooked the UTVs, Michelle looked over at Nelson with a gentle smile. “That was worth all the unloading,” she told Nelson and kissed him.
“Hey, we’re working here. No hanky panky,” Gerald said, walking out of the cabin with Nancy. Seeing Matt and Ashley back off in the new UTV to head to toward their cabin, Gerald’s eyes got big. “You gave them one?”
“Yes,” Nelson said. “This one is going to be for the groups. I was giving you one of my gas ones in the back.”
“Really?” Gerald gasped.
“Yeah, Michelle’s mad I stole so much crap,” Nelson said, then Michelle slapped his butt.
“I am not.”
“Thank you,” Gerald grinned.
Handing the key to the other UTV to Michelle, Nelson asked, “Will you park that one by the back deck? I’ll go and drop the trailer off at the barn.” Without answering, Michelle took the key.
With the trailer off, Bernard took the pallets out of the bed of Nelson’s truck. Now with his truck emptied, Nelson thought it looked naked. He turned and saw everyone unloading the Blazer and walked over to join in.
They were halfway done when Nellie collected everyone for lunch. After lunch, the group headed back to finish unloading. After the Blazer was unloaded, they started on the Suburban, and Nelson was beginning to agree with Michelle: They had a lot of crap. Granted, it was stuff they needed, but still it was a lot of crap.
It was late afternoon when they were done, and the basement was packed along with the containers. Then, Nelson told them how he wanted to do the ammo, so the group went back to work, putting a whole pallet in Matt and Bernard’s basement. They left the rest of the pallets beside the house covered with tarps until they figured out what to do with them.
Worn out, the group headed inside to find the girls helping
Nellie fix supper. They were both covered in flour but had smiles on their faces. For the life of him, Nelson couldn’t figure out what would take that much flour. Not wanting to interrupt, the group headed to the living room and dropped in chairs or couches.
“Bernard, have you talked to that family close to us lately?” Matt asked.
Taking off his hat, Bernard leaned back in his recliner. “The Carrington’s,” Bernard helped. “Yeah, I talked to Hank a few days before you showed up. He was waiting on his brother to get here from St. Louis.”
“I’ve only met Hank,” Gerald said with his head laid back on the couch. “I’ve heard him talk about his boys, but how many people does he have?”
“His wife, Judy,” Gerald answered. “The boys are Tim and Mark, sixteen and seventeen. Hank’s brother Steven lost everything. Hank said it was several million in savings. If Steven shows up, he has a boy around sixteen—Junior I think—and a girl, Beth, fourteen or so.”
Nellie and the flour-covered girls came in carrying glasses of tea for everyone. Gerald smiled as Olivia handed him one. “What did this Steven do?” Gerald asked.
“Stockbroker,” Bernard said, taking a glass, “Worthless as tits on a bull.”
“You know Steven personally?” Ashley asked, draining her glass.
Nodding, Bernard said, “Yeah, and he couldn’t wait to get out of here. Hank said his dad had to threaten a beating every day just to get that boy to do chores.”
They all sat in silence, soaking up the cool, air-conditioned air. “Think that will be a problem?” Gerald finally asked, breaking the silence.
“For Hank, not us,” Bernard said, finishing his glass.
“We need to set something across the road so someone can’t just drive down here as we are putting this ditch and berm up,” Gerald said, sitting up. “Don’t want someone talking about what they see here.”
Forgotten Forbidden America: Rise of Tyranny Page 22