Shelter: Book 2, A Long Days Night

by Ira Tabankin

  “Yes, Mr. Governor, I’ll have one ready for your review in an hour.”

  The governor thought, it had to be the crazy Tea Party in San Diego and the Central part of the state who stuffed the message box. I’m sure they will forget everything about the vote soon enough.

  The media picks up and reports the governor’s press release starting with their 6 AM broadcasts. The news anchors reports, “The governor has reported the messages are running five to one pro the President’s stance. He said he has no plans to call for a vote on the Chinese question.”

  The co-anchors agree that no one in their right mind would side with the Chinese point of view versus their beloved President. Hearing the news reports, the average citizens, many of them unemployed, homeless, broke, hungry and thirsty take to the streets protesting their lack of having the ability to vote on the issue. Hundreds take to Highway 101 in Los Angeles, the crowd grows to thousands, within an hour there are over one hundred thousand blocking the 101 freeway. Traffic trying to get into central Los Angeles is backed up to Santa Monica, the congestion spreads up and down the 405 freeway and the Pacific Coast Highway. The protesters are soon joined by an additional fifty thousand, they sit down, closing the 101 freeway. The Major and Governor try to reason with the protesters who refuse to move until an election is scheduled. The Mayor calls the Mayor of New York City for advice. He’s advised to join the protesters, to show solidarity with them. New York’s mayor advises him to support the protesters against the governor which will ensure his reelection. LA’s mayor pauses to digest what his friend in New York City said to him. He decides to follow his friend’s advice and go against the governor. He tells his staff to find a way to get him into the center of the protest. His chief of staff says, “Mr. Mayor, that’s not a good idea. Those people might not be happy to have you join them.”

  “Arrange to have food, water, and portable toilets brought to them.”

  “Mr. Mayor that would make both the Governor and President very angry. It will tie up traffic for days. We’re going to have to close the freeways until we can back the people off and find a detour around the demonstration.”

  “I think it’s a good idea to close the freeways until we can get everyone off of them safely and prepare the detour. Tell the Governor and President, I have decided to support the people whose voices are never listened to by Sacramento and D.C.”

  “Sir, what if they order you to leave the freeway?”

  “They can order me all they want, I report to the people, not to them. In fact tell them they can go screw themselves. I’m going to show my support for the people who feel we’re not listening to them.”

  “Sir, how long are you going to stay on the freeway?”

  “Until the people get the election they’re demanding.”

  “Sir, what if the people vote to accept the Chinese proposal?”

  “Why would anyone want to break away from everything we’re providing them? We’ve turned LA into a paradise.”

  “Sir, not everyone is going to agree with you on that.”

  “Get me a list of their grievances. I’ll promise them I’ll look into them.”

  “Mr. Mayor, the people sitting on the 101 aren’t going to buy your statement, you’ll look into their issues. Are you the mayor of all of the people or not?”

  “Get me a list of their issues before I arrive there so I’m aware of what they’re going to hit me with.”

  “Yes, sir. When are you planning on leaving?”

  “In an hour.”

  “We’ll have the list before you leave. Sir, there is the possibility the governor will call out the state police or the National Guard.”

  “Get me the police commissar and the LA, County Sheriff. See if I can get their support.”

  “Sir, I’ll make the calls, but be aware that they have their hands full, we have a very small amount of gasoline for our cars, we’ve had to reduce their patrols and we’ve had to leave more than 60% of the city without any roaming police patrols.”

  “Can we increase the patrols in the short term?”

  “Sir, not unless you can secure us additional fuel.”

  “See if you can borrow it from the state agencies.”

  “Will do.”

  “I’m going to go home and pack, I’ll be ready to join the protesters in forty-five minutes.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  @@@@@

  We’re standing in the humid darkness of my back yard, the nervous sweat is running down my back like a river. It’s sending chills down my spine. I’m worried that the branch we stepped on and broke has alerted the mob. We hold the advantage in having night vision and automatic weapons, on the other hand, they have the numbers, which has proven useful to them before.

  Chapter 14

  In ancient Rome, Emperor Nero played his fiddle while Rome burned, in the current crisis, Congress and the President fought with each other trying to figure out the way out of the many crises occurring across America, not to mention, the world. The President wanted to increase taxes on the rich, again, reduce the military and increase government spending to stimulate the economy. He wanted to hand out trillions of dollars so people could have money to spend on food. The Republican-held Congress reminded the President his previous stimulus programs not only didn’t kick start the economy, in fact, there’s proof that the previous two stimulus spending bills increased the number of unemployed and extended the recession. Congress issued releases aimed at the President and his advisors reminding them this financial crisis was different from the 2008 recession. This was a worldwide currency and debt crises. Borrowing more was going to compound the debt problem. The Chinese are fighting a naval battle in order to absorb Hawaii and have gone directly to the people of California asking them to vote to join China. The President was ‘tone deaf,’ he refused to budge, he continued issuing executive orders which forced stimulus payments and borrowing through the executive agencies. Congress finally turned against the President. By a wide margin, enough to over turn a Presidential veto, the House voted to reduce all federal spending and voted to reduce the country’s debt limit. This placed Congress in a direct head to head battle against the President. Both sides took their case to Federal Court. While those inside the Beltway fought political games, the rest of the country burned out of control.

  @@@@@

  Europe stood on the edge of another war for the first time since 1945. France, Spain, Italy, Greece and the United Kingdom threatened Germany with war if they withdrew financial support from the rest of Europe. Germany’s Prime Minister replied she was ready to defend the German people and force repayment of funds owed to the German banks and people. She ordered the total mobilization of Germany’s military. She poured salt into the EU’s wounds by ordering the ex-East German Army units to Germany’s western borders. Hundreds of German tanks lined up on the border facing the French army. David Cameron, the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister, asked his friend, General Dunford, the US Marines Command for military support, Cameron was shocked when General Dunford told his old friend that the UK and Europe was going to have to go it alone this time. America was tied up with its own internal issues and their battle with China. Cameron reminded his friend that America had been able to fight Germany and Japan, why couldn’t she now fight Germany and China.

  General Dunford laughed when he told his friend, “David, in 1941 the people were behind the decision to go to war, Congress gave the military a blank check. Our industrial might quickly converted from consumer to war production. Today it takes years to build one fighter which costs $100 million. A destroyer takes three years to build. We don’t have any consumer industrial might to convert, it’s all in China and Asia. We have our hands full battling the Chinese, who are fighting us in the Pacific and waging a PR war against our people in California. I’m sad to say, they’re winning the PR battle. Our President doesn’t want to fight the Chinese, he’ll never agree to send troops to Europe.”

  “General, if Am
erica doesn’t send support, the odds are very good that except for our small Island, the rest of Europe will be speaking German in a year.”

  “David, I’m sorry, you people decided to pick a fight with Germany, Greece decided to tell her to stick the billions owed up her ass, how did you expect her to respond? Did you think she would bend over and say, again please? She’s a tough old bitch. She will crush Europe to get her money back, if she can’t get you to pay her, she’ll take it out of your hides. We gamed the results in the Pentagon if she decided to back her threats with the German military. Our games showed she would defeat the rest of Europe in six months. The only reason it would take six months is she will have to feed and care for the civilians she captures. Our game said she wasn’t going to give back the territory she won, this time Germany will keep everything she conquers.”

  “Shit, you’re saying we’re facing a war on the continent worse than in the 1940’s?”

  “That’s correct. Many of you no longer have a viable military. You relied on us, well, we’re gone. The President withdrew our troops and equipment from Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. By the time we could load troops and equipment, the war will be over.”

  “I don’t understand, you moved half a million people to the Middle East in the first Gulf war.”

  “We have a third of the front line forces we did then. David, I’m sorry, but we’re sitting this one out. Frankly, the future of America is still in doubt. We can’t shift focus from our internal issues to Europe. Frankly many of our people think it’s about time you people settle your own issues. We’re tired of bailing you out only to have you turn on us until you need us again.”

  “General, will you sell us some of your mothballed ships and planes?”

  “David, I’m sorry, but this was also discussed, given our losses in the Pacific we’ve started to recall and refit our mothballed fleet. Unless our President and the Chinese Premier can reach an agreement on a payment plan, we’re going to need everything we have to fight the Chinese.”

  “Do you think your spat with the Chinese is going to expand?”

  “Yes, both leaders’ feet are in cement, neither are changing their bargaining positions. Hence, we’re going to talk our way into an expanded war.”

  “How are you going to pay for it?”

  “That’s above my pay grade. I fight them, I don’t pay for them. I’m sure Congress will find a way to give us what we need. My staff thinks the dollar will rebound when your war breaks out. When it does, we’ll be able to buy what we need to teach the Chinese a lesson.”

  “General, thank you for listening to me. I wish America had a different mind, but I understand your answer. My own military told me what your answer would be. I told them I’d try to convince you to help us for old time’s sake.”

  “Mr. Prime Minister, I’m sorry, but America is sitting this party out. I wish you the best of luck.”

  @@@@@

  Seven weeks into the crisis the price of a loaf of bread, if one could be found, is $35.00, a gallon of gasoline costs $100.00, that’s if anyone outside of the military or first responders could find a gallon of gasoline. The only milk available was powdered unless one lived near a dairy farm and had something of value to trade what the farms needed. When the economy crashed, millions of immigrant workers who usually worked on the farms returned to their native countries. They were replaced by average people who offered to trade their labor on the farms for fresh milk and vegetables. They quickly learned the work was backbreaking, it was long and hard, office work or playing video games didn’t prepare people to work in the fields. It was work that many lined up for, work that started at sunrise and ended at sunset. Too many people had grown overweight and lazy, many gave up, they walked out of the fields within the first hour, they couldn’t handle the backbreaking manual labor. As people gave up, others were lined up to take their place. Many seemed willing to try anything to put food on their tables and feed their hungry families.

  In scenes taken from the pages of American history books, every city has people set up tables trying to trade or sell their goods and services for food. Streets that were once filled with cars and trucks are now lined with people trying to trade everything they have for a scrap of food. Rats and mice are caught for stew. Dogs and cats are captured and killed for food until most have disappeared from the towns around the country. Small game animals have been hunted to almost extinction by the hungry. Women and even children reverted to the oldest trade in history for food. Slavery’s made a rebirth as people were willing to sell themselves for food and shelter.

  The US military and FEMA tried delivering MREs to the hungry, the strong and well armed stole the MREs from the weak. Most first responders left to be with their families, there was no fuel to make their patrols and being out in the cities was a dangerous adventure. Their jobs have been taken over by the Army, who dislike their assignment of policing US citizens. Washington D.C. issued orders to the Army to search homes for hidden food and precious metals, the Army is ordered to confiscate any food supplies in excess of three days for the use of the local town. Most of the soldiers refuse to follow their orders. Local militias contact their local Army commanders to discuss the situation. The militias inform the Army officers that they’re on the same side and there’s no reason for them to be fighting each other. Both are Americans, the militia begs the Army not to follow their orders. In most cases, the Army and militias reach an agreement not to fight each other. Most Army officers agree their number one job is the protection of the American people. Washington tried to replace officers with political ones who agreed to fire on Americans and follow orders to strip assets from Americans. These new officers weren’t field officers, most had never set foot outside of the Pentagon or another similar office. Unfortunately for these officers, they usually met with deadly accidents.

  In the rare instances where the new political hack Army officers survived, the militia and Army fought each other in senseless battles. While the Army had heavier weapons, the militia knew the area and fought with a spirit the Army didn’t have. Washington wasn’t happy with the Army’s results. The President sent the Department of Home Land Security, dressed in black, into the towns and cities to locate and confiscate the supplies the Army couldn’t locate so these supplies could be redistributed to the needy.

  The Army and militias joined together to fight the DHS black shirts for the soul of America. The battles were long and bloody. Outlaw gangs fought against both the army and the black shirts. This resulted in the militias, the Army, and the black shirts working together to clear the country of the outlaws.

  When the financial crisis struck, many thought it would quickly end and everything would quickly turn around. Unfortunately, too many learned too late the economy didn’t quickly turn around. When the electrical grid died, taking with it the pumping of fresh water, millions died, completely unprepared for life without modern conveniences. They weren’t prepared nor did they know how to defend what was theirs. Those who had supplies were quickly overrun by hungry family and friends who figured out they had supplies. Hundreds of millions of tears were shed when front doors were slammed shut on hungry neighbors and friends. The hungry, with nothing to lose, got together to break into people’s homes to take what they needed. Mini civil wars broke out across the country. America became covered in blood. Fifteen percent of the country lost their lives within the first seven weeks of the financial meltdown and loss of electrical power. Bodies were left were they died, no one had the time or resource to collect the dead to bury them. Family members and friends tried to bury some in shallow graves, resulting in some bodies being eaten by hungry animals.

  The decaying bodies smelled horrible, the putrid smell reeking with disease, made millions sick, entire areas of cities were abandoned due to the smell of the dead. These areas became no man's lands, left to rot and fall apart. A few homeless refugees tried hiding in the no man's lands before they came down ill from the many diseases spread by
the dead. Fleas and other insects spread diseases through the cities. In New York City alone, hundreds of thousands became ill from the diseases. Mayor de Blasio worried he was going to lose his city. He ordered the city sanitation workers to stop picking up trash and start picking up bodies. He ordered the various hospitals and the city FEMA to provide all of the body bags available to wrap the dead in. People were instructed to place a white towel in their window to show they had a body to be picked up. The sanitation department drove through the city looking for white towels, they stopped, picked up the bodies which were zipped into body bags and dumped in the trash trucks. He ordered the disposition of the bodies kept secret. He knew if word spread what he was doing with the bodies he would have a mass riot on his hands. As a kid, one of his favorite movies was Soylent Green. In the movie, bodies were turned into food, he commissioned a study group to determine if he could turn bodies into food, thus feeding his city. He learned in reality, science hadn’t advanced as far as it had in the movies. His commission did propose using the bodies to run the city’s electrical plants, which he quickly adopted, the city’s remaining population didn’t know how the mayor got the lights back on, but they loved him for it. They were overjoyed to have their lights back on.