The Farm Book 3: Behind The Curve

by Boyd Craven III

  That was why the farm as a whole had decided to sit on their commodities and expend them within the community, instead of sending them to the feds. If the rest of the collapse happened quickly, there would be thousands in just this rural area who would be hungry and desperate for food. Without something of value to trade for, food being one of them, things might very quickly descend into lawlessness. Even if they played everything correctly, it still may happen. That got Rob thinking of security. If things got any worse, they simply didn’t have enough people to protect the farm.

  “Dante, go to channel 67,” he said, then turned the knob on his radio.

  “What’s up?” Dante asked.

  “If things get any worse, you know we don’t have enough people to protect this place, don’t you?”

  “That’s been keeping me up at night. We’ve been fortunate that the shitheads who did try to come at us thought the front gate was the best place to do it. If we had guys try it the way Sullivan or those kids did, we’d be caught with our pants down. Even the extra motion detectors back there leave big gaps, and we get a ton of false alerts because of the cattle.”

  “Exactly. What would you think about having a more… permanent security team?”

  “We’ve loosely talked about it.” Dante said. “Why did you want to switch channels to talk about this though?”

  “I was curious and didn’t know what you folks would think. I’m worried. This election coming up, the riots, looting and arson? It’s all got me worried. What if we end up with people on the other side of the fence who could do more than scream obscenities and wave dildos in the air?”

  “Anna did get shot by them, remember?” Dante asked, knowing that the police had also had their losses and injured.

  “I know, but if you had one hundred guys show up, serious guys with training…”

  “Then we’d need two or three hundred of our own, right?” Dante asked back.

  “Not really, not with the right preparations we wouldn’t.”

  “What do you have in mind?” Dante asked.

  Rob noted they were almost at the end of the row, and the shelled corn was almost to the top of the edge of the dump truck’s edges.

  “Let’s drop the load and we’ll talk. Make your way to the barn, I’m going to fill up the corn head so I can dump it right in the hopper.”

  “Got it. See you in five.”

  “See you,” Rob told him. “Switching radio back.”

  “Copy.”

  Anna and Leah watched as the guys loaded the silos. Andrea had gone in to take a nice long hot shower, without garbage bags, and spend some time getting ready for later on. Angelica was working with Harry on some math problems. Since schools had closed down in-person learning, they had a mixture of homeschool and online learning. As long as the kids passed the testing the schools provided, they didn’t care.

  “So, you and Angel are headed to the farm store tomorrow?” Leah asked her.

  “Yes,” she said. “I guess Rob has a thousand feed sacks and a ton of pallets for me to pick up.”

  “A thousand feed sacks? What are those, fifty to eighty pounds when full?” Leah asked.

  “I think so,” Anna told her. “I know what we’re thinking of doing with all the extra grain, but how do we prepare it?”

  “What do you mean?” Leah asked her.

  “I mean, back in the days, they would grind that shit up. Wheat into flour, corn into cornmeal, stuff like that.”

  “I mean, how would we do that now?”

  “I hate that I’m such a city mouse sometimes,” Anna told her.

  “I really hate how behind the curve we are sometimes,” Leah agreed. “Let’s buy a farm, we’ll have a bugout and all the food in the world. Look what’s happened.”

  “Don’t be bitter. It could always be worse, we could be stuck in Memphis and in the middle of those riots with no supplies.”

  Leah shivered, then nodded. “See if they can get you even more feed sacks. When Luis puts in his wish list, double it, and don’t even tell him.”

  “That might be some big bucks,” Anna said softly.

  “We sold off our shares we had in the hospital,” Leah said simply.

  “I don’t know what that means,” Anna said. “Like, stock market stocks?”

  “Yes,” Leah told her. “At the time, we owned almost fourteen percent of the hospital.”

  “Holy shit,” she said softly. “So, you guys are like, Forbes 500 and shit?”

  Leah turned red in the face. “No, but when I say that money isn’t a worry, trust me. My only worry about money is that inflation gets worse than it is, and then it’ll be worth nothing. So, if we can, I’d like to be set up ahead of time. I don’t like feeling I’m behind the eight ball all the time. I’d like to be ready the next time Murphy’s Law throws some shit at us.”

  “That’s been bugging me a bit too. The fallout from the tar and feathering, mostly,” she admitted.

  “Yeah, but they only had to walk like a mile before they were picked up, and all their supplies were dropped off at the Sheriff’s Department. The only one hurt was that Kendricks guy who snuck in before.”

  “I wonder what happened to that guy anyway?” Anna mused.

  “I hope he got what was coming to him. Will they ever be done with hounding Andrea and Curt?”

  “I hope so,” Anna told her. “I really do.”

  Seven

  The manager at the farm and feed had had enough of a heads up that he was able to get all the supplies pulled and staged ahead of time. His workers liked doing business with the Langtry farm. They seemed to be the only larger operation still kicking along good. The smaller sales they used to get from smaller homesteads and farms had dried up. He had been following the news and rumors, and knew there had been trouble there, dangerous trouble. That wasn’t bothering him as the group at the farm always seemed to be on the up and up, but now the USDA and ATF had been sniffing around.

  Like many country farm and feeds, they sold firearms and ammunition as well as the regular things. A couple of the ATF had popped in the day before to inventory what they had and make sure their paperwork was up to date on everything. The NICS system had been overloaded, they’d explained, and after three days of waiting for a background check, the customers could come in and pick up their firearm if nothing was flagged in the system. They were also very interested in the pharmacy section at the farm store, though that was a less regulated area. Who would black market antibiotics and worming medications?

  “It looks like Mrs. Castiglione has pulled in,” a worker said over the radio.

  “Good, flag her down and have her park near the fence. Are you ok loading up with the forklift?”

  “Sure thing.”

  Anna and Angel walked into the farm store. They didn’t have their vests on, but both had guns on their hips, worn just under their long button up shirts that they left untucked.

  “It looks like they’re ready for us,” Angel told her.

  “I know, this might be a quick run. Hopefully, they got the message about the buckets and plumbing supplies Luis wanted.”

  Angelica nodded back and they headed in.

  “Mrs. Castiglione,” the manager said upon seeing her, “your supplies are staged outside and ready to load up. I have a guy ready to get it going right now.”

  “Perfect. Did Rob get his call in for the plumbing supplies?”

  “He did. I had enough for the first order, but I need to get a transfer from another store to get enough bulkhead fittings for what he wanted added on. You want to pay for it all now, or split the order and pay for what you are picking up today?”

  “Let’s go ahead and pay it all now,” Anna told him. “Listen, is there any chance you have more of those feed bags?”

  “Actually, we have two extra pallets worth,” he said smiling when he saw the ladies' faces light up.

  “Good, we’ll take those too.” Angelica told him.

  “I thought you might
,” he said, and handed them a printout.

  The ladies went over it and saw they had everything but the extra bulkhead fittings on the list. “Will all of this fit on the cube van?” Anna asked him.

  “Sure, but not with the empty pallets Rob asked for, I can send what we can fit today and then the rest tomorrow or the day after, when the rest of the supplies come in?”

  “That sounds perfect.”

  Anna, Angelica, and the manager went to a register where they paid the bill. Anna was carefully counting out cash when the ATF agents took note of them, and the bulges in their t-shirts. They sauntered over, whispering into a radio.

  “Thank you for the business,” the cashier told them as she made change.

  “Any time. Are you guys getting hit hard with the shortages?”

  “It’s been—”

  “Excuse me, miss,” a voice said from behind Anna.

  She turned to see two men in suits, some sort of badges on their belt.

  “Yes sir,” she said sweetly, her bubbling charm already coming out.

  “I noticed you’re…” he pointed to her side, “carrying. Can I see some identification?”

  “Sure, let me put the money in my purse,” she said, putting it on the counter in front of them and moving slowly.

  They were tense, but watched as she put the change up and pulled out her driver’s license and her CPL, being careful to keep her hands slow and away from her pistol.

  “Here you go, sugar,” she cooed.

  Angel rolled her eyes, but she was grinning, seeing the effect her friend had on the men and women around her. Angel didn’t roll that way, but when Anna turned on the charm, she even doubted herself sometimes. Not by much, just a smidge.

  “Thank you, ma’am, and you?” the agent asked Angel.

  “Sir, I have my license and CPL in my right rear pocket near my firearm. Would you mind if I moved and got it slowly?”

  “Not at all, thank you for letting me know ahead of time.” The agent gave her a smile, the second man was still entranced by Anna.

  Angelica got her ID out, being careful to make exaggerated movements, and turning her rear end towards the man so he could see she was only going for her rear pocket. She pulled a small stack of cards out and turned back to him, flipping through them. She found her ID and CPL and handed them over as he checked them.

  “Thank you,” he said after a glance, handing Angelica back her IDs. “What are you ladies up to?”

  “We’re just picking up supplies for the farm,” Anna answered, and the other agent handed her back her IDs as well.

  “Ahhh, oh, I see,” the one in front of Angelica stammered.

  “Is there something we can do for you agents?” She finally realized they were ATF agents, probably there to do their yearly checkup.

  “I, uh… Can I have both of your autographs?” the agent who had been staring at Anna asked, grabbing a magazine off the rack next to the registers.

  “Sure thing, Hun,” Anna said, pulling a pen out that had been clipped inside of her shirt.

  The agent nearly dropped his radio.

  Anna signed it, then handed the pen and magazine over to Angelica who looked at Anna in puzzlement. Anna nodded to the magazine and pen she offered, and Angel finally got it. She took them and signed it ‘Angel’. The man was grinning ear to ear when Angelica gave it to him. Anna leaned over and gave him a brief hug and a kiss on the cheek.

  “Thank you two for everything you do to keep us all safe here in America.”

  “What she said,” Angel said, now utterly baffled as she watched Anna play the two men.

  “Can, uh… I get an autograph too?” the agent who had asked Angel for her ID asked.

  They repeated the process, with Angelica giving both men a hug and a kiss on the cheek that time. They left the dumbfounded agents at the register, reminding them they had to pay for the magazines, and skipped out of there. Both were glad to see the truck and trailer had been loaded up. The kid who they had first dealt with was out there, struggling with large rolls of greenhouse plastic and shade cloth. They were about to offer to help when he got the several hundred pound roll slid in where he wanted it. Then he tossed a strap over, and another store employee started cinching the load down.

  “Mrs. Castiglione, Mrs. Little, you two should be all set when Trav there gets it cinched tight. What time do you want the rest of the supplies staged for tomorrow?”

  “How about say, noon?” Anna asked.

  “We have market day tomorrow,” Angel reminded her. “How about we try for the afternoon, or evening?”

  “Oh yeah, duh!” Anna said, smacking her head. “Would that work ok for you guys?”

  “That’s fine, ladies.” He grinned and gave them a quick nod.

  “See you boys’ tomorrow,” Angelica said. “Thank you very much!”

  The ladies got in the truck after making sure themselves that things were cinched down and locked up tight, then rolled out of there.

  “You flirtatious hussy,” Anna said as they drove down the road, having just left the farm store with Anna driving.

  “What are you talking about? I just gave them a hug and a peck on the cheek like you did.”

  “Oh, I saw you picked up on that, but I’m talking about showing that agent your butt while you got your ID out.”

  “I was not showing him my butt!” Angelica said, her face turning red.

  “If you weren’t doing it on purpose, then you got a natural talent. You were practically posing for him to give you a spanking!”

  “I was not!” Angelica said, exasperated.

  “Oh, well, that’s what it looked like to me,” Anna told her, grinning at her friend's discomfort. “For a foul-mouthed scrapper, you sure do get embarrassed about sex easily.”

  “I do not!” Angel said, stamping her feet on the floor of the box truck.

  “Just a little bit, girlfriend. I don’t get it, you’re a hottie. You married a hottie to boot, did you forget that you’re a woman, men hear your roar still?”

  “Honestly…” Anna looked down, “I don’t feel very girly sometimes.”

  “Oh my God… Is this why you’re a little bit like… insecure?”

  “You know, I know you’re like one of the guys more than you’re one of the girls,” Angelica told her, “but I think I can't turn on the charm like…”

  “Oh, I know. I was a model since my teenage years. I’m used to the attention. You seem to shy away from it. You’re a pretty lady Angelica, and today, I saw you use it to get your way. You had both of those guys asking for your autograph. Didn’t you notice that?”

  “I noticed that,” Angelica said, “and Rob is going to kill me. I swear I didn’t mean to put my butt out there.”

  Anna laughed some more while Angel plotted ways for her best friend to die mysteriously. That’s when Anna turned on the radio, and a song by Muse came on.

  “They will not force us

  They will stop degrading us

  They will not control us

  We will be victorious”

  The ladies started singing along. It wasn’t their normal type of music, but ‘Uprising’ seemed an appropriate song for their slow burn apocalypse.

  “Man, those two ladies are hot. If they were my wives, I’d never let them leave the house,” Travis told his buddy.

  “I hear you, but dude, they’re like our parents’ age.”

  “My Momma never looked like that.” Travis grinned.

  “Hey, boys,” an ATF agent said, walking out the door.

  “Did the ladies say when they’d be back?” the second agent asked.

  “Uh, tomorrow, in the afternoon. After the market closes, I guess?” Trav said, helpfully.

  “That works, thanks!” The agent didn’t even wait to walk away to make a phone call. “Confirmed sighting. She’ll be back tomorrow. Yup. You know the plan.”

  Eight

  Luis was tickled pink with the delivery. Harry and Rob had helped him
bring the broken feeder out and set it up on the side of the pond, near one of the IBC totes. His plan had been to mix dried feed corn with the fish food they’d bought by the fifty-pound bags at the farm store, at a rate of ⅔ corn to ⅓ pond feed. The catfish had never really been fed since the group had bought the farm.

  “Do you think they’ll eat this stuff?” Harry asked the two of them as they mixed the feed in the feeder.

  “They should,” Rob told him, “you fish for them half the time with worms. What do you fish with the other half of the time?”

  “Corn?” Luis offered after Harry hesitated.

  “Yes,” Harry said, grinning. “It’s soft corn though, leftovers from dinner.”

  “Well, this corn is the same. They won’t know the difference after a while. A lot of feed for fish and animals comes from corn.” Rob mussed his son’s hair while Ranger looked on.

  “Dad, is corn like a superfood?”

  “It’s in almost everything out there,” Rob said. “Nutritionally, I don’t know.”

  “You know little man,” Luis told him, finishing filling the feeder top off, “that my ancestors and the Native Americans used corn, or maize, as a staple of their diet. What we have here at the farm would feed many tribes.”

  “Is that why we’re growing so much corn, because we have tribes to feed?” Harry’s words came out, but neither man answered, they just looked at each other uneasily.

  “Let’s see if this will work for us,” Luis said finally, and crawled down off the ladder.

  Rob hit the manual cycle and the corn sprayed out in a thirty-degree arc, right over the water. The catfish immediately started boiling up to the surface, their tails and bodies kicking up mud as they fought for position, some coming right out of the water.

  “Looks like they were hungry,” Rob told Luis. “This was a great idea.”

  “We have to feed the fish, so the fish can feed our greens. They will make little fishes, and we eat the big ones.”