The Shelter, Book 4: The New World

by Ira Tabankin

  “I guess you consider that a secret.”

  “Sorry, yes it is, we don’t tell anyone so our source can’t be cut off,” John said smiling like a Cheshire cat.

  “The hallways surprised me, I expected all the hallways to be straight, someone could get lost in here without a map.”

  “That’s the idea. If someone broke in, they couldn’t make any time from one end of the shelter to the other. The internal halls are laid out like a maze. It’s all in the name of defense.”

  “Do you really think someone is going to breach three steel blast doors? I imagine the ceiling is reinforced too.”

  “Sorry, that’s also classified; I can tell you, it’s going to take more than a few hundred pounds of explosives to break in. You’ll quickly learn one thing about Jay, he has a plan A, a backup plan B and a backup to the backup, plan C. I found he’s usually thinking three steps ahead of most people.”

  “Can I ask how a Marine Captain hooked up with a Mafia Don?”

  “You know who Tony is?”

  “I know he’s the local head of what used to be called the Mafia. Almost everyone who lives in Central Tennessee knows him.”

  “I did some favors for him, little things. As the economy turned to crap, he offered me a job as his head of security. When we merged with Jay, Jay asked me to be head of security at the shelter. Don’t let Tony’s job cloud what you think about him. I’m telling you, he’s really a good person. He and Jay are like the left and right hands of the same body. They mesh together very well.”

  “Didn’t Tony have a head of security?”

  “Yes, the poor guy met with an unfortunate accident. Lucky for me, there was an opening.”

  “I won’t ask any additional questions on that subject. What can you tell me about Jay? Does he have a family?”

  “He’s married to a wonderful woman, her name is Lacy, you briefly met her in the conference room. Word of advice, don’t piss her off. He has two grown daughters, his youngest is married to Todd, a great guy who is my right hand. He has four granddaughters. I pity the poor boy who takes a shine to any of his girls. He treats them all as his precious princesses. I wouldn’t want to date any of them. I’ll tell you one thing about Jay, even I’d be afraid to cross Jay on his bad day. By the way, he never forgets people who’ve crossed him.”

  “Does he have any military experience?”

  “No, but you wouldn’t know it from working with him, or watching him under fire.”

  “I’m very impressed with the shelter. I never thought anyone had anything like it here in central Tennessee, or anywhere in the state.”

  “I think it’s the only one of its kind. The shelter and its owner are both very unique. The shelter has saved our lives a couple of times.”

  The four men return to the conference room where they notice Tony is missing. Jay is sitting reviewing his tablet when they return.

  “Welcome back, I hope you enjoyed your tour.”

  “Very much so. I’m very impressed.”

  “Good, now Major, tell us what can we do to help you.”

  Chapter 8

  Two ISIS soldiers zip tie Ricky’s hands behind his back, they tie his legs together, then tie him to a tree. They sit in front of him smiling.

  “Infidel, who are you? Why are you traveling unarmed, where are you going?”

  Ricky smiles thinking, I can trade my safety for information about the shelter, what do I care about them? As long as they promise not to hurt my wife and daughter, I don’t care what they do to the other assholes.

  “My name is Rick; you can call me Ricky. I’m looking for a safe place to stay while I wait for my wife and daughter to be released from a group of farmers who are holding them hostage.”

  “I don’t believe you. Why would anyone, let alone farmers, hold your family hostage? Are you rich? What are you going to use to ransom them with?”

  “I won’t have to ransom them, the leader of the group who’s holding them is very rich. The group is living in a shelter underground. He was sick, all I have to do is wait for him to wake. He’ll release my family. If you can get inside the shelter, you’ll be rich. They have food, clean water, even beer.”

  “We don't drink alcohol. What about gold and silver? Young women who can be our slaves?”

  Ricky thinks, I never saw gold or silver, but Jay must have some, it might be my ticket to get revenge on Jay and Tony.

  “They have a couple of million dollars of gold and silver in the shelter.”

  “How much food do they have?”

  “Enough to feed forty people for a year or more and millions in gold. They also have weapons.”

  “Why are you freely telling us this? Why should we trust you?”

  “I can take you to the shelter and show you the storage areas, then you’ll see for yourselves I’m telling the truth.”

  The two ISIS troops speak to each other in Arabic. Ricky has no idea what they’re saying. He assumes they’re happy to meet him and will believe his story. He thinks to himself, these two plus the other two I saw in the woods won’t be able to get past the shelter’s first line of defenses, they’ll take care of these shitheads for me. I’ll tell them the truth, they captured me and made me show them where the shelter is. If they happen to get in the shelter, they’ll take care of some of my revenge for me. I can’t lose. For me, this is a win, win. Ricky is happy his first contact with those in need is going so well!

  The two men guarding Ricky say, “We don’t know if we should trust you or not. You gave us the information too quickly. We think you’re leading us into a trap. Infidels always think they're so smart. You think since we’re from the Middle East, we’re all dumb. We’re going to get the real truth out of you. When we’re done with you, we’ll know everything you know, even if you forgot something, we'll find it inside of you. Allah will guide our interrogation of you.”

  Ricky is confused. For the first time, he realizes he might be in trouble.

  “Wait, wait. Don’t harm me. I’ll tell you anything you want to know. We can all be friends and share peacefully.”

  “Infidel, you will tell us everything we want to know. You will beg to tell us everything. You thought you could trick us by telling us a funny story. A big shelter underground, filled with food and gold. We’re not going to fall for a story like that. A shelter filled with people, food, and gold? You are one funny Infidel. We’re going to pray before we begin making you tell us the truth. We lost a battle, we need someone to sacrifice to Allah, then you ride into our camp as a gift, Allah is the most merciful.”

  Ricky begins to shake,

  “What are you planning to do?”

  “Make you tell us the truth. We are trying to decide if we should skin you or burn you alive to get to the truth.”

  “I TOLD YOU THE TRUTH!!!” Ricky screams, reluctantly considering the possibility that maybe Jay had been partially correct about dangerous strangers.

  “The Holy Quran teaches us all infidels lie, but you will tell us the truth, when we’re finished draining everything we want from you, we’ll kill you. Again, my friends and I are debating if we should kill you quickly or slowly. I think it will depend on what you tell us. If we think the information has value we’ll kill you quickly, if we think you're lying to us, we will kill you very slowly, very painfully. You will beg for death; you will pray for death. We’ll begin very soon. We’re in the mood for some entertainment, killing you slowly will be entertaining, we will enjoy watching you beg for death. We don’t want to hear you bothering us while we decide what we want to know.”

  The senior ISIS trooper pulls out a roll of duct tape, he runs it around Ricky’s mouth and head.

  “That should keep you quiet until we’re ready to learn everything you know. My friend, if you believe in God, this would be a good time to pray so he receives your soul. You should quickly consider converting to Islam, it’s the only way you’ll escape spending eternity in Hell.”

  Ricky is so scared, he
wets himself.

  “I thought you were a man, you are proving you are a woman, maybe we’ll start by making you a woman. My friend over there wants to crucify you. I think skinning you is going to be more fun, my other friend wants to cover you with boiling sugar water, we’ll wait and watch as the insects and animals eat you alive. I’m leaning in that direction, it sounds like it will be fun watching you eaten alive, plus we won’t have to do any work. No matter which way we choose, you won’t leave here alive.”

  Ricky’s eyes bulge in fear, his brain can’t compute what he got himself into; he passes out.

  @@@@@

  The Major looks at Jay,

  “Jay, we need to set up a couple local militia bases to support our people. There are a few small towns close to you. All are in bad shape, you have over 900 acres, you could easily grow enough food to feed hundreds of families. We can help provide defenses and additional manpower. In a word, we need the food you have and can grow in the future.”

  “I’ve been down this road before, I’ll ask you the same question I’ve asked everyone else who’s asked for our food. I say ours because the farm is worked by the families that are in the shelter. I may own the land, but they provide the manpower and are entitled to a share of the produce. What’s in for us?”

  “I could say, you’d be helping your fellow men.”

  “You can call me cold hearted, but what’s in it for me? I spent millions buying and building up the farm, millions more on this shelter. You want me to give the fruit of our labor away for a zero return? I know the local communities are in bad shape, I offered them food in exchange for labor, the local sheriff turned down my offer. He wanted to just take our food. The Army came through and arrested him, why are you any different?”

  “We’re not trying to steal what’s yours, we’re trying to figure out how we can trade for your food.”

  “Sounds like you are to me. Don’t get me wrong, I thank you for helping us, if you want to be paid, I’m prepared to pay you for your effort. If you lost anyone, I’ll pay their family in gold or food or any combination they want. I’ll pay you or replace the ammo you expended on our behalf. I’m not a person who wants or is expecting anything for free. I’m more than willing to pay my fair share and more if it helps. Ask anyone in the shelter, they will tell you I have a big heart, I’ve helped everyone who needed something. I bought their farms before they lost them to the bank. I leased their land back to them for almost nothing. I paid to rebuild the old barns and build new ones. I fed them, I armed them, I built this shelter for all of us. I’ll be happy to provide the local communities with supplies in exchange for something of equal value.”

  “Jay, that’s the real question isn’t it? Paper money has no value. People have no idea what anything is worth. We’ve returned to a barter system. People are fighting over what an hour of labor is worth.”

  “I will gladly support a barter system. I’ll agree to exchange food and weapons for a days hard labor in the fields. We could expand the farm if we had the labor. The people we’ve met from the town think they’re entitled to what’s mine because they didn’t think to store anything for when the shit hit the fan. The Army wants to use the area around my farm as their local base, I was close to finalizing a deal when they got called to the battle at the Mississippi. Are you going to combine your base with theirs?”

  Major Walker looks at Sergeant Johnson,

  “Sarge, is that true, are you planning on basing your central Tennessee forces here?”

  “Sir, I was here when the Captain discussed it with Jay, it’s what I heard. The details are over my pay grade.”

  “It would be interesting to merge our bases; it would make this a super base. Sarge, what do you think?”

  “Major, you’ll have to discuss it with the Captain or his superiors.”

  “Jay, what do you think?”

  “The Army wanted to use part of our land, I’m hoping to convince them to use the farms across the street, where are you planning on placing your base?”

  “I don’t know yet; I thought maybe I could convince you to give the TFM part of your farm.”

  “I suggest we have a three-way meeting with your commanding officer, the Army and me. If you want us to feed the local families, we need every inch of land, in fact, we’re going to need more land than we have. I hope you and the Army use one or both of the vacant farms across the street.”

  “A three-way meeting is a good idea; I’ll work on setting it up. Let’s return to the issue on the table, helping the local hungry people.”

  “Major, I’m getting tired, why don’t you just lay out what you want.”

  “Jay, I’m looking for the supplies to feed the local people.”

  “You want me to feed the local people so I become their new ‘daddy’? You want me to replace their government welfare. I learned a long time ago that when you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day if you teach him how to fish he’ll be able to eat forever. I’d rather teach the locals how to work the land and grow their own food.”

  “How are they going to eat until the new crops grow?”

  “If they’re serious, I’ll donate supplies to hold them over until the new crops come in. If they stop working, I'll stop feeding them. It gets back to my ‘teach them’ versus handing them something. I believe they have to work for what they want, handing it to them doesn’t enable them to have any respect for anything.”

  “What about if they can’t work?”

  “Everyone can do something, some can work the fields, some can load magazines, some can reload brass. Some can help fill sandbags, some can help make mines. Some can file and some can babysit. Everyone can do something. I know you’re going to ask about the sick, we have two doctors, if they certify they’re too sick to work, that’s a different story.”

  “Jay, you’re a hard man.”

  “Aren’t you? You’re an officer in a militia who fights our enemies.”

  “Yes, I’m also a hard man. I’ll temporarily agree to your plan. I’ll talk to the locals to get their buy in.”

  “GOOD! I can supply food the same day you bring the workers.”

  “I think we’ll have a deal. Do you need it reduced to a contract?”

  “If I can’t trust your handshake, then you’re not the man I think you are.”

  Major Walker smiles holding out his hand.

  Both men shake hands, Jay says.

  “Major, if there’s nothing else, I’m going to get some rest. If you need something, ask John.”

  “Jay, thank you. I’ll carry your message to the General.”

  “Good, tell him, I look forward to meeting him.”

  Jay slowly gets up, he almost falls before being caught by John and Tony, who had just re-entered the conference room. The two help Jay to his room. Minutes after laying down, Jay is asleep. Lacy looks at him shaking her head thinking, I really wish he’d learn to slow down and let others take some of the pressure off of him. He’s been through so much. He needs a break. I don’t know how to talk him into retiring.

  @@@@@

  General Arthur smiles at Captain Black,

  “I came out of retirement because someone had to lead the militias. While the government ignored the people’s pleas for help, you guys on active duty were off playing in other countries, armed citizens were trying to secure their homes and property. It started small, a few people got together to provide a hyper neighborhood watch, others joined. Roadblocks were built to stop highwaymen and other criminals from raiding communities. Militias formed to provide assistance and keep order when no one else would or could. The local police had their hands tied with all of the Department of Justice regulations on how they're really allowed to act. I’m sure you know that the Department of Justice disarmed and federalized many of the local police departments. They were forced to arm themselves with only nonlethal weapons. They were unable to provide security or stand up to the armed gangs, Cartel, ISIS and every other scumbag that tried to tak
e what the people had. The DoJ tried to regulate us out of existence, we told them to go screw themselves. The Constitution clearly says the people can be armed in militias. We began providing back up and in some cases security for the police and fire departments.

  The Secretary of Veteran Affairs contacted me. She threatened me with arrest if I formed a statewide militia. She told me she would strip me of my veteran benefits. I told her where she could put my AR. She told the VA to strip me of my benefits. It’s a good thing I’m friends with a Federal Judge in Nashville, he issued a Stay and Show cause order blocking the VA from stripping my benefits. Before the VA could respond, the shit hit the fan. So here I am, 69 years old and leading an army again. These people share a lot with the original minute men. They are the new three percent. These people are prepared to give up everything they have. They’ve been labeled by the DoJ as criminals, and domestic terrorists, their assets have been confiscated by the IRS. We’ve been listed on the FBI’s most wanted lists. I think this is going to be the beginning of another civil war. The government is out of control. They’re releasing criminals from federal prisons while the country is tearing itself apart. We have the drug cartel and ISIS fighting on our own soil while the President is trying to bring Syrian refugees into the country, and fight climate change. We’re going to end up fighting our own government. Every damn agency has their own heavily armed troops. The people have had enough. Which side is the military going to side with?”