by Ira Tabankin
“Tony, I don’t want you to step down. I want you to stay home and take care of Nancy and run the government while I'm gone. If someone attempts to take me out, they could get both of us at the same time, that would leave the Confederacy leaderless. I believe it’s safer and better for the country if you stay behind, or you run a couple of the town hall meetings, and I’ll stay behind. I don’t think it’s a good idea for both of us to be out of the area at the same time.”
“Does this have anything to do with my past?”
“Tony, you know I don’t care that you were a mafia Don, everyone has a past, none of us can run from who were. It’s what we are and what we’re going to do for the country in the future that matters. If our past really mattered to the voters, how did Obama ever get elected?”
Laughing and sighing,
“You’ve got a point. Jay, if you think there’s a chance you will be attacked, then you shouldn’t go, send me. I’m replaceable, you’re not.”
“I have to go, the people have a right to know who I am and what I plan for our new nation.”
“I can tell them; I’ll paint everyone a hell of a picture of you, I’ll sing your praises. By the time I’m finished everyone will think you’re a god.”
“I know, and I completely trust you and Fred more than anyone else.”
“Don’t let Lacy hear you say that; she’ll string you up by your balls.”
“You know what I mean.”
Both old friends laugh, Tony slaps Jay on the shoulder,
“I think I’d like a cup of coffee heated with a little brandy. You know that Nancy came away from the cave-in untouched, much better than Lacy, or may God rest her soul, Cheryl. How is Fred holding up?”
“He’s trying to act like nothing’s wrong. However, we know he’s crying inside, he lost his whole family, work is all he has left. He’ll stay on top of you, he’ll help you with all of the paperwork. He’s really good with all of the bureaucrat bullshit that comes with this job.”
“Where is he?”
“I sent him to inspect the building of the new shelter complex, it’s the only way you and I could have some privacy to chat.”
Laughing, while holding his mug of coffee,
“Are you telling me, if I don’t give him a task he’ll be my shadow?”
“Did you ever have a parent hovering over your shoulder as a kid?”
“Yeah, my old man. Please don’t tell me he’s that bad.”
“I won’t because he’s worse. He’ll follow you and hound you to hell and back. If there’s any paperwork out of order, you won’t be able to hide from him, even in the farthest away bathroom you can find.”
“Wait a minute, you SOB. You want me to stay behind so you and Lacy can get away without a shadow?”
“If we both went, we’d be getting calls every couple of minutes asking us questions and making sure we’re okay. He’d be trying to read us two hundred page proposals over the phone, or he’d email us, then call two minutes later asking us if we received and understand his email. If you’re here, you can deal with running the government and show Fred all the love he needs. Don’t get me wrong, I love him as my third brother, you being the second.”
“I’m the youngest, he’s the older brother.”
“And he acts like it. He keeps the machinery of our government running smoothly. Just do me one favor, and it’s a big favor.”
Tony smiles, “ask, it doesn’t mean I’ll agree, but ask.”
“Please don’t appoint any judges. PLEASE, I’m trying to build a fair and impartial legal system, not one that can be bought. Give me your word, the same word you would give to a member of your family.”
“Jesus, you don’t trust me?”
“Tony put it this way, I know you, give me your word.”
“Okay, okay, I give you my word. I won’t appoint any judges while you’re away.”
“Tony, I know you too well, tell me; no appointing judges, not at all.”
“Jesus dude…brother, okay! I will simply sit in your office until you return, I’ll be a good babysitter of the office and our new country.”
“God, I hope so, please tell me that when Lacy and I return there won’t be any major changes”
“I told you, I’m only going to babysit the office, and I won’t even sit in your chair, I'll bring my own. When are you leaving for the first meeting?”
“Tonight, I’m waiting for Doctor Basco to clear Lacy for travel. I’m glad we changed the schedule around so we could get some meetings in before we sign the treaty with the Chinese. These early meetings should set the foundation for the more important later ones.”
“How are you planning on getting to Memphis?”
“On an Air Force VIP plane escorted by Air Force fighters. We’ll be safe the entire way. What else would you expect from my new shadow?”
“Jay, has the plane been checked?”
Laughing, “Tony, it’s an Air Force plane that used to carry their high ranking General Officers, it even has whatever the fighters use to deploy anti-airplane missiles. I’ll be safe. Do you think I’d place Lacy in a position of risk? Do you think Colonel Black will let even one of the hairs on my head be damaged? If you thought Fred was going to be bad, you haven’t lived until you have to deal with the good Colonel. He and his people are everywhere, constantly alert for any danger that could harm us.”
“No, I know you would never place Lacy in danger of any kind. Is the doc going to clear her?”
“Of course, he’s coming with us.”
Hugging Jay, Tony whispers,
“If anyone tries anything, you tell me, I’ll make sure they sleep with the fish. I’m serious.”
“I know you are. It’s one of the things I love about you.”
“Is there anything special I should know about the job?”
“Yes, let me show you the new communications system that’s been installed to communicate with the military.” Opening his bottom desk drawer, Jay shows Tony a bright red phone, “This phone will instantly connect you to General Arthur and if he’s away, his stand-in. If he calls and you’re not at the desk, it will switch to your cell, the caller ID will show, “Military Emergency.”
“Subtle.”
“I like it. Let me show you everything else you’ll need to know.”
An hour later Jay tosses a set of keys to Tony,
“Here are the keys to the office, have fun; as of right now, you’re in charge.”
“What if I need you?”
“Call.”
“Will you answer?”
“Maybe” Laughing, Jay walks out of his office.
“Jay, thank you for your trust.”
“My friend, you earned it. I’m going to spend the rest of the day with Lacy, if you have time, why don’t you check on the tunnel and shelter network. My gut keeps telling me we’re going to need it sooner rather than later.”
“God, I hope not.”
“Me too. Except you know my gut. It’s not usually wrong.”
“I’ll check on it. I’ll see what I can do to speed them up.”
“Thanks. I’ll call you before we leave.”
@@@@@
Fred and Glenn walk into the new shelter, Glenn says,
“Let me give you the fifty cent tour of your new shelter and the tunnel which connects your shelter to the militaries across the street. Our tunneling machine is working under the street where the government office buildings will be.”
Fred smiles looking at the tunnel,
“My God, how quickly did it take you to dig the tunnel?”
“As soon as we got your people out of the cave-in, we continued tunneling across the street to the military’s shelter, come, I’ll show you the progress we’ve made. I think you’re going to be very surprised. Due to the distance, we’re building a series of level escalators to help people walk between the various shelters.” Said a smiling Glenn.
“I’m right behind you, lead on and I’ll follow.”
“I think I remember lyrics to a song using those words.”
“Shit, not you too. Jay does that all the time.”
“Two peas in the same pod, I didn’t think anyone remembered song lyrics like he does, he brings them up at the strangest times.”
“Me too. I’ll have to make it a point of spending more time with Jay.”
“You’ll have to hurry, he’s leaving tonight.”
“How long will he be away? I’d like to have a surprise ready for him when he returns.”
“About ten days, what kind of surprise are you planning.”
“It’s for him.”
“I’m his chief of staff, I run him while he runs the country. Either tell me, or you can wait ten days for him to return.”
“I want to have the tunnel and the initial shelter dug for the government workers finished when he returns. Ten days isn’t a lot; we’ll have to work twenty-four hours a day to have the holes dug.”
“How deep are you tunneling under the street?”
“Given the current political and military situation we’re going to tunnel much deeper than we normally would, we’re tunneling one hundred feet under the surface, the ceilings will be made of two sections of ten feet of reinforced concrete with ten feet of crushed rock in-between them. When we’re finished, we’ll return to the surface and layer the entire area with four inches of plate sheet hardened steel, covered with crushed rock, covered with what we hope will be twenty feet of soil. The street will then be widened and paved.”
“Will the tunnels and underground offices protect the workers from ground penetrating bombs?”
“To be honest with you, if the North wants to destroy the underground city they can. They have weapons which can penetrate hundreds of feet of earth and reinforced cement.”
“Maybe we’re doing this the wrong way. Jay’s entire plan to build the government’s offices underground was to protect them from attacks. If the North can still destroy them, I’d like to see other options. He won’t be happy with spending all of this money and not protecting the workers.”
“Fred, it would be a major task to build an underground complex that is protected from the North’s weapons. Small shelters, yes, a city? That’s a completely different task, we’d have to tunnel at least three hundred fifty feet down, maybe even more. It’s not possible to do it in the time you have.”
“I’d like to see the options, I know Jay, it’ll be the first thing he’ll ask.”
“Okay, I’ll work on it, for now, let me show you what we’ve completed. The tunnel between your shelter and the militaries is finished, it’s covered in reinforced concrete, we’re digging the initial openings for the offices.” Glenn gets a faraway look in his eyes. He stops talking looking towards the north. “Fred, in order to hold all of the Confederate offices, it’s going to take a huge area. Are you open to a new idea?”
“Of course, what are you thinking?”
“It’s an out of the box, hell, let’s just forget there is a box, idea.”
“I’m listening, tell me.”
“Fred, my initial idea is we move the capital 40 miles north to the Mammoth Caves in Kentucky. They’re large, they extend far underground, we can easily modify them and reinforce them to provide security from the North’s weapons, they’re large enough to hold the nation’s infrastructure with a lot of growth potential.”
“Whoa, you want us to pick up and move forty miles north? Let me ask you an out of the box question, can you tunnel from here to there?”
“It’s possible, but it’s going to need a different tunneling machine. Can I have a couple of days to research how to pull it off and how long it’ll take?”
“Glenn, let me tell you something Jay says, ‘Everything a man can think of is possible, it all comes down to the probability of it happening.’ We both know it’s possible, the question is how long will it take and how much will it cost?”
“I was going to also suggest moving east to the Smoky Mountains, we can tunnel inside a mountain. The mountain will provide security from their ground penetrating bombs.”
“That’s outside Knoxville, which is double the distance from here. If forty miles is going to be difficult, ninety or more miles is crazy. Look into tunneling to the Mammoth Caves, the tunnel should be wide enough to support a train to carry people between here and there.”
“I think Jay will be interested in two complexes, one here and one in the caves, with a train connecting the two.”
“I’ll instruct the crews to continue their work here while I study what will it take to connect us to the caves.”
“Glenn, thank you, I’m sure Jay will be very happy.”
“If you go ahead with this project, it will be big enough to support thousands of workers, shops, restaurants, it will be a complete capital inside the caves.”
“I know, which is one of the aspects of it that I like.”
“Fred, if I may, one quick question, how would you pay for such a project?”
“I assume you’ve heard of Fort Knox?”
“Of course, why?”
“We inherited it as well as all of the other Northern military bases and equipment.”
“The military at Fort Knox came over to our side. Something not many realize is Fort Knox is also the Army’s armor school. They used their tanks to block anyone else from entering the Fort.”
“Holy shit, you took all of the gold for yourselves?”
“Not for us, for the Confederacy, to back all of our currency.”
“Holy shit. I never heard about it.”
“We don’t like to advertise it, and the North doesn’t want any of their press to know about it. There would be a run on their banks and their currency would crash if their banks and stock market learned they weren’t able to withdraw their gold before Kentucky closed her borders with the North. We also have the federal bank depositiors in Atlanta and Dallas, we were able to grab hundreds of millions in gold.”
“My God, that will work, I’ll get right on the project.”
“Good, remember, time is the one resource we don’t have.”
“We’re talking about a 40-mile tunnel and conversion of the caves, that’s not going to happen overnight. You should accept the fact we’re talking time in years not months.”
“Find more people, years is not a time frame we can afford.”
“I’ll talk to my Board and get back to you and Jay.”
Premier, Mao Xia Dejiang is happy reviewing his Admiral’s report, his battle fleet should reach Norfolk in two weeks, giving him time to arrive to welcome the Chinese and Confederate fleets with President Tolson. Xia Dejiang smiles to himself, our joint announcement and treaty signing is driving Obama crazy. We’ll have basing rights in America for the cost of some equipment and technical assistance, they don’t even want to borrow any money from us. I don’t understand why Tolson’s Chief of Staff urgently requested mining specialists and tunneling machines. The second item is also very interesting, they’re very interested in our high-speed rail technology, I wonder if Tolson even knows about the last minute changes his CoS made. Is he planning on rebuilding the rail network, I didn’t think anything would get the Southerners out of their SUVs and pickups. Either way, I would have paid a much higher price to get the access to their ports. I think as a show of good faith, I’ll give them the tunneling machines they want. It should go a long way to cementing our trade deal. If he has a good idea in mind for them, we might be able to take his idea and use it here. I think this Tolson and I can do business together, he doesn’t play the normal political games, my Ambassador said Tolson and his CoS speak their minds, they don’t screw around, they say time isn’t a resource they have a lot of. My Ambassador tells me he enjoys meeting with Tolson. He doesn’t have to play games, he even played poker with Tolson, he told me he lost $200 which Tolson made him pay. He told my Ambassador, if a man makes a bet and loses, he should pay it with the spirit as if he’d won. I respect this man.
>
@@@@@
“Jay, before you leave for your ‘tour’ I have a report for you to read, please read it and think about the implications in the report. Knowing you, the first five pages is the Executive Summary. This will give you the highlights of the report.”
“Fred, when do I need to review this? Please don’t tell me you need an answer right away, can’t it wait until our return?”
“The earlier you give a thumbs up or down is better, this is a huge project, one neither of us considered, it’s going to cause us to rethink a lot of our plans.”
