by Ira Tabankin
“Dad, how bad do you think it’s going to get?”
“Todd, how bad do you think it’s going to be when a hundred fifty million people have no money, no way to feed their families? When there are no deliveries to food stores, no food available even if they had the money? What would you do to feed your family?”
“Anything I had to.”
“There’s your answer.”
“Is this Tony a real member of the mob?”
“So they say. Be careful what you say and do in front of him. He or his people will notice everything, anything that ‘smells’ to them could cost us dearly. Take your lead from me.”
“OK. What deal are you hoping to cut with him?”
“A simple conversion of dollars to gold and silver that the government doesn’t know anything about. We’ll end up paying 35-50% over the current exchange, but I’d rather give it to Tony and his friends than to the government.”
“They have untraceable gold?”
“So the rumor goes. Todd, the meeting is going to look very friendly, but one wrong word can cost us our lives, so don’t say anything unless you think it through three times.”
We park in front of a small Italian restaurant, the only one on a street lined with barbecue, bars and music clubs. The sign on the door says, “CLOSED.”
I knock, saying, “Jay.”
The door opens, a man I know as a friend of Tony smiles at me. He asks, “Who’s the other guy?”
“Frank, this is my son-in-law, Todd.”
“OK, come on in. Tony is waiting for you in the private dining room. He has Sal with him, so I guess you can bring Todd with you.” I stop, reaching into my windbreaker, I hand Frank my sidearm and tell Todd to hand over his. Frank smiles, saying, “Excellent, you learn fast. I like that.”
Entering the back room, Tony stands to welcome me with a hug and a kiss on both cheeks. “Jay, welcome, your message sounded very urgent. Who is that with you? Did you acquire another farm?”
“Tony, this is Todd, my son-in-law.”
“Hello Todd, welcome to my restaurant.”
“Tony, a pleasure.”
“Jay, what’s going on?”
“I’m sure you’ve seen the government’s new tax and steal messages. I don’t want to give the IRS half or more of my money or have them steal my accumulated gold. I know you have tons of gold coins stashed away, coins the government doesn’t know anything about. I’d like to buy some from you. Before you ask, I’m willing to pay your price. This isn’t the time for discussions and bullshitting over the quantity or price. My only questions are how much are you willing to sell me and at what price.”
“Jay, as usual, you get right down to business. I have all you want. I’ll sell them to you at a commission of only 35% because of all the business we’ve done in the past few months. You’ve always taken care of me, you’ve always kept your mouth shut and you arranged to share one of the gun runs you purchased from the cartel.”
“Tony, thank you. I accept your offer. I want to purchase $15 million worth. The trick will be transferring the funds without attracting the notice of the FDC.”
Laughing, Tony responds, “Leave that to me. I can have the coins here in three days.”
“Sounds fair to me. Shall we say 8:00 PM? We can enjoy dinner while we make the exchange. I will need to bring some people to help make the transfer.”
“As long as they’re your family. No outsiders.”
“I understand, when have I ever broken my word or your trust?”
“That’s why I agreed to meet you and do business with you. I have a favor to ask you.”
“You want something from me?”
“Yes, something very serious. I know what you’re building under your fields. I know you’re building a huge underground shelter for forty people and the supplies to hold the people for a year or more. I want in, for me and my family.”
“Do you have a copy of the blueprints too?”
“To be honest with you, yes I do. I congratulate you, the plans are very good. I had two architects review the plans, they said the plans are good. Jay, I’ll admit, I too think all hell is going to break loose. The best thing to do may be to bunker down and wait it out for a bit. My sources say the government is going to default on the July welfare payments and when that happens, hell itself is going to be let loose here. Millions are going to die when the existing food supply runs out because almost none knows how to farm or survive. Almost no-one knows how to live off of the land. So many of the preppers think they can bug out and survive. They’re going to learn a hard lesson. When the end comes, waves, armies of people are going to be swarming out of Nashville and every other city. I thought we could fight our way out of the city, I’ve had my people look at the problem in every way possible. They all came up with the same answer. We have to hide, let the initial waves of hungry people wash over and around us and when they’re gone we emerge and start over. There’s not going to be a central government any more. My people think there’s a good probability that near the end, Russia and/or China will invade to save us, only they won’t be here to save us, they’ll be conquering us.
“Jay, I have some assets you can use to help speed your project.”
“What do you have?”
“We ‘own’ the construction unions. We can have hundreds of people on your property at dawn tomorrow helping finish the shelter.”
“Why mine? Why not build your own?”
“I don’t own a couple of farms, yours is already started and frankly, we reviewed your defense plans. Your shelter can be defended, you're far enough outside of town to buy a little time. We can expand your shelter and your farmland. I have the people who will help defend the shelter.”
“Tony, how many people are we talking about?”
“Thirty, maybe forty tops.”
“Tony, I know I don’t have to ask this, I assume your people have their own weapons and ammo?”
Laughing, Tony responds, “Come, let me show you. I recently made a very interesting trade with an army supply sergeant.”
Tony leads me to the basement under the restaurant, he turns on the light, I pull up short, in front of us are stacked cases of US Army weapons. M4s, Light anti-armor missiles, even hand grenades. Tony says, “Wait, here’s the best part.” He pulls back a curtain showing me stacks of uniforms, body armor and helmets, plus 400 cases of MREs. “It won’t do me any good to have all this and no place that’s defensible. We need to hide while the hungry pass by us. When they’re gone, we surface and start over. I figure we’ll have four to six months after the collapse before we’re invaded. This is a good start, but not enough to fight off the Russians and Chinese. Can you get more from your friend in Mexico?”
“I’m still in contact with him. The problem is safely getting there and back.”
Laughing, Tony pats me on the back saying, “You leave that to me. Remember, we own the Teamsters.”
“I thought you guys would have your own sources for weapons and supplies. We’re going to need security from the highwaymen and gangs stopping trucks to steal their cargos.”
“We do, however, the demand for weapons and drugs is the highest I’ve ever seen it. I need enough to outfit an army. I want my team supplied with military weapons, but quantity and quality like that are hard to come by. Our usual contacts are being stressed to their max by the families in New York, Chicago, and Las Vegas, who are also now supplying Boston, LA, and Miami. They don’t have the capacity to supply us little people in the woods. My contacts in the Army got transferred and they’re watching their inventory like it was gold. Tell you what I’m going to do for you. I’ll convert your cash into gold at the current exchange rate without a commission if you allow my people to help build the shelter and you make the call to your contact south of the border. I’d like to ensure we have enough weapons and ammo to control the area.”
“Who’s going to pay for the arms? They’re very expensive right now.”
; “We’ll each cover the cost for our own use.”
“Tony, there’s a couple other things I could use your help with.”
“Let’s order and discuss it over lunch. I have your favorite, fresh veal.”
“Talked me into it.”
Tony and I sit at our own table in the back corner of the restaurant while Sal and Todd sit at one near the front door. “Jay, what else do you need?”
“Tony, we’re going to need a doctor and their medical supplies. I’ve talked to Doc Basco, our family doctor who’s close to our farm. He said he would join us when the time is right, but I’d like to have a backup and more medical supplies. He’s sixty-eight. I figure you have a doctor or two on your payroll.”
“We do, that’s a good thought. I’ll take care of it.”
“What else do you think we’re going to need?”
“Lots of fuel and some vehicles which can be buried or hidden for use after the madness subsides. I have a couple of hundred gallons of diesel and gas in buried tanks and the two tanker trucks you know about. We’re going to need a lot more since it may be a year or more before refineries get back up and running. I plan to park the tanker trucks in our barns, which are built with steel reinforced concrete. I’m hoping anything we park inside will be secure.”
“I’ll work on that, why don’t we meet in two days at your home? I’ll bring Nancy.”
“Tony, a couple more things you should know, the Sheriff has been trying to get us to give him our stored food. He sent a group of fools to attack us and I think he’ll go further the next time. To increase our problems, the National Guard paid me a visit. They demanded we sell them our stored grains. They gave me three days to hand over what we have or they’ll take it by force.”
“I was afraid of that. I’ll look into seeing if there’s anything I can do to keep them away from the farm. One thing you need to look into is if we dig up another few acres to expand the shelter, what is going to be the impact on this year’s crops?”
“I looked the question of the shelter impacting our yield. I went to the county land office and found a plot of land behind our farms, it’s over 50 acres. I’ve been trying for two months to find out who owns it. All I can find out is it’s owned by a company based in the islands. If I could find out who owns it, I could buy it, those acres will make up for any loss the construction of the shelter causes.”
Tony sips his wine, smiling at me.
I put my fork down, “Damn it, you own the land. The company is one of yours, isn’t it?”
“Guilty. I own over 3,000 acres under different corporate names. I’ll arrange to help you clear the land to expand the yield, but, I’m not selling the land.”
“I can’t see you as a farmer.”
“It all depends on what one wants to bury.”
Smiling, I got his message. “Tony, I’m worried that if hundreds of workers show up on my farm we’ll be attracting too much attention, too many people will know what we’re building.”
“We’ll provide security while your people do what you do best. Let the professionals build the shelters. I also have a security consultant who will help improve the security of the area.”
“Tony, what kind of security consultant?”
“One that wore the uniform for 18 years. He and I have done each other some favors over the years. He will be one of the people I plan to bring into the group.”
“I’ll take it up with my extended family and neighbors. I think we’ll be able to work out the details when we meet next. Are you sure you can move my funds without the feds coming after us?”
“Trust me, the feds won’t bat an eye. I’ll handle it, you just act surprised and hurt. Tomorrow, your home will be filled with agents from every three letter agency you can imagine and some you didn’t even know exist.”
“Tony, I guess we’re going to have to trust each other if we’re going to make this work.”
We shake hands, “I better head back home.”
“Jay, one final word. Don’t mention any of what we’ve discussed with your other son-in-law, he’s not to be trusted.”
“I’m not going to ask how you know. I’ll just accept you know. Trust me, I don’t trust him either.”
“Jay, don’t worry, everything is going to be fine. I’ve never screwed you, you’ve made me a lot of money. You’ve turned into a good friend, plus Nancy and Lacy have become best friends. Jay, we’re family.”
Smiling, Tony and I hug our goodbye.
Chapter 12
On our ride home Todd looks over at me, I haven’t said a word since we left the restaurant. Todd whispers, “Dad, can I break into your thoughts?”
“Sorry, Todd. Of course, what’s up?”
“Are you sure we should be making a deal with the mob? Can we trust Tony?”
“They want the same thing we do, they want to survive. I’ve been doing business with Tony since the week we moved in. I ran into him one afternoon when Lacy and I were having a late lunch at his restaurant. We didn’t know who he was. He introduced himself, he asked to join us. Said he heard we were moving in, he congratulated us on our winnings, he surprised me by all that he knew about us. He said he just wanted us to know if we needed anything he might be able to help, all we had to do was call him. He gave me his private cell number. When he left our table, Lacy asked who he was. I remember telling her that he was the local mafia, Don. She couldn’t believe it. Then she remembered I once had a close friend who was, shall we say, very connected. When she met him, she realized who he really was. She thought back to that day and smiled. She told me to use my best judgment. Tony and I have done small favors and some business for each other. We’ve become friends and neither has taken advantage of the other. Lacy and I dine at his restaurant a few times a month, we always pay in cash and tip well. The wait staff knows who we are and treat us as friends of the owner. We always get the best service and the food is excellent. If you understand they’re a business and you understand you can never break your word to them, you can do business with them. Just remember, when you break a contract with them, they don’t sue, they get their payment one way or another. When you shake on an agreement, if the deal turns sour on your end, you live with it. They’ll know it turned sour and respect you more for not saying a word. I can trust him. I’m not sure how everyone else is going to feel about them joining us. Lacy and his wife, Nancy, hit it off like sisters. Heaven knows we can use the bodies, we can use the assets he has so we survive.”
“Dad, I’ll trust your judgment. I never realized my father-in-law knew and dealt with the mob.”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea to tell many people. However, if I’m right, very soon there aren’t going to be many people left to tell. Turn on the all-news station, let’s see if we missed anything.”
“Don’t you get auto-updates on your cell?”
“I don’t carry my cell when I meet Tony, which is why I told you to leave yours in the car.”
“I understand, the GPS.”
“And the fearsome three letter agencies might remotely turn on the mic to listen to our conversation. When Tony visits us, we’ll be turning off our phones and also every smart appliance we own. He knows I do this, He respects that he doesn’t have to ask. On the first day, I met him at his office. His key man, Sal, the one you had lunch with searched me for my cell, I told them I left it off in my car’s trunk. Sal nodded, he informed Tony who asked me why I left my phone behind. I told him my reasons, he smiled saying we’re going to get along fine. He knows I have a friend across the border, the one I acquired the last batch of assault rifles from. Tony asked me to contact him to see if they have more weapons Tony can purchase.”
“Dad, isn’t that risky?”
“Not really, who’s Tony going to talk to? If I can’t trust the local Don to keep their mouth closed than the world is really screwed up.”
“Has he come to the house before?”
“Yes, a couple of times. Mom’s one of the few
wives outside of their extended family Tony allows his wife to hang with. His wife Nancy really likes the time she’s able to spend with Lacy, which is why I think that’s why he’s going to bring Nancy with him, it also makes for a good cover. Nancy isn’t anything like Tony. When you meet her, you’ll understand.”
“Won’t you attract the attention of the FBI?”
Laughing, “Most likely, then again, I already know I’m on the government’s watch list so we try to keep strangers out of our house. Tony got us scanning equipment we use every few days to look for bugs.”
