Michelle passed out the cellphones and cards with numbers. Next to the numbers were the initials of the person. They would use their regular phones until they needed privacy. After eating, they caravanned to the gun range. The sun was just starting to rise, and the parking lot was already packed.
Unloading strollers, they put the babies in, and Nelson pulled something out of his range bag. “Gavin, come here,” he said, and Gavin ran over. “Here,” Nelson said, smiling. Gavin held up a blue polo shirt like the one Nelson and Michelle were wearing with all their sponsors.
“Alright!” he shouted, putting it on.
“Gavin, you listen to Bernard. With him here, you two can watch how the clays are flying before you have to shoot,” Nelson said.
The group headed to the main building and paid the entry fees. Nellie stayed with the couples as Bernard and Gavin headed to the skeet ranges. To Nelson and Michelle’s surprise, Olivia didn’t throw a fit to go with them since she had Brittany to play with.
Matt and Nelson set up their small canopy and tables, and then the group moved over, laying out equipment. “Nelson Jackson,” a man with a range officer armband said as he walked up.
“That’s me,” Nelson said, turning around.
“Range two in five minutes,” the range officer told him and left.
Grabbing his stuff, Nelson kissed Michelle. “Good luck, baby,” he said and left.
At noon, the group was soaked in sweat and sitting under the canopy. They sat eating sandwiches as Bernard and Gavin walked up, both wearing huge grins. “Heard you were doing good,” Nelson said, looking at Gavin. “I saw your fourth round and have to admit you can hit those clays.”
Bernard put his hand on Gavin’s shoulder. “He won,” he said, and everyone stopped eating.
“The finals are this afternoon,” Michelle said, getting up and walking over to hug Gavin.
“For our team shoot, but the junior class finished, and Gavin got first,” Bernard stated proudly.
Everyone jumped up, hugging Gavin and congratulating him. “How are you two doing in your team?” Nelson asked.
“Fifty points ahead of our closest competition,” Bernard grinned. “Unless we miss most of our targets, we’ll win it. How are y’all doing?”
Michelle smiled as Nelson spun around and sat down, grabbing his sandwich. “Nelson fell to third after his last run. Matt’s in fifth. I’m in second, and Ashley is in sixth,” Michelle said. “Nelson has had several people that wanted to buy the thermal optics he brought though.” Nelson silently mimicked her mouth movement, feeling disgusted.
Matt sat back down. “Dude, you have to admit Jerry is one of the best,” he said, picking up his sandwich.
“I thought he was going to be in Arizona,” Nelson said and grabbed his water bottle as an older man walked over. “He needs to retire.”
“Hey Nelson, good run,” he said, stopping in front of Nelson.
“Jerry, don’t start,” Nelson said then drained his water bottle.
Jerry grinned. “Can I talk to you for a second?” he asked, looking at Bernard and Nellie.
Nelson got up. “Sure,” he said, and Jerry led him away from the crowd. “What’s so important?”
“The ATF is out in the parking lot taking pictures of all the cars’ license plates,” Jerry said with a worried expression.
The sweat on Nelson’s skin suddenly felt very cold, and goosebumps sprang up. “Are you sure?” Nelson asked.
“Saw it myself. One of the range officers told me, and I went to check,” Jerry replied. “They have several officers out here checking weapons, making sure they haven’t been modified to full auto.”
“This is not good,” Nelson said, and Jerry turned around and jerked a thumb over his shoulder.
“That’s one there walking around with a video camera,” Jerry said, and Nelson looked up and saw the man walking around, filming the crowd. It was then Nelson saw the badge on the man’s belt.
“Is that legal?” Nelson asked.
Jerry shrugged. “Even if it isn’t, who is going to stop them? One of the sponsors tried and was threatened with arrest. He was told this is a public event even if the range isn’t.”
“I suddenly feel like I’m in Germany with Hitler at the helm,” Nelson mumbled.
“I wanted to tell you because they are really watching any of us with big sponsors.”
Nelson held out his hand. “Thanks for the warning,” he said, and they shook hands. “Just reaffirms why I’m heading home after this.”
“Nelson, they are feds. They can get you anywhere,” Jerry said as they walked back. When they reached the group, Jerry walked off.
“What was that about?” Michelle asked.
“Come sit in my lap, baby,” Nelson said, sitting down. Confused, Michelle walked over and sat down in his lap. As Nelson whispered in her ear what Jerry told him, mister video stopped in front of them, videoing the entire group, then walked on. When Nelson finished whispering, he said, “Tell the others, but keep it low.”
They cleaned their weapons as Michelle walked around, whispering what Nelson told her. They all became worried as the horn sounded for competition to resume. Matt grabbed his gear. “If I walk up to them and say, ‘Sieg heil,’ will they leave me alone?” he asked.
“Don’t think so,” Nelson said, grabbing his gear.
That afternoon, Nelson was standing in the second place spot beside Jerry in first, and Matt stood in the third place spot as checks were handed out. Michelle won her division, and Ashley came in fourth. Gavin got his first-place prize, and he and Bernard took their first-place check.
All in all, the group was leaving with over ten grand in prize money, and Nelson had many who were interested in the thermal optics.
As they walked to the truck, Nelson looked over at Bernard, who was carrying Olivia and Brittany. “I’m glad you didn’t bring your truck now,” he said, seeing the black SUVs with government plates leaving.
“Hell, I’m tempted to go tell them who I am,” Bernard said with his face turning red.
Nelson stopped. “Please don’t. We have a hiding place for the little ones,” he said in a low voice.
“That’s the only thing that stopped me,” Bernard said as he walked past.
The group piled in vehicles and headed home. It was after midnight when they reached the house, but instead of sleeping, they left the kids in the vehicles and started loading supplies, praying this would end and not get worse.
Chapter 5
Feeling pain from her muscles as she moved, Michelle opened her eyes and looked at the clock on the nightstand and saw it was just after five a.m. “I feel like someone beat me with a bat,” she moaned, sitting up.
“Well, when they finished with you, they came after me,” Nelson groaned beside her.
They had loaded the vehicles and the two trailers to capacity and headed to the farm and unloaded, leaving their phones at home. When they finished, they turned around and headed back home. They didn’t make it to church but stayed up with the kids until the sun set then collapsed.
Slowly getting out of bed, Michelle moaned. “At least now if we have to leave, we can carry what we need and not leave stuff,” she said, moving to the bathroom.
Nelson climbed out of bed. “Yes, we can carry everything to the farm now with room to spare,” he agreed. “We need to back the trailers in the garage and load them.”
Freezing in the bathroom doorway, Michelle snapped, “If you want to do that today, you can kiss my butt,” Michelle snapped.
“I’ll kiss your butt anyway,” Nelson said, walking over, and Michelle laughed.
“Don’t even think about it,” she grinned as he hugged her gently. The house phone rang, startling them both.
Nelson let her go and walked over to the phone on the nightstand. “This better be good,” he grumbled and picked up the phone. “Hello.”
“Are you watching the TV?” a voice shouted. Pulling the phone from his ear, Nelson l
ooked at the caller ID.
“Bernard?” he asked, slowly putting the phone back to his ear.
“ARE YOU WATCHING THE TV?!” Bernard screamed.
“I literally just got out of bed,” Nelson said, changing ears because that one was now ringing.
“They took America’s savings!” Bernard yelled.
“What?” Nelson snapped. “Who did?”
“Congress,” Bernard shouted. “They passed a bill this weekend that took over all 401 plans and IRAs, and the president signed it. The bill took effect last night at midnight!”
Feeling dizzy, Nelson dropped down on the bed. “And you’re sure about this?” he asked reluctantly.
“It’s on every channel. Hell, even ESPN is running it.” Bernard finally just spoke and quit yelling.
“I’ll call you back,” Nelson said and hung up then ran out of the bedroom.
“What is it?” Michelle asked, following him in a run, forgetting her sore body.
Grabbing the remote, Nelson turned on the TV and turned to a news channel. At the bottom of the screen, a banner with bold letters read, “Congress seizes all saving plans,” with a ticker below listing all affected saving plans. From what he was reading, Nelson concluded it was all of them, leaving only bank accounts unaffected.
“Oh my God,” Nelson said, dropping to the couch.
“They can’t do that,” Michelle said, dropping down beside him, reading the ticker as Nelson turned up the volume to listen to a female reporter standing in front of the Congressional building.
“…the Speaker of the House said this move was to ensure Americans’ savings were secured in the event of a market crash. All people affected will be issued bonds and paid out of the Social Security fund. The bill went into effect last night, so people can’t even withdraw their savings today. The president assured us Americans will be able to withdraw funds against their savings like they always could, but it would be several months before the Federal Reserve would have the system in place.” The reporter stopped and took a breath as the screen split, showing a male reporter sitting in the studio.
“Tammy, have they given any indication why they did this?” he asked.
“Yes, Mark, they said with the recent collapse of the Asian markets, they wanted to secure the savings of Americans,” Tammy replied.
“Has there been a legal challenge announced?” Mark asked.
“Yes, Mark. In an unprecedented move, the president sent the bill from his office on Sunday to the Supreme Court to determine the legality, and with a unanimous decision, the court released a brief saying the government was not taking the money, only securing it with government backing. The public still had the same funds,” she replied.
“Is the government expecting trouble after this announcement?”
“I was told by a senator that they were expecting trouble, but they believed people would remain calm when they saw the system was protecting them. Homeland has moved the threat level to red, telling all law enforcement to be expecting trouble. The president has asked Americans to continue on with their lives as the Federal Reserve sets up the new system.”
“What have you heard from the public so far?”
“It’s seven a.m. now, and we are receiving reports of thousands of people not showing up for work. If the figures stay the same, many business won’t open today, Mark. We received word that all Wal-Mart and Target stores are closing today because not enough employees are reporting for work. A Target spokesman said they would open up Tuesday but had to verify they could get enough employees in. I’m told this is happening to all chains.”
“Any reports of unrest?” Mark asked, and Nelson fought the urge to start talking to the TV.
Tammy’s face became sorrowful. “Yes, Mark, we received word that an IRS building in Georgia was firebombed an hour ago. No injuries are reported since the building was empty.”
The phone rang, making both of them jump. Nelson picked up the phone and saw it was the store. “Hello.”
“Thank God you’re awake,” Daren said, very excited. “I take it you’ve heard.”
“Yes, I’m listening now,” Nelson said as he turned down the TV, and Michelle grabbed the remote and turned on the captioning.
“Nelson, I’ve had nineteen call-ins so far,” Daren said with tremors in his voice.
“Shut the store down,” Nelson said, standing up. “Call the police, and have them send an off-duty officer over there as a guard. Pay him what you have to, but get one there, and if you can get more, do it. Put signs out, and leave the gates down.”
“Okay, and just to let you know, it’s the same everywhere in our region,” Daren said.
“I’m on my way in. I’ll send out a mass e-mail telling the other store managers the same thing,” Nelson said.
“Be careful coming in. I didn’t see anything, but you never know,” Daren said then hung up.
Nelson ran to the bedroom and pulled out his laptop and started getting dressed as the computer came on. Forgetting the suit, he wore jeans, t-shirt, and a button-up shirt and grabbed the full-sized 1911 and four magazines. Seeing the computer was on, he pulled up the company intranet and sent out the e-mail. “You’re going in,” Michelle said behind him.
“Yes, baby,” he said.
“Hey, those fucks just stole over eighty thousand dollars from us, and you’re going to work,” she snapped.
“Oh, so you can cuss,” he said, closing the laptop.
She walked over and grabbed his arm. “Nelson, you know as well as I do that it’s about to get really bad. These aren’t some ghetto people they just stopped food stamps on. These are hardworking people.”
“Yes I know, but I’m going to see what I can do at the store. If it’s that bad, I’ll quit,” he offered.
About to reply, the phone rang, and Michelle walked over and looked at the caller ID. “It’s my work,” she said, letting the phone ring. “I’ll call them today and turn in my notice,” she said, turning to Nelson. “We have enough money stored now to retire on.”
“I hear you,” Nelson said. “Get the checks from our winnings. I’ll get what I can from the store.”
Surprised, Michelle said, “Now that is a good idea,” and walked out of the bedroom.
Nelson walked over to his nightstand and took out his compact 1911 as well and put it in the small of his back with the two magazines. Closing the small safe, he grabbed his cellphone and found Michelle in the kitchen, making him a cup of coffee. “How are we on Olivia’s medications?” he asked.
“Two years’ worth easy,” Michelle answered without thinking.
“Can you and Gavin start loading the trailers?” he asked as the phone rang again. He walked over and saw it was Matt. “Hello.”
“Dude, please tell me you slipped me some acid and this isn’t real,” Matt cried out.
“I wish it was that simple.”
“The station just called and told me I had four sixteen-hour shifts for the next week and my entire retirement is now gone. They told Ashley that she had to do the same. Our daycare is closed until further notice,” Matt said.
“Tell Ashley to stay at home,” Nelson offered.
“The captain said if she didn’t report, she was fired,” Matt said, on the verge of tears. They lived paycheck to paycheck and needed both incomes.
Michelle walked over. “Matt, tell Ashley to bring the kids here. I can watch them today because I quit,” she yelled out.
“Dude, your wife quit?” Matt asked, shocked.
“Hey, if it’s that bad, I’m quitting today,” Nelson said.
Silence filled the phone as Matt processed what he heard. “She’ll quit today if it’s bad. I’ll try to help as long as I can,” Matt finally said. “I’ll try to stop by the store,” he added then hung up.
“You want to take one of the dogs?” Michelle asked.
Now that’s not a bad idea, Nelson thought. “I’ll take Zeus, and if something happens here, call me. If you can’t get t
hrough, I’m taking one of our radios, and you can use that.”
She handed him the mug of coffee. “I don’t think violence will spread to the suburbs yet,” she said. “But if it does, you’ll find bodies in the yard when you come home.”
Knowing she was serious and she could do it filled Nelson with a sense of pride and relief. He had watched Michelle gun down attackers in Iraq, so he felt confident she would do it faster at home. “Yard needs fertilizer anyway,” he said, hugging her. “Keep a pistol on you today. I’ll call and check on you.”
“Please come home if it gets bad,” she said, burrowing in his chest.
“Don’t worry about that. If it gets bad, I’m only staying in this house long enough to get out of here,” Nelson said, letting her go. He grabbed a leash and clipped it to Zeus. “You mind if I take your ride? We have over a hundred gallons of gas but only fifty of diesel.”
“It doesn’t have that big-ass bumper on it,” Michelle reminded him.
“Ooh, good point,” he said, walking out. He and Zeus jumped in his truck and were soon on the road. Turning on the radio, the news was still blowing up about the twenty trillion dollars the government had taken from the people. The store wasn’t even ten miles from the house as the crow flies but was almost triple that by road. It wasn’t even six when he pulled up to the empty parking lot. He sighed upon seeing a police car parked at the front doors as Nelson pulled in his spot.
He climbed out, grabbing the leash, and Zeus was surprised he was coming but jumped out enthusiastically. Using his key, Nelson unlocked the side door and scanned his card, hearing the door click open. He walked in and found Daren heading toward him.
“I got two officers on duty here. One’s outside, the other is inside, and both have key cards to use the employee entrance. The mayor guaranteed we would have coverage for the week if we paid them,” Daren said and fell in beside him. “You know this just had to happen,” he huffed. “I got six calls wanting thermals from your little trip.”
“Hey, it might be alright,” Nelson offered.
“Blow that smoke somewhere else,” Daren mumbled. “I maxed out my 401 every year as my wife did. We lost over a quarter of a million dollars. Social Security can’t pay what they have now with what the government steals from the workers in taxes, and they take from us who were smart enough to save for retirement.”
Forgotten Forbidden America: Rise of Tyranny Page 6
