Crashed: The Death Of The Dollar (19 page)

“
No. What?” Jessica responded.

“
We still need to build a new house or something. Did y'all ever come up with a plan?”

It was a bit emotional, as that had been a project they had worked on with Stacy. “We never really came up with anything we really liked,” replied Jessica.

“
Why do you want another house? What's wrong with this one?” Amy wondered out loud.

“
Well, when I first asked them to move in with me, I said it would just be for the winter. I knew that wouldn't be the case though. Brad had his loft, and I had my room. But they all kind of rotated around. Two would sleep on the couch, and one in there with me,” he told her.

“
So do you have like a schedule of who to sleep with each night?”

“
No, not really,” Taylor answered.

“
It still kind of baffles me how you two seem so comfortable sharing him like that?” Amy said

“
Oh, no. It's not like that,” Taylor said, as she blushed. “I was the first one to
sleep
with him, but when I'm in there, we just sleep. Nothing else. He's just my big cuddle bear.”

“
Okay, anyways,” Mike was determined to change the subject back to the house. “Even before we found y'all in the snow, we had agreed we wanted to stay under one roof together. So I told them to come up with a plan to either expand this house or build a new one.”

“
Mike, can we talk about this later? I just.. I don't...” Jessica asked, fighting back her emotions.

“
Sure, Jess,” he answered. “I understand.”

They did discuss it later that night. Taylor suggested moving Mike's book collection to the barn loft with the radio station, and enclosing the other loft to be her bedroom. She wanted Jessica to have Mike's bedroom for herself and Anthony, and he could be the one not sleeping in the same bed every night. So that was it. They would stick with the same house until Anthony was older and needed his own room.

“Hey, you there? It's urgent! Are you there?” came the voice of Bishop Christensen over the radio. Mike wondered what could be so damn important for him to climb that hill in the middle of the night.

Beep, Mike returned.

“We need to talk. Can you come down?”

Beep. Beep. Mike had no desire to get dressed and drive down the hill in the dark.

“You really need to come down. I think the whole region is about to have a disaster on our hands.”

Mike was annoyed, and exhausted, but relented.

Beep.

As Mike pulled up to their meeting spot, he saw the Bishop standing there, and two other people in the truck.

“
Thomas, I'm so sorry -”

“
What the hell is such a big damn deal you had to wake me up in the middle -”

“
Vegas!” the Bishop yelled over Mike's voice. “Vegas is the big damn deal. And it's gotten worse since I first called you.”

“
Why the hell should I care about Vegas?” Mike retorted.

“
We think it was a group of remaining Guard who did it after they were ordered by the Joint Chief's to disband,” he went on in a somewhat panicked voice. “Some are saying it was Chinese or Soviet spies. But someone went around and blew up the Vegas water pumping stations. And then while we were waiting on you we heard that Hoover Dam has been seized and the generators blown up.”

“
Oh, shit,” Mike replied softly. “This is going to be ugly,” he continued with a hint of a chuckle in his voice.

“
There's some rumors that they're planning to blow the dam, but that's not happened yet.”

Mike calmly tried to assure the Bishop that blowing up Hoover Damn was all but impossible. “Unless whoever this is had found a way to sneak a really large nuclear bomb inside the dam, they're not going to blow it up. And even then it might stay up. So stop worrying about that.”

“
You sure?”

“
Yeah, that ain't happenin'. Vegas not having water or power... that's something to seriously worry about. Be glad they've not really had any tourism this last year, because a large number of people from there are about to make their way over here.”

“
That's why I woke you up. Amanda here -”

“
Amanda Matheson? Mike inquired.”

“
You know her?”

“
Yep,” Mike said with an almost disappointed tone of voice. “I know her.”

“
Well. She said the same thing about blowing the dam. You know, her father died the other day when you guys took down the Guard station,” Bishop Christensen informed him.

“
Damn,” Mike replied. “Sorry to hear that.”

“
Anyways, she said we could have upwards of a million people swarming us over the next several days.”

Mike walked over to the truck where Amanda was sitting with Susan. “Get out here young lady,” he said in a commanding voice. She was hoping to avoid talking with him, still feeling embarrassed about her proposition in the motel.

“
Yes sir, Mr. Paine?” she said, showing her intimidation.

Mike gently put his arms around her. “Sorry to hear about your old man. He seemed like a good guy.”

“Thanks,” she said softly, seeming hesitant and tense.

“
Relax, alright. So you told them Hoover damn can't be blown up?”

“
Yes sir. I -”

“
She's smarter than you Bishop. Shit, she's probably smarter than all of us. Next time, listen to her.”

Mike turned back to Amanda. “Starting half way between Vegas and Mesquite, how many bridges are there between the two cities?”

“About a dozen sir.”

“
Stop this 'sir' shit. Call me Thomas.”

“
Yes sir, Thomas,” she replied, getting a dirty look from Mike.

“
How many of those bridges do you think you have the ability to destroy with explosives?”

She thought for a moment. “I'd guess three to five.”

“
You want us to blow up bridges on I-15?” Bishop Christensen interjected.

“
Do you have the ability to feed and house an additional million people?”

“
Oh goodness no. The farmers around here are -”

“
Do you have any better ideas for either diverting or stopping those million people from getting here?”

“
No, Mr. Paine,” he replied.

They stood silent for a few minutes, all of them wishing they could come up with any other idea. “Well, with such short notice, I don't have any other ideas,” Mike said, breaking the tense silence.

“
I can't believe we're going to do this,” the Bishop sighed.

“
Well, Bishop, I guess you better get busy deciding which bridges are going to be the most effective to drop.”

“
Sir.. I mean.. Thomas,” Amanda spoke up. “Glendale.”

“
Glendale?” Mike questioned.

“
Yes si..,” she stopped herself. “Yes, Glendale. That will be the most effective place to do this.”

“
Well, then, get to it,” Mike stated.

The Bishop, still in shock, asked, “You're ordering us to blow up bridges in Nevada?”

Mike just gave the Bishop a disgruntled look and walked to his truck.

“Oh, Thomas,” The Bishop spoke up again as Mike was leaving. “I'm not a bishop anymore. So you can just call me James.”

“
Why aren't you a bishop anymore?”

“
I resigned to take on another job I was asked to do.”

“
Oh? And that is?”

“
I got asked to be the head of security and restructuring for Washington County and Saint George,” he said proudly.

“
Well that's interesting,” Mike replied, trying not to be too obvious that he didn't care.

“
It's a single position,” James continued. “Amanda here is my assistant.”

“
I'm sure you'll do a damn good job at restructuring, Bishop. But let her make the security decisions.”

Amanda held her head up high and shoulders back. Him saying she should make security decisions swelled her ego quite a bit.

Mike added as he walked off, “Show her how to get a hold of me in case you can't. And you,” he continued, talking now to Amanda, “Don't bug me unless it's life or death.”

Mike got home and found Taylor, Jessica and Brad finishing their breakfast. He couldn't wait to tell them that 'James' was the head of security.

“
Well,” he added “Part of his job is overseeing restructuring of the city and county government down there too. And Taylor, remember that girl Amanda, from the airport?” Taylor nodded that she did.

“
Was she down there too?”

“
Yep, she was there. So was Susan. They took her in. Apparently her dad died in the fighting the other day. And she's his assistant in his new job.”

“
You better be careful mister,” Taylor warned. “I saw how that girl was looking at you.”

Jessica laughed, remembering what Mike had told her about Amanda's advance in the motel room. “Hey now,” she joked. “I didn't mind sharing you with Stacy, but I don't know about this other girl.”

“Shut up! Amanda's eyes are full of nothing but youthful ambition,” he brushed her off. “She wants to be important and powerful. And her brain will get her there. She just wants to use her body to speed up the process.”

“
So you think she just wants you because you can help make her famous?” Taylor said doubtfully.

“
I don't know. But she'll grow out of any infatuation with me long before she does her ambition,” Mike said as he walked out to go to the barn.

Chapter 16

Heavy Heart

Over the next several weeks a lot of rebuilding and repairing of infrastructure took place across the country. The Joint Chief's were pretty angry about the blowing up of the bridges. Amanda stepped up to take responsibility for it, saying the human toll would have been worse if she hadn't done it. Publicly, NANN had reported the destruction in Vegas, and similar attacks in Ohio and Tennessee, as being the work of Chinese spies.

The government kept a steady flow of trains and aircraft going in to and out of Glendale and Vegas, bringing supplies in and people out. The water pumping stations had been rebuilt, and generator replacement was underway at Hoover Dam. Only a few who found the right back roads, and had enough fuel, made it over to southern Utah. There was a lot of rioting initially, but the relief supplies managed to bring that under control quickly.

The Joint Chief's had asked 'Thomas' and sixteen other leaders from different regions across the country to form a temporary Congressional body to help with rebuilding a functioning government. Mike tried to decline, but arrangements were made for him to have Amanda serve as his liaison, and he kept in touch via a satellite messenger unit that also kept him fully informed of all intelligence in the escalating war-of-words with the two allied super powers that Russia and China had become.

Soviet troops were making occasional rogue flights over Alaska, and statements were coming from the Kremlin that they intended to reclaim the massive peninsula for it's natural resources. The P.R.P.S. had it's ships positioning for a possible attack and seizure of Hawaii to finalize it's consolidation of Pacific islands. The NAU had Carrier Strike Groups in place at both far western states, ready to defend them at any cost.

All seventeen members of the temporary congress had unanimously agreed to release Mexico, returning it to it's own sovereign nation and ally. Leaders from the northern regions of the former nation of Canada requested to remain part of the NAU, but again the vote came down to release it. That vote had been split, with Amanda casting the final vote how she assumed Mike wanted her to. He didn't care much what happened, and had purposely left his “satellite gizmo,” as he called it, at the house while they all went swimming.

A new currency had been in circulation since its launch May 1st. Mike, Jessica, and Taylor wanted nothing to do with it. Most people still referred to it as the “dollar,” but it was a fully digital currency, legally called the “Bit,” that functioned through accounts people could utilize with their smart phones, computers, or any other number of devices. They chose to continue trading with Phillip, and he used his Bits to buy them what it was they wanted. For the most part, Mike always asked for gold or silver, which were very cheap under the new currency. Mike had Amanda submit a proposal to reinstate gold and silver coins. It got one vote, besides her, from an older man out of New York who seemed to want a very young girlfriend.

Back at the ranch, Brad was grilling burgers while Taylor made baked potatoes. Today would have been Stacy's thirty-eighth birthday, and they wanted to celebrate her memory. Anna was now staying close by Brad's side to keep him company while he cooked. She was walking again, needing crutches for longer distances, and wasn't leaving the side of the boy who had stayed by her so much while she recovered.

Anthony was crawling all over the place, and Mike had finally gotten over his fears of hurting the active baby boy. They were on the porch, Mike talking funny and making silly faces, in a stark contrast with the man the ladies had first met seven years ago.

Jessica couldn't help but to sit and watch, laughing the whole time. “Just think, another six months or so from now, there will be another one screaming and crying while this one is learning to walk and get in to everything we don't want him to,” she joked.

“
Yep,” Mike said with a smirk.

“
So, any thoughts about making the house bigger this summer?”

“
Nah, we'll make it work,” he replied. Mike actually had already started things in motion to expand the house quite significantly.

In three days, Mike was moving them all out into the barn. Jessica wasn't going to like it, but Phillip and James were bringing up two vans full of workers to expand his six-hundred square-foot little home to a thirty-six-hundred square-foot, two-story house. Phillip had the dimensions of the house and yard and took them to an architect who had worked with rammed earth construction down in Arizona.

The entire crew volunteered to work for only their daily food when they found out who they were building the house for. They even agreed to ride in vans with blacked out windows, understanding why secrecy of the location mattered so much to the man who led the start of overthrowing the Guard.

The morning of June 1st, Amy and Jason were waiting for Mike on the porch well before the sun came up. They were in on the surprise, and ready to help with packing things up. Jason had spent most of the night before cleaning up the barn and building partitions to help keep the goats and chickens secured out of the area the family was going to live in for the next few months.

The rest of the family woke up to the sounds of horns honking. Taylor and Brad ran outside, guns in hand, without so much as bothering to get dressed. Jessica was half awake at the time and knew Mike was outside, so she took her time joining the others.

Mike had been right that Jessica would be very unhappy about living in the barn. But her excitement watching the progress of the house each day quickly overcame her displeasure. The men worked day and night, with Phillip and James making daily trips to the city for supplies.

Much to Mike's surprise, the crew finished the house in just three weeks. Mike, Jessica, Taylor, and Brad absolutely loved it. As they walked through the finished house, Jason led the construction crew through moving all their stuff back into the new home from the barn.

They walked through their new home, checking out everything the builders had done for them. Jessica and Taylor loved their new bedrooms. Jessica's was in the same place as her old room, and still had the same south and east walls. But it was larger, and a large bathroom had been added, including an indoor shower, which Mike had never put in to the original house. Opposite that bathroom was Taylor's bedroom, set up as a mirror image of Jessica's. Both had new king sized beds and ample room for anything they could want. They also both had doors that opened out onto a porch with chairs, a table, a swing, and a shower that drained into a flower garden.

The middle of the house was a single large open room for the kitchen, dining, and living area. That had been the one feature all three women had agreed upon back in the winter. Opposite the main living area were two more rooms and a bathroom set up almost identical to the other bedrooms. One was wired up for Mike to use for his radio station, which had two new amplifiers, three computers, and a satellite internet connection courtesy of the Joint Chief's of Staff. The other room was set up as a library for their book collection, with a gun rack built into the closet space.

Upstairs, Brad had his pick of four more bedrooms. He chose the one above his mom's room that gave him the best view down the canyon. Jason handed Brad a small wooden plaque he had made with one of the worker's help that read “Thomas Paine, Jr.” Brad's smile couldn't have been any bigger. Sitting between the four upstairs bedrooms was a game room and bathroom.

What had originally been Mike's reclusive, tiny, hide-away in the mountains was now a large family home. A wrap around porch had been added, even though Jessica and Taylor didn't want one, because Mike remembered that being the one feature Stacy had wanted more than anything. And outside, the south side of both the porch and house roofs were completely covered in new solar panels, with a power shed built off the back of the house.

The men had tried to replace Mike's old hand pump on his water well with an electric pump, but he adamantly refused. Instead, the electrician figured out a way to rig an electric motor to run the pump's handle, finding a compromise he would accept.

Mike woke up the next morning to Jessica and Taylor happily using their remodeled outdoor kitchen. It had a larger sink, more counter space, a larger grill, and a nice large pavilion built over it. Both of them had gotten up early to do their hair and put on makeup. Mike just figured they were enjoying themselves for their first day in the new house.

“Go back to bed,” Jessica yelled to him as he started to walk outside.

Mike wondered to himself
“What the hell do these two have up their sleeves this time?”

A little bit later they walked into the room to serve him breakfast in bed.

“Wow! I should have the house worked on more often,” he joked.

Brad walked in with Anthony trying to run along behind him.

“
1... 2... 3..,” and they started singing to him “Happy Birthday to you....”

Mike had completely forgotten it was his birthday again. “Oh, damn, I'm thirty-four now I guess. I think I would have preferred to forget that, but I can't think of a better way to get reminded either!”

“
Yep, and we're going to remind you all day long that it's your birthday. Anything you want to do today, we're doing it with you,” Taylor said, acting all giddy

Jessica's mood wasn't as chipper as Taylor's. She couldn't help but remembering Stacy, and the two of them deciding last year they wanted to make what they did for his birthday an annual tradition. But she managed to put that out of her mind and carry on with a smile, as she knew Stacy would want her to. “So, what are we doing today?” she asked.

Mike had Taylor bring Amy and the kids up to join them for the day. They all went swimming and shooting for most of the day. Then they sat on their new porch enjoying the canyon views while the kids played and Mike grilled out dinner.

That night after dinner, Brad and Anthony went home with Amy. Mike, Jessica and Taylor were drying off from a late nigh swim, sitting on a bench under their new pavilion, enjoying some wine Phillip had given them with the new house.

“
What's that sound?” Taylor asked.

“
Ah, dammit. Not today. I don't even have time to get inside and get dressed either,” Mike said, sounding disappointed.

Around the side of the house came a motorcycle. It's light shined on them, and it continued to pull up right to the pavilion.

“Why? Why today!?” Mike gasped just before the engine shut off.

“
Man, you guys have it made up here. I can't sit outside my house like that,” said Amanda as she took off her helmet.

“
Why are you here?” Mike asked, making no secret that he wished she was anywhere else.

“
I'm here because you won't answer your messenger, and you haven't set up your new SatLinc yet.”

“
No, I haven't set it up. Hell, I might not set the damn thing up. I didn't ask for this.”

“
No, but you agreed to it. And you're going to set it up tonight.”

“
I don't even know how to set the damn thing up. Last time I got online, AOL still had CD's sitting beside every cash register in America.”

“
Wait, what?” she asked, not knowing what he was talking about, or why Jessica found it to be so funny.

“
Well then get off your ass... off your bare ass, and go figure it out. It's not that hard,” Amanda snapped back with a bit of sass. “Yeah, and just why are you out here on your bare ass anyways. I've come up here before unannounced and never seen this.”

“Amanda, if I tell you will you go away?” Taylor said, showing her annoyance with Amanda's presence too.

“
I'll go away when he's on SatLinc. But I won't help myself to sticking around if you tell me.”

Mike hung his head, and whispered to Jessica, “Can I shoot her? Please?”

“
No,” Jessica giggled as she whispered back. “That's my job!”

“So, what's up with enjoying the cool breeze tonight?” Amanda said, pulling up a chair across from them.

“
Nothing exciting, Amanda. We're just drying off from a late swim, and enjoying the peace and quiet,” Taylor paused. “Or at least we
were
enjoying the peace and quiet
.”

Amanda folded her arms, glaring at Taylor. She looked over at Mike. “Thomas, we need to go get your SatLinc hooked up. You've got two votes that you have to cast, and one that I can't do for you.”