Chapter 6 Jason and his kids
December 18th, 2017
Chuc, chuc, chuc. Echoes through the valley. Jason has been digging with his excavator on and off for days. He had waited until December so the frost and cold would prevent the side of the mountain from sloshing down on his work. This winter had been so cold that by January the frost could have been 5 ft. deep and by then almost impossible to dig. His plan was to dig a hole 20 ft long and 12 ft. deep, as far into the side of the mountain as he dared. He was then going to put a sea can in place, bury the sides to the top and cover it with 18 ft. pressure treated timbers across the top. Once backfilled he was expecting a rock slide would come down the mountain covering the rest of it and camouflaging it naturally for him, failing that he was prepared to trigger one himself. Before the spring he wanted to stock it with survival gear, a diesel truck, Firearms and ammunition. Then with food and goods he thinks will store well and be good for barter in the event of a major catastrophe. With proper venting, everything in the sea can would be usable for years, all he had to do was dig up the entrance to gain access. He had until the first mud slides of the year to stock it and he meant to keep it a secret from everyone. Enough digging for the day, he moved the excavator to the treeline, shut it down and climbed off.
After a 5-minute walk he approaches a fenced in yard with 5 or 6 abandoned trucks and 1 recently deposited car in it. Instead of sending vehicles off to be recycled at the end of their life he puts them here and salvages parts for his currant trucks. His son Jack is in there right now removing parts from a truck similar to his own. Jason smiles as he shouts over the wall, “heading up to make some supper. Come up when you get done.” Passing the back yard, he mounts the deck and enters the back door.
Alicia is at the sink finishing up the dishes from earlier today and turns to see who just entered. Once she sees her father, she turns back to the sink and continues with what she was doing. Jason opens the freezer and rummages through for a moment. Pulling out some frozen vegetables and some cubed pork he decides to make a quick stir fry. In this house meals are always an afterthought and sometimes little more than a free for all. Same for cleaning, every now and then, he or Alicia decide to do a good cleaning but generally dishes get washed when they are all dirty, the floor gets swept once a week and everyone keeps their own space as tidy as they please.
Starting the propane stove he places a large saucepan over it to heat. As he does so he starts talking to his daughter, “your 16 next week, are you ready to write your driving exam?”
“I am but what do you want me to drive, your truck is way too big and I wouldn’t be caught dead driving Jacks truck.”
“we got a nice Pontiac Sunfire for you. Jack is in the boneyard getting a starter for it. Little newer than I like but we have the parts for it. Red 2 door hatchback. Nice body with hatchback and a 4 cylinder engine. Should get great gas mileage and be quite reliable.”
As he is just finishing his description the back door opens and Jack steps in, stomps his feet to knock the snow off and sits on a nearby bench to pull his boots off. “supper ready?”
“15 minutes, maybe 20. Did you get the starter off?”
“I did but the thing is under the exhaust manifold. What a stupid place to put it. Had to remove the exhaust pipes from underneath and get it from the bottom. I broke one of the bolts off. I am going to use heat to loosen the one on her car in the shop so I should be able to get it off. Has she seen it yet?”
“I was just describing it to her when you came in, you can take her out to see it while I finish dinner, after all the gift is from you too as you are doing all the mechanical work. Did you manage to find a heater core that will work with your truck?”
“I think so, it is a little longer but I can make it work. I got it out of the shortbox. Gotta pressure test it for leaks first though.” Motioning to Alicia he says, “lets go check out your new ride.” And walks towards the garage door. As he opens it a soft plume of cool air wafts in. No heat out here. No wind and no rain either so Jack would never complain. Jack walks over to the hoist and lowers the red sports coupe to the ground and smiles as he hears his sister gasp.
“I knew you two were getting me an old car but this is so awesome. It looks brand new, I love it.” With that she opens the door and drops into the seat, reaches for the shift knob but it is locked in place. Jacks hands her the key and she puts it into the ignition and turns it, nothing.
Jacks holds up the dirty starter, “needs this and a couple of other things. I will have it ready for your birthday. We got it from the Johnson’s in Hope, they had it in storage for 15 years, never got around to selling it when Pierce joined the army. By the time he got finished with training he thought it was a girly car and wanted a truck instead. It’s been there since. It will probably leak oil and make funny noises but I promise I will fix everything before you get your N.” Out of the corner of his eye he could see his dad standing at the open door listening in. Satisfied grin on his face.
“Suppers on, can one of you get your brother?” Jason says as he heads back to the kitchen.
Noticing Alicia is now playing with knobs and shifting gears Jacks realizes, “the someone”, is him so he heads into the house and down the hall to get his brother.
As he gets closer he begins to hear the sound of a clarinet. Practicing again, I wish he would play his guitar more thinks Jack, or even his Sax, but no. David likes his clarinet the most. Jack loves his brother but he really wishes he would toughen up. As he enters the room he fights back that thought as he looks around at the trophies his brother has won for everything from chess tournaments to track and field, judo and wrestling and even go Kart racing. Certificates for citizenship, Church service, music and public speaking. OK so he doesn’t play football or work on cars cars, is that so bad? “Hey little bro, suppers ready.”
“K. Be right in, got one last song to practice.”
January 15, 2018
Yesterday Jason finished backfilling his sea can and the only thing you can see is the front doors. It is still pretty obvious what is there as the two front doors are swung open and you can see inside. Sticking out the 2 sides are 4-inch pvc pipes angled down for vents, he is going to cover the exits with filter cloth and then with a lot of clear crushed and then more filter cloth. 2 holes in the floor near the front door have 6 inch PVC elbows but the drains aren’t visible because Jason has already covered them. Inside, almost tight to the left side is an 83 Chevy short box, sitting on blocks, tires still on, In the back of the truck is a 100-gallon propane tank. On the floor beside it at the rear are 2 more tanks, also full of propane. The container is 10 ft. wide and the truck is a little more than 5 ft. x 16 ft. so there is some space left for other things.” Good start but I need to figure a better way to camouflage the doors and still make them accessible for when I need to get in. If it doesn’t happen naturally with the spring thaw Jason knows he can trigger a slide and cover it but then how would he get back in.?” To nobody he shrugs, “dig I guess.”
Glancing at his watch he sees that it is nearly 4:00. The boys should be home so he heads up to the house. When he gets inside he is surprised to find Alicia at the sink doing dishes. “How did you get home so soon”, asks Jason.
“I got a ride with Jack and David.”
“Wont that hurt your rep?” says Jason teasingly. “Pretty hard to get into that truck without everyone noticing. “
“Its not really that bad. Half my friends would happily trade places with me. Its just that he is my brother and you know, embarrassing. The bus is so creepy anyways. It is almost dark when I get home and the walk form the stop creeps me out.”
Jessica adds, “Would you mind if I volunteered to help with the drama program.? They need people to help with sets and props. I may be able to get a part as well. Usually only the drama students get a chance, volunteers sometimes get a part as well.?”
“Ok with me, will you be finished in time to get a ride with Jack?”
“Jack and David have after class stuff every day, they rarely leave before 4:00. I bet today is the first time this year. He says he will wait for me and even help me if I need a hand. I have to sit in the back seat though, David won’t give up shotgun.”
“Sounds good to me.” Says Jason as he heads down the hall to David’s room. He can hear the sounds of shooting and raps on the door and then opens it. David is playing some shooting game on an old PS3 someone gave him after they got a new PS4 for Christmas. Jason never even knew he wanted one. Want a partner Jason says as he grabs a controller.
“Can’t do partners with this game, I can put in one that does. We can play Black ops 2.” David says as he slides the currant disk out and a new one in. Rapidly he takes the dangling wire from Jason’s controller and hooks it up. Never would he pass up an opportunity to play with his dad.
Once playing, David takes the lead, showing his father where to hide, travel and investigate. He shows him who the enemy is and who the non-combatants are. As Jason follows his son’s lead from mission to mission he can’t help being impressed with how much strategy his son has learned in only a few days. Might only be a game but he has learned in days as much as most gamers take months to learn. Strategy and reflexes are important in this game and they are important in life too. After several missions Jason realizes how consuming these game systems are and that he has spent more than 2 hours on it. “okay son, I have to get dinner ready, we will do this again, it was fun.”
Back in the kitchen he pulls out ingredients for dinner. Puts pasta on to boil, canned spaghetti sauce in a pan and some ground beef in the frypan. Quickly he gets supper made and puts the concoction on the middle of the table. He steps into the living room, Alicia is reading, jack is watching hockey. “suppers ready”. Your turn to do dishes after supper today, jack.
They both get to their feet and walk into the kitchen, Jason circles over to David’s room to get him. “Come on kido, dinners ready.”
As he gets to the table Jack is already heaping his plate with food. Kid can eat thinks Jason. Once everyone has food and is eating Jason starts a conversation with, “when does rugby practice start?”
“Not till early February. First game is not until early March. Actually, I was thinking of not playing this year.”
“really, why? You love rugby?”
“I got the scholarship at Washington state and I don’t want to take a chance of getting hurt. As much as I joke about being the backup to the backup, I really want to impress at camp this summer. plus, I really need to get a better job. I can take my NLS and 1 more course and I can get on at the pool lifeguarding. Kind of boring job but they pay really good.”
“I can’t fault you on you reasoning, just a little surprised. have you decided what major you are going to do yet.”
“Probably Chemistry, but I won’t know until my Sat scores get reviewed.” “They already have the results or they wouldn’t have accepted me but I need to have scored high enough in the sciences to take Chemistry. I go in for academic counselling in March. I hope you can get Aunt Isobel to let me stay there for a day or two. She is about an hour from the campus.”
“it might be better if you stayed with my other sister, Alana, she lives somewhere in Skagit county. She moved there sometime before Christmas. She has owned a small house there for years so she likely moved back into it. Since Nick joined the marines she is all alone but I doubt she needs any help with anything. I will talk to her next week.”
March 12, 2018
Sitting in traffic at the Vedder crossing, Jason wonders why he even works way out here. He left Vancouver at 4:00, it’s now 6 and it looks like he still has at least another hour to go. He has his trailer with his small excavator on it but almost all the other motorists he can see could easily have taken transit. They can’t because the powers that be never bothered to extend the train out to Chilliwack and the Inter Urban train that did run was shut down long way back in the 60’s. Everyone out here needs a car and there are plenty of dealerships willing to give out 84 month finance packages to anyone with a driver’s license. Short sighted planning and easy credit are why the world is on the precipice.
Since he started making and installing survival shelters he has had a steady increase in business. 2 years ago, it was 1 or 2 a month and now he could do one every day if he had the manpower. He did have a camper on the truck and slept in it when he worked out of town but when he upgraded to a larger excavator the truck could no longer handle the increased weight. His choices are to get a bigger truck, stay in motels or commute home every day. He may get one of Jacks friends to help him after they graduate high school. Jason tries to keep his prices low and, in a range where average homeowners can afford to put one in. That means doing most of the work on his own. With regular help he may be able to do 3 a week.
As a survivalist he not only believes something is coming but that he should be helping anyone who wants to be prepared to be able to do so as well. In addition to building the shelters, Jason helps with outfitting the shelters and provides the new owners with contacts so they can connect with other like-minded people.
Interestingly, most municipalities do not even require a permit to install a survival shelter and those that do only need hoarding permits so he can get his equipment in and out. Because of this the government has no idea where all the shelters are but Jack does and has a map at home with hundreds of them on it and keeps it in his own shelter.
Listening to the radio Jason hears that North Korea has sent another missile out over the Japan sea but this one travelled further than any of their previous missiles. The UN issued another weak-kneed response of condemnation but the US was quick to contact China to negotiate for even more sanctions and a possible blockade. This Trump guy might be unpopular but he is quick to respond and Jason thinks he isn’t someone who makes idle threats. Jason figures the phone will ring off the hook now. Things had been slowing down a bit as several other companies had gotten into the business and some of the people who were waiting on him went over to the new companies even though they are more expensive. If he is lucky he may get enough business from Langley and east and won’t have to come this far into city to get enough business. Then the bigger cities can be taken care of by someone else.
Today Jason will be putting the last of his survival gear and firearms into his own sea can. He is then going to close and lock the doors and backfill the front. He is pretty sure nobody knows it is there but not absolutely certain. Spring rains are coming and nature will take care of the rest for sure this year. Snow pack is huge, his only concern is that it will be so buried he will never get back in.
Traffic starts moving so he gets going. After about 10 minutes he passes by the Lickmen overpass and sees 2 transports and several vehicles in the center median. The inside lane is still blocked and several recovery vehicles are all working on extracting cars from the ditch. Glad I wasn’t involved in that he thought. Timing is everything.
David and his friend Jimmy, from down the road, are in the woods to the east below the mountain. They carefully sneak over to the sea can taking care to not leave fresh footprints. Locked again! They have never seen what is inside and David has never asked his father about it, but he knows it must be important or his dad would not have locked it. Dad said on this property nothing is locked and has told him that he would never want to live in a world where he had to lock his house. The gun cabinet is locked but his dad told him that is because it is against the law to leave it unlocked. All the equipment and trucks and even the tractor need a key to start and now a locked sea can. It must be about value then. So, what could possibly be so valuable in the sea can?
Chapter 7
Alana
March 13thth 2018
Turning over to the right merge lane, Alana can hear the w900 Kenworth rumble as she shifts down slowing it without using the brakes. She smiles as she sees the outskirts of Mt Vernon from the off ramp of the I 5. The big Kenworth comes to a stop at Mt Vernon road and Alana wheels the big truck to the right, swinging wide as she has to clear the inside of the 53-ft. trailer. One more easy right and another mile brings her to the house she had purchased after her husband died. She has never lived here and had rented it out through a local real estate firm for 15 years. She had intended to move here sooner but ageing parents and a son who wanted to stay with his friends had kept her in Helena until Nick shipped out for Basic, starting on his own life. Shifting down, she slowed to a crawl, waited until the other lane was clear and took a wide right into the recently enlarged driveway. With 15 acres and a large workshop, she had plenty of room to park her new truck and starting next week she would be back on the road. Now she would be long haul trucking, not local, and her rig was not only bigger but equipped to allow her to comfortably sleep overnight along the way. Pulling to a stop she wondered why the lights were on, as she stepped down the lights went off.
What the hell, she thought as she climbs back up, grabs a 12 gauge, inserts 5 shells and steps back down. Slowly she creeps towards the house and circles around the side. Listening at the window she can hear hushed conversation and quickly realizes she is not expected and that at least three people are in her house. Slipping into a nearby copse of bushes she takes out her cell and quietly dials 911.
As she peers from the bush, a figure slinks from the house and sneaks up to the parked, idling truck. She can see the figure plainly as he passes across the headlights to get to the drivers’ side.
“Mt. Vernon Sheriffs dept.” says the dispatcher.
Quietly she explains, “I own a house on Cedarville road and I just drove into my driveway but some people are in my house. The lights went out as I was getting out of my truck. I took a shotgun and am hiding in the bushes to the south. Someone is checking out my truck now.”
“I have dispatched a unit, it is 5 minutes out. Are the intruders armed?”
“I can’t tell. Wait, yes, it is a white male, just crossed the front of the truck. He has some sort of an assault weapon.”
“stay hidden, I am dispatching additional units. You should hear sirens any moment.”
At that moment the garage doors burst open as a pickup truck blasts from the house, it stops momentarily to pick up the lone male. As the truck races to the entrance, a police cruiser blocks the exit. Officers jump from the vehicle as the truck slams into reverse. Both officers take cover behind the cruiser as the truck does a 180 and races towards the back exit. Alana steps from the bushes as the truck races forward, takes aim and discharges two quick rounds directly into the grill of the truck. The truck heals to the left, catching its right wheels and rolls over. By the time it comes to rest, a passenger is attempting to extricate himself. Quickly both officers and Alana have their weapons trained on the truck.
The closest officer shouts at Alana to stand down and step back into cover. “We got this mam”, he says.
The second officer shouts at the passengers in the disabled truck, “throw out your weapons and come out with your hands up.” The first passenger to exit, holds his obviously empty hands in front of him and begins to slide out the window as a hail of bullets envelope the officer from the opposite side of the truck. By now several other officers are running from the road to the scene, all with weapons drawn and one with a high-powered rifle.
Alana is now flat on the ground, still clutching her shotgun with its remaining three rounds. The man with the assault rifle runs around the front of the truck and looks to have the officer who spoke to Alana in his sights. Without thinking she fires center mass at the intruder. He falls to the ground, gun clattering away.
“Another clattering noise as a weapon is tossed from the vehicle, “Don’t shoot, I’m coming out, exclaims the third man in the truck.”
“The officer is now shouting into his mike, officer down, officer down, and then yells to the two men on the ground, face down, hands out.” He cautiously approaches as the other officers sets up a perimeter. Clapping handcuffs on the first he says, anyone else in the house.
Sensing hesitation in the face down man he yells, “house isn’t clear, repeat, house isn’t clear. “
The officers now take cover from the house as more units arrive. The officer nearest Alana claps cuffs on the second man and tosses their weapons far out of reach. He goes to the downed officer and begins putting pressure on his chest wound. He turns to Alana and says “thanks, I owe you but let us take it from here. You need to get back and take cover.”
“An officer with a bullhorn steps behind the hood of Alana’s truck and shouts, house is surrounded, throw out your weapons and come out with your hands up.”
“We are unarmed comes a voice from inside. We are coming out.”
After the third man exits, a woman exits. The officers relax a moment before she lifts her hand with a short stubby looking thing. It takes only moments before the officers realize it’s a sub machine gun, but she is still able to fire off a 10-round blast before being shot by return fire. The other men fall to the ground, either intentionally or because they were also hit by return fire.
All quiet now. The officer with the bullhorn is unharmed, he shouts over his bullhorn, “anyone else in the house. Come out 1 at a time with your hands up. To the 4 people on the grass he shouts, stay where you are, facedown.” Only 2 are moving. No sound comes from the house.
With this the officer with the bullhorn, who appears to be the senior man gets on the radio, “anyone else hit.”
Someone else replies, “everyone accounted for and no injuries. Swat is 10 ETA. Ambulance is here, Simpson and Jones just took marshal to the road, doesn’t look good.”
8 minutes pass, no noise from the house, an officer has collected Alana and taken her around to the gate of the house, the truck and trailer providing cover.
“Could you tell us if there are any other exits from the house.” Asks a senior appearing Sherriff.
“Back door, side door into garage, another back door from the garage.” Pausing she then continues, 2 bedrooms, 1 each side of hallway upstairs, bathroom end of hall. All windows would provide pretty good vantage over all of your men.
With this the officer gets on the radio, “snipers, cover all the upper windows, fire on any threats.” Looking at Alana he says, anything else you can tell me about the house that I may need to know.
“Full basement, all the outside walls are concrete stucco. Nothing else that I can think of.”
“That’s plenty, thanks for your help mam, I’d like you go out past the outer perimeter, someone there can help you. Where is your shotgun?”
“The officer who brought me to you has it, I don’t know where it is now.”
With that Alana crouches as she sprints to the outer perimeter, as she gets there, swat arrives, disgorging several heavily armed, body armor clad troopers. As she watches they fan out and replace officers who fall back to the outer perimeter.
On the bullhorn the senior officer once again demands they come out one at a time, hands up. No response. He nods at the swat commander as they quickly and silently breach the house. From the house, Alana hears, “clear, clear, clear, next.” Other voices, “Clear, clear, clear, heading upstairs.” More “clear, clear,” until, “got something.” Shouting she can’t make out and finally an “all clear.” One of the swat members comes out. He walks over to the senior officer, his weapon safely pointed to the sky and states “all clear sir. You need to come see this.”
Alana stands beside a cruiser on the other side of the road as the Swat team exits with several handcuffed people. Men and women, all Hispanic and wearing white lab coats and hair nets.
As she is watching the scene, several firetrucks and a hazmat unit arrives. The police make a pathway for them and the trucks drive into the driveway. A woman emerges from the hazmat truck and after a word with the senior officer starts issuing instructions to the fire department men and the driver of the hazmat vehicle. The police start leaving and within 20 minutes almost all the police are on their way back to the station or patrol. One of the senior officers drives Alana back to the precinct.
After several hours of being questioned and filing a statement Alana was feeling like a criminal herself. They had even fingerprinted her. Makes sense thinks Alana, after all I did kill a man tonight. The captain and the chief walk in and close the door. First thing the chief says is, “don’t get up, I want to shake your hand. You saved a deputy’s life today and it looks like the other deputy is going to pull through as well. All the questions and the fingerprints are routine in every fatal shooting but you will not be charged on my watch. To this town you are a hero.” As he speaks he hands her a coffee and some creamers.
Alana sighs in relief. “why were they in my house?”
The Captain looks at the chief who nods and responds, “Meth lab, I don’t think they expected you were coming home so soon. It looks like they were wrapping up and they would have been gone in about 2 or 3 days. We have already arrested your real estate agent. I can’t tell you any more at this point.”
The captain then says, “At this moment your house is a crime scene. As soon as Hazmat leaves we will have investigators in there. We can’t let you go back for at least a few days, probably more. Even then, your house will be a chemical wasteland. I would also be worried about your septic system as they likely dumped a lot of chemicals do the drain.”
“What about my gun?”
“You can have your shotgun back right away, no ballistics to be had. You also have some fresh holes in your truck. Ballistics’ is already done, its in the police yard, you can have it back whenever you want.”
“Can I park it in my yard while your investigators are there?”
The captain thinks about it a moment and replies, “I will talk with the state police investigator, they have taken over the case, we don’t have the resources in this department.”
3 days later
From her motel room, Alana reflects on her experience of three days ago. She stands at the window and looking out at her rental car she thinks that timing is everything. Had she driven in 2 hours later the lights would have been off and she would have walked into her house with no warning and right into a bunch of murderous thugs. Things would have turned out very differently.
As she looks at the police report she sighs at the loss of three lives, two seriously wounded and 4 more locked up in the state remand awaiting arraignment. They will all be charged with the attempted murder of the injured police officer and they will all be charged with felony-murder for the deaths of their co-conspirators. Plus, multiple drug and weapons offences. None of these people will ever contribute to society and likely never had. Plus, all the pain and suffering their poison had wrecked upon the community, they deserve everything they will be getting.
Taking her keys off the desk she heads out the door and locks it. She remotely unlocks her car and gets in. A quick trip and she parks in front of her insurance agents’ office and exits the car. Inside she takes a seat in the reception area and after a few moments she notices a sign that reads, NO RECPTION on duty. Idly she wonders how they would know she was here. An office door opens and a 30ish portly man stands at the door, “are you Alana Watts.”
“I am and You are?” She says as she holds out her hand.
He shakes it and says “I am Mark Fulton, one of the partners here. Come on in, can I get you anything,” as he gestures to a seat in front of an aged but well-built desk.
“I am fine, I just want to get this going so I can get back into my house.”
“The problem is Mrs. Watts, is that our adjusters cannot even get into the house to see what is damaged, the police are still in there.”
“Please, call me Alana.”
“Ok. But like I am saying, until we can get in and access the damage I cannot even venture to guess how long it will take to get you back in. I have seen houses condemned because they had operations like this for a long time and the damage can be dramatic. Then there the issue of liability.”
“liability? You think it is my fault?”
“No but you are an absentee owner. From what I understand you had an arrangement with a local real estate firm to administer the rental. I have been in contact with their insurance company as well but they are reluctant to make any commitment because of the criminal charges laid against the agent.”
Standing up, Alana reiterates what she just heard. “you are telling me that I may not be covered by my home insurance because my tenant broke the law and that the rental agent who administered it broke the law as well.”
“I don’t make the rules, Alana, if you check the policy it does not cover damage in the event of illegal drug manufacturing and other specified criminal activities.” Mark went on to add, “But I will argue that you were unaware of the activities and had a licensed real estate broker representing you. You exercised your due diligence and had no reason to doubt your property was not being properly monitored.”
“What about the real estate firm, don’t they have some responsibility in this. He worked for them.”
“Your insurance company will attempt to force the real estate agency to share in the costs at the very least. They in turn will turn to their insurance who has already indicated they will not pay any claims as a result of fraud. By knowingly allowing illegal activities to be conducted at your property, you real estate agent committed fraud. Let me remind you, I do not work for either insurance company, I work for my clients, you.”
“I appreciate your efforts but I believe these insurance companies are not really in business to benefit us customers, their goal is to receive premiums and do their utmost to avoid pay out claims. Work with my insurance to see if they will cover my losses but there is another avenue. The way I see it, the real estate agency is responsible for the damage and if the insurance wont pay I will sue them. Then they can fight it out with their own insurance company.”
March 24th
Alana, sitting in her kitchen, can’t help but smell the drugs that were recently produced in her house. Even though she had cleaned the whole house with bleach and with every other chemical she could buy, she doubts the smell will ever leave, at least in her mind. The adjuster was in. Broken glass, flooring, wall and trim repairs and full paint in the house. Septic system is done, garage door is ripped from the frame and several barrels of unknown toxic sludge in the back shop. The insurance companies are still fighting about who is going to pay and if they don’t, the real estate firm will. Alana was going to do the immediate repairs herself so she can move back in and bill them for that too.
Her cell rings, glancing at the display she recognizes a familiar Canadian number. Jason, her younger brother. “hi brother, how’s things in the great white north?’
“Still white, and cold, global warming hasn’t hit us yet. How is the move.”
“Haven’t unpacked yet. Truck is still full of everything I own. I am going to start tomorrow.”
“Did you stay in Helena longer than you planned?”
“Had a delay on this end, I will give you’re the whole story when I see you next.”
“Speaking of that, Jack has two days of interviews and exams for placement at the university. Is there any chance he can stay at your place for a few days in March?”
“shouldn’t be a problem, its quite a drive though. I am hoping to be on the road by then so there is a good chance I won’t even see him here.”
“Thanks, I’ll let you know the actual date when he gets it confirmed.”
“how is nick doing, He must be done boot camp by now?”
“He has another week to go. He calls about once a week but as soon as he gets to trade training I hope to hear from him more often.”
“Trade training. What trade is going to do.”
“Combat engineer. He was always handy with tools and now he gets to be a soldier and a tradesman.”
“Good plan. Do you know where he will train?”
“Not yet. I don’t even know if he knows yet. Could be a wait to get in, He will be home for a few weeks in the summer. I will likely bring him up to visit with you Canadians.”
“Gotta go sis. Keep in touch. Thanks for letting Jack stay with you.”
Alana hangs up and pops the phone into her pocket. She puts the dishes at the sink and pulls on a light jacket. She heads out to the small barn out back and opens the door to her workshop. Hanging on the wall is a well-worn carpenters apron and assorted carpentry tools. She takes the belt and wraps it around her waist, poking the buckle through at the smallest size. She then takes a hammer, tape measure, chalk line and other tools and puts them all in the appropriate pockets.
Suited up, Alana grabs her plans and heads back to the house to start the needed repairs. She is not going to wait for a bunch of pencil pushers to get her house back in order, she can do it herself.
Chapter 8
On more trip to the well
World debt November, 2018 61,493,800,390,650
US unemployment less than 5.1 percent
Inflation rate, 2.5 percent
US Fed rate. 2.25 %
Real Fed rate -1.93
With the 4th rate increase in the last 12 months the treasury has its hands full trying to curtail growth in the inflation rate. Unemployment is up but still historically low at 5.1 percent. USA debt is at all time highs as servicing the debt alone now consumes over 6.5% of the federal budget and represents 1.4% of the GDP.
Here are a few of the most striking American debt statistics according to a sept 2018 Nerdwallet Report.
· The total pool of consumer debt has surpassed $1.39 trillion.
· The median student loan debt for a person who has attended some college or graduated from college is more than $52,000.
· The average household credit card debt is about $5,000 with the median debt at more than $17,000.
· The average mortgage debt is nearly $184,000.
· The average auto loan exceeds $32,000.
· Personal loans and other miscellaneous debt are more than $10,650 per household.
· The total average of debt combined (including those who have no debt at all) is $148.5 thousand per household.
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Personal bankruptcies are up by at least 10% over the same time last year.
In Canada, consumer proposals have become the go to for people who have gotten into serious debt. Loses due to bad debt are increasing. Finance and credit card companies are scrambling to make up for loses and lost revenue due to voluntarily tightening credit.
Meanwhile, with the interest rates increasing by a full point in just 12 months, many people who were on the edge are finding themselves unable to renegotiate new mortgages and have put their houses on the market. While most are able to sell, the extra inventory on the market has begun to weaken prices which have fallen 10% or more in most markets.
Foreclosures, which hit 11-year lows in 2017 are now increasing at an alarming rate. Those foreclosures are not on the market yet so it is too early for them to affect the markets.
NAFTA talks between Canada, United States and Mexico broke off with no agreement in august. The previous agreement is back in force backed by the WTO. Several disputes are already in the courts with many more to come. Job losses and price increases have been experienced in all three countries but actual numbers will not be available until more time has passed to provide more data.
Germanys minority government fell and new elections are in December. Riots in the streets, the rise of the Nazi party and massive increases in homelessness has devastated Most EU countries.
England has had to increase taxes to mitigate the costs of exiting the EU. Riots in the streets and a growing divide between the two groups have increased dramatically. 7 fatalities have been the direct result of these riots.
Scotland, Wales and Ireland have all expressed their desire to remain in the Union and Scotland is expected to hold another separation vote early in 2019.
Italy has demanded a debt restructuring similar to the one given to Greece in 2010. Total cost to the IMF will be in the billions, possibly trillions. Greece has received 3 bailouts so far and no end in sight and now Italy wants the same. The difference, Italy’s economy is almost 10 times the size of Greece and a bailout is simply not possible.
In north America a New movement is taking root in almost every post secondary institution. It started in Canadian institutions and has now spread into the US. It’s called the United Nations Now activist association. Their stated goal is not only continued membership in the United Nations but an enhanced role where the United Nations should have veto power over any laws and economic legislation that has an international impact. This would include all military actions both national and international and all trade between UN members. An international common currency administered by the IMF is seen as the way the UN could truly unite the world and public debt could be dealt with more efficiently.
Demonstrations and riots in the USA have evolved from the anti trump and Black Lives matter riots of 2016/17 and now encompass many more groups such as the UNNAA, 99% and several anti poverty groups.
Even in Canada the demonstrations have turned to riots in Montreal and Toronto.
In other economic news.
Most States and all of Canada will have a 15 dollar an hour minimum wage by the end of 2018.
Guaranteed minimum income is now the big talk in liberal government circles and at most universities.
Minimum wage increases the speed of development and implementation of automation and robotics as merchants and manufacturers scramble to maintain a competitive advantage. Unemployment remains steady for management, skilled, technical and administrative jobs but the low skilled and entry level jobs are rapidly disappearing.
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