Deep Winter by Thomas Sherry

Author:Thomas Sherry
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, pdf
Tags: Literary, Nature, Mount, Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945), General, Fiction - General, Rainier, Earthquakes & Volcanoes, General & Literary Fiction, Washington State, Spokane (Wash.), Fiction, Earthquakes, Volcanic eruptions
ISBN: 9780615154411
Publisher: Two Dogs Publishing
Published: 2007-07-26T04:00:00+00:00

NASDAQ

801.22

S&P 500

505.70

324

Gold

1007.26

Silver

17.86

“Broke a thousand,” I said, half to myself.

“What’d you say?” Ron said.

“Gold. Over a grand an ounce.”

“That’s what Libby said. And silver way up too.”

“Yeah. That retirement fund of mine just bit it though.”

“Yours, mine, and everyone’s.”

‘Not everyone’s,’ I thought to myself. Someone—probably a group of someone’s—were cleaning up like nothing seen since Twenty-Nine. Contrary to popular belief, not everyone got creamed in that crash. I was sure that was the case this time, too. Some were probably like Andy Welt. Some were much more ruthless, I was sure.

I looked out the shop window as the snow fell, now in small flakes, indicating the drop in temperature. ‘So the markets were finally tanking like I thought,’ I thought to myself. ‘No, worse than I thought. So when does the generally dumb public realize it? Have they already? Are we being kept in the dark?’

“Whatcha thinking,” Karen said as she embraced me from behind, her cheek against my shoulder.

“How bumpy it’s going to be on the way down.”

“No telling. Have you heard anything about the banks reopening?”

“Not a word. I’ll see if I can find something out at the community center this afternoon. They should know something. Oh, also Mike said that census takers were coming around today. They’re trying to find out how many casualties there were and how many people are still here.”

325

“What else are they trying to find out? How much stuff we’ve got?”

I was silent for a minute, pondering what she’d said. “I never thought about that. Quite possible.”

“Then we better not advertise.”

“Yeah, but it’s not gonna be hard for them to figure it out.”

“We can always look poor.”

“You mean like on the old Jack Benny show when the tax man came?”

“Yep. Not too much of a stretch right now. Look around! We’re living in a barn!”

“True enough. How ‘bout you, Libby and the girls work on that project. Hide the stuff that makes it look like we prepared in the first place. The kerosene lamps, throw some clothes over the shelves over there, mess the place up, and air it out. It smells like the Mustard Seed in here with that lunch we just enjoyed. We need to look like….”

“Peasants.”

“Yeah. Think Dr. Zhivago.”

“Where’s my balalaika when I really need it?”

“It might work, no guarantees. But there was no point in preparing for something like this if we’re going to let the government take it from us.”

“What if they figure it out?”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. We have a friend or two in higher places, that might help. The hospitality we’ve been providing to the military and law enforcement folks can’t hurt either, I hope.”

326

“Let’s hope you’re right,” Ron said. “We should go get our outside duties taken care of. It’s not getting any nicer out there.”

“Yep. Back to the salt mines….”

Ron and I put our outerwear back on, and I grabbed a drier pair of glove liners and my mittens, and one of the charged radios. We headed out through the

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