American Exit Strategy: Book 1 (21 page)

The plan was finalized and presented to the attendees of the crisis control meeting. The Federal Reserve was to inject $3 trillion dollars into the Exchange Stability Fund with which the traders would prop up the Dollar and the stock market on Monday following the Thanksgiving Holiday. Prior to driving up the price of gold, the traders were instructed to acquire as much physical gold as possible. The acquisition was to be made by shell corporate holding companies and held in Zurich. This was to be the most top secret operation in recent U.S. history.

The $3 trillion in newly created Fed monies would never be reported on any balance sheet and were to be retired after the crisis was brought under control. It was completely illegal, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

Al Mohammad readied himself to give his speech to the American public. It was only 11:00 a.m., but this had already been a very tiresome day.

All the news stations were broadcasting the speech.

"My fellow Americans. We have more to be thankful for tomorrow than we have had on any Thanksgiving day since the first time the pilgrims celebrated Thanksgiving over 400 year ago. We have finally achieved the American dream of oil independence. With new technologies being used in the Eagle Ford oil field in Texas and the Bakken oil field in North Dakota, our country is now producing 85% of the oil that America uses. The other 15% is supplied by countries that are friendly with America like our good neighbor to the north, Canada.

This has enabled us to sever ties with hostile regimes in the Middle East and other regions of the globe that treat their citizens unfairly. America can no longer claim the moral high ground while we support governments that abuse women and people with beliefs that are different from theirs. Just as America's first independence required sacrifice, this independence from foreign oil does not come without a cost.

We are going to be temporarily rationing gasoline until production in our own oil fields can be adjusted. Every American will be allotted  five gallons per week for necessary travel. For those who have to travel farther than that, we recommend public transportation and car pooling. Beginning Monday, you will be able to go on the Department of Energy's website and sign up using your social security number to receive your new Gasoline Independence Card. The Independence cards will be mailed out within two days of your application and with them we will start getting back to normal.

America has never been more resilient than it is right now and we will become even stronger in the days and weeks to come. Being able to shed this addiction on foreign oil will make our future brighter than you can imagine.

Anytime there is an abrupt event, markets get spooked and indexes plummet. We have seen this time after time throughout history. As we look back, those were some of the best times to have purchased stocks. These things always work themselves out. I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see a major relief rally when markets reopen for trading Monday morning.

Tomorrow morning,  get up and watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade with your loved ones, eat turkey till it comes out your ears, then sit back and enjoy some football or watch 'It's a Wonderful Life', because it truly is a wonderful life. That’s what I will be doing. Be thankful to the universe and yourselves for all you have. Take care of each other America. Happy Thanksgiving."

Al Mohammad smiled like he didn't have a care in the world. For once, it wasn't an act. He couldn't wait to be free of this office. His Thanksgiving would be as wonderful as anyone could imagine. America had always bought his lies before, why wouldn't they buy it now? He gave them the confidence they needed to get through these hard times. He thought to himself, "If they knew what I had just saved them from, they would be thankful to me, rather than some mystic being in the sky."

CHAPTER 29

"Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates
day and night. He is like a tree
planted by streams
of water,
which yields its fruit
in season and whose leaf
does not wither. Whatever he does prospers."

Psalm 1:1-3

Matthew and Karen Bair woke up much later than everyone else. Janice offered to make them a big breakfast, but they only wanted coffee and toast. Adam had already spent a couple hours cutting wood that morning and was getting ready to watch the president's speech that was scheduled for 11:00. Wesley and Shelly had been hunting early that morning.  Providence had blessed them with a wild turkey. It was cleaned and they were just bringing it in.

"Wow" Matt said. "That’s a big bird you shot Wes."

"Shelly shot it" Wesley replied.

Adam joked "If thing don't work out between you two, we will keep Shelly and send Wesley packing."

Shelly smiled and blushed just a bit. She fit like a glove in the Bair Family. She had been nervous about blending in when Wesley picked her up the day before.

Janice commented "This certainly will make a nice Thanksgiving bird tomorrow."

The president's speech started and they all gathered around to hear what he had to say.

Karen said "It’s almost pointless to listen to him. Whatever he says, you know it’s going to be a lie."

"We have eight years of experience of trying to decipher the lies and make an educated guess of what is really going on." Wesley replied.

"Unfortunately, I never perfected that skill." said Janice.

They listened as he explained the gas ration cards. Wesley shot Matt a look as the president mentioned the possibility of a relief rally on Monday.

"Sounds like he might have some inside information."  Wesley said to Matt.

"Careful Wes. There is a thin line between conspiracy theory and treason." Matt joked.

Wesley said "Yeah, if you can't prove it, it’s conspiracy theory. If you have proof, it’s treason."

Shelly made a mock gagging gesture as she heard the president close with the part about being thankful to the universe and to yourselves.

"So the collapse of the petro-dollar system was the best thing that ever happened to us?" Adam said. "Then why did I spend six years in the sandbox getting shot at to prop it up? If it was that great, we could have let that happen a long time ago. We could have also saved $1 trillion bucks a year on defense spending; not to mention the men and women who sacrificed their lives, their limbs and their minds"

Matt said "Anthony Howe has a tough act to follow. I don't know if anyone can be as much of a dirt bag as Al Mohammad."

Wesley replied "I have a lot of faith in Howe. I think he will surprise you with what a tremendous dirt bag he can be. He has dirt bag skills you have never dreamed about."

Janice started preparing a few items for the Thanksgiving feast that was to be on the following day. She started her prep work and made a batch of cornbread for the stuffing. Shelly wanted to make sure she made a good first impression so she went in to help.

"Thank you so much Shelly, but you have already done enough by providing the turkey." Janice said.

"God provided it, I just took the shot He gave me." Shelly said.

Janice though to herself "This girl is too good to be true." She was happy to have Shelly around. All of Wesley's girlfriends hadn't been this sweet.

"So I guess the 'universe' had nothing to do with it either?" Janice laughed.

"Not at all." Shelly replied with a chuckle.

Adam and Wesley drove Matt and Karen over to look at the property they were considering. They walked around and looked over the exterior and the out buildings. They called the realtor who gave them the code for the lock box. As providence would have it, they were able to get through on the phone. Normally, she would have never give out the lock box code but the gas rations made her decide against driving 15 miles each way to let them in.

Matt was scared to ask, but he did it anyway. "What do you think Karen?"

"I love it." she replied.

"Really?" he asked.

"Really!" Karen affirmed.

Matt grabbed her and hugged her tight. "Thank you baby." he said.

"Let's call the Realtor." Matt said.

Adam said "Ya'll don't want to pray about it first?"

Matt replied "Sure." He lifted his hands and eyes towards Heaven and said "Lord, open the door if this is your will and close it if it isn't."

Adam smiled and shook his head.

Matt offered $55,000. The realtor said she would get the offer ready and e-mail it to Matt to sign. When they returned to Adam's, Matt printed out the contract. He and Karen signed and initialed the contract. Matt scanned it back into the computer and e-mailed it right back to the realtor. 

Wesley checked his phone and said "Paul Randal is issuing a video response to Al Mohammad's speech."

"You get a text alert on that?" Adam asked.

"Yeah, it is scheduled for 8:30 p.m.." Wesley responded.

Janice popped some popcorn for the event. This would be much better that listening to Al Mohammad drone on. Everyone gathered around the computer screen in the office where Karen and Matt were sleeping temporarily. Miss Mae even came out from under the couch to see what the commotion was about. She had only come out from under the fold out couch to eat since they arrived. She took her time feeling out any new environment before getting to know the new neighbors.

Paul Randal began speaking. "Patriots, I know none of you who are listening to me fell for the hogwash dished out by Mustafa Al Mohammad today. Once again he has lied to the American people and told them wrong is right and black is white. What you saw in Monday's market crash was not an answered prayer. It was the inevitable end of confidence in the U.S. Dollar. OPEC has lost all faith in our fiat currency and that has triggered a currency collapse. Disregard the lies coming from the administration and do everything you can to get out of U.S. dollars immediately. Purchase anything that will hold value. Buy tools, fuel, canned food, ammo or whatever has a shelf life of over five years.

Mustafa and his henchmen have no doubt concocted some mindless scheme to procrastinate our day of reckoning. Whatever their plan, it is the equivalent of trying to support the Golden Gate Bridge with a roll of duct tape. I have much more faith in duct tape than our administration or the U.S. Dollar, but one roll would be far less than what would be required to hold up a bridge.

Tomorrow, I pray you will all have a blessed Thanksgiving. I pray that while many will be separated from friends and family because of the gas shortages, that we will all be one in the spirit. I will agree that we do have much to still be thankful for. We can be thankful that we have a God watching over us that is more powerful that the universe or ourselves. May we be thankful that He always hears our prayers and guides us through difficult times.  Happy Thanksgiving Patriots!"

"Maybe that will keep me from having bad dreams about Al Mohammad.” Karen said.

Everyone chuckled, but she wasn't really joking.

Matt helped Adam bring in some more firewood to keep the fire going all night, then everyone got ready for bed. Adam shot Wesley a look and pointed with two fingers from his own eyes to Wesley. It was the international sign for "I'll be watching you." Wesley smiled without saying a word. He knew his brother only wanted what was best for him and Shelly, but he also knew he was serious.

The next morning, Janice was up early. She made a huge breakfast for everyone. Karen helped her clean up and the two of them started the Thanksgiving feast.  Shelly took Mandy and Carissa out to forage for acorns and brightly colored leaves. When they returned with their treasures, they used them to fashion a center piece for the table.

Carissa ran into the family room where the men were talking. She grabbed Adam and said "Daddy, daddy, come see what we made for the table!" Adam was caught. He could go the hard way or the easy way. He decided to make it easy on himself and just do as he had been instructed.

Everyone gathered around the table when the meal was ready. They stood and took turns saying a brief prayer to thank God for something each was grateful for. The circle ended with Adam who said a bit longer prayer and asked God to bless the meal and to protect them from the coming storm.

CHAPTER 30

"He said to them, "But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one."

Luke 22:36

Matthew Bair hung up the phone with Blain Phelps. "The house in Florida closed this morning." he announced.

"And the money is in our account?" Karen asked.