Part 1 (1/2)
Founders.
James Wesley, Rawles.
Dramatis Personae.
James Alstoba-Baptist minister and part-time metal detectorist, near Williams, Arizona.
Dale Bennet-gra.s.slands biologist and rabbit breeder, Scottsbluff, Nebraska.
Peter Blanchard-first lieutenant, USAF, missileer at Malmstrom AFB, Montana Chambers Clarke-fertilizer and pesticide salesman, Radcliff, Kentucky Hollan Combs-retired property manager and soils a.n.a.lyst, Bradfordsville, Kentucky Brent Danley-trauma nurse from Waterville, Vermont.
Jennifer Danley-wife of Brent Danley Ron Emerson-father of Rebecca (Emerson) Fielding Adrian Evans-a Nashville attorney and friend of Ben Fielding.
Ben Fielding-attorney in Muddy Pond, Tennessee Joseph Fielding-son of Ben and Rebecca Fielding; thirteen years old at the onset of the Crunch Rebecca (Emerson) Fielding-wife of Ben Fielding.
Dan Fong-industrial engineer from Chicago; member of Todd Gray's Idaho survivalist retreat group Ignacio Garcia-leader of the criminal gang La Fuerza Todd Gray-leader of a group retreat near Bovill, Idaho.
Chet Hailey-owner of Chet's Crawlers and Haulers, a four-wheel drive vehicle repair and modification specialist garage in Chicago, Illinois Dustin Hodges-deputy sheriff in Marion County, Kentucky Maynard Hutchings-member of the Hardin, Kentucky, board of supervisors Tom ”T.K.” Kennedy-Todd Gray's dormitory roommate and cofounder of The Group Captain Andrew ”Andy” Laine-Army Ordnance Corps officer.
Lisbeth ”Beth” Laine-wife of Lars Laine Grace Laine-daughter of Lars and Lisbeth; six years old at the onset of the Crunch; nicknamed ”Anelli”
Kaylee (Schmidt) Laine-wife of Andy Laine Major Lars Laine-disabled U.S. Army veteran.
Cliff Larson-HVAC technician from Scottsbluff, Nebraska Ken Layton-off-road vehicle mechanic, Chicago, Illinois; member of Todd Gray's Idaho survivalist retreat group Terry Layton-wife of Ken Layton; member of Todd Gray's Idaho survivalist retreat group Kevin Lendel-computer programmer living near Bovill, Idaho; member of Todd Gray's Idaho survivalist retreat group L. Roy Martin-owner of the Bloomfield Refinery; nicknamed ”El Rey” by his Spanish-speaking employees Curt Mehgai-oilfield worker and U.S. Army veteran Jim Monroe-rancher near Raynesford, Montana; father of Kelly (Monroe) Watanabe Rhonda Monroe-wife of Jim Monroe; mother of Kelly (Monroe) Watanabe Carl Norwood-rancher in b.u.t.te County, South Dakota Cordelia Norwood-wife of Carl Norwood.
Graham Norwood-son of Carl and Cordelia Norwood; sixteen years old at the onset of the Crunch the Old Man-nickname of the anonymous leader of a Kentucky-based resistance reconnaissance unit Brigadier General Edward Olds-Mechanized Infantry brigade commander, Fort Knox, Kentucky Francisco Ortega-ranch hand, Raynesford, Montana; sixteen years old at the onset of the Crunch Jedediah Peoples-resistance infantryman from Westmoreland, Tennessee Durward Perkins-farmer in West Branch, Iowa Karen Perkins-wife of Durward Perkins.
Larry Prine-farmer near Morgan City, Utah Lynda Prine-wife of Larry Prine Sheila Randall-general store owner and widow of Jerome Randall.
Tyree Randall-son of Sheila Randall; ten years old at the onset of the Crunch Major General Clayton Uhlich-post commander at Fort Knox, Kentucky Lily Voisin-grandmother (”Grandmere”) of Sheila Randall and great-grandmother of Tyree Randall; eighty-five years old at the onset of the Crunch Joshua Watanabe-senior airman (E-4), Missile Maintenance NCO, Malmstrom AFB, Montana.
Kelly (Monroe) Watanabe-wife of Joshua Watanabe.
Brigadier General Anthony Woolson-base commander, Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana.
Author's introductory note: Unlike most novel sequels, the story line of Founders is contemporaneous with the events described in my previously published novels, Patriots and Survivors. Thus, you need not read them first (or subsequently), but you'll likely find them entertaining. They will also fill in the backstories for several characters.
1.
Hammer Time.
”Liberty must at all hazards be supported. We have a right to it, derived from our Maker. But if we had not, our fathers have earned and bought it for us, at the expense of their ease, their estates, their pleasure, and their blood.”
-John Adams, A Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law, 1765.
Nashville, Tennessee.
Eight Years Before the Crunch.
Adrian Evans had asked Ben to meet him at the bar after work. This was a meeting that wasn't in Ben's comfort zone. Ben Fielding only rarely set foot in a bar, and the only drinking that he did was tiny little communion cups of wine. But since he was about to move his family and he probably wouldn't see Adrian again for many months, he reluctantly agreed.
Ben had just seen Adrian three days before, at a Sunday afternoon farewell barbeque. Nearly everyone from the law firm, and a couple of Ben and Rebecca's neighbors, came over for the party. Because Ben was moving his family to the country, the get-together had been organized by Ben's secretary as a theme party. Many of the guests wore colorful cowboy s.h.i.+rts or coveralls and straw hats. Most of the gifts were back-to-the-land tools. These included a push cultivator, various hand tools, a scythe, several shovels, and a hay fork. The latter, as everyone insisted, became a prop for Ben to hold for cliched portraits of Ben and Rebecca standing together, looking like the stern-faced couple in the Grant Wood painting American Gothic.
When Ben Fielding arrived at the Full Moon Saloon, he found that Adrian was already there, nursing a gin and tonic. They sat briefly at the bar while Ben ordered a gla.s.s of Sprite. Then they moved to a booth to talk. Adrian carried over a paper bag that was gathered at the top. It looked like it held a bottle of liquor for a goodbye gift. Ben was hoping that he wouldn't have to come up with a ”Thanks but no thanks” speech, to explain again that he was a nondrinker.
Their conversation started out essentially as a repeat of what they'd talked about at the farewell barbeque. Adrian wished Ben the best for his move to the largely Mennonite community of Muddy Pond. ”I'm really jealous of you, Ben,” he said. ”I'd love to move out to the country, and have a place to shoot my guns without having to pay to go to a range.”
Then their conversation moved on to expectations of what things would be like at the law firm after Ben left, and a bit about Adrian's failed marriage.
Adrian noticed Ben glancing at the paper bag on the table and said, ”After the party last weekend, I found a couple of more tools that I'd like to give you. Sorry that I didn't wrap them or anything.”
He slid the bag over to Ben. Opening it, Ben found that it held a hammer and screwdriver.
Adrian explained, ”I hope you like these. The screwdriver is pretty cool. It's an original Winchester brand, from back when they had a chain of hardware stores, in the 1920s and 1930s. The Winchester-marked tools and signage are quite collectible, especially with gun enthusiasts looking to branch out. I already put together a full set of their screwdrivers for my collection, but this one was a duplicate, so it's yours.”
”Thanks, so much. This is great.”
Adrian pointed to the well-worn hammer and said, ”Now, that belonged to my grandfather. It was supposedly handmade by a blacksmith that he knew in Hartsville. The handle is hickory, and is just as stout today as the day it was made back in the 1930s.”
Ben hefted the short-handled hammer, which had a head that must have weighed a pound and a half. He said again, ”Thanks, Adrian. You've been very generous. I appreciate the socket set and the gardening tools that you gave us at the party, too. They'll all come in handy.”
Their conversation wandered into politics, then sports, and finally back to Adrian's marriage. At just after 10 p.m., the bar's c.o.c.ktail waitress walked by and asked, ”Would y'all like another?”
Ben waved her off and said, ”No, thanks.” He turned to Adrian and said, ”I've got to get home to Rebecca and the kids.”
Adrian nodded. ”I understand.”
They both stood up, and Ben picked up the bag. The tip of the screwdriver was poking through the paper bag, so Ben s.h.i.+fted it to his coat pocket.
They went out the bar's front door and shook hands. Adrian gave Ben a wink, and said, ”You take good care of yourself, Ben. Where you parked?”
”Around back.”
Adrian pointed to his BMW across the street and said, ”I'm right here.” He waved and dashed across to the car, taking advantage of a gap in the traffic.
As Ben walked to the back parking lot, he was thinking about some of the things that Adrian had said about his ex-wife. He wondered if there was anything that he would have done differently, under the circ.u.mstances.