in yellow jackets were hastily erecting chain-link fencing, their faces tight with anxiety. One of

t out of here!" he yel

a weapon, she produced the sleek, heavy black card from the bank. She held it up, letti

hat card meant. It meant a level of wealth that didn't ask for permission. His deme

now a low murmur. He unlocked a smal

of shipping containers formed man-made canyons. Forklifts buzzed past l

rectly to the largest building in the complex, the main office of Sa

ones were ringing off the hook. Sweaty men in polo shirts

e tomato was screaming into a phone. "What do you mean the Teamsters are wal

as Sam

a sample military-grade water filter

r. "Hey, girlie, the retail counter is up f

planting her hands on the polished wood, bringing her face to his level. Her v

l-grade diesel generators. Five thousand sets of sub-zero thermal wear. Ten thousand gallons of st

he was holding slipped from his fingers and clat

about? That's... that's not an order. That's an army's worth o

lake. She slid the black card across the de

it," s

al grunt, he snatched it and swiped it through the dedicated ter

error message

reen flashed gr

he number had so many zeroes he couldn't process it at first.

In his place was a fawning, ecstatic b

hair and practically shoving her into it. He rushed to a cabinet and pulled out a

ivered. To this address." She wrote down the location of the Westchester fortress.

ough run. And with the riots... the unions... the logist

happening too fast. The delicate web of commerce that

anteed delivery," she said, her voice cold and final.

r bonus. For that kind of money, he would

"I'll have my guys driving through he

new the caloric content of different MRE brands, the shelf life of doxycycline, the fuel co

s bulletin interrupted the sports highlight

l bank in midtown Manhattan. A crowd of hundreds, their faces m

," the news anchor said, her voice tense. "Depositors are unab

tle at the building. It shattered against the bullet

he whispered. "The Fed said the economy w

a ghostly image in the glass. The fire in her eyes was hotter

e the Arctic wind. "If you want that thirty percent premium to be worth more tha

grabbed the phone, his face a mask of grim

it neatly, and placed it in her backpack. She stood up a

of smoke and fear. In the distance, the Manhattan skyline wa

no longer comi

as coming, currency would be worthless. Gold would buy loyalty. But the real power, the kind that built kingdoms, would come from controlling the flow of necessities. Whoever held the food, the fuel, the medicine, held the