Glen Tate - 299 Days - The 17th Irregulars

“When were you in?” Grant asked.

“Just three years, back in the eighties,” Al said. “I was in south Texas. The job sucked. I got out and went into construction. Did that for twenty some odd years. ”

Grant asked Al about his life story. Where he grew up, whether he had any kids. Al told him that he had been married and divorced, had three kids, and four grandkids. Leading up to the Collapse, Al had lived on various government programs, like unemployment, earned income tax credits, mortgage assistance, and food stamps. He was just like about half of Americans before the Collapse. Al, who was a baby boomer, was expecting a comfy retirement with Social Security and free medical care. It no longer appeared that this was a reasonable expectation. To supplement the government programs he was barely living on, Al worked side jobs for cash before the Collapse. Under the table, of course. He was a very typical American. His story was the story of how the American dream died. And why it died.

Grant wanted to know even more about Al than that life story told him, so he popped the question.

“Not that it matters,” Grant asked, “but may I ask what your politics are?” Grant realized this might be a sensitive question, but he needed to know if he could trust Al with knowledge of the Ted project.

Al shrugged. “They all suck.”

Fair enough. Both parties contributed to the Collapse, one at a moderate pace and the other at warp speed. Still, Grant needed to know more about Al.

“So, what do you think will happen in the long term?” Grant asked.

Al shrugged again. “Dunno. Things will suck for a long time. America blew it. We had it all and pissed it away.”

Al was a tough nut to crack. Grant decided to try it from another angle; a more direct angle.

“You think the Patriots or Loyalists will win?” Grant asked Al.

“Depends,” Al said. “Are the American people worth a shit anymore? If people want freedom back, the Patriots will win. Assuming they hold onto the key military units, like I hear they are, then the Patriots have a chance. But, if the people,” Al pointed out toward Frederickson and Olympia, “just want ‘free’ food, then the Loyalists win.” He shrugged again.

Al was not giving Grant any indication which side he was on. Maybe he wasn’t on a “side.”

Grant realized Al was like the majority of people at Pierce Point: an Undecided. They probably wanted the Patriots to win. They were not a fan of the Loyalists, but were not willing to commit to the Patriots, either. They would wait and see who was going to win, and hope it wasn’t the Loyalists. Grant needed to plant some seeds of political thought in Al, even if Al was still a solid Undecided.

“What do you think would happen to us if the Loyalists somehow won?” Grant asked. He threw in the “somehow won” to indicate confidence in the Patriots.

Al shrugged again. “Not much would change. We would still have to wait in line for flour and potatoes. Gas would still be scarce, or for sale by the gangs. Crime would be out of control. Small business would be impossible. It would be a lot like things are now, but maybe a little better because we’d be used to it by then.”

Al had a good grasp of the situation. One didn’t need to be politically minded to understand the political effects of things. A person could be like Al and just know that things would suck if the current people stayed in charge. That was about all the politics someone needed to know. Luckily, most Americans had Al’s common sense. But, like Al, they were just shrugging and trying to get through another day. They didn’t have any grand plans about fixing the problem.

“So, Al,” Grant asked, “what happens if the Patriots win?”

“Well,” Al said, “that will take a war, for one thing. That will suck. People will get killed, including lots of Patriots, like you,” Al said with a smile.

Al thought some more and said, “The food will stop flowing, at least from the government, and at least for a while until the Patriots can get things back on track, if they can. That’s an open question. How do you fix this place?”

“Long term, what happens if the Patriots win and fix the place?” Grant asked. He was giving it one more try.

“We get America back,” Al said. “My grandkids have a chance to live in a free and prosperous country, like I did.” Then Al smiled slightly and nodded slowly. Bingo, Grant thought.

“Yeah,” Al said. “We get America back.” Grant decided to try to get a commitment from Al.

“Isn’t that worth fighting for? For your grandkids?” Grant asked.

Al thought for a moment. “Yeah, I guess. But it depends on whether I’m fighting on the side that can win. If not, I’m just getting myself killed, for no reason.”

“What would you need to know about the Patriots to know that they are going to win?” Grant asked.

“I’d need to see some victories,” Al said. “I’d need to see the Loyalists crumbling. I think the Loyalists are big talkers and have lots of stuff on paper, but once those Freedom Corps dicks and corrupt cops and scared nineteen-year old soldiers who are in the National Guard just for the free college actually start getting shot at, I wonder if they’ll run. That’s what I need to see: Loyalists crumbling.” Al thought some more.

“Oh, and one other thing that I would need to know,” Al said. “And that’s whether the Patriots can run things better. I don’t want the new guys to suck as bad as the old guys—or maybe suck worse. I hate politicians and I need to know—I need to see with my own eyes—that the Patriots are getting things done and taking care of people.”

Grant couldn’t resist. “You mean like feeding people, schools, a library, postal service, guards, beach patrol, police, court system…”

“…and a newspaper,” Al said with a smile, obviously onto Grant’s mild bragging. “Yep,” Al said, “what you guys are getting done out here tells me that it can be done, but I’d need to see things squared away in the whole country like they are here.”

Grant nodded. He realized that Al was like the majority of Americans. They basically wanted the Patriots to win, understood that it wouldn’t be easy, and would wait to throw in their support until they saw the Loyalists crumbling and that the Patriot way got things done. Speeches wouldn’t persuade them. Winning, feeding people, and acting fairly would. This is why it was so important for the Patriots to lead by example, to do things right, and to not abuse people.

Resist revenge. That’s why you’re here.

That was one of the most powerful messages yet.

That’s it! Grant thought. He was out here not only to help get Pierce Point through the Collapse, but to try to prevent Patriot atrocities against Loyalists.

Yes. I will help.

There was that indescribably calm and confident feeling. Grant couldn’t lose. He had help.

“Al, I might need your assistance, secretly. You OK with that?” Grant asked, suddenly surging with confidence.

“Depends,” Al said. Predictably.

After talking to Al, Grant spent the rest of the afternoon with the guards. He wanted to know exactly how things were going there. How their spirits were, how organized they were, how well they were armed, how their communications systems worked. He was very impressed. Dan was an amazing leader.

Around 5:00 p.m., a truck came down from the Grange with dinners. Grant helped serve the food and then helped pack up some supplies that needed to go back to the Grange. He hopped a ride back there.

When Grant got to the Grange, he saw Drew, pulled him aside and asked, “Can you get me the home address for Al VanDorn?”