James Wesley, Rawles
FOUNDERS
A Novel of the Coming Collapse
Disclaimers
All rights reserved. Any unauthorized duplication in whole or in part or dissemination of this edition by any means (including but not limited to photocopying, electronic bulletin boards, and the Internet) will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
This is a work of fiction. All of the events described are imaginary. Most of the characters in this novel are fictional. A few real-life individuals gave permission for their names to be mentioned. Aside from these individuals, any resemblance to living people is purely coincidental.
The information contained in this novel is intended for educational purposes only, to add realism to a work of fiction.
The case citations contained within this novel do not constitute legal advice. Consult a jural society or lawyer if you have legal questions. The medical details contained within this novel do not constitute medical advice. Consult a doctor or herbalist if you have medical questions. The purpose of this novel is to entertain and to educate. The author and Atria Books / Simon & Schuster shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any citizen, person, or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused, or alleged to be caused, directly or indirectly by the information contained in this novel.
Dramatis Personae
James Alstoba—Baptist minister and part-time metal detectorist, near Williams, Arizona
Dale Bennet—grasslands 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 analyst, 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 García—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 Butte 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 (“Grandmère”) 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.”
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 shirts 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 clichéd portraits of Ben and Rebecca standing together, looking like the stern-faced couple in the Grant Wood painting American Gothic.