- Episode 4

Episode 4

Our Tangled Web: Episode Four

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Over Key West

"There's Key West, down there. I'm almost home," said John Reynolds, as he sat down beside his half-brother, William Cochran. No sooner had he done so, than the pilot advised the passengers to fasten their seatbelts, for they would be landing at the Summerland airstrip momentarily.

"I guess that we'll be seeing each other now and then, from here on," said William.

"I would assume so. Who would have thought you and I would be doing business together, William, after all these years," said John.

"And yet, why not?" said William. "There are probably more reasons to expect it than not, even if the reasons are not common knowledge." After he had said that, he was a little surprised at having done so. He was usually more guarded in his comments.

"I suppose you are right," said John.

While the plane descended and landed at the Summerland airstrip, they chatted about their trip and about their paths having crossed after so many years.

"I'm glad we had this chat," said John. "Coming," he called to Martha Reynolds, who was waiting for him at the door of the plane. "Well, goodbye, William. I'm glad that we got together, even apart from the project."

"So am I," said William, standing and shaking John's hand. "Goodbye, John." As he watched John Reynolds walk down the aisle and out of the plane, he pondered the situation. He hadn't intentionally avoided contact with John Reynolds all these years. He just never had any reason to contact him, he thought. Was he afraid of something? The only thing that he could be afraid of was that John would discover that they had another half-brother. He saw no reason to worry about that. Even Joshua, himself, had no idea who his father had been. William had kept him close at hand, so that he could keep an eye on him. When Joshua had gotten out of college, William had given him a job in one of his banks, close to home. Joshua had done exceptionally well in his career. Joshua's advancement was well earned. He would have advanced without any special consideration, although probably more slowly and perhaps not as far. Joshua's title was Executive Vice-President, but he functioned as William's unofficial special assistant. Although William would never say so to anyone, he knew Joshua was a more talented and potentially more valuable asset, business wise, than any of his children. If the Reynolds hadn't been in on this new project, he would have Joshua representing his interests. It pained him to admit it to himself, but he knew that Joshua was more capable than any of his sons. Maybe he wasn't actually more talented, but he was certainly more dedicated and industrious. Sometimes, he got the feeling that his sons felt that work was beneath them.

Summerland Key

Benjamin had deplaned first and had assisted the women in their descent. When he offered John a hand, John said, "I think I can make it, but thank you, Benjamin." He did make it safely.

There had obviously been a shower shortly before their arrival, for the runway was wet, with scattered puddles.

"Be careful where you step and where you set anything down," said John. He signaled to the driver of the approaching van to go slowly, so as not to splash water on them.

While the rest of the Reynolds group got into the van, Alex and Benjamin confirmed their arrangements for their next meeting, and Phillip and Frances stood chatting, a little apart from their fathers.

"Ready, Frances?" asked Alex, as he shook Benjamin's hand in farewell.

"Okay," she said. "Bye, Phillip. See you."

As the van drove away on its way to Little Torch Key, Phillip and Benjamin stood waving a final farewell.

"Let's talk a little, William," said Stanley, once the plane had leveled off. He nodded toward the back of the plane. "Let's sit in the back and compare notes."

"Sure," said William.

"Seriously, what's your take on the Reynolds going in with us?" asked Stanley, once they were settled in the rear of the plane.

"What do you mean, Stanley? I thought we settled that before we signed the papers. Don't tell me you're having second thoughts."

"It's not that, but it isn't the same deal now that it was then. Then, it was a resort. Now, it's a private country that we're talking about. That isn't apples and oranges, but more like apples and orange groves. I had trouble getting to sleep last night, just thinking what it would be like to have our own country. If we pull this off, William, it'll be the accomplishment of a lifetime, and to think we are going into it with John Reynolds, of all people."

"Don't forget that without the Reynolds girl, we would never have thought of this," said William.

"That, too, is amazing," said Stanley. "It's one of the sweetest cons I ever heard of, and a little girl comes up with it. They do say, 'Out of the mouths of babes,' don't they? I guess I'm sorry I didn't think of it myself, or, at least, the two of us. Oh well. Another thing, it's pretty surprising to have the idea brought to us by John Goody-Two-Shoes Reynolds. Maybe he isn't the Boy Scout I thought he was. As soon as I get home, I'll get some people digging up whatever dirt there is on John Reynolds--maybe Alex too. I always want to have something on anyone I do business with. It gives me an insurance policy against getting stabbed in the back."

"I guess that means you have something incriminating on me," said William.

"You know I do," said Stanley. "Tons. But you have as much or more on me. That means we will never betray each other. We can't afford to."

"Sort of like the mutual assured destruction between Russia and the United States, isn't it?" said William. Ordinarily, he would have welcomed Stanley's strategy to dig up dirt on anyone that they were doing business with. In this case, he felt a twinge of concern that Stanley might discover the transfer of the money from John Reynolds to him. While there was nothing wrong with it, it would surely look suspicious to Stanley, who would have no knowledge of their relationship. Well, there was nothing he could do. He would just wait and see and hope.

"How many people do you think we would end up with in our new country?" asked Stanley.

"No idea," said William.

"I think Ben said that Bock Cay was three-quarters the size of Monaco and Prime Cay, one-half the size of Monaco. He said Monaco has thirty-two thousand people."

"That seems like an awful lot of people for those two small islands," said William.

"Ben did say that Monaco is the most densely populated country on earth, and I can believe it. We damn sure wouldn't want to pack it that full. We want to live there too. I'm upset by all the sightseers driving by my house in Hillsboro Beach. I don't want to make this place even worse. Maybe we ought to take a look at Monaco and see what fraction of the crowd tthat hey have would be a reasonable cap on our archipelago."

"We? Do you mean you and me?" asked William.

"It could be us, or we could send someone. You know, William, this project is getting to be of considerable personal interest to me. If I'm going to live there, I want to make sure we don't make it unbearably full of people. I just might run over there. Want to go with me?"

"Okay, but only for a day or two. I can't possibly afford to spend more time there than that, and I can't see more than a day or two being necessary."

"Okay. Once I get the ball rolling on the par three golf course, we'll pop over there. We're not too old to have a little fun, are we?"

"I hope not," said William. "I wonder if I remember how."

"Like riding a bicycle, William. Like riding a bicycle."

David Cochran approached them. "What plot are you two hatching?" he asked, with a smile.

"Actually, we were thinking of taking a couple of days off and just having some fun," said William.

"Oh yeah. Sure you were," said David. "That'll be the day."

Little Torch Key

"No one has said a word all the way home," said John Reynolds, as they reached Little Torch Key and were only moments from home. "Is everyone worn out, or just lost in thought?"

"I have been lost in thought," said Martha Reynolds. "I was thinking that this trip probably constitutes a milestone for us."

"I suppose you could say that," said John. "It is a bit overwhelming, isn't it?" He hadn't said anything to Martha about the idea of their having a sovereign country. The agreement was not to tell anyone outside the room, meaning that the only Reynolds that would know were Alex, Frances, and himself. He never kept anything from Martha, but at the moment of making that agreement, he hadn't thought it through, or he would have made an exception for her. If she ever asked him a question that a truthful answer would include that information, he would have to tell her. Right now, he saw no reason to volunteer it. That she would love the idea, he had no doubt. However, he knew that Stanley was right. The fewer people that knew, the less chance there was of a leak. These days, no method of communication was a hundred percent safe.

"I may not even have to look for a job, if this pans out," said Frances. "I assume that, sooner or later, I'd be getting paid for my services."

"I think you assume correctly," said Alex. "It might be a little while before things get to the point that there exists an entity to do that, but it's my job, along with Ben and Simon, to see to it that it's sooner, rather than later."

"I'll just go ahead and put together some ideas," said Frances. "I hope I will be able to find some fairly accurate maps. It's still like some kind of dream. I hope I don't wake up and find it is a dream. My faculty advisor warned me that I might have trouble finding a good solid place to work in my field. I couldn't help being a little worried that he might be right. I thought I might end up like Howard Roark in The Fountainhead, eking out an existence designing hurricane-resistant gas stations and small beach houses." She pinched herself. "Unless I'm dreaming that I'm pinching myself, I must be awake."

"You are awake, Baby," said Martha, "but I know how you feel." Linking her arm in Alex's, she said, "My island boy, here, must be in seventh heaven."

"I admit to feeling a little mesmerized," said Alex. "How could I not be?" He looked knowingly at his father. If only they could tell the whole family about the sovereign nation. It would be far better, though, if they were just as surprised as the Bahamian government would be. Once in a while, he had some reservations about the whole idea, but then he asked himself, why should the government have dominion over it anyway? How did the British achieve any "title?" They got it by brute force. They killed off the Carib indians and took the islands in the Caribbean. The Bock Cay Archipelago was just included in the package, when the Bahamians got their independence. The Bahamian government had no valid claim to it. The people that own the property and live on it should have dominion over it. They are the owners of their property, just as they are the owners of themselves. The Carib indians probably never gave ownership much thought. The British did though. No one ever said civilization was all good, he thought.

Fort Lauderdale Airport

The BE-112 landed at Fort Lauderdale Airport, and all the passengers left the plane. The Worthingtons had a stretch limousine waiting to take them to their Hillsboro Beach home, but when William had said that the Cochrans would catch a commercial flight to New York, Stanley insisted on them continuing on aboard his Gulfstream Jet.

"Don't be silly," Stanley had said. "We'll have you landing in New York before you could get through security and onto a plane here. We aren't going to go anywhere tonight. The crew will get overtime pay and love that."

"Very well," William had said. "We are a bit worn down from so much walking in the sand, and all that sunshine and fresh air. That's a shock to a New Yorker's system. If we didn't have to be back in New York, I have an apartment here in Fort Lauderdale that we could stay in. To tell you the truth, I would like that. I haven't been in that apartment for almost two years. Thanks for making it easier for us, Stanley. We certainly appreciate it."

Benjamin took care of arranging it with the pilots and the crew, and making sure the plane was ready and the paperwork done. The Coch Gulfstream V Jet

rans had to wait while the seaplane was parked and paperwork was taken care of for the flight to New York. When the co-pilot came to the VIP lounge to get the Cochrans, the Worthingtons saw them off briefly and left for their home in Hillsboro Beach.

As the limousine drove north on I-95, Stanley heaved a heartfelt sigh. "I'm getting too old for this stuff," he said. "I know it's hard to believe, but I am tired."

"I think I must be too old for this stuff too," said Phillip, "because I'm worn out."

"That makes me feel better," said Stanley.

As the Worthington's Gulfstream jet leveled off on its way to New York, William changed places with Ernestine, so that he could talk to David for a while. "I've been thinking about who I'll put on this project," he said. "I said Simon to the others, but I think you might be better for it. What do you think?"

David Cochran looked at his wife. The two of them had talked about how unhappy Simon would be when William told him he had to take the Bock Cay project. Now it was being suggested that he take it. "Really, Father," he said, loud enough to make sure Ernestine heard him, "don't you think this is a fairly small project for either Simon or me? Shouldn't you let one of us put one of our people on it? We never handle anything this small personally. "

"I realize that," said William. "It is just that this is sort of a pet project for me. I don't know exactly why, but I feel a special interest in it." He wasn't about to mention the importance that the project would take on if they managed to get their own sovereign nation, until he knew that person was going to be the one running the project. Secrecy was very important.

"If you feel that way about it, Father, why don't you do it?"

"I can't possibly make enough time for it, and you know it," said William.

"Neither can I," said David. He could imagine what Ernestine would say if he accepted this little project. She was always nagging at him to move up in the business. She would see it as a major step backward. Just last night she had been at it. "Just because you're the youngest son shouldn't mean you are third in line for everything. Your father isn't getting any younger, and you know Aaron will take his place. You'll be lucky to end up with a quarter of the estate." He didn't blame her for saying that. He felt the same way, himself. "If you insist," he said. "I'll do it, but my heart won't be in it, as it will be against my better judgment."

"Forget it, then," said William. "Like I said, it's important to me. I don't want you working on it with that attitude." He got up and told Ernestine she could go back to her seat. He dropped into the seat beside Hannah.

"You look exasperated," said Hannah.

"I'm just tired," he said. "Actually, he was tired, tired of his spoiled children. Sometimes he felt they were all in over their head, and he would be a lot better off with someone else in their jobs. On the rare occasions that he talked with Hannah about it, she said he felt that way because they dared to oppose him and someone else wouldn't. He wondered if she were right. Maybe he couldn't really do much better. Deep down, he still felt that he could. He leaned back, tilted his seat back, and, in a few minutes, he was asleep.

Little Torch Key

John and Martha Reynolds were headed for their home office, where they kept in touch with the world via the Internet and where they oversaw the Reynolds Publishing conglomerate, when Clark and Genevieve called to them from the front doorway.

"How did you like the place in the Bahamas?" asked Genevieve, after she had closed the front door and started toward her parents, with Clark close behind her.

"Very nice," said Martha. "Of course, it is undeveloped, and it will be a major task to develop it, since there is no major city nearby and no easy way to get there."

"Are you going to go in on it?" asked Clark, hoping that they would say yes, and that someway, somehow, he could finagle a piece of the pie for himself.

"So it would seem," said John. "We signed a preliminary agreement, and if all agree to the final agreement, it will be go."

"I'm surprised to see you two," said Martha. "I thought you were going back home yesterday for some meeting or other."

"Clark called and said he couldn't make it," said Genevieve. "We decided to stay a couple more days, partly to find out about your trip." She drew close to Clark and put her arm around him.

John couldn't help noticing Clark flinch slightly, as Genevieve put her arm around him. He wondered if Genevieve noticed it. He wondered if Martha had seen it. He opened his mouth to say something about Clark missing an important meeting, but stopped before he said a whole word. Actually, the more Clark stayed home, the better it was for the company. Things did seem to run more smoothly when he was away. "We should have all the hundreds of pictures sorted out and put into some kind of preliminary presentation by this evening," said John, swallowing his bitterness. "Why don't we let you know, and we can go over it on the television with anyone who might want to see it. That will save going over it numerous times. Okay?"

"That will be fine," said Clark. "Just let us know."

"See you later," said Martha. "Right now, we have to get our news fix. Let's not stay at it too long. I'm bushed. That is a bad way to say it these days."

"I've been dying to sit down and check the news," said John, as he closed the office door. "Until this trip to the Bahamas, I had almost forgotten how slow things used to be on the Internet back in dial-up days. I couldn't live on Bock Cay if they had Internet service as slow that at the Inn. Still, we were able to get online, and we did more or less keep up with the news. The truth is that it probably didn't take as long as it seemed."

"I'm sure," said Martha. "The old sayings are still true. A watched pot never boils, they used to say. If you clicked on a site down there and went in the other room for a couple of seconds, it would be up on the screen before you came back. Sitting there waiting for it, it seems several times as long, but a lot of times I feel that way here. Anyway, it's good to get back to broadband. You know, while I was down there, I wondered how we could actually miss something as depressing as reading the news. Just looking at the headlines here, I feel probably worse than when I felt I couldn't look at them down there."

"The elections are upon us," said John. "Just two more days. The very expensive sideshow will soon be over, and, having gone through the motions of a mock election, the clueless will believe that democracy has triumphed yet again. It is all a sham. I've read at least a hundred articles lately about what a farce it all is, but none says it better than Fred Reed's article: 'Where the People Don't Rule.' Maybe I'm prejudiced because I love the way he writes. Sometimes, I am feel ashamed to be a human being. The reality will be that the Establishment will have a new puppet in the White House and a new crop in the Capitol. They will have re-inked their rubber stamp."

"Now, now. Don't be ashamed of being a human being. Just wish everyone were one," she said. "Wow. It looks like the economy is going under for the third time. Your predictions are finally coming true, John. Tell me, how ugly do you think things are going to get when the bottom falls out?"

"The bottom has pretty much fallen out already," he said. "The government is writing bad checks like there's no tomorrow. Their account is overdrawn by fourteen trillion dollars. How much do you think their checks are worth?"

"Nothing?"

"Well, when money doesn't represent anything of intrinsic value, it is counterfeit. Today, all the currency in America is counterfeit. During World War Two, the Germans had a plan to destroy the British economy by flooding the market with counterfeit British currency. The Germans didn't print enough, so it didn't work too well for them. However, after the war, the British printed so much counterfeit money that they managed to do far more damage to their economy than the Germans had dreamed of doing. The U.S. government counterfeited several times the amount of 'real' money in existence, and then they pulled the real money out of circulation, even making it illegal. If the only money out there is counterfeit, they could make all they wanted and no one could tell. The only evidence of their counterfeiting is that prices keep going up because there is a steady stream of counterfeit money being dumped into circulation. At the rate they are counterfeiting money right now, they will have more than tripled the quantity of dollars in existence in twelve months. That means that, if they keep it up, the dollar, that a couple of months ago was worth less than a nickel in 1945 money, will, by then be worth what three dimes are worth today. In 1945 money, it will be worth a penny and a half."

"You didn't say whether you think things will get ugly," she said.

"Uglier, you mean," said John. "It is hard to gauge the ugliness, because, in collusion with the media, they hide as much of it as they can. Until people are affected personally, very few are at all aware of what is happening. Most people are completely oblivious of the fact that the greatest threat to their life and limb is from the very people they are looking to for their protection. It is a little late for an October surprise that everyone was afraid of. Maybe the Decider decided not to try another false flag attack. I certainly hope so. I see here that he got a bill through pardoning himself for war crimes, not that such a thing would stand up in an international court. It would, however, stand up in a contemporary American court, unless the subprime court were to shoot it down, which you have to assume is out of the question. Their complete contempt for the Constitution has been demonstrated countless times in recent years. Unless this shooting of judges that has started recently gathers steam, they might never acknowledge the existence of the Constitution again."

"Subprime court? That's good," said Martha. "I like that."

"Like subprime mortgages, the subprime court is frequently fraudulent and worthless," said John. "I'll have to use that in an article. Maybe I'll just adopt it as a new name for the old Supreme Court."

"There are a number of articles about Obama's citizenship being in question," said Martha. "You don't know who or what to believe about anything anymore. Nevertheless, it does seem strange that, instead of just providing a valid birth certificate, Obama keeps challenging the right of people to see it. There is a little clause in the Constitution that says that in order to be president, one must be a natural-born citizen. It seems that every American should have the right to know that a candidate for president meets the constitutional requirements for the office. If you jump out of your car and take off running when a policeman asks to see your driver's license, you are likely to be shot, because you appear guilty of something, whether you are or not."

"Perception is reality, or it might as well be. If you act guilty, you will be assumed guilty, and Obama is acting guilty. This thing is getting right down to the wire," said John. "If they disqualify him the day before the election, all hell will break loose. If they disqualify him after the election, it could be even worse, and the longer after the election it were to come out, the worse it would be. I see it's up to the subprime court again. They subverted the rule of law in 2000 when they crowned Bush. Maybe, history will repeat itself and they can install an unconstitutional president."

"Are you assuming that Obama isn't a citizen?"

"Either he isn't or something worse must be involved," said John. "Obama is an attorney. He knows he has to be a citizen. Either he has no proof to show, or showing what proof he does have would somehow be worse than not showing any. On the other hand, if he can spend over half a trillion dollars on his campaign, you would think that if he were crooked enough to run for president, being an illegal alien, he would be crooked enough and have the money to cause a birth certificate and all the records to suddenly appear in any government office in this country. Any way you look at it, there is something very strange about the whole thing."

"Speaking of strange, the more I think about us being involved with William Cochran and Stanley Worthington, the stranger it seems. It seems about as likely as it would have been for Mother Teresa to have gone into business with Hugh Heffner."

"I can see how they could have complemented each other," said John. "They could have opened a home for unwed mothers. Mother Teresa could have run it, and Heffner would gladly have supplied the occupants."

"Okay, John Reynolds. You know what I mean. You wrote several articles about Stanley Worthington, and they were anything but complimentary. You implied that he was a CIA operative and suggested that he was involved in drugs, kidnappings, assassinations, and I don't know what else. While I don't recall any articles about William Cochran, you told me more than once that he and his banks were involved in money laundering. Don't you think it a bit unusual for us to be involved with such people?"

"You don't have to agree with everything a person does to do business with him," said John. "You buy things at the grocery store, but that doesn't mean that you condone all of the grocer's outside activities. You do business with a realtor, but for all you know, he may be a contract killer ,and the realty business is a cover. You are unconcerned about his private life."

"Yes, but in those cases, I wouldn't know about it. In this case, you do know."

"Make that 'I suspect.' Maybe George Bush considers people guilty until they prove themselves innocent, but call me old-fashioned; I still go by the old American tradition of innocent 'til proven guilty. In my articles, I say that it is said that, or thought that, but unless I know for sure, I don't say that someone is actually guilty of a crime. When I attack a politician, I usually let his own words or actions condemn him. I don't rely on innuendo or suspicions, although I may cite their existence. Now having said that, there are other aspects to this case. You know that Alex apparently likes Benjamin Worthington. Truthfully, he does seem a nice person, and I haven't heard anything bad about him. The bible may sanction condemning the son for the crimes of the father, but I don't. Frances is ecstatic about designing the hurricane-proof buildings for the project. There is little doubt that we will make money, most likely a lot of money. The Reynolds will not engage in any money laundering or any CIA dirty tricks. Not that I have any compunctions about some money laundering, if it is strictly for the avoidance of taxes on legally derived funds. The sixteenth amendment almost certainly was not ratified, meaning that the income tax is illegal, any way you look at it. There may be no law allowing taxing of income. The We The People Foundation supposedly offered a $50,000 reward to anyone who could produce such a law, and no one has claimed the reward. If that is true, it can only mean one thing: the law doesn't exist. I have told my readers that I have yet to verify whether it is true, and I am researching it."

"I know all that, John."

"Okay. About the Cochrans and Worthingtons, I see this as advantageous, and what we are doing is not immoral. I am sure we will do some things that are illegal. With trillions of laws and regulations in the U.S., everyone breaks some law with just about everything they do. I won't do anything that I feel is wrong, and you should know that by now."

"I do know that," she said. "I only said it seems strange. I've been arrested, you know, for protesting. That doesn't make me evil; it makes the ones that arrested me evil."

"Precisely," said John. "Enough of this. As usual, it's all bad, with worse to come. The election is right around the corner, and unfortunately, either McCain or Obama will win. Sort of like getting run over by either a train or a semi-truck. I guess it could be worse. Bush could have another term. Thank heaven for small favors."

"Let's have a nightcap with whomever is around," said Martha.

"A woman after my own heart," said John.

"The story of my life," said Martha, linking her arm in his.

Hillsboro Beach

"I know it's late, Ben," said Stanley, "but can you come in and have a drink with me? I would like to say a few words to you . Otherwise, I'm afraid I'll be staying awake thinking about it."

"It's not very late," said Benjamin. "Sure, I'll be happy to. Just a minute. He went to tell Rachel and Phillip to go on to their house, and he would be there in a few minutes.

Benjamin made the drinks, and they took them to the terrace, where they sat in the semi-darkness, looking out over the Atlantic Ocean. "This is a big opportunity, too big to share," Stanley Worthington blurted out, "We don't need William. We can have our own banks. We damned sure don't need John Reynolds either, although that Frances could be a plus if she can keep our buildings from being blown away by those blasted hurricanes. Is there some place with nice islands that doesn't have hurricanes?"

"I'm sure there is," said Benjamin. "Unfortunately, they probably won't present the opportunity to get our own country either."

"Yeah, I can understand that. Little Frances sure came up with a whing-dinger," roared Stanley, slapping his thigh. "We should have had more time to think it over, though, before we signed that agreement. What if we let it fall through, then picked up an even bigger island or islands and did it on our own? That would get us out from under the agreement, and we could have something ten times the size of Monaco, maybe even bigger."

Benjamin knew his father well enough to realize that it would be better to agree with him at the outset, and let the reasons that he was wrong become apparent to him gradually. "That sounds like a pretty good idea," he said. "Have you figured the details yet?"

"Are you kidding? I just thought of it a few minutes ago. Let's analyze it."

"Wow. I thought you said that I analyze things to death," said Benjamin, in mock surprise. With a smile, he added, "Maybe you finally noticed those disasters that we avoided by a little analysis, by looking before we leap."

"Your nit-picking has saved our bacon more than once, Ben. That's for damned sure," said Stanley.

"Let's first look at the upside. If that looks good, we'll consider the downside, if any. We have to be fairly general, since we haven't really figured out what we are going to do with it. All my thinking until now has been about a plush resort. Having our own country is a mind-boggling increase in complexity. The opportunities may be enormous, but so is the need for extremely detailed planning, if we are to make the most of it and not screw it up."

"It's a dream come true," said Stanley. "In fact, it's more than I remember ever dreaming about. I am downright excited about this."

"How could you not be," said Ben. "Let's think of some of what we will want there. Obviously, we'll have banks and gambling."

"Obviously," chimed in Stanley. "What else?"

"We might want to work on providing a special service to some businesses. Our country, with its banking system would be a wonderful place for some highly profitable, offshore operations. Supposing Coca Cola transferred the ownership of its trademarks to a holding company there, and paid handsome royalties to it. Those royalties would be tax-free, and at least part of them would probably be in our banks. There are numerous little things like that that can be a big expense to the parent company, thereby reducing U.S. taxes, and highly profitable to the off-shore company, that pays no taxes. Furthermore, even though the off-shore entity is a tiny office with a computer and one or two people, when it is on the same island in the Bahamas as a plush resort with gambling and such, the top brass can justifiably write off their trips to check on the operation. While they are at it, they can put some money into our local economy, if you know what I mean."

"Of course I know what you mean. We can use some of those ideas ourselves," said Stanley.

"That is how I thought of them," said Benjamin. "I have been thinking a little of how we might take advantage of our new country. We have to make sure that we have the best possible communications, especially broadband Internet. I don't think most resorts realize how important that is to businessmen."

"These businessmen might be a source of some inside information that could pay off in the stock market," said Stanley.

"That's true," said Benjamin. "One thing you have to realize, Father, is that for these things to work, you have to be trustworthy. No businessman is going to be putting billions of dollars there and sending or perhaps storing his precious business secrets there, if he thinks they might not be safe. Biting the hand that feeds you is not wise. You get a little more at the moment, but you do away with your future. Being a tax haven will be our greatest asset, by far. A successful tax haven is a trustworthy one. The fact that it doesn't rob you like all the other countries do is what makes it a tax haven. The other countries want to make it sound like an evil place. Think about it. If you have a world full of ruthless bandits and a few tiny, highly moral, well-policed areas where valuables are safe and secure, you know that the thieves will do everything in their power to abolish these safe areas, so that no one's valuables will be safe from them. Reasonable people want safety and security for themselves and their possessions."

"Okay. Okay. I'll not be greedy," said Stanley, gruffly.

"Gambling can be a big thing," said Benjamin. "There is plenty of it in the Bahamas already, but we can do it with style and elegance that will put Monaco to shame."

"William and I are planning to go to Monaco for a couple of days," said Stanley. "I'll take time to look their casinos over." He grinned broadly. Everyone that knew him knew that he was fond of gambling. They also knew that he gambled very small amounts because he was such a bad loser, and when he won, it was the winning, not the money, that he enjoyed.

"You and William going to Monaco? That's news. What brought that on?"

"We were talking about how many people we might have in our new country. Since Monaco is kind of similar in size, we thought we would see how it looks and maybe come up with a maximum population we would be able to stand in our country."

"That's an excellent idea," said Benjamin. "I hadn't thought about the population. If you put all the islands together, we will have close to twice as much land as Monaco. We were thinking of the big Bock Cay for us and our friends to live on, and that takes a big chunk out of the mix. At this point, nothing is firm though. Once we start laying out the place, we may see things a little differently. I don't know what we are going to do about an airport. We need to have easy access."

"That is a problem, isn't it?" said Stanley. "What about that last island, the long, flat one. Everyone was wondering what to do with it. Wouldn't it do for a runway?"

"That is a thought. You hate to lose the seventy-five acres, but an airport is absolutely necessary. We are close enough to Florida to set up a daily run. We might want to set up or pick up a small airline. What a shame that air travel in America is becoming synonymous with torture. Maybe we can pick up people in Freeport, only seventy miles off Florida. People can take one of the boats that make daily runs there. Nassau would be even better. I happen to know that they have direct flights from a lot of major cities, such as London, Madrid, Brussels, Paris, Rome, Buenos Aires, and I don't know what others. People just don't like to have to enter and leave the USA any more, with the TSA groping and manhandling you, as well as intimidating you."

"Wouldn't like it myself," said Stanley. "I've heard they are going to extend their Gestapo techniques to private planes. Let me tell you, the first time one of those goons sticks his hand in my drawers, I'll coldcock the bastard. The sooner we get our butts out of here, the better. Lord knows, this may have been the best country on earth for two hundred years, but lately, it has gone straight to hell. We've made a lot of money here, and we may make a lot more here, but I'm afraid living here is going to become a nightmare for people like me. Unlike most people, I'm never going to be happy with someone telling me all the time what I can and what I can't do. Farm animals are content as long as they have food and tranquility. So, apparently, are most people. Not me. The older I get, the more I hate being patronized by people telling me how wonderful I have it, while they are picking my pocket or making me stop doing something I want to do. I don't give a damn how many more toys I have than the next guy, if I have to trade the control of my life for them. Right now, we're on the good side of the powers that be, but these days, that can change in the blink of an eye. Things may get really ugly soon. I used to feel secure in my knowledge of what was going on behind the scenes. There is something going on in high places, and I haven't a clue what it is. Most of the people I know feel the same way. We don't talk about it. It's just something in the air, like the feeling before a big storm. The prospect of our own country might turn out to be a godsend. Let's get moving."

"I don't think I've ever heard you come out so strong for freedom, Father," said Benjamin. "I have to agree with that. Freedom may be the best part of it. Things are looking ominous. The economy is collapsing and the government seems to be intentionally pushing it over the cliff."

"They are," said Stanley. "Take my word for it."

"Let's get back to analyzing the pros and cons of going it alone. Like you say, the quicker we get this done, the better. Even if the rest of the world doesn't go under, it's better to be prepared than to risk being blindsided. I think there is one problem that towers head and shoulders over all others, and you must know what that is."

"I know. I know," said Stanley. "If we were to somehow get them out of the deal or let it fold and start over somewhere else on our own, the others would be completely bent out of shape, and they could publicize the idea of digging up the documents and saying it was a sovereign country. After that, the idea would be dead in the water."

"Well, what would you do if they cut you out?"

"The same damned thing," said Stanley, "if not worse."

"At least, you are dealing with people that think like you do," said Benjamin, with a grin. "Don't take it so hard, though. Look, this is a huge project, too big for just us. We need help to do it. If we didn't have them, we'd have to trust strangers, which could be dangerous on something this risky. Once we get over the huge hump of getting our independence recognized, we have a major task of setting up the new nation and its ties with other nations. We need mail, electricity, water, transportation, telephone links, internet, bank links, and an endless list of other things. This is not a simple task. Having other inputs may save us shooting ourselves in the foot, in more ways than one. Remember too, that John Reynolds has a reputation of being a very honest man. That may just make the difference between success and failure when we dig up those long-hidden documents. Sure, you can put up a bank there, but William has plenty of experience with banks doing what you want done. You could end up in the kind of trouble you could never get out of alive. Then there is the girl, Frances. She had the idea. She may design our buildings so that we don't have to rebuild them every few years. She may come up with another idea just as good. I don't know if it is possible, but maybe. I'm sure that if you gave me a while, I could come up with a lot more advantages of having them in with us, but I'll just mention one more. I have a strong feeling that this is not going to be like anything we have ever done. I have never seen so much sparkle in your eyes, and it's been a long time since I've seen so much spring in your step. You are really excited about this, not just for the money, not that the money isn't significant, but because it is more than a dream come true. It is a chance to not have to answer to anyone, to be free, as free as you want to be. You have all the money you could ever want, yet, now, here, you are subject to the whims of any number of government numskulls that have the power to do as they damn well please with you and to you. Getting freedom is exciting. The more I think about it, the more excited I get."

"That may be it," said Stanley. "You're right about me being excited. I am. Maybe it is about being free. We will be free, if this works. If this works. Listen to that. God, if this falls through, it will break my heart."

"I've never heard you say that about anything," said Benjamin.

"I don't think I've ever said it about anything," said Stanley. "In a way, I hate to get this excited about anything. It might cloud my thinking, and I hate to think how I'll feel if we fail."

"I'll keep an eye out for cloudy thinking. If I see you going off course, I'll try to steer you back."

"Isn't that what you just finished doing?" asked Stanley. "Do you think I don't know when you try to work me?"

"It must be in my genes," said Benjamin, standing up. "Now it is late. I need to say good-night and get ready to turn in. I have a big day tomorrow. We don't want to waste any time on this."

"You got that right," said Stanley.

New York - Manhattan

The car dropped William and Hannah at their apartment in Sutton Place and went on with David and his family. William was wide awake now. "It's nine-thirty," he said." I need to call Simo

n, and make sure he can take this project for me."

"This is important to you, isn't it?" asked Hannah, as the doorman held the door open and they entered the apartment building.

"I don't know how important it is," he said. "It could end up being important. I am interested in it. It isn't every day you get to have a tropical paradise and get to custom build it to your own taste. I think there is a fascination with islands in most boys. Although it may wane as the years pass, it never goes away."

She chuckled. "I can see us with a flower in our hair, wearing sarongs, barefoot, and with tropical drinks in coconut shells."

"I don't know that we will go that far," he said, as he pushed the penthouse button in the elevator, "but you never can tell."

"I might like that," she said.

A few minutes later, William was talking to Simon on the telephone. "It looks very good," he said. "We've signed an agreement to agree. The final papers will be ready in a few days. I was thinking of letting you run this for me. It is out of the country, making it international." He paused for a response.

"I don't know, Father," said Simon. "You couldn't have picked a worse time. The crisis is a bear. Fortunately, we are in fairly good shape, thanks to the advice you got from Stanley Worthington, but even so it is a firefight all day, every day. How big is this thing? How much are we talking about?"

Stanley could hear Simon sighing as he told him how much he expected the Bock Cay project to cost.

"That's all?" exclaimed Simon. "It would be silly for me to take it on. David might do it, but I don't see how I could. Even if I could, I don't think I should be wasting my time on something that small."

It won't be that small when we get our own country, thought William. Aloud, he said, "Maybe you're right. I doubt if Aaron will do it either, but I'll ask him. I had better call him before it gets much later. I'll talk to you later. Goodnight."

He knew it was a waste of time calling Aaron, but he called him anyway, and it was a waste of time. "My God, Father. Don't you know about the crisis? If we hadn't been forewarned, we would have gone under. Still, I am hustling all the time. There are billions being thrown around ,and I want to get as much of that as we can, so I have to make it look like we are in deep trouble, even though we're not. I can't take this little thing, not when it could cost us ten times its price tag because I miss out of some bailout money."

William went into the kitchen, where Hannah was making a cup of tea.

"Want a cup of tea?" she asked. "I've plenty of hot water.

"Sure," he said, sitting down at the counter.

She put some cookies on a plate and pushed it in front of him. "I can fix you a sandwich if you want."

"No. That snack we had in the airport was enough. I'm not very hungry. The cookies are fine." Just then, the phone rang, and the maid came and said that Joshua Adams wanted to speak to William. "I'll be right back," he said.

"Hello, Joshua," he said, sitting down behind his desk in his office, with a cordless phone. "What's up?"

"Can you spare a little time, or is it too late?" asked Joshua. "I need to tell you about what I've been doing and get your approval before I go any farther."

"Let's hear it."

"I'm ten minutes from you. How about dropping by. I don't like to talk about critical things on the phone. You know they listen in on every single phone call."

"Yes, I know. Come on by. I'll be waiting for you."

"Is my tea still hot?" he asked picking up the cup and taking a sip. "Hot enough," he said, sitting down beside his wife. "Joshua's coming by in ten minutes."

"He's a nice boy," she said. "I like him."

"He's forty years old. He's hardly a boy."

"You're seventy-one, and you're a boy," she said. "You're my boy."

"Not your boyfriend?" asked William, taking another cookie.

"That too," she said, taking his hand. "I'm seeing us there on the beach, flowers, sarongs, and drinks."

He chuckled. "That is a little premature, but right now, it sounds pretty good."

When the maid came and said that Joshua Adams was in the living room, Hannah said she was going to get ready for bed. She would be waiting for him. "Don't be all night," she said.

"Don't worry," he said.

In the living room, Joshua had been sitting, but jumped up when William entered the room. "I'm truly sorry to disturb you so late, Mr. Cochran," he said, "but I need to move on these things as fast as I can."

"Sit down, Joshua," said William. "Tell me about it."

Joshua explained that he had found a real bargain in a bank in St. George, Utah. It was going under, due to its exposure in toxic mortgages and derivatives. "St. George is a very popular place," he explained. "It was the fastest growing urban area in the USA, last year and slipped to second place this year. It has a little under a hundred and fifty thousand people and is projected to have seven hundred thousand by twenty-fifty."

"What's the attraction in Utah?" asked William.

"Believe it or not, it's the weather. St. George has a rare weather pattern. It is at the edge of the Mojave Desert. It is super dry there, and even in the winter, it is relatively warm in the daytime and cold at night. It gets very little snow, just over three inches a year, if any. It has become a retirement capital. They had a huge housing boom. Had. This bank has four branches in the county, and the government is going to guarantee their debt. We can pick them up for about thirty cents on the dollar, and we can borrow it all at one percent. Total cost around ninety-million, not ours though. Actual cash out of pocket should be under five million."

"Sounds great," said William. "I'm sure you've done your homework, Joshua. You always do. Go ahead."

"This will go under Aaron. I'll tell him you approved it. We already talked about it, and he thinks it is a good deal. I don't know if you're familiar with J.R. Patterson, the chain of brokerage offices across the country. They aren't really huge, but they are in deep stuff. We can get them for next to nothing. I haven't had a chance to talk to Simon, but I thought I'd mention it to you." He went on to explain the numbers on the brokerage firm, in considerable detail. "They are having reserve problems. If a brokers reserve falls too low, they can go away overnight. As you know, credit is super tight. Their reserves are primarily stocks, which are going down the tubes right now. I don't want to go into it right now; it would take too long, but I have an idea to do something like what the Danish Saxo Bank is doing. They are in the brokerage business, and they have an online trading package that they put out for their clients. The clients open an account with a bunch of money, and they trade with it, online. I think that people like to have a broker, and they like online convenience too. J.R. Patterson is in every major city. I've talked to some experts on this, and we could give people a broker and software. Just have minimal staff in each office, mainly to beat the bushes for customers and take calls, with a central back office for the trading. We have to get approval of the plan from the SEC before we would move but, it's a gamble. If you don't like it, we'll forget it."

"What if it doesn't work out?" said William. "What do you do with the brokerage offices?"

"If the online trading is enough, you start closing any offices that aren't needed. Give the people an 800 number for a central boiler room. In the end, you may end up much like Saxo Bank, except that you still have brokers in at least one place. This could mesh with David's Investment Banks and peddle his stocks too."

"How much do we have to put up?"

"I'd start with an offer of seven and not go over ten million," said Joshua. "Right now they are looking at going to zero any day. They would easily be worth twenty-five, or more, if they could get the funds they need. Of course, if they could get the funds, they wouldn't be available either. They could still find some credit, and the deal may go away. You know how that goes."

"Okay. Talk to David, but don't tell him you've talked to me. Tell him you want to run it by him before you mention it to me. If he is in favor of it, go ahead and do it. Check with me when you have the final numbers if they go over what you've told me. Okay?"

"Great," said Joshua, standing up. "I'll let you get some rest. How was the trip?"

"Very good," said William. "The archipelago is a tropical paradise, or it will be soon enough. I don't know who I'm going to put in charge of my share. How would you feel about taking that on?"

"I'd be glad to," said Joshua. "It sounds like it would be fun. I'd be learning some new things too, I'm sure. You know I love that. I don't know a lot about building a tropical resort, but, like I always say, I already know everything I need to know, except the things I can learn."

"It's late now. Call me tomorrow, and we'll go over it," said William. Was he doing the right thing, bringing Joshua Adams into this? Joshua and Alex would be working together. John would probably come into contact with him. Was there any way for them to know anything though? Even Joshua didn't know. He was sure of that. If Joshua had known, he wasn't the type to keep quiet about it. Besides, his mother was very happy with the situation as it existed. William was doing very well by his half brother. Joshua was fairly well off, and his mother lived quite comfortably. She probably wouldn't live that much longer anyway. She was moving into her late eighties. Somehow that didn't seem as old as it used to, he thought, with a frown.

To be continued

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