Chapter 4 Waiting for the Storm
The next morning, Garfield called Kiara to say everything was settled
Five million dollars for an entire pharmacy, Kiara was more than pleased,
Finished
Using remodeling as an excuse, she shut the place down, swept every bottle and box–shelves included–into her storage
and handed the supplier a fresh list: painkillers, antibiotics, burn ointments, herbal medicines of every kind, plus masks, gas masks, oxygen tanks, ventilators, and all manner of emergency gear.
space,
For more than a week, Kiara bounced between warehouses, restaurants, and her newly fortified iron fortress of a house- stockpiling supplies, sealing deliveries into her space, and buying takeout by the truckload. She only stopped her shopping spree the day she was due to head to Adroria.
After finding a place to stay in Adroria, she called James.
He was tall, broad–shouldered, blond, blue–eyed, and always brimming with good humor. He greeted her warmly and launched into a story about his recent trip to Vecester, describing it with such enthusiasm that Kiara found herself itching to
It sounds amazing,” she said when he finished, “but Vecester’s dangerous. If I go, I’ll need to be armed.”
She leaned forward and asked, “Know anywhere could buy weapons? I want to buy some.”
James, not realizing she was baiting him, slapped his thigh. “You came to the right guy! I know a dealer who moves serious stuff. Tell me what you want, and I’ll hook you up.”
“Better yet, Kiara said, “take me to him. I’d like to see for myself.”
“No problem. James grinned. “We’ll go tomorrow.” The next day, he led her to a hidden underground market in Gregas. “Name’s Lloyd. He’s a bit cold, but fair, James said as they approached.
Truajian?” Kiara asked.
He nodded. “Yeah”
At the steel door, James keyed in a changing code, and they stepped inside.
Kiara expected a dim, backroom workshop–the kind of place you’d never expect to see the light of day. What she found instead stopped her in her tracks.
Instead, it was set up like a department store–rows of rifles, pistols, and ammunition neatly lined on shelves, each tagged with a price. Her eyes widened like a kid on Christmas morning-
James, himself a former soldier, picked up a heavy machine gun. He glanced at Kiara’s petite frame, and smirked. “This baby will knock you flat, you couldn’t handle it. So, what’ll it be?”
Her mind went blank for a second.
Then one thought lit up like a flare–Why choose? I toant it all.
Just then, a man in camouflage strode over–broad–shouldered, narrow–waisted, long–legged.
“Lloyd!” James greeted, punching him lightly in the chest. “She’s a friend. Give her a good deal
Nec Lloyd’s gaze flicked to Kiara, catching her staring at the weapons like a child in a candy store. She was practically drooling over the weapons, her eyes alight.
Kiara felt the weight of someone’s gaze on her and quickly pulled her eyes away, only to meet Alec’s cold, steel–blue stare. She cleared her throat softly, a touch embarrassed.
While he sized her up, she found herself doing the same.
looked
every
No doubt about it-
inch the arms dealer. He had to be at least six–foot–three, all hard muscle and presence. the kind of man you wouldn’t dream of crossing.
Ruggedly handsome, too–just standing there, he was a scene worth painting.
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Chapter 4 Waiting for the Storm
He stopped in front of her. “What kind of gun do you want?”
“Any purchase limits?” she asked.
Alec gave a short, dry laugh and started toward the counter, his long stride unhurried. “You pay, you take.
That worked just fine.
Money was one thing she had in excess.
#Finished
Despite all her recent spending sprees, she’d barely burned through 2 billion, and she’d been wondering how on earth she was going to get rid of the rest.
Her eyes wandered–and froze. This place had helicopters. Submarines. Even explosives.
Kiara was a thrill–seeker by nature. She’d gotten her helicopter pilot’s license at 18, and she figured driving a submarine couldn’t be all that different.
Her eyes lit up. “Money’s not an issue. I want handguns, sniper rifles, heavy machine guns, binoculars, body armor, life rings, life rafts, Swiss Army knives, riot gear, tactical flashlights, stun batons, military drones, crossbows, a helicopter, a submarine, kayaks, wetsuits, snowmobiles….
James had always known she was wealthy, but he hadn’t expected she was filthy rich.
As she rattled off her list like a restaurant order–20 straight minutes of it he had to swallow hard.
Holy shit! The tab would easily hit billions.
Heavy weapons weren’t cheap.
Alec didn’t bat an eye. We have it all. Where’s it going?”
Kiara had only planned to buy a single gun. She hadn’t expected Alec to have such a treasure trove, and she certainly hadn’t prepared a warehouse in advance.
After a moment’s thought, she said, I’ll rent a warehouse tomorrow. You can deliver it then.”
“Fine” Alec slid a payment terminal across the counter. “Deposit first.”
After double–checking her list to make sure nothing was missing, Kiara leaned in and asked quietly. “Do you have anything… more advanced?”
One brow rose. “Like what?” His voice was flat, his gaze still cool.
“Nuclear,” she blurted–though she’d meant to ask about aircraft carriers and bombers.
He gave her a long look, then shook his head. “No.”
She’d expected as much. No matter. With the arsenal and the helicopter, no one would dare make trouble for her.
When they left the underground market, Kiara’s hands were trembling with excitement.
James had figured out by now that she’d come to Adroria for the weapons, but he didn’t press. Instead, he cheerfully helped her rent a warehouse and treated her to dinner.
He’d had a couple of free days to tag along with Kiara, but work was calling tomorrow, so this would be their last stop. together.
Before he left, Kiara hesitated, then caught his arm. I’ve got a friend in the weather bureau,” she said. “He told me that in less than two months, we’ll get a stretch of extreme heat. Crop yields will drop. You might want to use the time to stock up on essentials
In Adroria, stocking up wasn’t a habit. Even in a crisis, people’s first thought was to hoard toilet paper, not food.
Still, James accepted her advice with an easy smile, making an OK sign with his fingers and nodding
Then he waved, hailed a cab, and was gone–whether he’d taken her words to heart, she couldn’t tell.
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Chapter 4 Waiting for the Storm
Kiara let out a quiet sigh. At least she’d given him the warning. Her conscience was clear.
Back at the hotel, Kiara lay wide awake, too thrilled to sleep at the thought of her soon–to–arrive arsenal.
By midday the next day, Alec’s message came through. “The weapons had been delivered.”
Finished
Grinning, she headed to the warehouse. After inspecting everything and finding it in perfect order, she paid him the balance, Only once Alec left did she shut the doors and sweep every last piece into her storage space.
She didn’t fly home right away. Instead, she made a detour to Vecester, where she purchased millions of tons of gasoline and diesel, thousands of tons of aviation fuel, plus mountains of coal, processed briquettes, and honeycomb coal.
Candles and propane tanks went into her stash as well.
When she was certain she had enough fuel to coast comfortably through the doomsday, she finally relaxed–at least a little.
But why stop there? If there were advantages to be taken, she intended to take them all. So she headed back to Adroria, the world’s largest agricultural and industrial nation, and dropped another eight billion on flour, corn, dairy products, milk, and all kinds of meat. Cars were cheap here, so she bought dozens, along with ten thousand newly developed heatproof suits and another ten thousand cold–weather suits.
Salt, sugar, canned goods, powdered milk, survival rations, cigarettes, liquor, bulletproof RVs, generators, solar panels, radios. walkie–talkies, bidet toilets, solar lamps, and solar water heaters–if it might be useful in a disaster, she bought it.
Since her space could hold living creatures, she added cattle, sheep, pigs, herding dogs, chicks, ducklings, geese, and even fingerling fish.
Farming gear followed–excavators, robots, harvesters, mowers, nutrient soil, fertilizer, pesticides, feed, and organic compost. Then came building supplies–steel, cement, mixers, bulletproof glass, tiles, lumber, stone, bricks, aluminum, and stainless steel.
She even stocked tens of millions of pounds of firewood, stacking it high in her space.
By the time she returned home with her mountain of supplies, Kiara felt truly at ease.
Now, all she had to do was sit back and wait for the disaster to come.
