Chapter Two - Things Go From Bad to Worse

Around Thursday

I'd been able to draw off some of the savings that I'd had since I'd been on the street. At least I hadn't had to touch that but that it was there as a nest-egg if I ever needed it. There was at least some §150,000 in there. but all that was about to change for the worse.

I looked at the phone (which was the only piece of technology I had) and saw that there was call from the bank which I had deposited my money in; to call them as soon as possible. I had a gut feeling that it wasn't good. Normally, I get my statements online or on my phone, if I can make it into the library to use their computers. And of course, I'd started putting my profits from my gemstone sales into that bank...to tuck it away. They had no reason to be calling me if everything was going fine.

I'd been doing the usual thing, which was picking up gemstones and then sending them into Aleister's for consignment. And I thought, I was making some pretty decent money.

Well, when I picked up the phone and dialed the bank, I get this automated voice message that says, "This bank management is under investigation for management misconduct; we have currently seized all assets as evidence. All those with bank accounts over §1.2M are currently protected by CDIC regulations. All those under that amount are not protected. This has been a message from the Canadian Banker's Association."

It was like a cold shower. My nest egg was gone; and there was no recovery from that. With that one cold perfunctory message, my whole future was now in jeopardy. Was there any way to move forward from that? Not to mention the fact that the previous night, I'd been fined §500.00 for "loitering" by the APPD because the constable stated that "You've been squatting on public property. You've got to move." I had no funds to get the hell out of town, so I was stuck there. The only thing I could do was to keep moving. Yeah, if you think that people have your best interests at heart, think again. It's a cold, cruel world out there.

I was torn between an inferno of rage and a cold sweat: of all the things that could possibly happen, some rich snob with more money and financial security than me had wanted far more than his fair share and decided to embezzle the bank's funds. Those who were financially vulnerable were out of luck.

But that wasn't the end to my string of bad luck. When I went into Aleister's the proprietor told me that he couldn't keep paying me the going rate for gemstones. I noticed that he didn't say this to other people. But considering the fact that I was dependent on the proceeds of the gemstones to survive, I had to take whatever deal that he was offering me, which was less than pennies on the dollar. On top of that he told me that he was taking a 99.9% cut on any tiberium or plutonium that I brought in because of the risks that he was shouldering and that he'd had to set up a proper storage area. The 99.9% would go towards paying off any storage improvements he'd had to do and that he'd be on the hook for any fines going forward. What else could I do. I had a choice: I could go try my luck on the black market which would end up being a risky venture. or I could get stiffed by Aleister. Either way, I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. I told Aleister, I'll think about it and get back to him.

After grabbing a bite at the market (at least I could still afford the occasional apple or banana), I headed up to the fishing hole. Luckily I had bought a fishing license while I'd had the money in the bank, so I was free and clear for the year to catch as many fish as I possibly could, but again, that all depended on whether or not I was able to cook the thing while avoiding getting fined by Appaloosa Plains Police Department for being a fire hazard. Getting fined §25000 for having a fire-hazard, especially with the forest fire risk in the red, was not a good thing. When I got home from the fishing hole, I get a notice from the city hall, saying that I owed them around §240,000 in unpaid fines. Well, there went my financial security. They had tabulated a list of all the by-law infractions in black and white and if I didn't pay them, they'd put a black mark that was un-removeable on my credit rating so I wouldn't be able to borrow any money for a mortgage.

That pretty much made the rest of my day. So I pretty much holed up in my tent for the afternoon and read a skill book on cooking.

On top of that, the weather decided to dump a carpload of hail on me and Samson...

Flark my life...