Prologue | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20A | 20B | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25-26 | 27 | 28-29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35-36 | 37 | 38A | 38B | 38C | 38D | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42-43 | 44-45 | 46 | 47 | 48-49A | 49B | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57A | 57B | 58-59| 60 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68-69 | 70A | 70B | 71A | 71B | 72 | 73 | 74A | 74B | 75 | 76-77A | 77B | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85-87 | 88A | 88B | 89 | 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94A | 94B | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98-99 | 100 | 101 | 102-103 | 104A | 104B
PART V
MIRACLES
105A
MARINA READ TREY’S letter with growing dismay, and then alarm. It wasn’t as if being threatened by evil gangsters was enough; she simply wanted to go home and back to her husband.
And her husband was terrified.
He didn’t say so.
She could feel it.
As the several-page tightly packed letter went on, it became clear he was hurt Boss Tom had abandoned him. Was Boss Tom so angry over having lost 1520 he was willing to let Trey and all his dependents come under siege?
Though Trey’s written words were perfect, his handwriting was so much more atrocious than usual, even she had a hard time deciphering it. She could hear his voice, rapid-fire speech, country accent, bad grammar, dropped consonants, and all. He was terrified, hurt, angry, and completely unable to come up with a scheme to get himself out without getting himself killed and/or the speak blown up with everyone in it.
“What’s wrong, Missus?” Ida asked when she finished putting Susanna to bed.
Marina, unable to keep it to herself, but unwilling to share his feelings, sketched it out. “He can’t find a buyer for the speak,” she began. “Nobody wants to touch it at any price because there’s a bounty on it. He’s lost the Remus. Boss Tom is taking the protection money, but won’t protect him.”
To her shock, Ida waved it off. “Mr. Trey always knows what to do. Why, he’s the smartest man I ever met.”
“He’s a very smart man who got himself trapped.”
“He’s been trapped before,” Ida reminded her, sliding a look toward the dark bedroom where Susanna quietly babbled to put herself to sleep.
“Yes,” Marina returned a little tightly. “And I had to get him out of it.”
“Surely there’s something you could do to help?”
“I’m not … there … to do anything, Ida,” Marina said, bewildered.
“You’ll think of something. You came to Minneapolis lickety split without asking anybody or telling anybody, either, and it was the right thing to do. You’re just as smart as Mr. Trey.”
Marina didn’t sleep much that night. Not only was Susanna taking over the bed and kicking Marina’s ribs in her sleep as usual, she couldn’t get over the idea that she needed to do something to help her scared and angry husband.
The next day was grocery shopping day for Mrs. Pedersen, but Marina could barely drag herself out of bed.
“What’s wrong, Marina?” her landlady asked, feeling Marina’s forehead as she drove along to the grocer’s.
“Bad news from my husband,” she said absently as she turned the corner away from the grocery store.
“Ah, does that mean those men are going to be coming here?”
“No. No one in the mob knows where I am except the man who brought Ida.”
“Ah, oh. Good. Marina, the grocery store is that way.”
“I know. I just had an idea and need to send a telegram.”
TREY IN TROUBLE STOP PLEASE HELP
“This is to go to Albright Veterinary, Kansas City, Missouri.”
After that was done, it was with a bit of a lighter heart she went about her Wednesday routine with the landlady, then took Button and Ida skating. So it shocked her when, that evening, Mr. Pedersen knocked on her door to present her a telegram.
NO
Heart in her throat, she looked up at her landlord.
“I’m going home tomorrow for about a week,” she told him. “Hopefully less. I need to fetch something.”
He gaped at her. “What about those fellas? The reason you came here?”
“No one will know I’m coming. I’ll leave town before anyone sees me.”
“Uff-da!” he protested. “Nothing is worth that risk.”
He was such a good man, and she appreciated his protectiveness. She told him this, but that only made him more protective.
Had she not gotten herself, her baby, and her valuables out of Kansas City as soon as she’d sensed a threat? Had she not left a clever note for her husband to find her? Had she not escaped the threat by a hair’s breadth? She had never wavered, never faltered, never made a misstep because she was a frog who leaped over a pond’s worth of lily pads to get to the fastest and most pragmatic answer to a problem.
He looked confused, but she shook her head to clear it. “Never mind about the frog. I’ll be leaving in the morning. Ida will stay here with Susanna. I will leave my car keys and Mrs. Pedersen may use it.”
Mrs. Pedersen dropped Marina off at the train station the next morning with a hug. “It’s nothing I’ve ever heard of, gallivanting off somewhere for a week without luggage.”
Marina gave her a slight smile. “My husband’s grandmother taught me you can buy clothes anywhere you go.”
“I suppose. I’m not used to thinking about a woman with that much money—or, anyone, really. I’m used to women making their own clothes. Or the girls in the building, pinching their pennies to buy a nice dress.”
Marina nodded. “Thank you, Mrs. Pedersen. I don’t want to miss my train.”
It was a long trip from Minneapolis to Chicago. Then from Chicago to Kansas City. Marina had hours to think, but had brought nothing to write on, so she pressed the conductor for some paper and a pencil. She parked herself in the dining car and began writing.
GIVEN: Boss Tom owes me.
105A
If you don’t want to wait 2 years to get to the end, you can buy it here.
Donations can be made here, if you so desire.
Edge case nutpunch.
https://youtu.be/X1TWxii4d3E?si=pUkKsL_rdedIkwGK
Lessons to be learned here.
Cops come to “talk” to a guy about a social media post and ask to come in. Trying to be nice, he says to come in and close the door.
Cops immediately want to frisk him and disarm him. He says no. They insist. He says in that case, they can leave his home.
He is arrested and dragged out without a warrant.
Civil rights attorney says it is a grey area if this is a legal arrest. Don’t let the cops in.
Bonus stupid… homeowner is a known felony. They were there because he posted a picture to social media with a gun on a shelf behind him. He answers the door with a gun in a hip holster.
Not a rocket scientist, this one.
Well that kinda pulls the punch.
They didn’t get a warrant, so he could have just told them to leave and gotten rid of the gun.
Answering with the gun probably isn’t enough for immediate arrest (violating the castle)… even though they witness the crime.
He still might get it tossed. But damn, dumb as a box of rocks.
“Don’t let the cops in.” Just like vampires.
Just like vampires, cops get mad when you stake one of them.
WTF WOULD YOU ANWER THE DOOR?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEi9Qpnro34
Rule #1: Don’t talk to the cops. They are not your friends.
I don’t see Trey pulling the Michael Corleone move, even with Marina’s help.
TIL that Aperol makes my head spin now.
Thanks, Moj – I sense an end-game coming. Exiting!
Er… “exciting”, even.
Exiting also works, what with the end game coming and all.
I shall be on the Zoom just as soon as this live police chase is over…
Someone trying to slip supplies into the storm zone?
Case of soup equals 24 felonies?
Probably 48 if each can is 2 servings.
Or each chunk of vegetable.
I’ll be on the zooms, after I feed the cats and make an Olde Fashionde
Look who crawled out from under a rock
Biden makes first-ever WH briefing room appearance to warn election may be violent
“I’m confident it will be free and fair. I don’t know whether it will be peaceful,” the retiring 81-year-old president said during his surprise 15-minute appearance in response to a question from National Public Radio’s Tamara Keith.
I wonder if he’ll have the National Guard patrolling the streets of DC in early November.
When kids go out trick-or-treating, he’ll declare a national emergency and impose martial law.
Pierre Trudeau approves.
As long as it’s not western NC.
If TEAM BLUE doesn’t win there will be violence.
Yeah, it sounds like a threat.
Marina needs a Thompson.
Who doesn’t?
Yeah, saw a an HK USC at ye local gun shoppe today. I have this irrational liking of those things, although I’d do a lot of work to it. Ideally, cut the barrel back to 11” or so (which I think optimizes the .45 ACP round) and put a suppressor on it. Also replace that godawful stock with a proper UMP stock.
https://hk-usa.com/hk-models/usc/
https://blackopsdefense.com/service-hk-ump-usc/
Still have a soft spot for the venerable MP5.
Indeed
Declare a Covid and let the cops shut the speak down, hustle Trey out of town.
Apparently Albright is going to the dogs.
Thanks, Moj, left me waiting for another chapter.
Most ‘anti’-trans comedy is lame, but this one is clever.
Very good, CPRM. Very good.
Excellent 😀
Female semen. Cut her loose.
A good zoom crowd if you want to join and talk about female semen.
I heard it on the “x”:
Where I am at.
Plan a garden for the next year.
Be ungovernable.
Plan for multiple natural catastrophe’s.
Teach your own children.
Be ungovernable.
Barter.
Don’t rely on the government to solve your problems.
Be ungovernable.
Barter.
Be ungovernable.
Barter for the things you need.
https://open.spotify.com/track/4LQCqg99q8nlsCrnXTZrRC?si=600a01e7e9d04197
Be ungovernable.
We’re having a grand ol time in here Zoom – join, or die
I choose death.
Orc lives matter. Apparently.
https://x.com/RetroCoast/status/1842212404689551467
Breaking: Reports that a FEMA director who was acting arrogant and denying aid to #NorthCarolina flood victims was BEATEN by local residents
The incident occurred 20 miles south of #Asheville
Any other sources besides this one tweet?
Good morning Glibs! Feeling that joy?
🛌☀️🧇
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bSTX2xVpfPw
This one is for Swiss. I know what a huge fan he is.
🎶🎶
Good morning! At the diner prior to my first match running the CZ97. The bag is noticeably heavier.
If you come down again sometime, you better bring that one.
Roger Wilco.
good morning all.
third cup of coffee here….sitting through this just now….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKHSE9eISRg
A remarkable testament from a reformed? leftist insider describing living in the leftist bubble. It is remarkable to me how plain and clear it was all along how corrupt they are and she just couldn’t see it for a long time. I guess if one has never thought for themselves it seems very natural to go along with the. evilest shit to be part of the tribe. I think it snuck up on her. She still hasn’t quite got it but she is getting there.
Leftist nightmare movements usually require extreme circumstances to survive birth and I am trying to come up with how ours was spawned. I am not sure I can identify a point in our history on par what the things that happened in Germany, Russia, China, Cuba, etc….
Anyone have any ideas?
Summer of Love
Whatever they have planned for the 10/7 anniversary in a couple days
But yeah it feels mostly like a slowly boiling frog.
I dont see in our own history some parallel extreme conditions that gives rise to extremist movements. We have not suffered the kind of political oppression or poverty that I thought was necessary for that. Perhaps I am wrong about how these movements are spawned.
The reporter describes limousine liberals at the root of the CHAZ debacle.
I have read a number of accounts about inter-war Germany as being plagued by crushing poverty, plagues of drug addiction, humiliation and hunger giving rise to a number of cannibalism scandals. We haven’t had that. Well, some of it but not to the degree others have seen.
Maybe I should go back and re-read ‘The True Believer’ and some Hanna Arendt.
The Civil War.
Because it is perceived as having been waged for a good cause, Americans have bought into the myth that the FedGov is a force for good, and should be allowed to bend the rules, when necessary, because that is what Lincoln did to “free the slaves”.
In addition, the Progressive Movement, which was purportedly based on the latest science, persuaded Americans that scientifically trained experts could better arrange our lives than we could.
Ok. The ‘common sense’ test from yesterday’s discussion was a bit eye-opening in more ways that I didnt initially see.
I saw one of those ‘man on the street’ interviews recently where a woman was asked about gun control. She went on a spittle flecked rant about it repeating the gibberish talking points of the gun control crowd. She had no awareness that any of the things she was saying were nonsense but she was very, very convinced and passionate. Half a sentence in I could see that trying to reason with her would be a complete waste of time.
*Why I have adopted the position of ‘Fuck you, NO.’ when it comes to gun control.
I left out that she concluded her rant with “…it’s just common sense!”
Thanks Cav, that’s a point I keep trying to make – we had a whole class of people here wanting to remake the country long before anyone on these shores gave Marx even a casual interest.
Starting with the founding fathers. The American Revolution and it’s spiritual brother the French Revolution were both epochal shifts inspired by Utopian intellectuals with plans for fundamentally altering the nature society and government.
The anti-Federalists have been proven right, in my opinion.
https://nypost.com/2024/10/04/us-news/new-york-ex-gov-david-paterson-attacked-by-youngersters-on-upper-east-side-in-manhattan/
“Youngsters”?
Yoots.
But at least they make their own grits.
So many fun details. He is married to the Guardian Angels dude’s ex-wife?!
The kid opens his yap when they see the punk assholes being punks?!
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/10/watch-kamala-harris-turns-bumbling-robotic-mess-when/
CommaLa’s teleprompter goes on strike.
I have heard some talk lately that Harris is a complete construct. Not a real person. Her history, family, etc. before her public life is all a fabrication.
Once upon a time I would have dismissed that as a fever dream conspiracy theory but then…..Jeffery Epstein. It doesnt look so crazy now.
Elon vs. Mayor Pete.
🥊🥊
My money is on Elon.
Good morning, all! Spud appears to have scheduled AM Lynx for twelve hours from now, so I guess we’re unsupervised until Mexi shows up. 😁
Spud’s links drop at 1800 ET. 😉
Well that’s it, I’m canceling my subscription.
Ask for a refund
Morning GT.
Good morning, ‘slinger! I must confess, I’m a bit torn between favoring the Tigers or the Grauniads at this stage of the postseason. Mostly I just root against the Yankees.
I’m not torn. I’m very much rooting for the Tigers to beat the Indians. (They’ll always be the Indians to me). 😁
suh’ fam
whats goody yo
TALL WEEKEND CANS!
There were problems with the AM links scheduling. They’re up now.