Den Warren [Warren - Kings and Clans Trilogy

Kings and Clans Trilogy

by Den Warren

In this Volume -

Three Complete Full-Length Novels:

Kings and Clans of the Midwest

Ayanna

Independent States of America

Copyright 2015 by Den Warren

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

https://denwarren.wordpress.com/

https://twitter.com/D3NWARR3N

About this Book

These are stories of characters who experienced the fall of the United States, and their struggles to survive, and thrive, among warring factions.

Dedication

To my Beloved Bride, my Soul Mate, my Little Bud

Foreword

These writings are entirely a work of fiction. No one knows the future, but the United States is doing everything possible to make the basis of this story a reality.

KINGS and CLANS

of The Midwest

Chapter 1

Detroit, Michigan

Month of May In the Near Future

"You do everything right your whole life. You do what everyone wants. You pay, and pay and pay. You don't get to do much of any of the things you want. What does it get you? The world don't play you fair. Then the world just up and thinks that having you around ain't convenient no more," Elijah said.

Plain clothes Detroit Police officers Elijah Williams and Henry Miller were partners for many years. Since they started together they had both lost hair and added some pounds, but they were still in decent shape, for their age. They had been through about everything anyone could think of over the years. They knew how to handle anything that came up.

But today they could do no more than just sit in their parked unmarked car in a daze. Elijah could feel his blood pressure spiking under the stress. It had been a half hour since the morning shift meeting got out and they were still in the precinct parking lot wordless and unanimated because of the terrible news. There was no motivation for either of them to do anything, or go anywhere.

As part of the Gang Taskforce, they usually started their day hearing the latest from the other shifts about Detroit gang activity, then they made their plans to take some kind of action to disrupt the gangs. The daily plan usually involved the officers putting their necks out a fair distance. But today the sole issue of importance was none of that. It was something they weren't supposed to worry about, their own salary.

The nation's economy had the illusion of vigor like a beautiful white swan. It was the United States of America. Land of seemingly limitless abundance and an unmatched industrial powerhouse. But the swan was filled with a tumor that was growing in size daily. Health in all ways but one is not health, but a disease. That expanding economic tumor was the decreasing value of the US dollar.

The stock market looked good. The economic indicators looked good. But the money system was already broken and waiting for a collapse. The parsec-sized national debt, was ignored by a populace happy with government handouts. The national debt caused irreparable damage to the US Dollar because there were more handouts than there was production. Treasury printing presses tried in futility to print the funny money faster than their Congressional counterparts, who were eager to buy votes, could spend it, sending the value of the dollar into a bottomless crater.

Because of the already ruinous state of the Detroit City budget, all public employees were still waiting on their last paycheck which should have been payable two weeks ago. That check, even if they would have gotten it, was at an outdated pay rate that was now barely subsistence money. The rate of inflation in the US was about 100% a month and increasing. The City employees were all told they would get increases to keep up with the hyperinflation, but in the same breath were told a second check was not ready yet. There was a real worry that the numbers could not come out in their favor. So now the public workers had all worked for a month total with no pay.

Elijah sat slumped over with his forehead resting on the steering wheel. He looked up revealing a red arc on his forehead. "Those guys who walked out of the meeting. They said they quit. I believe them. I ain't gonna keep putting my life on the line every damn day for no money. We are so short handed now. I know it will be call call call, one stupid idiot doing one stupid idiot thing after another. I bet the Mayor still gets his money." The agony of pondering such a decision showed on Elijah's face.

He and Henry had been partners for over ten years and would have normally been in the latter stage of their career. "All those years, now nothing for retirement. No. I ain't gonna do it no more. I can't, Henry." Elijah could not look Henry in the face. "I'm gonna walk. I...I have to. I'm not going to be played for a fool."

"Then what 'E'?", Henry asked. "E" was the precinct's nickname for Elijah. Are you going to just sit in the dark and wait for the City to burn? The Firemen are going to walk too. This City is going to be a war zone. They are going home to protect their own families. Everyone in this town is going to lose, big time."

Elijah was staring into space as if looking through the brick wall in front of their car. "What else can we do except leave the City? We got to get out. Out of the City. Aliyah and I have been talking it over. It's time to leave Detroit, even if we have to drop everything." Elijah was anxiously bobbing his head up and down on the top of the steering wheel again. He looked up, slamming the steering wheel with both hands . "I'm calling Aliyah at the hospital and we are getting out of here." Aliyah, his wife, a nurse at the hospital, was in the middle of her shift. "We're going to go down to Cincinnati." Their long standing goal was to retire close to their daughter, Rene, but with having pensions. Even if they would have relocated before retirement, Cincy would still be their logical destination of first choice.

Aliyah Williams told Elijah that the hospital she worked for was nearly insolvent. The hospital was overrun by patients who either couldn't pay for services or wouldn't pay, relying upon untrustworthy government payouts. Government payouts, which were always bogged down with the usual bureaucratic delays were now made more complicated by the hyperinflation.

Long waits at the hospital were already the norm before the financial crunch, but now going to get medical care was a major event, requiring taking time off work. There wasn't enough of anything to go around. Patients would get in fights with other patients, who didn't see the need for them and their sniffles to be there, causing delays for their vomiting kid or themselves to see the doctor.

Henry sat there shaking his bald head. "This is bad ," He said, interrupting Elijah while he was getting out his phone. "I guess you're right. This town is not going to be a place for anyone to be. It's too far gone now. You're right, this crap with our checks is a game changer." Henry's voice shifted to a slightly more confident tone. "Maybe we should do something first."

"Like what?", Elijah asked peevishly, assuming Henry's proposal would not have anything whatever to do with the current crappy situation.

"Are any of 'ours' at the Mafia's Clubhouse today?" The Police had infiltrators within the various gangs. The Latin Mafia had a chapter in Detroit. This group was not affiliated with the La Cosa Nostra Italian mob or any other such group.

As expected, Elijah was disturbed by the question's timing. Fun facts about their work seemed totally incongruous with the ongoing quick and certain demise of their lives. "Now what does that have to do with the sun shining? What... you thinking about going there? Now? I swear you can be so stupid!" He shook his head and looked back at his phone. "You are gonna piss me off, I swear!"