Read American Exit Strategy: Book 1 for Free Online

thought we were all stocked up on that stuff? What's going on?" Karen asked.
    "I think it just hit the fan." Matt replied. "The government was only able to replenish EBT cards with half of what the recipients have been receiving. And, there was no advanced warning."
    "What's the government saying?" Karen inquired.
    "I don't know yet." Matt replied. "I saw the headline on Drudge, texted you, and ran straight to the grocery store. There are a few things I want to do before we sit down and watch it all unfold. I need you to go fill up your car with gas. Then go to PNC Bank and close that account. Withdraw it all in cash. If they can't give you all cash, take what they will give you in cash and leave the rest. Call me when you know so I can decide what to do about the Bank of America account. For now, I'm planning to keep it open to pay our bills with. Take your gun out of your purse and put it on your waist. You need to be able to get to it fast today. I don't want to scare you but I want to take every precaution. I'm going to Auto Zone to buy a few gas cans to fill up when I gas up the truck. Meet me at Publix when you finish at the bank."
    Matt could tell that Karen thought he was overreacting. He was glad she didn't say it. He thought he might be overreacting as well. But if he was right, things were going to go downhill fast.
    Matt arrived at the Publix grocery store before Karen. He gave her a quick call to see how it was going. Karen answered her phone "They're giving me the cash, but it may take a while. They have to get the manager to go into the safe. I can't believe they don't have $4000 in the cash drawer!"
    "OK baby, call me when you get to the store. I am going to go inside and get started." Matt said.
    Matt went in and saw things were not quite as pleasant as they had been at Winn Dixie. There were several people arguing with cashiers. It seemed most of the EBT card holders were finding out about the benefit reduction at the checkout line. They also seemed to have never heard the term “don’t shoot the messenger" because they were taking out their frustrations on the cashiers and store managers. The lines were backed up into the aisles. It looked like a scene from Black Friday. One manager was catching a rant about discrimination because they had opened two checkout lanes with hand written signs that said "No EBT cards in this lane". There were two other people jumping on the bandwagon about the "discrimination" issue, so the manager took the signs down.
    Matt proceeded to the pasta aisle. He filled the cart with several boxes of angel hair pasta and cans of sauce. These were items that took very little fuel to prepare. Angel hair cooks faster than any other pasta because it is so thin. He also got several cans of canned pasta. This is something they would usually never eat, but if things get really bad, you can eat it right out of the can and it is very high in fat, carbs and calories. Normally that is not a positive attribute, but in a survival situation, it is getting the most bang for your buck.
    Matt grabbed five gallons of bleach in case they needed it to purify water. Then, he headed to the bread aisle. Once there, he threw in ten loaves of bread. He picked up several packages of cookies and several bags of candy. "The next few days have the potential to be stressful", he thought to himself, "Better load up on some comfort food." He grabbed some peanut butter and several large jars of jelly then headed to the checkout. His cart was just big enough to handle his haul. When he got back to the checkout area, there were two new signs. One lane said "Credit Cards Only" and the other lane said "Cash Only".
    The store manager had outsmarted the whiners. Since there was no mention of EBT cards, they could not make a valid claim that they were being discriminated against.  He surveyed the lines. The "Credit Card Only" lane had eight people in it. The "Cash Only" lane had one man. Matt got in line behind him. Just