American Meltdown: Book Two of The Economic Collapse Chronicles by Mark Goodwin Page A

security. Tonight would be a bad time to come to that realization.”
    Randall stated , "I'm going to let you go. I'm going to get in as many phone calls as I can this evening. I want to get as much support as I can. We have a lot of work to do."
    As soon as Randall had hung up with Larry Jacobs, General Allen Jefferson called. "Paul, Lejeune and Bragg are all set, the lead ership is just waiting for the Governor of North Carolina to make a commitment. Do you think you could call him and try to get a definitive answer? We put a lot of good officers there hoping that we can work with the state."
    "Sure, General," Paul said. "Governor Taylor supported me in the campaign. I hope we can get him onboard with the effort.”
    "Tell him it's time to man up!" Jefferson said, "We fight now or live as slaves for the rest of our lives."
    Paul Randall said , “Good-bye” and put in the call to North Carolina Governor Ronald Taylor. Randall quickly explained the support the movement had in Texas, the Northwest Coalition and South Carolina.
    “This is a tough call , Paul. I hope this will all blow over and things will get back to normal,” Taylor said. He was obviously torn on what to do.
    Randall replied, “Howe is going to be disarming the American people whether the financial crisis blows over or not. He couldn’t be more straightforward about his intentions to confiscate weapons. This fight was already coming. The banking system collapse just pushed it up on the calendar.”
    Ron Taylor said, “You’re right. We have been discussing that in the North Carolina State Senate. We just ha ven’t made a final decision on how to handle it.”
    Randall continued to explain, “General Jefferson put a lot of faith in you to do the right thing by positioning key leadership in Camp Lejeune and Fort Bragg. It ’s all patriot brass running those bases thanks to Jefferson’s planning. He won’t be able to move them around again. If you don’t commit to this effort, we may not be able keep America alive. I’m not being melodramatic, Ron. The freedom of this nation may very well depend on your faithfulness to the Constitution.”
    Taylor reluctantly committed to the effort. “ Knowing how much I would be letting you and Allen Jefferson down, I’ll call an emergency meeting with the General Assembly. I’ll try to get this through tonight,”
    "You’re doing the right thing, Ron," Paul assured him.
    "You and Jefferson are going to have to hold my hand through this, Paul," Taylor replied. "I don't have much experience with coups."
    Continuing his plan to solicit support, Paul Randall called the Governor of Kentucky. With the dollar going away, it would be good to have the gold reserves being held in Fort Knox. There was no chance of getting at the gold reserves in the New York Federal Reserve. Randall was unsure of the amount still being held in Kentucky, but Fort Campbell was also there and it was a large military base. Since Kentucky had voted for Randall in the presidential election, he knew he had the support of the people. Governor Simmons talked with Paul for a long time, but in the end was unwilling to make a personal commitment.
    "Governor, are you willing to let the Federal Government march on your state and disarm your citizens?" Randall asked.
    "I will put it to a vote with the state legislature, Paul. This is not my call," Simmons said.
    "Those people elected you to make crucial decisions for them, Governor," Paul said. "They overwhelmingly voted for me in the presidential election. You know where they stand. I am just asking you to hold an emergency session and to personally support it. You carry a lot of weight in the Kentucky General Assembly. I know a lot of those votes are going to go in the direction you recommend."
    Governor Simmons was silent for a moment as he contemplated Paul's words. "You are very convincing, Paul, but I can't give you an answer right away. I'll think it over and get back to you on it. I owe it to