Chapter 27

John Wallace was very well off, and had been well connected before the disaster. He and his fraternal twin sister had inherited a small fortune, when their parents had been killed in an accident. The result was that the two were taken into the home of a relative, and educated by their trust fund. The relative drew a huge salary as director for the trust, and as provider for the children's well being.

When they had graduated from school at the age of twenty-three, both were given the remains of the education trusts, as per instructions, only to find most of the ten million had been eaten in "fees" that their uncle had placed against the money, as director of the trust.

While the twins were in school, all tuition and fees had been paid, and they had been given a liberal monthly stipend of 3000 a month. But the director of the trust drew a salary of one million a year, per child, for a total of two million dollars a year out of the education trust!

When the two graduated, there was practically no money left. The uncle had been ingenious with his creative billing of the trust fund. John had tried to tell his sister what their uncle was doing, but she was either blind to it, or chose not to believe her brother. At twenty-five they had both inherited the bulk of their parent's estate, which was almost one hundred twenty-five million per child.

John took his and left, since he and his sister had grown so far apart during college. Their uncle had driven a wedge into their lives that seemed impossible to overcome.

Their two lifestyles had become totally different. He lived in the dorm, which the trust paid for. She chose to live in a ritzy apartment, that the fund only partially covered. He ate most of his meals in the student cafeteria, and went off campus only occasionally. She lived the high life. She bought a flashy new car every year. He drove a secondhand used car. He invested and saved most of his three thousand a month. She spent hers, and was broke towards the end of every month. He took a part time job to make extra money. She thought that was crazy.

She was very liberal in everything she did, while he was thoughtful and mostly conservative. He liked neither the Republican party, nor the Democratic party. He was firmly in the camp of the 'third party' people.

While it might not be the thing to do within his peer group, he believed that nether party was actually serving the voters interest. There was too much 'back room dealing'; and 'special interest money' was being eaten much too enthusiastically, by both parties. All this, while they both were telling voters, "We are not concerned with these special interest people, we are YOUR man." Riiiiight. And man walks on water without God's aid.

John excelled at all his business classes, which was his major. He got his regular math courses out of the way, and went in for business accounting. He finished college with a three point eight grade point average.

By the time he had graduated, he had over half a million in his own investments. The more he invested, the more he made. It seemed that he had the 'golden touch'. Occasionally, he took a loss, but those were rare.

He had made contacts, and joined several political clubs while in college. He maintained those contacts after graduation. He was always looking to increase his sphere of influence. He worked six days a week. Five were spent investing, and Saturday was spent researching new prospects. Buying was done Monday, from a list he compiled Saturday.

He worked part time as a consultant for an investment firm, who had heard of his "knack" for picking a 'sure thing'. They had quickly placed him in charge of their largest accounts. They actually wanted him full time, but part of his willingness to work for them, was that they allowed him his own hours.

In the first year at the firm, he brought in millions of profits for his customers. This translated into good profit for the company, bonuses for him, and good PR for everyone. His personal reputation was made.

His personal fortunes grew very quickly after that. He worked three days a week and was pulling in a quarter of a million in salary alone, not including bonuses, by the end of his second year.

The only bump in his meteoric rise was an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission, who could not believe that he was this lucky without some sort of 'insider' information.

He volunteered and took not one, but two separate lie detector tests. Both of which he passed easily. He answered questions, and opened his financial books willingly to the government. Their conclusion was he was extremely lucky and astute. No evidence of cheating was found.

When John reached his twenty-fifth birthday, he found himself in an attorney's office. It was the attorney who was acting as executor to his mother and father's will. This attorney was totally separate from the uncle that had finished raising John, and his sister, Tracy.

This was the man who would now release and sign over all assets of the family's fortune (a total of two hundred fifty two million and change, after taxes). This included cash, stocks, bonds, and properties that had been administered by the law firm. It was divided evenly between the siblings.

Tracy barely said anything to him, which made John sad. They had been so close until they went to live with their uncle. He knew the man was a con artist, but his sister was firmly in the uncle's camp, and would hear nothing bad about the man. John spent the next three years after that breaking the tie between his sister and uncle. He did succeed but it took time. The uncle had eaten far into his sister's portion of her inheritance by then.

Still, when the police came in and charged the uncle, his sister had been shocked. Her perfect world had collapsed around her ears. This often happens to people who don't live in the real world. While she still had the majority of her fortune left, the uncle had siphoned off an incredible amount before John's detectives were able to get enough on the man to have the authorities bring charges.

While he made a few overtures to his sister, she was now withdrawn, and he ached to see her suffering. He backed off and gave her space, hoping she would recover enough so they could restore the relationship they had previously enjoyed.

He knew it was going to take a long time for their relationship to recover. The uncle had manipulated, and almost brainwashed his sister. People had a tendency to believe, see, and hear what they want. Her worldview was now in turmoil. It would require time and patience to set it right.

In the meantime, he increased his fortune and influence by a much larger factor. Money was power. He supported independent candidates in elections, where he could. He was most active at the state and federal level.

He settled in South Carolina. It was a beautiful area. A river was close by, which ran beside his home. The view was beautiful. He deliberately chose a slightly elevated area, away from the cities and close to a water source. He developed his own power and water sources, and actually made money, selling electricity to the local power company.

He was a believer in the distinct possibility of a coming disaster. He built an underground shelter, able to withstand a 'near miss' nuclear air burst. Since he was far from any major city that would be a likely target, he doubted any missiles would be coming his way, for any reason other than being lost.

He made sure that he always had five years of supplies in his underground storage. There were also several ways to exit/enter the shelter, if any one particular egress was blocked or damaged for some reason.

He built the shelter a short distance away from the house he had built. While he would have to leave the house to gain access to his shelter, it was close enough that he could get to an entrance on foot, or by car.