Rewrite the Apocalypse dream (by Dee Cari) novel Chapter 51

Chapter 51 Sweeping every single piece of gear left on those shelves

Jolie ran her fingers over a pair of ultra-durable, puncture-resistant combat boots, her eyes wide. “Jake, this stuff is flawless. It’s exactly what we need. No cheap knockoffs, no civilian-grade compromises.”

Jake picked up a modular tactical belt, checking the stitching and the reinforced Cobra buckles. “It’s the real deal,” he murmured. “But look at the price tags.”

Jolie squinted at the digital price display next to a single kitted-out tactical mannequin and gasped.

Aegis Tier-1 Operator Package (Per Person):

Level IV Multi-Curve Ceramic Armor & Plate Carrier: $8,500

GPNVG-18 Panoramic Night Vision Goggles: $42,000

Thermal Weapon Sight & Smart Mount: $18,000

CBRN Protective Suit & Upgraded Mask: $4,500

All-Weather Adaptive Combat Uniform (x2 sets): $3,200

Total Outfit Cost per Unit:$76,200

Multiplying that by four-plus the necessary replacement parts, extra batteries, and specialized maintenance kits-pushed the total into a staggering territory. Worse, the shop owner, a smug former contractor leaning over the counter, made it clear that because of “recent supply chain strains,” he was charging a mandatory 150% markup for immediate, off-the-books cash sales.

To fully kit out their squad with the premium gear and backups they needed, they were looking at nearly $1.2 million just for personal wearable gear.

“I know we have the trust money,” Jolie whispered, her face falling as she did the math on her phone. “But spending over a million dollars on retail markup just feels like we’re getting completely fleeced. It’s highway robbery.”

Jake frowned, staring at the night-vision rack. “He’s pushing up prices so high because he knows he has the best quality in the country. Let’s go. We’re not throwing away capital on a middleman’s country-club fund.”

They returned to the warehouse empty-handed and visibly discouraged. Joanna was sitting at the main desk, reviewing the shipping container schematics on her tablet, when she looked up and saw their grim expressions.

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11:28 Sat, Oct 3

AG 59

Finished

Chapter 51 Sweeping every single piece of gear left on those shelves

“Let me guess,” Joanna said, setting the tablet down. “The store was a bust?”

“The store was incredible,” Jolie sighed, dropping her notebook onto the table. “They had everything. Real-deal Level IV plates, panoramic night vision, chemical suits, the works. But the owner is running a blatant prepper-gouging scheme. He wants almost eighty grand a head, plus a massive cash surcharge. If we buy from him, we are burning through an astronomical amount of cash that we need for fuel, seeds, and heavy equipment.”

Jake leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. “It’s a dead end. We can’t let ourselves get extorted, but civilian-grade tactical gear off the internet isn’t going to cut it when the world falls apart. We need that high-end armor.”

Joanna looked between the two of them, a calm, cold calculation settling into her eyes. A slow, knowing smile crossed her face as she leaned back against the desk.

“You guys are still thinking like ordinary citizens,” Joanna said softly, her voice carrying a sharp, pragmatic edge. “We aren’t playing by the old rules anymore.”

Jolie blinked, looking up from her notebook. “What do you mean?”

“I mean we buy exactly what we need for right now,” Joanna explained, tapping a finger on the table. “Go ahead and order one premium, perfectly sized suit of tactical gear for each of us. Pay whatever outrageous price he’s asking. We have the liquidity, and we need the immediate protection for our training and the upcoming bunker drops.”

Jake frowned, his brow furrowing. “And the rest of the inventory? The backup armor, the night vision, the CBRN suits? We’re just going to leave millions of dollars of top-tier hardware sitting in his showroom?”

Joanna’s smile widened, her eyes gleaming with absolute certainty.

“In six weeks, the apocalypse hits, the grid goes down, and the law disappears,” Joanna said, her tone dropping to a quiet, thrilling whisper. “And when it does, I’m driving right back over to Blackwood, walking into his shop, and sweeping every single piece of gear left on those shelves directly into my pocket dimension. Why buy the whole store now when we can just take it all later?”

For a second, the warehouse was dead silent. Jake and Jolie just stared at Joanna, their brains momentarily stalling as they processed the sheer, ruthless logic of her plan.

Then, the tension broke.

Jake let out a sharp, sudden bark of laughter, a rare, genuine grin splitting his rugged face. “Well,” he said, shaking his head. “That’s certainly one way to handle supply chain inflation.”

Jolie burst out laughing, throwing her head back and tossing her pen onto the kitchen counter.

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11:28 Sat, Oct 3

Chapter 51 Sweeping every single piece of gear left on those shelves

59

Finished

“Oh my god. And here I was, stress-calculating a retail budget and trying to figure out how to negotiate with a smug price-gouger. Meanwhile, you’re just planning the ultimate post- apocalyptic five-finger discount!”

“It’s called tactical asset reallocation,” Joanna said, her own eyes dancing with amusement. “Why stress over a middleman’s markup when the universe is about to reset the prices to zero? Buy our four custom-fitted suits today so we have them ready for training. The rest of his inventory is just storage-on-hold.”

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