tail the girl in the Ford pickup, stay out of sight, and report back on where she was stashing her mountain o

f a beat-up black Chevy sedan, and pulled out of the par

plier to a massive food distribution center, a sprawling complex of

ger and, without batting an eye, placed an order for fifty tons of long-grain white rice and fifty to

iodized salt, sugar, soy sauce, and every dried herb and spice she could find. Flavo

y was good, and they didn't ask questions. For the delivery address, she gave them the location of a larg

d into the largest cold storage facility and made the manager an offer he couldn't refuse. She bought out the entire inventory

s seeing. Truck after truck was being loaded with what must have been millions

this. It's not just cash. She'

d Spike to stick to her like glu

towels, soap, toothpaste, and shampoo. Then she moved on to the feminine hygiene aisle. She remembered the desperation of women in the survivor camps, the

r lists. She had the basics covered. But she was missing two critical components:

her side mirror caught her eye. The black Chevy. It had been

dence? Maybe. But ten years of survival h

her mirrors. She made three consecutive right

her, always a few cars

being

. The prey had just spotted the hunter. And t

side and bought top-of-the-line arctic-rated sleeping bags, four-season tents, portable water purifiers, and cases of high-calorie emergency ration ba

of her bank balance confirmed it: the millions she had acq

cy gripping her. She needed more capital. Or sh

ely stood on the sidewalk, pulled out her phone, and pretended to have a loud, deta

d drove directly toward the aband

ing him right to the jackpot. He floored the accelerator, closin

or. The black car was getting closer, i

ound the cold, heavy steel of a twenty-four-inch c