Secrets of the New World Order

I overheard Mr. Hanson telling Mr. Jensvold, "Life in America will never be the same."

Mr. Jensvold replied, "It hasn't been for a long time, but no one has noticed. The idiot people are more interested in staring down at their iphones or watching 'American Idol' than paying attention to what the corporations are doing to them...they had this planned a long time ago, and anyone with common sense could see that corporate greed was going to ruin this country."

I fought the urge to get in Mr. Jensvold's face to tell him it was American workers who were the greedy ones. I wanted to educate him about the 'job creators' and how unions made business so unprofitable the corporations were forced to outsource millions of jobs overseas just to make a profit.

I wanted to let him know that government regulations and high taxes were the cause of the massive unemployment that was sweeping across America.

I had graduated from high school only a month earlier, and those were the last facts I was taught in my 'Responsible Government' class. If anyone were to be blamed for the economic crisis, it was lazy and greedy workers, and a socialist government that doled-out free money to the 'takers' at the expense of the 'makers'.

My mother was talking with Mr. Barnhouse, my father's boss. I waited until he walked away.

My mother's face was white as a sheet as I approached her. Her eyes were puffy and red. Her hands were trembling; some of the coffee she was drinking spilled onto the floor.

"What's wrong, mom? Are you alright – you don't look so good," I said. She really did look sick.

She appeared to be in shock; her eyes glazed over, staring into space.

"Oh my God – Oh my God – Oh my God...." she mumbled over and over.

Now I was scared. She'd never acted like this my entire life.

"Mother – what is it? What is wrong?" I asked in a slightly panicked voice.

"Johnny, oh my God – we have no money – we're broke – we can't even pay for your father's funeral – thank God Mr. Barnhouse said the company would pay for this reception – I don't know what to do...."

"Mom," I said, "please, calm down, we have dad's pension and his life insurance policy."

When she stared into my eyes I saw unbridled and abject fear. I knew something was terribly wrong. The hair on my neck stood straight.

"Some financial investors from back east bought the factory...Mr. Barnhouse just told me they declared bankruptcy – they canceled everyone's pension – they took all the money for themselves."

I was stunned. "They can't do that – people worked their whole lives there with the promise of a decent retirement."

"That's what I said to Mr. Barnhouse. He said the Supreme Court approved it – first they recognized corporations as people and a few weeks ago they ruled since corporations were people, they were entitled to the same bankruptcy laws as everyone else – they can legally wipe out all their debts, including pensions...."

Something isn't right, I thought. I never read about this in the newspaper or saw it on Fox News.

"What about dad's life insurance? That'll help us get by for a while, won't it?" I asked her softly.

She slowly shook her head as tears flooded her eyes. Now I was truly frightened.

"Sweetie, I didn't tell you the truth – I didn't want you to know...." she whispered to me. She saw the look in my eyes and continued: "Your father didn't have a heart attack at work...."

"Huh? What happened? How did he – you know...." I asked.

She lowered her eyes as she spoke. "He was laid-off at work...that same afternoon Mr. Hack, your dad's financial guy, told him his investments were worthless, that the junk bond market had crashed and it wiped him out...."

I stared at her in disbelief. Why hadn't I known about this before?

She continued in a monotone voice, with a dead expression on her face.

"The next day he went to the factory and confronted Mr. Barnhouse...Lonnie, I mean Mr. Barnhouse told him about the financial investors and his pension...your father went out to the car, sat in the front seat, put the forty-four to his head and pulled the trigger...the insurance company won't pay for a suicide."

The image of my father in the front seat of the car filled my head. He was such a strong and forceful man, for him to do something like that he must have been in a very deep and dark place. Crushing waves of sadness swept over my body.

"How come I never heard about that?" I asked.

"Lonnie, I mean Mr. Barnhouse kept everything very quiet – he didn't want us to be humiliated – he's been a very good friend to us."

She stared into my eyes once again and said, "Sweetheart, we have no money."

"What about the house? You could sell the house!" I said with a glimmer of hope in my voice.

"We haven't owned the house in quite some time...when they cut your father's wages at the factory, we couldn't afford the payments anymore. He made a deal with Mr. Bagley at the bank to pay rent so we could still live here...we can't afford next month's rent."

"Mom," I said, "go ahead and use my college money – I'll keep my job and give you my paycheck to help out with the bills. I can wait a year or two before I go to school."

She didn't have to say a word. I saw tears of shame in her eyes. They had already gone through my college money.

Then she said softly: "Please don't tell your sisters about this – I don't want them to be scared...we'll get by - I'll figure out something...."

She left me standing in the middle of the room.

Suddenly, the light around me became so bright I was blinded. The conversations in the room were so loud I wanted to clamp my hands over my ears and shut out the noise.

My hands began trembling. It quickly spread to my arms and legs then my whole body was shaking. Intense fear had me in its hold and it shook me like a rag doll. I was scared out of my mind.

This had to be a dream. One person's life couldn't change this drastically over the course of a few minutes.

"Johnny?" I heard a female voice. "Johnny, are you okay?"

My eyes slowly began to focus. My shaking suddenly stopped.

My girlfriend Sarah was standing before me. My sweet, sweet Sarah; her beautiful face looked positively angelic to me.

"Oh...'hi'," I said.

She took my hands in hers.

"You don't look so well – do you want to lie down?" she asked in her melodic voice.

I saw the concern in her eyes and my heart melted. I loved her more at that moment than I ever had.

"I'll be fine – I'm alright now," I said.

I saw tears form in her deep blue eyes.

"Johnny, I'm so, so sorry," she said then threw her arms around me and held me tight.

I wanted to cry, too, but I didn't. I was now the man of the family. Men don't cry.

"Thank you, I know you are...." I said softly.

"Would you take me home? My parents aren't ready to leave yet and all these old people are making me uncomfortable," she asked.

"Of course I will," I replied. I took her hand and led her towards the front door.

I stopped and looked around and saw my mother talking with the banker, Mr. Bagley.

"I better tell her where I'm going," I said to Sarah.

As I got nearer to them I heard her say: "...isn't there something else I could do? Don't you have a job for me at the bank?"

My heart swelled with pride. On the most difficult day of her life she was more concerned about providing for her family than the pain I knew she was feeling.

What I hadn't heard was Mr. Bagley's comment to her before I walked up to them.

He'd said: "Mrs. Strong, I believe you were only sixteen when you married Jeffrey and your son was born...you never even finished high school...what are you qualified to do? Mrs. Strong - Judith, you're still young and a very desirable woman...come to my office tomorrow, I think we can work out some sort of an arrangement so I don't have to evict you and your children from this house...and wear a dress – I don't care for women in slacks."

"Mom," I said, interrupting them. "I'm going to take Sarah home, okay?"

Her face slightly reddened then she said, "OH - yes, of course, dear."

I turned to leave and Mr. Blank, the owner of the supermarket where I work was standing in my way.

"Son," he said. "I'm very sorry for your loss."

"Thank you, Mr. Blank," I responded.

"John, come to work a little early tomorrow – there is something we need to discuss."

I felt uneasy when I heard his serious tone of voice.

"Ah, yeah, sure, Mr. Blank," I said.

When Sarah and I went out into the darkness it was like the weight of the world had been lifted from my shoulders. I took a deep breath of the warm night air, took Sarah in my arms and kissed her.

"What was that for?" she asked with a smile.

"For being you," I said, and kissed her again.

She sat next to me in my '98 Pontiac Sunbird. I felt better; I always did when she was with me.

"Johnny," she sang my name. "Can we stop at the park before you take me home?"

My penis suddenly twitched inside my briefs. I knew what 'stopping at the park' meant.

When I parked the car, we walked thru the trees into the park and found a thick patch of grass to lie on. We lay on our sides facing each other.

We kissed and caressed one another. When her hand began stroking my thighs, I became fully erect. She ran her hand over my bulge. She kneaded and squeezed my prick until I groaned into her mouth.

She pushed me on my back and climbed on top. She ground her pelvis into mine until I thought I would burst.

She slowly climbed down my body until she was kneeling between my legs. Her fingers worked on my belt and zipper and I assisted her when she pulled down my slacks and briefs. The cool night air felt wonderful on my throbbing, hot cock.

Her soft hand cradled my balls; her warm, moist lips kissed the head of my penis. She soon had three of my four inches inside her mouth and her hot tongue lathered my sensitive cockflesh.

Suddenly, she allowed my erection to slide from her mouth. I groaned with disappointment.

"Happy Birthday, Johnny," she whispered then her wet lips slid around my throbbing cockhead one more time and began sucking in earnest.

I'd forgotten it was my eighteenth birthday since early in the morning when my mother and sisters had brought me breakfast in bed.

Some birthday, I thought. First my dad's funeral, then I find out he killed himself and left his family destitute. None of it made any sense. My father was a tough and resourceful man; he wouldn't have acted so selfishly; his family was his life.

Something was terribly wrong about this whole rotten situation.

Suddenly, Sarah's magic took hold of me. I laid back, closed my eyes, and blocked out the horrible days' events. Her lips and tongue sent thrills thru my body. Her hand stroked my shaft while the other massaged my ball sac.

I surrendered to my sweet, sweet Sarah's skillful and talented mouth. I loved her so much!

The next day I arrived at work fifteen-minutes early and immediately went to Mr. Blank's office. Roger, Mr. Blank's receptionist/secretary/lackey was sitting at the desk outside his door.

"He's waiting for you," he said with a smirk on his smarmy face. He waved at the door with a limp wrist. "Go inside."

Mr. Blank was seated at his desk and I stood before him. He shuffled papers for a long time before acknowledging my presence.

"You know, Johnny," he began. He knew I hated to be called 'Johnny' by anyone but my family and Sarah. "These have been difficult times for the average American worker – high unemployment, low wages, decreasing unemployment benefits, reduction in food stamps and the likelihood of never finding meaningful, full-time work."

He cleared his throat then continued: "Our small town has, luckily, escaped much of that – until now, that is...now, I'm afraid, the shit will hit the fan here, too.

Flowerton's three biggest factories that provided well-paying jobs for years are in trouble. They have, or in the process of laying-off thousands of workers, and it looks like the factory where your father worked might shut down altogether."

I didn't like the direction where his little speech might be leading.

"Thousands of men out of work in a small town such as ours is catastrophic," he said.

He abruptly stood, came around the desk and stood directly behind me. I turned to face him, but his hands gripped my shoulders and held me in place.

"Remain as you are!" There was sudden chill in his voice.

"With thousands of 'family' men out of work, I feel a moral obligation to help them feed their families...all I can say is that if you don't make changes in your behavior around here, I will have no choice but to let you go so one of the family men can feed his children."

His hands on my shoulders moved to my back. He massaged my shoulders and back then suddenly his strong hands moved down and clutched the cheeks of my ass and he held me firm.

I struggled to free myself only to feel his grip tighten on my ass.

"Mr. Blank," I said, "we've been through this before – I'm not that kind of a guy!"

He chuckled softly. "Johnny, what is happening all around the planet is finally taking hold right here in Flowerton...there is a new paradigm, a new way of thinking and the average person like yourself will have to accept it, or you, and your mother and sisters will never survive."

A strong, cold shiver ran up my spine when he mentioned my family. Was he threatening me?

"Johnny, a New World Order is taking shape right before our eyes and anyone who refuses to conform will live in pain and misery – if they are allowed to live at all...."

There he goes threatening me again. I'm not going to take this, I told myself.

His hands kneaded and stroked my buttocks. He was too big for me to fight him, and, with my families' financial trouble, I really needed this job.

"Yes, I know you're 'not that kind of a guy'...well, boy, times have changed...I don't give a rat's-ass whether you like this or not – this is for my pleasure - not yours, and frankly boy, there's no where you can go to complain."

"I swear, I'll go to the Better Business Bureau – or the police – you can't get away with this!"

He laughed at me. "Wake up, son, you've been asleep. The Better Business Bureau, the Chamber of Commerce - even the police are funded by corporations now, they don't listen to worker complaints, they'll squash you like a bug if you say one bad word about any businessman in this town."

What is he talking about? I wondered. I never saw anything about this in the newspaper or on Fox News.

His mood suddenly changed. One of his hands left my butt and slid between my legs and cupped my crotch. He gave my prick and balls and squeeze.

"Here's how it's going to be from now on...you work the 1pm to 10pm shift; you will come here to my office every day at 12:30...when you are standing before my desk you will ask me: "How may I pleasure you today, Sir – with my mouth or my pussy?"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. This guy is crazy - totally nuts!

"If I say 'your mouth', you will get on your knees and wait for me to stand in front of you then open my slacks, take out my cock, and suck me until I cum in your mouth – by the way – I'll expect you to swallow all of it..."

I searched his eyes. He was dead serious.

"...if I say 'in your pussy' – you will remove your shoes, socks, pants and underwear then go to the sofa and bend over until your head and shoulders are resting on the cushion...you will spread your legs as far apart as they will go then reach back with your hands and pull apart your buttocks until your pussy is totally exposed to me."

"If you obey me like a good little boy, I'll let you keep your job...you have twenty-four hours to make up your mind – you can go home now – no work for you today – your paycheck will be eight-hours short this week," he said.

He kissed my neck and gave my asscheeks another squeeze then released me and said, "I'm going to love using you like a girl – now get out!"

Just as my hand gripped the doorknob he called out: "Oh, by the way, the new minimum wage law went into effect today...when you return to work you'll be making $6.25-an-hour."

"But the minimum wage is $7.25-an-hour!" I said.

He smiled and said, "Not anymore – get out!"

As I left his office I remembered Fox News supporting the decrease in the minimum wage. They said the 'job creators' would now hire millions of people, and the unemployment rate would drastically be reduced.

At the time it made perfect sense to me; right now, not so much.

Judith parked her car in the lot behind the bank. She couldn't seem to open the door to get out. Her hand was paralyzed with fear. Tears welled in her eyes.

She had racked her brain desperately trying to think of a solution to her problem, but came up empty.

Jeffrey's brother, James, couldn't help; she discovered when she called him last night. He'd been laid off from his job, and he was doing handyman work to support his family.

Her two younger sisters had problems of their own. Their parents couldn't afford to send them to college, now they were stuck in menial, minimum wage jobs. They even had to move in together, to split rent and the other bills.

No, she was in this all by herself.

She had been a mother and housewife her entire adult life and Mr. Bagley had rightfully pointed out she had no skills or experience to find a job that paid a livable wage. And now with thousands of people laid off from different businesses around town, the likelihood of her getting any job was virtually non-existent.

She took a deep breath and finally opened the car door. She walked slowly to the bank. Her reflection in the glass door startled her, but then she brushed her hair with her hand, smoothed her dress, and walked inside.

She knew exactly what Mr. Bagley wanted from her, and she prayed to God that Jeffrey, her dearly departed husband of eighteen years, the father of her children, the love of her life, would forgive and understand why this was necessary.

She really had no other options.

Judith walked to the receptionists' desk.

"Hi, Mary," she said to the woman. The two women were the same age. They would have graduated from high school together had Judith not dropped out to have her son.

"Judy, how are you? I'm so, so sorry about Jeffrey. If there's anything I can do at all, please call me."

"Thank you, Mary...is Mr. Bagley in his office?"

"Yes, he's expecting you – go right in."

"Thank you, Mary." Judith thought she detected a hint of sadness in the woman's voice.

The door was made of oak and heavy to push. Judith had to use her muscles to open it. Once inside she saw Mr. Bagley seated at his desk. He smiled when he looked up and saw her.

"Judith, nice to see you," he said. "Oh my, what a pretty dress – you look positively beautiful! Come – stand in front of my desk."

Stand? She wondered. He's not even going to invite me to sit down?

She felt his beady eyes staring at her curves.

"I wasn't sure you would be here," he said.

"I...I, ah...I really don't have any choice...."

"No," he smiled. "You don't, do you?"

He got up slowly, came around the desk then stood closely behind the trembling woman.

At first he lightly stroked her shoulders. She shivered at his touch. Then he boldly reached around and kneaded her breasts through the dress. Her hands instinctively tried to push his away.

"Sweetheart," he said. She froze – that's what Jeffrey always called her. "I thought you were going to be cooperative...perhaps you've found someplace else you and your children can live...have you, Sweetheart?"

Oh my God, she thought. He is not only going to blackmail me - he wants to humiliate me, too.

"No, no Mr. Bagley...."

"Sweetheart, call me 'Sir' from now on, alright?"