Detective Danny Cavanaugh 01 - The Brink

veteran thought of Sydney’s fantastic revelation that tied her story to the bombed plane.
    “Prime Minister Fantroy is a Bilderberger.”
    That simple yet shocking statement was the segue Sydney had used to share her story with Chip. As Danny listened to it a second time, he made sure to gauge Chip’s reaction. He had none. He simply sat still and listened to her, only reaching up every few minutes to dab a tissue underneath his eye patch.
    “I really am in love with her,” Chip replied. “Did you know that love at first sight is the strongest love there is? It’s based on gut reaction, something we both know well.” Chip touched his eye patch. “It’s even stronger when it’s all concentrated in one eye.”
    “I was talking about her story and about Fantroy.”
    Chip grabbed an oversized spice bottle off the rack above his head and dusted the chicken concoction with what he referred to as his “Essence de Sutton.” He slid over to the refrigerator and came back with several slices of American cheese, carefully topping each pile. He covered both mounds with a giant metal wok that looked like it had been used as target practice by a hockey team and then stepped over to the butcher’s block where Sydney’s evidence rested. He looked over the lawsuit one more time and then answered Danny’s question with charming vagueness.
    “I’ve heard a lot of stories in my life, Danny. None, however, stack up to hers.”
    Danny sighed. “Is she telling the truth or not?”
    Before answering, Chip moved on to the next stage of preparation for his guests’ meal. He spun around, dove under a counter, and came back with a bag full of foot-long bread rolls.
    “It makes sense. China and Japan have stopped buying our debt, which has totally fucked us. Chairman Walsh has been printing money ever since like a mad Monopoly banker.”
    “And you agree with her that that’s a bad thing.”
    “History is literally littered with examples of how creating fiat money has failed. The Chinese first tried using paper money in the tenth century, and then again in the twelfth century. Both times they printed too much and the country nearly flat lined. In Germany after World War I, the German mark was so devalued that people used stacks upon stacks of them to heat their furnaces. Even today, you only need to look to Zimbabwe, where the economy has completely collapsed. President Mugabe just printed more and more money to pay for things he wanted. If you tried to buy a roll of toilet paper there, it’d cost you around $150,000.”
    “Look at you, Mr. History.”
    “I don’t just pour drinks and break hearts, Danny boy. History has proven time after time after time that you can’t just create money out of nothing.”
    “Which brings us to the part about the gold. I’d love to hear your analysis.”
    Chip extracted two rolls from the bag. Then he twisted it shut and returned it underneath the counter. “The international financial markets are as jumpy as a sober virgin on Spring Break.”
    “Nice analogy.”
    “It’s actually a simile.”
    “Great. Now I’ve got two professors on my ass.”
    Chip shrugged. “I’ve heard about these Bilderbergers, mostly from nut jobs on the Internet spouting conspiracy theories. But if they really do own most of the world’s gold, leaking a story about Japan wanting gold instead of dollars creates one hell of a self-fulfilling prophecy. The price of gold will go supernova.”
    “While the dollar, and confidence in it as an investment, falls into a black hole.”
    “Walsh then uses his magic chalkboard to convince the powers that be that dramatically raising interest rates is the only viable option to get countries buying our debt again. Sooner or later, we will have to choose between paying our creditors or paying for grandma to keep receiving her Social Security checks. But by then, it really doesn’t matter what decisions are made up on the Hill, because all roads lead to the same place.”
    “America going broke,” Danny said. Chip nodded. Danny was simultaneously relieved and anxious that he and Chip had reached the same conclusion after hearing Sydney’s story.
    “And if America goes broke, so does the world. Well, everyone who isn’t heavily invested in gold that is. As my pappy always said, whoever has the gold—”
    “Makes the rules,” Danny finished, thinking about his same reaction to Sydney back in the parking garage in Houston.
    “It sounds unbelievable, I