Chapter 4 Zoe

Used by Zoe. This was how the plaque appeared before them, as soon as they entered the walls of the barricade. This was a much higher and protected wall. It stood at the boundary for the entrance to what had once been the town of Springfield in Illinois.

- What have they done to this place? Jack asked. - How can you be in such a different condition from Washington?

Of course, the locations were naturally different from before the construction of the barricades began, even before the end of air travel. But what Jack was trying to say, what surprised him, was how the west was so unkempt, abandoned and already here, approaching the center of the country, everything looked so much more preserved. But the streets were much cleaner than miles before. There was almost no visual pollution and the buildings appeared to have been planned.

- Does she sell cars right there, how can I show the picture next to the name of the place? Carol asked as they disembarked.

- Of course! - a voice replied, unexpectedly. - Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Nice to meet you, I'm Zoe - She introduced herself.

- Zoe, what good news. I'm Jack, this is Stew and this is Carol. I'm in need of a new car - he introduced them all, getting straight to the point.

- Jack, this is very good, very good. But before I show you what I have, Used Zoe has some rules. I need to know what you're really looking for. You know that a new car is something that doesn't exist, right? But newer than your rubbish, with all due respect, I can definitely sell it to you. For this, show me within a money order intent, how much you are willing to spend.

Money order intentions were a kind of guarantee. By accessing the application of the institution that manages your money, you could generate, at no cost, an intention to spend only with resources you actually have. It was almost like a certificate, generated by the finance company, that the person would actually have the money to pay for what he was looking for. This was a guarantee of security for the merchant registered in the system, who could demand such proof, before showing any product he was going to sell.

A person who was not really able to buy something, would not spend the seller's time asking questions or trying and getting to know new things, without the real possibility of acquiring anything.

Even though Jack had earned an insane amount of money, he knew he would need that amount if he really wanted to board a rocket to Mars. He also had no idea how much a good car could cost today. He took a chance and threw it up, without overdoing it. It was an amount that could impress Zoe, in his opinion, without sounding crazy.

But contrary to what Jack imagined her reaction was from someone completely hallucinated.

- Calm down, lady, explain to me, is my purchase intention good or bad? - Jack asked, showing complete unpreparedness for that negotiation.

- Good or bad? After all, where did you come from? she asked back and he was a little afraid to answer.

- Can we trust you with a secret? Carol continued the quiz game.

- Of course, secrecy is part of my business niche. No keeping secrets, no selling cars around here - she replied, giving hints that business was not going so well.

- We were part of the security team of the last president of the United States and we are currently on a secret transactional mission.

Carol's tactic was good and she took Jack's lying initiative to another level.

First, the fact of being part of the former president's security team was not quite a lie, despite the fact that they stayed for a short time and were always far removed from any situation around her.

As for the secret mission, the one that was added to the central system, to pass through the barricades, was linked to the Big M. When saying that the secret mission was transactional, she said that she could not reveal which of the two large companies she worked for and this diminished the risks.

In the United States only Big M and High A officially still existed. They shared the power of dominance in American territory and much of the world. Without a doubt, and by far, they were the most powerful and influential companies. But at some level they were still competitors, despite a series of "cooperation" and "good practice" agreements that were nothing more than bargaining to gain a greater advantage is not to lose money by competing with each other.

But still there were so-called covert transactional missions. In these missions there could be no information leakage as it could hinder the development of any investigation or strategy. It couldn't even be said which company the mission was. There was a contract between them guaranteeing this type of secrecy, as long as the missions weren't attacking the competitor.

Anyway, it was a good tactic as it avoided a lot of questions.

- I can't believe you'll save my month. Look, it was very difficult. Anyway, you won't spend all this, even if I manage to release the best car I have available and for that, we need to convince the former mayor. It's his car and the woman wants to sell it. He absolutely doesn't want to, but she said if I could get a buyer, he would sell. - she explained the situation.

In the same way that there was a system that avoided work or lost work on the part of sellers, the same system controlled prices. The cataloged items had a pre-fixed price that prevented them from being modified on the basis of the negotiation. This prevented the seller from overcharging the business when disclosing the amount that was intended to be spent.

- If there was no anti-fat system, you could convince him by offering more money. But I think a little conversation might be enough. The second on the list is going to be a long way from what I think you need. - Zoe explained.

- I won't sell, I told you! - Said the old man, as soon as they arrived.

- But stop being stubborn, man, Zoe brought the buyer. Money can change the end of life we ​​have left. We can go to the field. Do nothing more with your life - his wife tried to argue.

- How are we going without a car? - he replied, more creating an obstacle than really interested in an answer.

- I won't use mine anymore. It's pretty old, but it works really well. I can donate in return. - Jack found a point that could be the key to the negotiation. Donations were very rare, even more than a car, but they were allowed. It was a good way to negotiate. Bartering in the second-hand trade was very strong.

He walked around the car that in its heyday was very coveted.

- To tell you the truth, I always wanted one of those. It was one of the last to be produced with this type of engine power. Mine is one of the few that still looks like one of these. Of course much younger. But what if it breaks? - he kept making problems, but he was more shaken this time.

- Zoe, do you think you can get a letter of insurance for my old car? - Jack asked.

- Here, this is it! - Zoe showed it on the screen. - But it's not very cheap, no - Really, the insurance amount for that car was almost half of what he was willing to pay on the car itself. I was about to close the deal when the fact that Zoe was a saleswoman got louder. - You can make a contract by issuing a conditional purchase order. In case the car breaks down, you guarantee the purchase of a similar one for it. I guarantee I could get at least two cars at that insurance price. And this amount is annual.

Zoe managed to convince both Jack and the former mayor and the deal was closed. It was time to continue their journey.