The ever present and ominous news reports recounting the horrors that terrorist groups like ISIS carried out daily made the cousins more determined than ever to protect their family and friends. Each night the news outlets brought home just how fragile the world and the US defenses really are. Madd and the cousins had done all they could to secure the family's future. Circumstances had provided them a helping hand in taking over the family council, a bittersweet accomplishment for all of them. To their very core they knew that control of the council needed to be in the hands of those who would put the best interests of the family first. Not those who had been using it for their own personal power trips. With the council and the resources of the family safely in their hands they could implement strategies for securing the family's future. Before leaving the family farms in Colorado to head back to Afghanistan they had delegated the more immediate projects to the capable hands of their close family and friends. They were feeling a sense of relief on one hand, knowing projects would be ongoing, on the other hand heading to a war was weighing on their minds. Long term storage foods could be purchased. Old fields and pastures could be rehabilitated and planted. Housing and barns erected, if you had the finances. Money was a constant issue. Without finances saving hundreds of family from a world disaster would be close to impossible. The one shining light on the finances front was Al. An all-around good guy with just the right set of contacts and skills to help finance the survival of the family. It would be a huge step up if Al could manage to relive the Taliban of some of their cash. It would benefit the family and while it might not affect the Taliban long term it sure would put a crimp in some of their immediate plans.