THE COLLAPSE: Seeking Refuge by Frank Kaminski Page B

It’s just Vic or Victor,” Victor said.  Then he pointed his finger at Stephen as if accusing him of something and said, “Call me ‘Vickie’ and I’ll kick your ass, too!  Are we clear?”
    “Clear as the ionosphere!” Stephen replied amiably and smiled. 
    Victor laughed and so did Gerty.  The old man was very charming, in a rough-around-the-edges sort of way.  Claudine was right once again, these were interesting people! 
    Stephen allowed the Martinez’ to show him around before he began his inquisition about what was going on in the rest of the world.  The tarps had concealed makeshift shelving units lined with provisions.  Tons of provisions!  Bags of rice and noodles, cans and jars of vegetables and meats, paper plates, plastic cutlery, paper towels, toilet paper, an assortment of hand and garden tools, soaps and cleaning gear, and even some batteries.  Stephen was stupefied!  There was a lot of stuff on those shelves!
    As Stephen marveled at the display, Gerty had sadly said, “Sorry, but our produce section has gone kaplouey.  We are, however, really looking forward to the apples, cherries and wild blackberries that should be available around here in a few months.”
    Victor commented to Stephen, “Ya know what?  A lot of this stuff was gathered up during that Safeway run that I heard you and your Fish fella made possible.”
    Stephen admitted, “I had a hand in it, but it was mostly Fish.”
    Victor tilted his head toward Stephen and curiously asked, “Speaking of that Fish fella, is that his ‘real’ name or what?  Sounds more like a callsign or somethin’ like that.”
    “It’s his real name.  He’s my best friend,” Stephen declared as he laughed.
    “What’s his last name, then?” Victor asked suspiciously.
    “I’ll tell you what, Victor, I’ll let you ask him that question.  Simply for the entertainment value of it alone,” Stephen joked. 
    “Deal,” Victor said in a serious tone, then winked at Stephen as he shook his hand and took him to the next section.
    Behind the tarps and to the very rear of the site, Stephen was introduced to the “recycling” area.  Tin cans, scrap metals and wood formed a semi-organized pile near the barbed wire fencing.  The cans had been cleaned of any food debris, and the wood was piled up according to size.  Some of it looked like it might have been pallets that were disassembled.
    Stephen asked if he could bring Hal Hollingsworth to the recycling area for him to pick out what he would need to build the herring smokers.  The Martinez’ had replied by cordially inviting Stephen to do whatever he thought would be necessary, if, in fact, it would be beneficial in some way to The Park. 
    Since they were near the barbwire, Stephen touched a strand and asked, “How did you get all this wire?” 
    To his question, Victor and Gerty looked at each other, confused.  As if neither of them had a clue where the wire had come from.  Victor finally said, “Not sure.  I think they scavenged the ranger station for it.  We never ask where Claudie and Bill come up with this stuff.”
    Stephen squinted in thought and asked, “Claudie and Bill?  Are you referring to Claudine and William Probst?”
    Gerty laughed, “You can go ahead and call them ‘Claudine and William’ all you wish.  They were our neighbors back in the real world, so they’re just ‘Claudie and Bill’ to us.”
    “I see,” Stephen acknowledged.  It was becoming more and more of a realization that ol’ Claudie and Bill had been stacking their team this whole time.  Nothing wrong with that, surrounding yourself with leadership that you can trust.  Nothing wrong with that at all , Stephen thought.  It was actually a wise thing to do.  He felt privileged to be part of the team!  But…how in the hell did that turd Larry Paulson previously fit into the picture, though?
    Victor changed the subject, “Okay, son.  Here’s the rules.  Nobody gets to take anything