Chapter Sixteen

Hey, I'm Derek," the new guy introduced himself with a friendly smile.

"JJ," they shook hands, "you any good with that pistol?"

"I'm a'ight," he said simply.

"Good. We need more fighters."

"Hey, I ain't no soldier. I just know how to take care of myself."

"Good enough for me. This is John, Karen, and Tony."

They all shook hands with him, then Tony asked, "Are you a gang banger?"

"Tony!" Karen said, "that's rude!"

"Naw, it's a'ight. I used to be," Derek admitted, "long time ago, back East."

"Huh. I thought I heard the hint of an accent."

"So how do you know Alisha?" Karen tried to change the subject.

"We met when Gareth was rounding up 'recruits' in J.C. Mostly strippers and druggies."

"That explains it," Tony muttered.

"Yeah, not a druggie, thanks," Derek said defensively

"I meant strippers."

"I ain't no stripper neither."

"I wasn't talking about you."

"Oh. I get it," Derek looked sideways towards Alisha.

"Can we stay here for a few days?" John asked the next morning.

"If we can stay off their radar, then I don't see why not. Why, what's up?"

"There's a salvage yard just a few blocks from here, and there's a project that I've been working on. I want to see if it's viable. It would be really good for us."

"Sure," Alex said, "as long as it's alright with everyone else."

"Thanks boss."

"I'll try to get a satellite uplink for internet," Karen said, "where's the nearest Radio Shack?"

"I'll take Marcus and raid the local National Guard armory for ammo and whatever other supplies we can find," JJ said, "okay Marcus?"

"Works for me."

"I'll..." Alex started to say, but was interrupted.

"You'll stay in bed and get some rest," Shannon ordered him, "I'll bring you food or whatever else you think you might need."

"Yes, Doctor."

"I'm going to stay in bed too, and watch some pay-per-view porn," Tony announced.

"Thanks for sharing."