Hunger

them.
    “It’s not about territory,” Caine said. “It’s about power. Not powers , Drake, power.” He put his hand on Bug’s shoulder. “Bug, you’re the key person on this. I need your skills.”
    “I don’t know what else I can see in Perdido Beach,” Bug said.
    “Forget Perdido Beach. Like I said, it’s about power. Nuclear power.” Caine winked at Diana and slapped Drake’s shoulder, working his old charm, getting them to believe in him again. But Drake wasn’t fooled: Caine was weak in his body and disturbed in his mind. The old confidence was subdued:Caine was a shadow. Although he was a shadow who could throw a person through a wall. Drake’s whip hand twitched against the small of his back.
    “That power plant is the town’s lifeline,” Caine said. “Control the electricity and Sam will give us whatever we want.”
    “Don’t you think Sam knows this? And probably has guards at the power plant?” Diana said.
    “I’m sure there are guards. But I’m sure they won’t see Bug. So, fly now, little Bug. Fly away and see what you can see.”
    Bug and Diana both turned to leave. The one excited, the other seething. Drake stayed behind.
    Caine seemed surprised, maybe even a little worried. “What is it, Drake?”
    “Diana,” Drake said. “I don’t trust her.”
    Caine sighed. “Yeah, I think I get that you don’t like Diana.”
    “It’s not about me not liking the…” He’d been about to use the “b” word, but Caine’s eyes flared and Drake reworded it. “It’s not about me not liking her. It’s about her and Computer Jack.”
    That got Caine’s full attention. “What are you talking about?”
    “Jack. He’s got powers now. And I’m not just talking about his tech skills. Bug saw him down in Perdido Beach. That backhoe they have? The wetback was digging a grave, and the backhoe toppled into it. Bug says Jack picked it up. Just pulled it up out of the hole like it was no heavier than a bike.”
    Caine sat down on the edge of his bed. Drake had theimpression Caine had needed to sit down for a while, that standing for more than a few minutes was still heavy work.
    “Sounds like he’s at least a two bar. Maybe even a three,” Caine said. Diana had invented the system of bars, copying the idea from cell phones. Diana’s own power was the ability to gauge power levels.
    Drake knew that there were only two known four bars: Sam and Caine. There was speculation about Little Pete, who had demonstrated some major stuff, but how dangerous could a half-brain-dead little five-year-old really be?
    “Yeah, so Jack could be a three bar. Only not according to Diana, right? Diana says she read him at zero bars. So maybe the power develops late, okay. But from zero to three?” Drake shrugged, not needing to push the issue, knowing that Caine—even a sick, weakened Caine—was connecting the dots in his head.
    “We never did get an explanation for why Jack switched sides and ran to Sam,” Caine said softly.
    “Maybe someone put him up to it,” Drake said.
    “Maybe,” Caine said, not wanting to admit the possibility. “Get someone to watch her. Not you, she knows you watch her. But get someone to keep an eye on her.”

    The worst thing about the FAYZ from Duck Zhang’s point of view was the food. It had been great at first: candy bars, chips, soda, ice cream. That had all lasted a few weeks. It would probably have lasted longer but people had wasted it—leaving ice cream to melt; gorging on cookies, then leaving the bagout where dogs could get at it; letting bread mold.
    By the time they’d burned through all the sweets and snack food it was too late to do anything about the fact that all of the meat and chicken, with the exception of bacon, sausage, and ham, and all the fresh produce except potatoes and onions was expired or rotten. Duck had been forced to help clean all that out of Ralph’s. A crew of resentful kids had shoveled rotting lettuce and stinking meat for days. But what could you do when Sam Temple looked right at you, pointed his finger, and said, “You.” The boy could fry you. Plus, he was the mayor, after all.
    Then had come the canned soup, dry cereal, crackers and cheese period.
    Right now Duck would give anything for a can of soup. His breakfast had been canned asparagus. Which tasted like vomit and everyone knew it made your pee stink.
    But there were good things about the FAYZ, too. The best thing about the FAYZ, from Duck Zhang’s point of