Something pinged against the side of the armored limo. Ruddy flinched. Travis, his bodyguard and best friend, put his hand underneath his jacket where he kept his pistol, but nothing else happened.

  “Why do they always throw things at us?” Ruddy asked.

  “Because they’re starving and you’re in a limo,” Travis said. “Don’t worry. We’ll be home soon.”

  “Why did you have to tell Dad everything?” Ruddy said.

  “Because he pays me, and if he fired me I’d be out there throwing shit at your limo.”

  Ruddy sighed.

  “Don’t worry about it, Ruddy. Your dad cares about you.”

  “I’m not so sure,” Ruddy said.

  “He’s a hard man, but it’s a hard world. He takes care of you. He takes care of all of us. If he wasn’t a hard man, we’d all be out on that street. There were dozens of people who wanted to be where Seb is, and he came out on top. I’ve seen what it’s like out there. He worked harder to keep Dallas from descending into chaos than any ten men. There wouldn’t be electricity and running water if it wasn’t for him. Trust me. You’re lucky to have him. The world is lucky to have him.”

  “I never said I wasn’t,” Ruddy said. “I’m grateful. I just hate being so useless.”

  Silence filled the limo. Of course, Ruddy thought. No argument for that.

  “You say you’ve seen what it’s like out there,” Ruddy said a few minutes later. “Have you ever met one of the afflicted?”

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  Travis leaned back in the seat. “One of my cousins. She was a telekinetic. A teke, they’re called—could move things around with her mind. Nothing big, just pencils and stuff. But the government came to my aunt’s house one day and took her.” He closed his eyes. “We haven’t heard from her since.”

  Ruddy swallowed. “That’s awful.”

  “It’s for the best.” Travis shook his head. “She would have hurt someone sooner or later.”

  Ruddy swallowed. “Yeah, I guess. But … there’s gotta be a better way.”

  “Maybe. But is it worth the risk? Look how much damage Ezekiel Daniels did before he killed himself.”

  “Maybe he just freaked out. Like when you corner a stray cat or something.”

  Travis frowned. “Daniels wasn’t a stray cat, he was a rabid animal. They call it afflicted for a reason. It eats at your mind, makes you crazy.”

  “But your cousin – what if they just locked her in a cell somewhere? Or worse?”

  “I don’t think it works that way. I’ve got a friend who works for the DSSA. She says the afflicted never come back home because there isn’t much left of the person they were. If the treatments work, it keeps them sane—but it costs them the memories of their old life. Most of them go to work for DSSA themselves. Hell, I bet my cousin is better off now than most people out there. I’ve never heard of a starving DSSA agent.”

  Ruddy felt like he was going to throw up. “But … how do they know for sure? Maybe Ezekiel Daniels was already crazy before the Event, and now they think everyone with powers is going to go crazy like he did. Or … what if Ezekiel was just a scared kid, and it was all a big accident?”

  “Who cares? What if one of these people throwing rocks at us could pick up the car and toss it through a building with their mind? It’s not going to matter to us whether it was an accident or not. They can’t be allowed out on the streets.”

  “I guess not.” Ruddy glanced out the window. “Looks like we’re home.”

  “Home sweet home,” Travis said as the limo pulled up to the guest house where Ruddy lived. “Hey, don’t worry about your dad. Give him some time to cool down. He’ll be fine. You’ve messed up before and he’s always forgiven you.”

  Yeah, Ruddy thought. But that’s before I was afflicted.