Bug had always been a little creep in Diana’s eyes. He didn’t rise to the level of a true bully, he was closer to being a Howard-like creature, a bootlick, a toady. He was just ten years old, a nose-picking gross-out artist. But then his power manifested one day when Frederico threatened to kick his butt. Bug, in terror, had disappeared.
Only he didn’t really disappear, it was more that he seemed to blend in, like a chameleon. You could still see him if you knew he was there. But his skin and even his clothes would take on the protective coloration of whatever was behind him, like a mirror that reflected his background. The result could be pretty creepy. Bug standing in front of a cactus would seem to be green with needles poking out.
“You know Bug,” Diana said. “He’ll show up to get his strokes. Unless Sam or one of his people spotted him.”
At that moment the front door opened and closed. Something moved that was hard to see, hard to make sense of, like a wave in the wallpaper.
“Here’s Bug now,” Diana announced.
Caine leaped at him. “What did you see?”
Bug shut down the camouflage and emerged clearly, a short, brown-haired, buck-toothed kid with a freckled nose. “I saw a lot. Sam is in town, right across from the day care. He doesn’t look like he’s doing anything.”
“What do you mean he’s not doing anything?”
“I mean, he’s standing there eating Mickey D’s.”
Caine stared. “What?”
“He’s eating. Fries. I guess he’s hungry.”
“Does he know Drake and Pack Leader have the littles?”
Bug shrugged. “I guess so.”
“And he’s just standing there?”
“What did you expect him to do?” Diana demanded. “He knows we’ve got the kids. He’s waiting to hear what we want.”
Caine bit savagely at his thumb. “He’s up to something. He probably figures we have a way to watch him. So he’s making sure we see him. Meanwhile, he’s up to something.”
“What can he do? Drake and the coyotes are in there with the kids. He has no choice. He has to do whatever you tell him to do.”
Caine wasn’t convinced. “He’s up to something.”
Lana stirred herself, looked at Caine, seeming to hear him for the first time.
“What?” Diana asked her.
“Nothing,” Lana said. She patted her omnipresent dog. “Nothing at all.”
“I need to go do this now,” Caine said.
“The plan was to wait till we were close to the birthday hour. That way he loses no matter what.”
“You think he can take me, don’t you?”
“I think he’s had a couple of days to prepare,” Diana said. “And he’s got more people. And some of his people, especially the freaks from Coates, really, really want you dead.” She stepped closer to him, right up in his face. “Every step of the way, Caine, you listen to me, then you do exactly what I’ve told you not to do. I told you to let the freaks go who didn’t want to play along. But no, you had to listen to Drake’s paranoid advice. I told you to go into Perdido Beach and make a quick deal for food. You have to go try and take over. Now you’re going to do whatever you want, and you’ll probably end up screwing things up.”
“Your faith in me is touching,” Caine said.
“You’re smart. You’re charming. You have all this power. But your ego is out of control.”
He might have lashed out, but instead, he spread his arms wide in a gesture of helplessness. “What was I supposed to do? Coates? That’s it? How do you not see what an opportunity this is? We’re in a whole new world. I’m the most powerful person in that whole new world. No adults. No parents or teachers or cops. It’s perfect. Perfect for me. All I have to do is take care of Sam and a few others, and I’ll have complete control.” He was making fists by the conclusion of his rant.
“You’ll never have complete control, Caine. This world is changing all the time. Animals. People. Who knows what’s next? We didn’t make this world, we’re just the poor fools who are living in it.”
“You’re wrong. I’m not a fool. This is going to be my world.” He slapped his chest. “Me. I’m going to run the FAYZ, the FAYZ is not going to run me.”
“It’s not too late to walk away.”
He grinned, a dark echo of his once-charming smile. “You’re wrong. It’s time to win. It’s time to send Bug to Sam with my terms.”
“I’ll go,” Diana volunteered. It was foolish. She knew what he would say. And she could see the light of suspicion in his eyes.
“Bug. You know what to say. Go.” He pushed Bug away, and the chameleon blended into the background. The door opened and closed.
Caine took Diana’s hand. She wanted to pull it away, but she didn’t. “Everyone out of here,” Caine said.
Howard got heavily to his feet. Lana as well. When it was just the two of them, Caine and Diana, he drew her close into an awkward embrace.
“What are you doing?” she demanded stiffly.
“I’m probably going to die tonight.”
“That’s kind of melodramatic, isn’t it? One minute you’re invincible, and the next—”
He interrupted her with a rushed, lunging kiss. She let him for a few seconds. Then she pushed him back, though not with enough force to free herself from his embrace.