They decided to stop for a quick lunch before the exhausting work of siphoning diesel. Carmella had packed sandwiches spread with softened cheese she had made that morning. Homemade brownies and bottled iced tea rounded out the meal, and Raj enjoyed his mother's breast.

They sat on the back of the truck and watched the Ohio River from the Roebling Bridge. Bilal had never been more content in his life. This is what it is to be human, he thought.

"Raj's sensors haven't ...