The Power of Zero

By Jackie Keswick

Who says that underdogs don't bite?

Twelve-year-old Jack Horwood has run from the pimp his mother sold him to, preferring to take his chances on the streets. A house with a cheerful red door – and a classic convertible out front – prompts him into a spot of breaking and entering, and soon he has a warm, dry basement to squat in.

Until the owner of the house, Jamaican hacker Rio Palmer, discovers his hideout. Rio offers him a safe place to stay, but Jack doesn’t believe a word the man says and runs.

Rio can’t forget the youngster who is scared and vulnerable, and stronger than many men Rio has met. Finding Jack is a tiny challenge. Teaching him to trust is like climbing a mountain. But when faced with a true zero and its power, Rio can do nothing else.

Check out this poignant coming of age story of courage and hope with a touch of revenge.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jackie Keswick
• Release date: Dec 10, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005560508

Jackie Keswick

Jackie writes a mix of suspense, action adventure, fantasy and history, loves stories with layers, plots with twists and characters with hidden depths. She adores friends to lovers stories, and tales of unexpected reunions, second chances, and men who write their own rules. She blogs about English history and food, has a thing for green eyes, and is a great believer in making up soundtracks for everything, including her characters and the cat.

Book preview

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

The Power of Zero

© 2017 Jackie Keswick.

Parts of this story were published in 2014 in the Kickass Anthology. The story has since been edited and substantially extended.

Cover Art

© 2017 Garrett Leigh, Black Jazz Design.

Cover content is for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted on the cover is a model.

All rights reserved. This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of international copyright law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. Any eBook format cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law.

Warning: This book contains references to the sexual exploitation of children.

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Other Books by Jackie

ZERO RISING SERIES

When a zero realises its power, worlds can be changed. The Zero Rising series is the story of Jack Horwood, a boy who decides that living on the street is preferable to being owned by a pimp, who finds the courage to reach back when a Jamaican hacker holds out a hand to help him up, and who grows into a fiercely independent, fiercely protective hacker vigilante.

Zero Rising is set in England between 1995 and 2012. It ends just before the beginning of Job Hunt, the first book in the Power of Zero series.

THE POWER OF ZERO SERIES

Jack Horwood has not had a home since his mother sold him to a pimp, has not had a family since he walked out on his Army career. Now he spends his days chasing secrets for MI6 and his nights chasing pimps and men who buy children for sex, seemingly content until Gareth Flynn, his former Army CO and the man he fell for when he was seventeen, walks back into his life.

Suddenly endings turn into new beginnings, two scared, abused boys need his help, and his past won’t let him go even as he tries to make a new life for himself.

ROCK & ART THEFT SERIES

Follow the relationship of music star Matisse Vervein and art detective Josh Ingram. Thrown together by a whim of their superiors as a means of solving a tricky case, Josh and Mat must learn not to judge each other by appearances (or the jobs they do) before their mutual attraction has a chance to go anywhere. Once it does, there are other challenges for them to face and cases to solve.

A feel-good romance series with a dash of music and art theft.

A BALANCE OF MAGIC SERIES

Two worlds, separated by a veil and linked by magic. Threatened by the very people sworn to guard them.

Carrying both celestial and earthbound magic, the Yuvine are the only ones who can pass the veil at will. Solitary and secretive, they guard the worlds and balance the magic … until greed and lust for power upset that balance with disastrous consequences for both the human realm and the Otherworld.

Those who are drawn into the fight to save the worlds—a death good, three Yuvine, and a group of human witches—find themselves thwarted at every turn. Because the reason the two worlds are dying is more terrible than they could have imagined. Until the only choice left is whether to save two worlds or each other…

STANDALONE & SERIES STARTERS

Standalone stories and novels ranging from action and adventure romance to paranormal fantasy and holiday reads.

Check out Jackie’s website, www.jackiekeswick.co.uk, for book details and series reading orders, release news, snippets, outtakes and teasers.

Foreword

Hi there, I'm Jack Horwood—and this, as far as Jackie knows it—is my story. I've never quite understood why she's so obsessed with telling it. Especially when in the first, shorter version, she made it sound as if all I did back then was steal and break into places. Which I didn't. Not all the time. When you're hungry and cold and have nowhere to go, you do what you can live with. Work, beg, steal… you do what it takes and I've done all of these. Other things I've drawn a line at. Running drugs was never on the cards for me. I've seen first-hand what that shit does and… no. As for selling my arse in some alley, let's not even start.

This isn't a plea for pity or even sympathy. More an… acknowledgement. A realisation that shit happens. Okay, so I didn't get thrown out because I was gay or bi or trans; I'm not sure my mother would have noticed, let alone cared about, that. But people end up on the street for all sorts of reasons. And mine was just as valid as everybody else's.

The important thing isn't that you're on the street. The important thing is that you keep your head up and your eyes open, because with your head down you don't see the danger coming at you. You'll also never see people reach out to you. When I found Rio's house, I thought I'd won the jackpot. I settled in and kept my head down. Doing that, I almost didn't see Rio reaching out to help me up.

Some people think that asking for help, or accepting it, makes them weak or a failure. Maybe that's their truth. I know that without Rio I wouldn't be who I am now. I might not even be alive.

Rio was determined to help whether I saw his outstretched hand or not, whether I wanted to accept his help or not—and there are plenty of others like him everywhere. People who won't judge you and who are ready to help. Look around, and find the courage to reach back when they reach out.

Reaching back isn't easy or simple. Far from it. You may have stuff in your head you don't want to remember, let alone talk about. That's okay. You don't have to go there. Just focusing on the next step is enough. Put one foot in front of the other and you will end up somewhere else.

I've been called all manner of things over the years. I'm sure you have, too. We all feel at times like a zero, like we don't matter. Doesn't mean it's true. Zeroes matter because they change things. They're that powerful.

So, when someone calls you a zero, thank them. It's a compliment, after all. Even if they didn't mean it that way. And thanking someone when they think they've insulted you will leave them gaping like a fish out of water. That shit's funny, you know?

Dealing with the mess in my head certainly wasn't. I dragged it around for years like a wet, dirty cloak. Then, one night, I went into a club to ID a pimp and everything changed. The misery I was hoarding lost its hold. It wasn't as important as helping Nico and Daniel through their nightmares and making them feel safe.

That's what Rio did for me. That's what people did for Jackie when she stumbled and crashed. That's what organisations like AKT do for anyone who has the courage to reach back when they reach out.

So, yes, it might bother me that everyone's suddenly in my business, but I'll roll with it. Because it is an acknowledgement of the power of zeroes, and a