Hush (The Infected: Ripped to Shreds Book 1) (14 page)

It was the most complex thing
that she'd ever done. It was, also, a mistake. One that Cindy walked into
directly, without even seeing it coming. It felt like what anyone would have
been doing, but after talking to Brian for a bit, Marcia Turner had the phone
passed back to her.

"Cindy? Listen, sorry about
the date, but we need to get you in here, ASAP. Can you leave your job safely?
What skills do you have?"

"What's this? A job
interview? I
have
work, thanks." She really wanted to end the
conversation, but that didn't seem to be happening.

"No. You're clearly a lot
more useful than the files here say. Bridget said you were probably a class one
or two, but working with a team you can be a lot more than that, clearly. So we
own you. By law. Quit your job, and report here tomorrow." There was a
finality to it, and for half a second she was about to just try and run, since
going there was probably a death sentence for her.

Then, carefully, she didn't think
about her hobby.

"Hmmm. No, thanks. I'm a research
librarian who doesn't feel fear. I like my job, and think I'll keep it.
Besides, you aren't forcing people to work with you anymore. That's what I
heard. Is that a lie? If so I need to call some people." At least Wallace.
"If not, then please feel free to go fuck yourself on that kind job
offer?"

That got an inhalation that she
actually heard over the phone.

"So I
can't
snow you
into working for us? Give me Brian.
Now
." It was bossy, but she
crossed her eyes, going for playful, and passed the phone over, speaking before
Proxy's hand even touched it.

"She's trying to force me to
work for you guys. That won't work. Not trying to be mean here, but she seems a
bit bitchy. Is she always like that?"

Brian made a face, one that was
closed and hard, but Bridget left the little elf man, who was watching the
world around them in the alley closely. Guarding them, she guessed. Then she
checked on that, finding his portion of Rigby's files.

He was making up a poem, in his
head. It actually wasn't bad, either. She was in it, but so was everyone, and
the words were kind to her. In fact she was described as feisty and radiant, so
it could be worse. Brian was flat out called a hero, and Bridget was described
as a lovely maiden.

That was a bit strange, but it
seemed like
someone's
energy projection liked a certain tiny superhero.
A lot.

Brian blew out some air and
looked back at her.

"Jesus Marsh. Back off will
you? I already have Agent Rizzo in contact with her for part time work. It will
save money, and she can work from home. This is the new IPB, not the Army.
Besides, given her power you can just call things in for her, if you need. As
long as you don't make her hate us all. On my date. You got that part, right?"

There was more discussion then,
but it was kind of clear that Brian won. How that worked, she didn't know, but
it was a relief. She could hide herself from the Agents in Portland.

Then, knowing that June was still
around, if out of range for the moment, hopefully, she tried to focus on the
situation at hand.

Anything else could end very
badly.

Thankfully she had Thanksgiving
off, because she was
going
to need to sleep in. They were literally all
standing outside until about four in the morning, making sure that the people
that had attacked weren't coming back instantly. It was boring, and nerve
wracking for her, since her brain kind of wanted to fill in all about her hobby
constantly. That would be bad, so she distracted herself, trying to be helpful.
It allowed her to seem useful, even though it was kind of clear that Marcia
Turner wasn't a big fan of hers, for some reason.

Possibly due to the fact that
Cindy wasn't going to heel like a dog every time she barked. Brian was stressed
by that, wanting his old friends to like his new one. Bridget however thought
it was funny. Even T'ket was more or less on her side. Which, in fairness, so
was Proxy. He'd defended her to his boss instantly, pointing out that she had a
right to live how she wanted, Infected or not.

Turner was an old school hard
case however, which meant that once she'd spoken, she expected her word to be
obeyed. Like a law.

Cindy sneered at the phone in
Brian's hand and spoke to Bridget, who'd moved in next to her again. It made
her feel tall, so she didn't mind it.

"I wonder if she understands
that the harder she tries to push at me, the more I'm going to push back?"

The girl, who had red brown eyes
snorted and covered her mouth to smother a
gafah
.

"Not a chance. She's always
like that, too. Really, she isn't
bad
, but pushy does come to mind when
she's around."

That got a wrinkled nose from
Cin.

"Ah. Well, probably best I
don't move there, then. I wouldn't like that very much. I thought Glenda was
bad that way. Then, I probably would think the same about anyone that thought
they were in charge of me. If I wanted to take orders, I would have joined the
military, you know?"

That got a wise seeming nod,
which was out of place with the youthful face.

"Yeah. I hear that. It's
because you were raised with the delusion that you're actually living in a free
country. See, now me, I always knew that wasn't true. We just got the cameras
taken out of the base in the bathrooms about six months ago. The idea that
Infected people have rights is... Well, legally it's supposed to be true, but
it hasn't really been for a long time."

It was a known thing, but for
some reason it was getting better. She was about to mention that when Brian
waved to her and walked over.

"It looks like we're pulling
out now. Team Four is leaving. I..." He looked away, seeming tired
already. She was about to fall asleep herself, so understood the basic idea.
"This wasn't that great of a date, was it? I didn't even get to eat the
ice cream."

Cindy wasn't that bugged about
the idea really, since it had worked pretty well for her, so far. It was
stressful, but she could work with that. The trick would be getting back in
with him later. Letting this turn into a bad date, and only that, would cut the
potential line of information. Though it might not be true, she realized.

She could, she thought, pull up
the words about Proxy wherever he was now. Cin had gotten stuff from Rigsby,
who was in a different
state
. If
that
was a thing, then she could
get these others too, she bet.

That wasn't certain yet however,
so she smiled.

"I need to sleep. I say we
could get together tomorrow and try again, but it's Thanksgiving." She'd
even gotten a turkey frozen dinner for the special occasion.

Brian nodded, "yeah."

It was awkward, and not going to
work too well. It was clear he liked her well enough, but with this new threat
happening, he didn't want to risk her. It was cute, but annoying, since that
meant he was planning to cut her off totally.

Thankfully Bridget was there, and
wanted to play matchmaker. Even better,
she
had an ulterior motive.
Keeping the librarian from being murdered. The text laid the whole thing out,
where she was safer being with
her
, Impulse, than on her own. After all,
she was kind of cool that way, and so far the attackers had seemed like regular
people with weapons, which ultimately wasn't a big deal to the tiny warrior.

Her words were different however.

"Um, why not come to dinner?
My mom and dad will be there, and I'm sure that great-grandma won't be upset by
it. I mean we already have food for about fifty people. Which is about right,
given how I eat, but an extra plate won't be missed." There was pretend
wistful expressions then, like she really
was
just trying to get Brian
laid. It was clear that he was taking it that way, and felt like Cin was going
to assume as much for her part.

Really, even if she had just met
him, he did seem like he'd be a good person that way, relationship wise. He was
even nice. Too good for her, probably, but for a short term thing it wasn't a
bad plan. If he was kinky in bed it wasn't anything that showed too much at the
moment, so there was that too. She liked sex, it just wasn't the primary thing
in her world. She could do him though, and not feel bad about it later.

He looked embarrassed, since he
felt kind of certain that she wasn't that into him now. Even if she didn't feel
fear, the night had been dangerous and intense.

That part really didn't bother
her that much however, and as long as things smoothed out, it would be fine.
That meant no telepaths at the meal. The excitement had been kind of fun, for
her.

"Is that all right? If
nothing else, more interesting things might happen, and I do have to bet that
this will be better than the Hungry-Man turkey dinner I have set aside for the
occasion."

That got Brian to blink, but he
nodded almost instantly.

"If you want? It could be
fun. Well, tense and horrible, since my mother will be there. Um, she's
Infected. Not much of a power, but her first mode... She's driven to force the
people around her to succeed. Everyone. So, you get me, if you come, you will
be pushed."

"Good to know. I
think
I can survive that. Besides, it will put me close to all of you, which is a
good place to be for now." She grinned at Bridget. "Not because
anyone will be coming for
me
, since, believe it or not librarians almost
never attract terrorists, but if I can get a visual on one of them, those
people, I should be able to find out a
lot
about them."

It was just the truth. It might
not work that way, but it was worth a shot. Bridget nodded hugely, several
times, then went totally still. That was about her trying to control an
impulse, which in this case was the desire to jump on Cindy and hug her. Adults
didn't do things like that with people that they'd only met a day or two before,
after all. She mainly did it by becoming very quiet inside, and focusing her
mind tightly. Enough so that the only word on her mental screen page for a bit
just said
meditation
.

About a minute later the girl
smiled at her. It was a dreaming and soft thing, for her. Bridget moved
constantly, or had, before she suddenly
changed
.

Her words were soft too, though
the red head started to twitch again, as soon as she let go of the meditation
she'd been doing.

"I think we're eating at
four, so get there early? We can watch sports ball, and snack on cheesey poofs.
All that kind of good stuff."

The words got Cindy to smile, if
tiredly.

"Sports ball? Even I know
that Thanksgiving is all about football. Not that I know the
rules
. I
don't know where it is, and need to sleep first." Yawning got everyone
else to do the same. The ones that were left. She figured that driving would be
all right, as long as she didn't take too long to do it. Her eyes weren't
closing and it was only about ten blocks away from her house, where they were
collected.

Not, she realized, that getting
there the next day, was going to be a problem. It was Brian's old house. As in
where he'd grown up, as a child. The information was in his story, and sprawled
in front of her. Even better, she could read all about how to get there later.
The idea that Brian knew Vancouver as well as she did, if not better, was weird
though. He was some kind of killer from the news, not someone that shopped in stores,
or who had gone to the elementary school down the street.

There was a hug for Bridget, and
a hug and a kiss for Proxy, which wasn't romantic or anything, but wasn't just
a peck on the cheek either. His lips were surprisingly soft. Warm and gentle.
The whole package actually got her interest suddenly. That made sense, given
the raw excitement and danger he represented in almost every way, combined with
the fact that the man was
good
.

She wasn't, by anyone's way of
seeing things, so the mix was exhilarating.

"I'll be there at
three?"

Bridget held up two fingers,
changing that, for some reason.
Why
didn't flash up at all. Not at
first. With a bit of careful reading Cindy saw the reason there, in red and
black. The girl actually just liked her, and thought she was neat. As in a
potential friend.

It was a bit off seeming, given
the age difference, but it wasn't a bad idea really. It was a second pathway
into the IPB, which wasn't a horrible plan, really.

"Two then,
if
I can
wake up in time. No promises. It's been a day." With that she managed to
get into her car, as Brian worried that people were going to come after her,
for some reason.

That wasn't happening.

She thought about that carefully
as she drove off. The chatter had pretty much shown that someone had to be
after Brian in the first place.
Probably
the group from the night
before. A lot of them hadn't been captured or arrested, and of those that had
been stopped before they'd gotten there, most had already been released. That
should have been enough to stop them. Stupid people would be dumb however, so
she
could
see that.

There was no traffic on the road,
so a few minutes later she was able to hop out and get her car in the garage.
Then, just being on the fringe of the whole thing, she checked the doors, to
make sure no one had gotten in. It was all good, so Cin got cleaned up and in
bed, setting her alarm clock for noon. That would give her seven hours of
sleep, which was enough.

As long as she could get her coffee
in the morning.

Which, hours later, beating the
alarm by nearly ten minutes, she managed to get going. A half pot of black
coffee later, and some stretching accomplished to keep her limber enough to
fight at the drop of a hat, she crawled through getting ready for the day.
Breaking her normal pattern she turned the television on, and watched the news
for a little while.

There was nothing on. Not about
the events of the night before or even the thing at Denny's. So she kept an ear
out for anything new as she showered and did her makeup. She did learn that
there was a parade that was going on, in New York, and got to see some of that,
as well as the big game. Two teams with animal mascots were playing, which
meant almost nothing to her.

The coffee hit her otherwise
empty system nicely, allowing a warm glow to cover her entire body. It was,
after a moment, a jazzy feeling, that left her feeling slightly ill, and
strong
,
at the same time. Having nearly an hour left, she settled on her sofa, which
was decent, even if she had gotten it on sale. It was all red, which had been
the reason for the great price, and kind of overpowered the front room. She
didn't have the matching chairs, since she didn't have guests, so it was never
needed.

Having nearly an hour left, before
she needed to drive the few miles to Brian's mom's house, she decided to try
and look some things up. Using her power. It was based on what June, the non-existent,
yet very real, telepath had told her the night before. She should be able to
find out a lot more than she had been, now that she knew she could.

Starting with the man that had
the bad knee, from Denny's, she really was able to cross reference to many of
the others in his little hate group. That part was annoying to her, since he,
and the others, really
did
hate and fear the Infected, and did it without
good reason all the time. They also didn't see it as being
wrong
. That
the same individuals would have called out someone that went after gays the
same way should have meant they were good enough people to see how wrong they
were. They didn't.

What she was able to do, however,
was jump from one person to another, reading up on what they were thinking,
doing, and knew about the situation. She had to skim, but she got into the meat
of the group, and was able to determine one thing pretty clearly. These people
were opportunists, and
hadn't
been behind the thing the night before.
None of them even knew it had taken place.

So it was a dead end, information
wise. That was part of doing any good research however, and, in the main, meant
that she could cross them off the list of suspects. Of course she had to check
the others too, but if the leadership knew nothing, the rank and file probably
hadn't gone off on their own. The other shock of the day was how big the group
was. Well over a hundred and fifty people.