by P. S. Power
Really, she had to eat more, and was hungry all the time, which was a thing that had been added for her, that Marcia didn’t have to deal with, but that there was no real payoff otherwise. Her morning runs were easier, but she was still out with Bridget, Denis and Hobbs, so they ran at the best speed Den could manage. Or, honestly, that Kerry could, since she was the slowest one. That had been the same before, even if Cin’s legs were shorter. There were powers in there, but it just didn’t come up all that often, given the way her world was arranged.
Which was kind of disappointing. If she would have had those abilities before, when she was still killing people for fun, so many more would have died. It was probably for the best that she hadn’t, given that. Now, they were almost useless.
She did look a bit better however, which was nice. Then, if she would have gone all out on makeup, she could have done about the same before. She still had to do that in order to look her best, so that part wasn’t really any different for her. A bit, given that her cheekbones were better, but that was all.
Cindy even looked enough like herself that she didn’t have to get new ID yet. It was going to come up, when she went to the meeting. That was in a few hours, so they had to move right along, she decided.
Bridget and Lauren were standing near Brian, just outside the building. It made sense, given that all the girls lived in the same place. Then, so did Proxy. He might have been important and famous, but his room was basically just a mirror image of her own, on the fifth floor. A walkup even, since they didn’t have an elevator. Others got special perks, but not him. Then, neither did Marcia. Oh, she was in a different building, but her room was only a bit bigger than what they had, and not very nice.
Most of Team One had miniature palaces by comparison.
Cindy knew that, because Brian was going over the floorplans for all of it in his head. Mainly because he was worried that Team Two was being cheated again. The big deal there was that the IPB legitimately didn’t have the funds for any more construction for the next two or three years. His mind was scrambling, trying to make sure that no one felt like they were being abused, but eventually someone was going to catch on to how things really worked, and that was going to happen.
It already had, of course. Most just didn’t whine about it in public, since it was how things had always been. The pretty people on Team One, the public face of things, were treated well. The rest of them less so. Not that it was a prison or anything. It was just the contrast that made for potential problems.
Bridget was dressed up to look like a thin and kind of ugly ten-year-old boy. As a look, it kind of worked for her. The kid was rat faced, and wore a ball cap, along with jeans and an untucked t-shirt. Something subtle had been done with makeup to sell the whole thing, but she could do that again, if she stayed overnight, having taken lessons in it. Apparently their costume person there was high end, and had mad skills. That being where Bridget had gotten hers from.
Cindy smiled at her and winked, then nudged Sara.
“This is Billy. He’s a boy. Just like you aren’t Infected? We need to keep that in mind. Since you’re his older sister, you’re going to be in charge of him.” It was interesting seeing the reactions to that news.
Lauren figured that she was going to be murdered in her sleep, for instance, though Billy wasn’t planning anything like that. Bridget was just going over security plans for the day. It was early still, and she’d gotten the schematics of the hotel, and the congressional building where Cindy was going. Not that Bridget would be able to go along for that part, but she’d worked out, correctly, that if she knew the layout, Cindy would, too.
Also that Cin wouldn’t have thought to look that up herself, since she wasn’t planning on being attacked there. Being careful meant doing that kind of thing all the time though, not just when you feared there was a problem brewing. It was one of the things that separated amateurs from the professionals. Doing the homework, all the time.
The girl had even looked up street maps and subway routes, just in case they were needed.
Sara was just happy that she was going to have a brother. Even one that wasn’t real, and only for a day or two. For her part she moved over beside Bridget and smiled.
“Stay with me. Otherwise they’ll get mad at us.” The words sounded a little sharp, and bossy, but really did fit the scenario that had been set up.
Brian didn’t let them get ready, taking them directly to the hotel room they were all sharing. It was going to be a little bit close, having four people in the space, but it wasn’t a horrible room. Not huge, but the mice and other rodents were well behaved enough not to leave poo on the beds, which was the important part.
“Not too bad. I figured that we’d be wrestling roaches by now, from what Marcia kept saying.” Cin smiled, so that everyone would know that she was joking.
Brian chuckled, just a bit. He was dressed in casual clothing, even though there was no plan for him to stay the night with them.
“No doubt! Okay, Cindy needs to get off to her meeting soon, which starts at ten. That’s in two hours, and isn’t that far from here. You can walk it in about fifteen minutes. Rachel should be here in…” He looked at the door, but she wasn’t there yet, even if it was the time that they’d agreed on.
No one spoke for a second, so Cindy found the woman’s story, and brought it around. She was getting pastries, since it was very early, and all of them would need to eat something, if they hadn’t yet. Bridget had, being an old pro at that kind of thing, but Cindy, being a newb as far as heavy eating had gone, simply hadn’t bothered, even if she were starving.
“It will be a few minutes. She’s getting donuts.” Hopefully a lot of them.
Brian took that news fairly well, and looked at each of them, one by one.
“I’m with you three for the early part of things. We’re hitting the Smithsonian, which will take most of the day. Sara…” He moved through a half dozen things to say about what a little girl should be doing, then actually just smiled, and went with what they were working on. Her being a teen girl for the day, who had no powers.
“Try to hold to your act, as best as you can, no matter what. Bridget will be with you, but like Cindy said, you need to be in charge there. Billy… Try not to be too big of a pain. Lauren, if you can watch out for them? I may, or may not be in and out all day, depending on what happens. If I vanish, Lauren is in charge. Try to keep doing the sightseeing thing in that case. If anything happens and we get separated for longer than a few minutes, try to meet back here?” He wasn’t certain that Sara could do that on her own in an unfamiliar city.
For that matter he wasn’t certain that Lauren could, either.
Bridget had printed maps in her bag however, and handed them out, with several routes marked for the others.
When Cindy got hers she shook her head.
“See, this is why you get paid the big bucks. You even have where I need to get to mapped out. Perfect.” It really was.
Competent and everything.
Just about then there was a knock on the door. Rachel’s words were over her head, but Cindy checked up and down the hallway for any indication that other people were around. That could work, as long as she focused enough. Even if she didn’t lay eyes on a person directly, as long as they were within about fifty feet of her or so. Otherwise she kind of needed to either cross link, from another story, or to see them with her own eyes.
There didn’t seem to be anyone right there, so she went to the door herself.
“It’s Rachel. I think she’s alone. Billy, stand behind me and get ready to fight if there’s an attack?” That was her playing at being an agent, she knew, but Bridget moved into place anyway, as if it were a real thing.
All they saw was a small lady, who had rust red hair that wasn’t all that long, and a slender body. She was dressed in a pant suit that day, which was so different that Cindy wasn’t certain she would have recognized her on the street. The woman was cute, in a sharp f
aced kind of way, and seemed to be about thirty, or a little younger. Part of that was actually the makeup she was wearing. Without anything on, she’d probably look about twenty-five or so.
About like Cindy did herself. Then, she was actually close to that age, and Rachel was seventy-four. Functionally she wasn’t getting any older either. Not that anyone knew about. It was due to the powers that she had. The rapid healers all tended to not age very fast, if at all. Then they’d hit a wall, and just didn’t get older after that.
Technically speaking, Cin should be in the same state now, herself. Taman had planned that out, at any rate. Though, she was slower and weaker than Marcia was, and had both hunger and a sense of smell, which the other woman didn’t. It could be that she’d age normally, for all she knew. The work had been interesting, but not perfect by any means. Not if the goal had been loading her up with super powers.
Clearly Sara’s plan had been more sophisticated than that. Making her tough, and fast, but not so much that she’d be hunted down for it. Which even if it hadn’t been on the surface, meant that the little girl was actually picking up a lot more than she’d been letting on.
In Rachel’s hands were five boxes of pastries. Mainly regular donuts, but also croissants, all of which smelled heavenly. Cindy felt her mouth start to water, as the woman moved into the place, her eyes searching, and noting, everything.
“Good morning! I see you all made it? Wonderful. I didn’t know if you’d eaten, so picked up a bit. I wasn’t certain how much you needed to eat, so got some for everyone?” She didn’t know that Cindy had been changed, but was savvy enough to pick up that she looked different.
Not what it meant however.
So she explained, being cool that way.
“Some aliens came and did genetic changes for different people on the base. I was mainly a test subject, since the one that I had was new to doing that kind of thing. Nice people, by the way. So, I kind of have a slightly weaker copy of what Marcia Turner has, plus my own powers. In short, gimme that top box and I’ll love you for life?” She was starving, and that was the kind of thing that Rachel understood keenly, on a personal level.
She looked at the others, and did get that Bridget was dressed as a boy, and that Brian was himself. The others were new to her however, having been out of the loop for a bit, being in D.C. like she had been.
Cindy stuffed a cronut into her mouth, barely chewing, and then spoke, as soon as it would be polite.
“You know these others. Lauren is the dark haired one. She can change between this shape, which is how she used to look, and her big, armored form at will. No more first mode, either. The new girl is Sara. She isn’t Infected, though we need to talk about her training later, if we get a chance? Away from prying Brians, who will be too soft on her.” Cin didn’t let her face look any particular way, but she did shrug. “She’ll need to eat like Bridget in this form, even if she isn’t using her abilities.”
Rachel actually put two and two together, got five, and then hugged the girl, as soon as everyone had a box of treats. Lauren didn’t actually need to eat that much, and while Brian probably needed more calories, he wasn’t starving, being a normal enough person that way. Still, he had an eating disorder, and knew it, so forced himself to have three of the donuts, so that he wouldn’t end up being too thin to do his job.
Sara was happy to see Rachel, who had said that she was her mommy now. Others had suggested the same thing in the past though, so the kid wasn’t truly buying it yet.
“Hi. I’m supposed to watch Billy for the day.” She sounded a little glum about that, which was both due to her nature, and first mode, and was also perfect for the teen girl she appeared to be.
Bridget smiled around a jelly filled donut, which was vanishing fast. It smelled like it had raspberry filling, even from across the room.
“That’s me. I’m her little brother. We’re off to the Smithsonian. You’re taking Cindy in to see the old men?”
Rachel, eating herself, and sitting carefully on the edge of one of the two queen sized beds, nodded.
“A few of them are older women, but yes, that’s the plan. It will only take a few hours. We need to go over it all before we get in, if that’s all right with you, Miss Mableton?”
Cin nodded, “Yes. We need to plan things out, if possible. I’ll also read you, and the committee, while they try to set traps for me. Hopefully it won’t be too bad that way. Bridget memorized the floor plan for us, in case we need to escape.”
Instead of acting like it was a joke, the older woman just sighed and kept eating. When she finally spoke, there was a mildly defeated tone to the whole thing.
“Hopefully that won’t be needed. Not that I can’t see the validity of being prepared for it. Those people… I nearly jumped the sub-committee chair in the hallway last night. The… Gentleman, keeps implying that we had something to do with placing the nuclear devices. Helmsley. If you get a chance to check him out in depth, that might be good? He seems awfully insistent that we’re guilty. That could mean something.”
Cindy nodded, and did it then. Rachel had met him, many times now, and the man wasn’t hard to read, once she cross referenced the whole thing. She did most of the checking out loud.
“Um… Honestly, he seems clean. A bit bigoted against the Infected, but accusations aside in this case, he isn’t as bad as most people his age. He does enjoy cross dressing and sadomasochistic sex play, if we need to blackmail him? There are some pictures that we could download, if we don’t mind breaking into his mistress’s computer? Really though, he isn’t actually against us, just trying to do what he thinks of as a good job. It’s annoying, for us, but not really evil.”
Rachel looked a bit shocked, and it wasn’t about the sex parts of things. No, it was that Cindy had already done what she asked. The mention of blackmail wasn’t the kind of thing that she wanted to indulge in, but that didn’t get mentioned out loud. She’d do that later, when they were alone. So that she wouldn’t insult the woman in public.
Cindy turned to Sara then however, since there were things that needed to be said for the children.
“I’m kidding about blackmailing him, by the way. Heroes and good people don’t do that kind of thing. He’s basically a decent person, and if you ever find out secrets like that about others, you should tell Rachel, or one of us, but not use it against them. Now, let me see about the rest of the people that will be there?” It wasn’t a small point, since at some point, Sara was going to have telepathy going on. There had to be good rules for her, before she realized that was an option.
That data grab didn’t really take long and while they were a creepy bunch that was sketchy as hell, they weren’t actually planning to do more than ask how she got the information, and log that into the secret records that no one would ever read. It was kind of wasted time, but that was what that particular sub-committee did, so they needed to have people in to discuss things. Just to make it seem like they did something.
After she did the last one, Cindy shrugged.
“Well, that could be worse, I suppose. No one is in with our enemies really. They have some things that aren’t great about them, but most people do, so we can leave them their secrets.” That was for the little girl, but Rachel didn’t get that yet. She did understand that Cindy was already trying to be good, and didn’t need to be reprimanded for suggesting real blackmail.
She even got that Sara was getting lessons in ethical behavior, for some reason. Which probably had to do with why she needed to eat so much, and also why Cindy wanted to speak to her alone, without Brian being there.
For his part, Brian had already worked out that Sara was able to copy powers, and had to be at least a class eight. Both of the people were smart, though Proxy was just freaking brilliant. Rachel was good at her job though and recognized the signs of what was going on. They were protecting a secret, about what someone could do. It wasn’t the first time that the IPB had done that kind of thing, after all.
“We should go soon. It takes a lot longer to get into that place than you might think. Do you have your ID with you?” That would be her new IPB stuff. A picture ID and an actual badge, both in a little leather holder that had been provided for her. The thing looked very official, even if it still felt fake to her. She had her old driver’s license too, from Washington state.
“I’m set that way. I guess we should go and get this done? You kids have fun! Get souvenirs for me.” She called that out, as Rachel walked away, through the sturdy hotel room door. There was no talking until they were actually outside, walking down the busy street. It wasn’t jam packed, but for nine in the morning there was actual traffic in places.
“So, Sara is a bit more than we thought?”
The words were light, and calm. As if they were talking about the weather forecast.
“Oh, you know how that goes. I told the press that she isn’t Infected and is the blonde cutie upstairs. Also your adopted daughter. So she’ll need to hold to this look when she’s with you. Right now… Well, the rule is no powers, but she basically has your abilities, as well as Sinclair’s at the moment. That changes when she hits another shape, though she can pretty much do anything, as far as I can tell. Currently we’re trying to make certain she knows that she’s loved, and that she won’t be abandoned. That’s the real reason behind the pretending she doesn’t have powers right now. So that she’ll learn not to do things, on purpose. We’re also telling her how heroic and good she is. Which, honestly, is pretty much true. She’s a great kid. Given that she’ll eventually work out how to read our minds, we all need to really know that about her, and hold on to the idea.”