The Infected [Books 1-6]

by P. S. Power

  “So... We're related? How strange is that?”

  She already knew that from the discussion, so it was clear she really just wanted to talk about something else and knew that, for a time, mentioning it inside would be a poor plan.

  “Yep.” Freaking bizarre really, but given the nature of their first modes and powers, not all that odd that they both worked in the same place. There were only so many places an Infected person could go, unless they stayed in hiding. One really, if they wanted to make a decent living. Here.

  The girl shuddered slightly and then grinned, “thank God I didn't manage to get you into bed then. Peggy mentioned that I should go for it, you know. She told me how gentle you were as a lover. Sounded pretty tempting to tell the truth. So glad I failed now.”

  Denis laughed.

  “You and me both. We definitely don't need a Star Wars moment here.” He shuddered a bit which got a grin and a slightly baffled look.

  Sadly, she didn't get the reference at all. No one had any appreciation for the classics anymore, did they? Well, he could run a screening sometime, maybe. If they ever got time again. This was about to mess everything up a lot.

  Not just that fuck Prophet Darren, who deserved what he got and more, but the rest of them as well. At least Denis was already just some Infected man as far as the world was concerned. If his dad was a creepy Infected too, no one would really care. Kerry and Ginger though, they were outing themselves as the product of incest and worse, the monster had already taken Kerry as his “wife” for years by the time she managed to escape. The only saving grace there was that she had escaped. About half the women did all at once. The other half were too deeply sucked in to even try walking away, much less run. Mind control could do that to a person. The ones that had gotten out were mostly Infected, which probably related to how they'd managed the whole thing, though no one explained it to him. Not yet at least.

  The whole media thing took nearly a week to set up, because they had to send an agent into the field to get the DNA they needed. It was all super-secret stuff, but both Lancaster and Penny were gone the whole time. It didn't take a genius to figure out who they sent. Hobbs made a point of keeping him busy, with meditation and daily running, with first Lauren and then about eighteen other people who all wanted a bit of first mode relief. Oddly Tobin came too, even though running while getting his shyness set aside for a while didn't really help him all that much.

  Or maybe it did? He always seemed a lot happier afterwards at least. Then, there were other emotions, even for the Infected. Maybe it was about dealing with something else for the guy? Denis didn't ask, but decided to keep that in mind. Life was bigger than first modes.

  After all, Tobin had to take a lot of crap from the world, that eventually could wear a person down. Some of the others probably got similar treatment.

  His Prime thrashed arm was taking its sweet time to heal, which Dr. Kern assured him was normal, if annoying. He could start physiotherapy in about two weeks, he'd been told. It would hurt pretty intensely if the doctor was being honest. Grand, but better than being crippled forever, he figured.

  The days didn't drag so much as seem endlessly busy with things not on the target he wanted to hit. That being the Prophet Darren. He worked the show still, the schedule getting more advanced with two episodes being filmed per week now. When they had the first twelve done they'd air. How the whole Reverend Jones thing would play with that he didn't know. Denis just hoped that his part in the show wouldn't ruin it. He'd seen the first episode, the chocolate one, not the bomb thing, and it was funny. Awkward as all get out when he had to see his own face on the screen or hear his voice, but comedic anyway.

  Little words balloons appeared over people's heads, and little factoids in boxes off to the side. Some about baking, but a lot of them just information about the person or what had been happening off screen. Denis had one while making hot chocolate about how Gary the cameraman wanted some more water, and urged him to hurry up and get it for him. That was one of the running gags, him being ordered around by an increasingly exasperated text box. It made fun of him too, every time he messed up, which was artfully left in he noticed, but... oh well. They made it really clear that Kerry had exploded the wax paper bag of whipped cream too, adding in sound effects. It was hilarious.

  There was a “Prime count”, which dinged lightly and drew a circle around Scott's face every time he got into a shot he wasn't supposed to be in. The guy was in a lot more than Denis would have imagined. Forty-three by the end of the hour long program. He also learned a bit of trivia that he just hadn't known at all.

  For instance he'd had no clue that Christian Poures, heiress and team leader, proper and prim in her pearls and fifties clothing, had done several rather famous sex videos about ten years prior. Amateur stuff, not pro, but all over the net. Denis kind of wished he didn't know now, as far as that went. He felt both incredibly curious and at the same time didn't want to go around fantasizing about his boss where she could hear it... which was most of the planet. That had to be a little off putting for her, right? More than a little.

  Hobbs helped there by increasing the amount of meditation and the difficulty of the “minor distractions” he threw in to aid in his focus. Carl didn't help, or rather, he did, but the whole thing sucked way too much for Denis to like it. To a level that Denis really thought might be criminal. As in they could be arrested for it, if they weren't doing it to some Infected guy.

  The level fifteen trainer was insane in what he thought was acceptable when it came to training. That was kind of his job after all. Hobbs was at least as bad.

  They put him on a board and ran water up his nose to simulate drowning for instance. For hours. He had to try and meditate through that? God it sucked. He really thought he was going to die part of the time. That it was considered acceptable questioning technique by the U.S. government in terrorism cases was... the term evil came to mind. Not as much as doing it to him, but still, by the end he would have been willing to claim he was a terrorist just to get them to stop. Then without a break they hit him in the face with pepper spray and made him try and influence a small group of people while running an obstacle course on the advanced level. It took half an hour to even do anything at all to anyone, since all he could see were blurry shapes and large colorful splotches in front of him. That and pain. For a brief moment he could see pain and it was not something he wanted to see again. Both were torturous in their own way, but it really did improve his ability to concentrate the rest of the time.

  If you learned to even half focus when you felt like you were dying, the rest came pretty easily. That seemed to be the Hobbs method. It worked, but the whole thing was solidly screwed up. Who needed to be able to focus that much anyway? More crazy, just like always, Hobbs did it all with him at the same time. Except that he didn't sputter, moan or cry when it happened and kind of kicked butt on the obstacle course.

  Crazy jerk.

  The rest of the time they waited for stuff to happen he spent with Peggy. He'd have loved to spend time with Bethy and Ginger. Kerry too now that he knew about her, but that couldn't happen. Sure, the odds that someone would put it all together were small, but if they did, then the whole thing could fall apart pretty fast. They knew for a fact that the IPB was watched, for instance by that chick from Hobbs' world, Timberland and her squad, if nothing else. That Hooper might have his fingers in the pot wouldn't have shocked anyone either. Senators could do that kind of thing, at least if “Dirty Infected” were involved. Who needed civil rights anyway?

  One thing was certain, Denis wasn't going to vote for that guy in the next election. Freaking politicians anyway. Couldn't people tell without hardly looking that the blood suckers were at least as bad as any Infected ever was? It baffled him that they didn't.

  The day Penny got back was a light workout day for Brian, so he jogged slowly with Denis and Hobbs as they watched a much faster group of people running right in front of them. Today was “excitement�
� day and the runners with Lauren kept increasing their speed. It took a lot of focus to not drop anyone for too long, since they all ran at different rates. A few were so fast that he couldn't really track them and one or two were even slower than he was. Hobbs kept insisting that only the people taking part today be affected, not the ones in the middle of the track, using the weight lifting equipment or practicing unarmed combat. It meant his head ached a good bit while Brian talked to him.

  “So, Director Moore and Charlot want to know if you're ready for the big show?” Brian said as they kept moving. His voice was calm and sedate. He wasn't even breathing hard from the jogging.

  Jerk. Being all in good shape already. Denis smiled at the thought though. He wasn't that out of breath himself.

  It didn't take a Mensa member to get the idea. Fuck. Time for that already? Denis had to do it though. No matter how much the idea embarrassed him personally, it had to be done. The monster was going down... finally. First they'd destroy him and then... serve a perfectly legal death warrant. That way no one would be too up at arms over the whole thing. After a while, trying not to drop his focus on the running people he answered.

  “Yes. Ready as I'll ever be.”

  “Good. I'll pass that along. If you can, be ready for the next few weeks. It could be needed at any time.”

  Weeks? Well, if that's how long all the tests and stuff took, he'd wait. It had taken nearly two decades for him to get this far, he'd rather not screw it all up now because he rushed. The wait didn't take that long though.

  Not even hours.

  The second he came out of his shower after running a deep pounding came on the door. This time Marcia stood waiting for him, dressed in business casual and holding a suit draped over her left arm.

  “Wear this. We meet on two in half an hour. Be there.” She grinned. The lilt in her voice made it sound like an old movie and as if he was being asked to the “sock-hop”. Kind of cheery.

  “Oh, we also ship out in three days for the bigot-riot in San Francisco. Hobbs says you're in shape for it now, but we don't know what the hell we'll be walking into there, not after this thing today. Half an hour.” She clapped him on the shoulder, trying to be encouraging, instead she nearly knocked his towel off from around his waist and sent him to the floor.

  “Seriously Marcia, a little restraint. I'm just now getting use of that arm back.” Denis grinned back though, hoping she'd take it as playing and not an attack. His shoulder really did ache from the blow though. The woman was freaking strong.

  “Oops. Well, I'll make it up to you later by not making you room with Clark. We have Agent Rodriguez coming with us too this time, he lost a coin toss with Reyes. The guy running Tobin from Team Two? So he and Lancaster get to run pedo-babysitting duty. Just as well, I need someone to run interference anyway so I don't “accidentally” throw Clark out of a tenth story window after “knocking him out” and Rodriguez is one of the nicest people the non-Infected agents have. Reyes is the other... and he offered to help Clark out a window as well, just to give you an idea as to the climate there.” She smiled and made quotation fingers in the right places, then she shook her head, a wry look on her face.

  “Honestly Den, I really think we should have just killed Clark. Team Two has other telekinetics just as good. I only picked him because I wanted to keep the creep busy and watched. For all the good that did.”

  “Right. Well, he can't fix it if he doesn't survive to try. Still, if he steps out of line again, with anyone, I certainly won't try to help him. If he can't fix his shit now, he can't be fixed. If that happens...” Denis took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Then I'll serve the Death Warrant myself. I wasn't kidding when I said that.”

  That got another, much softer, slap on the arm and then the woman left so that clothing could be put on. It was a dark suit, a deep blue that would look black to most people in all but bright sunlight. He had shoes that matched, shining black ones and it came with a tie that had red and black stripes, a republican power tie?

  The idea made sense, make them look sane and conservative. He looked all right in the full length mirror so he headed up directly, hoping that the make-up lady wouldn't still be as mad at him. If so he'd be going out without anything on his face. Possibly without eyebrows too. That could work though, the no make-up part. He always felt a little uneasy when it came to make-up, even for professional reasons. Men didn't wear that, right? Besides, he didn't need to be pretty, just trustworthy looking.

  Sighing Denis realized he still needed to apologize to her. Clari the make-up woman. Even if it hadn't been rape, she'd felt abused. His not acknowledging that was... Low. He really didn't want to do it, to explain what he'd been thinking and all, at the time, but he owed her that. Hopefully she wouldn't just shoot him.

  On two, the second press room, a big space that normally had a single large table in it, at least from what Denis remembered, had been transformed. The broadcast was going out live, and the interview done by some blonde female reporter that Brian Yi had roped into it. It really was a huge story, if an unpopular one. That didn't mean it couldn't make a career though, not if they did it right.

  The front of the space had four soft chairs set up, all a cream white color and a light blue backdrop. The reporter was on the right, leaving Kerry, Ginger and Bethany Yoder sitting together and holding hands. Denis wasn't up yet. His part came later, if everything went even remotely to plan. If not, they'd do it on the fly. This was the important part though, the heart rending part that would affect the mind of the public first.

  The evidence was presented with tears, and a bit of sobbing, even the blonde reporter cried a bit. That... didn't even seem faked. The whole thing was bitterly tearing on the soul. A true horror just to hear. Then they had experts on who presented the DNA evidence clearly and showed that the facts presented were incontrovertible. The only possible loophole being that somehow some other man was the father of them all. Even with fresh DNA... Well, the “Dirty Infected” could be lying, right? It didn't take long for that to be mentioned, even by the sensitive blonde reporter that honestly seemed to be on their side.

  Then Bethy did something that surprised even him. She presented her birth-certificate, which was signed by her mom... and Darren Jones. Denis didn't have one himself, most of the kids didn't. Bethany just happened to be old enough to have gotten one and no one had ever thought to hide it from her. It was a freaking bombshell all right. Still, it could be faked. Anything could be now.

  Before the hour long program had ended all the major news networks were sending people to do interviews. Being this was the IPB headquarters and they ran daily press briefings, there were camera crews setting up before the experts had even finished with the examination of the papers Bethy had. At first, of course, the reporters all wanted sound bites from the girls, the younger ones, the daughters and granddaughters all in one.

  Kerry especially, having been the bastard's “wife” too. The main topic being the validity of their claims that the good Reverend Jones might be Infected.

  All of that, and what the world wanted to know was if the man had a power? Denis had been ready for it, but after listening to everything said he could hardly credit it. He found himself sitting in a hard plastic chair and fidgeting for the whole time, wanting to jump to his sister's rescue as accusations and harsh questions came in. He couldn't. Not yet. The green chair shifted and squeaked under him as he watched.

  An hour and twenty minutes later it happened. The event they all waited for. Hoped for at least and didn't really expect at all. It was after all, moronic. When he heard, Denis stood eagerly, it was finally his turn to do something. He felt nervous, scared even, but ready. Focused.

  Senator Hooper used some of his clout to get an emergency airing for his friend, the “good Reverend Jones” all the stations were covering the same feed. He “demanded “that an IPB representative be brought out to answer for the “scandalous and false” charges made against him. The “good Reverend�
�� asked for this several times, relying on the fact that in the normal course of events, that would take days to arrange, the IPB not being allowed to make more than simple comments about how “things were under investigation”. This time the rules were different though, and they were ready. It made a huge difference when you already knew you didn't have to take someone to court first. The other side didn't know that yet though.

  So what the Prophet Darren Jones got was Kerry and Denis. Exactly what he'd asked for. IPB representatives there to answer questions, and face him directly. Every news channel in the country was running the bit live.

  The chairs were arranged facing the cameras and the signal went out the broad faced monster showing on a screen in front of them, near the cameras, so that they could look him straight in the eye. Or at least the illusion would be like that. It made people look honest and forthright. Kerry had to look away though.

  She tried, but she wasn't able to lock gazes with the man. It had been conditioned into her for years, into all of them. Denis had been away for longer though and hadn't been given as much direct influence, not being all that interesting to the man himself. That and all the meditation paid off. He could stare the man down. Thanks in part to Hobbs and crazy Carl.

  So he did.

  The Prophet Darren practically smirked when he saw Kerry at first. He knew she couldn't face him, not under pressure like this. She might not even be able to talk. When the beast saw Denis he hesitated though. Mustering all his focus and concentration, Denis smiled into the camera.

  “Hi dad. Remember me?”

  11

  The denial that followed the first words would have gone a lot better if the moron hadn't nearly shouted “Dennis” into the cameras first. Then the man stammered for about half a minute, scrambling for something to say while Denis spoke calmly.