The Infected [Books 1-6]

by P. S. Power

  There was a lazy and soft smile from her buddy then, his face nice looking, if a bit ethnically Jewish. It wasn't a bad look for him though and he carried it well.

  "So I hear. I also heard why you said that. Well, I can't fault you on it. I was tempted to yell at the guy a bit myself. It just takes too long for me to really get it done. Scream one word, lose my cool and freak out, then take ten subjective minutes to cool off enough for the next one. It's harder than it sounds."

  It didn't seem all that easy to her from the description either. His first mode was fear though, of everything, and when he got scared, he froze time for everything, but himself. The only way he could interact with anyone at all was for him to live in a deep trance state, mastering his emotions totally. Even at that he probably flipped back and forth into his stasis state ten times an hour or more. She knew that he didn't seem to sleep, since he did that in the other time too, automatically.

  It meant that an average day for him probably took nearly a week to get done.

  At least he didn't age in that other time frame. If he was doing it at all. She hadn't known him long enough to be able to tell yet.

  Rachel came back in, a black ear bud sticking out of the left side of her head, her red hair not covering it at all. She was a bit taller than Bridget, and had a bit more mass, but she was still a thin, jumpy and very tiny woman. That similarity was one of those strange things that happened sometimes with the Infected, since she wasn't biologically related to the girl at all. Brian was, but there was no way to see that as far as she could tell. The girl looked like she was the daughter of the woman in front of her, both being similar enough that in a few years they could pass for twins most likely. Not the identical kind, but the other ones.

  "That's better. Hi Penny. So are we having a getting out of jail party or what? We haven't had an excuse to have cake around here in days. I hear that Denis wants to try out some new tricks too, so it works on more than one level." She sounded almost sultry. That was pretty much constant with the woman. It was almost like she was trying to pick Penny up or something, which wasn't the case, she didn't think.

  "Nah. I might have a new job though, so we can do something up for that if it takes, in a few days. I get to work for Marcia, pushing paper. I can write after all, and use a computer well enough. No answering phones of course. Filing? I don't know if she uses paper for anything much."

  "Oh, well, we still have real files here too." Mark tapped the one that he had, but didn't let her know what it was about. "So that seems like a plan."

  The conversation shifted after that, and she was pretty sure that Rachel kept forgetting she was there. Mark didn't. He also didn't look at her or force her into the conversation all the time. It was very nearly perfect that way.

  When Brian and Denis came in they both had sour looks on their faces, and sat with enough edginess that it seemed almost like they were fighting or something. That probably wasn't the case, since Denis was totally a Proxy fanboy now. That could happen after someone saved your life a couple of times, no doubt. That, or you ended up feeling uncomfortable around them all the time. It was hard to owe people things, especially if you really couldn't pay them back.

  Denis tapped the table with his knuckles a couple of times.

  "You know, I hate this place sometimes." He closed his eyes and sighed. "The word just came down that the Nadia Fields investigation is being set aside. No real evidence. No one is buying the video really. Well, the press and public, but the Republicans can't be bothered to see that a child raping murderer might not be the best person to be in charge of their sub-committees, or whatever the fuck he does."

  Penny nodded, which got Brian to look at her, his gaze not moving away at all. He didn't speak, just watching her, waiting for something. It was unnerving. Kind of creepy. Totally polite and normal.

  Finally she broke.

  "OK. So we move to the next thing. Don't let it bog you down. Is he still in D.C. do you think? I hear that I might have White House duty soon, helping Bridget with President Lawrence's daughter. I can smuggle in the good booze and drugs after all." She was joking on the last bit, but Brian suddenly blinked and looked around, then back and her, his face going flat and serious.

  "I think that's right. You're perfect for the job after all. I mean, not the drug part, naturally, but you're powerful, close to her age and all that. Bridgie loves you too, so that should go over pretty well. We need some other women for that detail. I'll run it past the Director tonight. It might be a while. I do hear that Senator Hooper is still staying there. I don't know for how long of course. It wouldn't shock me if he goes into hiding as soon as the current session is out." There was a dead quality to the words, which had become his normal way of speaking, his lean face seemed hard too, rather than his normal joking grin.

  She hadn't seen that for a while though, had she? That probably meant it wasn't normal for him anymore. He saw too much of the dark side of the world for that.

  "Wow, two new jobs inside an hour. I'm on a roll. Anyone want to hire me to mow their lawn too? Or babysit? I'm kickass at that one, or I used to be. I don't really think the kids would listen to me anymore." After mentioning that she had to explain about the thing with Marcia. No one really seemed to think much of it though. At least they didn't say more than congratulations, as if it were actually a promotion, instead of just being more work.

  Denis spent the whole meal seeming dark and sour, even when Peggy came in just before the food was served. She just got a plate and left though, which was a bit strange. There was no reason to ask about it, since Denis just made a face at her back and shook his head.

  "She's really starting to feel the whole prisoner thing again. It's better than being in a cage, but it's still a prison for her. There really isn't a lot we can do about it right now though, not with all the scrutiny we've been getting." Then he clammed up tight, looking uncomfortable. Like he'd said too much.

  Brian hopped up to get their plates for them, through the bar window that led into the kitchen. Normally Janine brought things out, but today it was different for some reason. She walked into the dining room and gave the Asian guy a small smile, shaking her head.

  "Don't do my job for me, I still have to earn a living." She sounded happy enough about it though, so no one paid too much attention to it.

  It wasn't that odd really, since they all had little things like that that they did. Rachel started eating the instant she had her plate, but Denis waited for everyone else to get one. The very first plate was placed in front of her however. So that she wouldn't be forgotten?

  Brian shrugged.

  "They forgot to feed Penny the whole time she was in lock-up. Marcia told me that she had enough food with her and could probably get more, but the guards were freaked when they realized they'd done that. Agent Millstone actually put in his resignation. Lancaster just punched him instead, and told him they'd go with that. Point is, they all want me to let you know that they're sorry, Pen. I'd get you a raise or something, but that rate is kind of fixed." Then he settled into his own seat and waited for everyone else to start eating before he did. It was rare that he did anything else. Making sure they all had enough first, even if that wasn't his job in any way.

  Across the table Mark looked... Actually he looked angry, to tell the truth. He didn't speak for a long time, but when he did there was a hardness to him that Penny had never seen before. Normally he seemed a little drugged, to tell the truth. Affably so, but kind of loopy. Now he was all business suddenly.

  "I understand that Penny's ability makes her hard to keep track of, but there are automated orders for the meals there. All they had to do was write her name on a list once. Marcia should have done it for them. Or you Brian. This is not acceptable. I can't believe that. What if they starved her to death? Or forgot she was there at all? I'm..." He disappeared then, his plate gone from the table.

  That got everyone to stare at the place he'd been in.

  Denis smirked a bit a
nd kept eating.

  "I wonder who he's going to scream at? My bet is a certain white clad hottie from Team One. It's really my fault though. I was told I couldn't check on you, since it would look wrong, but I could have stood on someone and made sure you were being cared for. Sorry. It was just me being a jerk again, I guess. I don't know, a bit nervous or something. You were there instead of me and... I really didn't want to go back, you know?"

  Brian actually slipped an arm over her shoulders and squeezed a bit. On purpose. Closing her eyes she relished the feeling for about ten seconds, until her first mode kicked in and started to make it extremely uncomfortable. That part wasn't fair at all. He could feel her and was willing to touch her, but she couldn't stand it, not for long. Almost as if getting that, he took his arm away then. That or he wanted his hand back to eat with.

  "Yeah, well, don't feel too bad. After all, Penny ordered the whole thing done. It was her responsibility, you had no other choice in the matter." There was a soft smile that went with it, and he looked pleased enough that Penny had to smile back. Brian knew the score of the whole thing then, no doubt. That or he really liked the idea of her standing up for him like that.

  There was a snort from across the table then, as Denis finished chewing some meat loaf. He set his fork down and sighed.

  "That... It wasn't really the case. Penny..."

  "Um, Denis? I know that you don't remember it now, but I really did order you to do it. The others too." It was a lie, but it got him to not say anything that would be captured on video at least. "Part of my power. You all forget a lot of things we talk about or do together. We've even had this conversation before."

  "Right. Next I suppose you're going to tell me that we've been dating too? I'm pretty sure I remember what I remember." Almost angrily he shoveled in a bite of potato. Penny did the same thing, since she really was hungry.

  "Um... Not dating. Do you remember that night a few weeks ago when I came to your room?"

  There was dead silence at the table, until he started laughing. It wasn't a big laugh, but he winked at her, and that got everyone else to smile a bit.

  "Very funny. I suppose you're going to tell everyone that you used a dildo on me or something now? Go ahead, I'm sure we could all use the giggles."

  Penny sighed and shook her head.

  "No. But that's what I mean. I really was there and you can't recall it at all now. I'm like nature's Ruffie that way. My point is, I ordered it done and would have done a lot more myself if I'd been there and not off fighting terrorists. Speaking of which, do we have any word on that? Is the PLO recruiting from Langley now or what? All those in-shape American guys taking over a school with military precision has to mean something."

  That got more silence, but finally Brian patted her arm again.

  "All we have on that is what you told us and the fact that there was a tunnel out of the building. It was an old cold war bomb-shelter, that someone had dug into. I didn't even know anything like that still existed, but the work on it was new, from what the report said. This wasn't something that just happened, it was a long term and very well executed plan. Clearly they were going to kill all the kids too, except that you got there and stopped them. They weren't ready for that, were they? If I'd shown up there, given the way the kids were stacked in on the floor, dozens would have died, instead of just that one."

  They all went back to eating then, the only sound for a long time being the scrape of forks and knives against plates. After that she took hers to the kitchen, moving carefully so that Janine wouldn't accidently bump into her. She did all the dishes for them, since there weren't a lot of people on Team Three. If she just left her plate on the table though, it would sit for a while, before getting washed, since her aura of invisibility tended to stick to things. She'd found that by putting it on top of other plates it got done though, so Penny tried to remember to do that when she could.

  OK, so that wasn't the pirate way. It was still a good habit. Being filthy wouldn't help her after all.

  After dinner Brian walked over and gave her a quick hug, one that didn't linger at all and then started to walk away.

  "So... you and Denis?" There was a slightly hurt sound to his words, hidden deep under the stern look on his face.

  "Not really. He can't actually feel anything I do to him. Most people can't." She nearly explained the whole thing to him then, but remembered that he had a girlfriend now. A real one. Mary. She wasn't even IPB. After a bit she started nodding and smiled, it was kind of time for her to say something wasn't it? She'd hurt the guy for too long, being secretive, trying to keep him in her life when he had other things to be doing too.

  "I..." The words tried to catch in her throat then, locking in place. It wasn't even her first mode this time, this was just that awkward of a thing to have to talk about. "Brian... I..."

  He waited for her to speak, looking her right in the eyes, staring at her hard, which started to set her mode off.

  "OK... Um... I really like you and you're my best friend, but, you know, my first mode? When you look at me like that or pay too much attention to me, it sets it off. Big time. I can't take it. I mean, I really, really don't want you to go away, or to stop being my friend, I'm not saying that, but... I can't stand being around you like this either. Not easily."

  There was no sound for a moment. Everyone else had left the room and they were near the door to the hallway. She half expected him to march out and never speak to her again, or to get angry with her. She'd basically just told him she couldn't stand him after all.

  "Oh." He looked at the far wall and took a step away. "OK, so if I don't look right at you as much and let myself forget that you're there part of the time, it will help you?"

  "Um, yeah?" She didn't really know, but it was pretty clearly working in the moment, she felt far more at ease with him suddenly, as his eyes unfocused a bit and he didn't seem to see her anymore.

  "No problem." Then, smiling he walked away, still talking. "So, I can still set up that thing at the White House? It might take a while to arrange, but it's a great idea. Bridget is on duty there for about a month, since she can go to school with Maggie. She fits right in there I hear."

  They kept chatting for a bit, his gaze never really resting on her, even as he obviously fought against doing it constantly. When she took his hand he even pretended not to notice it. She knew it was fake, but it still made it all so much easier. When they got to the elevator he pushed the up button and waited, not indicating that he knew she was around at all.

  "Thanks Brian. That's better. A lot." Leaning in she kissed him on the cheek, then blushed when she realized that he'd notice, and remember her doing it. He didn't let it show though.

  "Not a problem. I need to go and make sure Marcia hasn't been left naked in the lobby or something. Mark seemed pretty ticked, didn't he? Just because he won't use violence, that doesn't mean he won't let his displeasure be known. I just don't want him getting in trouble with Christian over it all. I'll leave you here, just in case. I don't want you getting in hot water with your new boss. Secretary Penny."

  It sounded funny, but when the door opened she didn't get on and went back to her own room. She wasn't really tired yet, so she watched a few sit-coms and then the news for a bit. There was a lot of darkness in the world, but none of it had anything to do with her that day, so she largely ignored it. Finally, at nine, she turned all the lights off and just laid there in the pitch black for a while, thinking about nothing in particular.

  Sleep didn't really come for a long time, but that didn't matter, she figured, as long as she got some rest. Sometime later she dozed off, and woke up in the dark, looking at the glowing blue numbers on her table clock. It was seven in the morning. Normally she would have rolled back over, but today she forced herself up and got ready for work. If she really had a job, that was.

  That part would be interesting. She figured there was a fifty-fifty chance that no one had mentioned the idea to Marcia at all and an e
qual one that, if she knew, the lady wouldn't want her around, fearing that she was a spy. It was kind of true too, so who could blame the paranoid woman?

  After some fairly decent waffles that she made for herself, Burt the morning cook having set a small pot of batter out for her, along with melted butter, honey and maple syrup, next to the machine, she washed up and headed to the second floor. Marcia had an office there, one that said her name on the door and everything. It was actually a pretty nice space, easily as large as what the Director had. Of course he had two offices. One was just for impressing dignitaries that came and the other was for doing real work in. This one was nearly as nice as that second space, with two desks inside it and a large row of filing cabinets along the right hand wall. They were a strange greenish color, but looked official and had locks on them.

  Penny didn't touch anything, the whole space being tidy and professional looking. The main desk was big and made of wood, like what her teachers used to have at school. Plain but clearly a real work station. The second one was newer looking, made of Formica on the top and sides, trimmed with chromed metal. It was hideous, and the chair that went with it matched, but not in a good way. They both looked like rejects from a movie about the nineteen-seventies, more than anything else. The only thing on the top was a name plate, one that was engraved into plastic, but looked official.

  One that said "Penny Cooper" on it.

  So someone had mentioned something to Marcia? She settled in behind it, wondering what she was really suppose to be doing. Possibly getting rid of the bodies that Marcia generated during the day? Just as the clock struck eight her new boss walked in, carrying a cup in her hand, which she set down on Penny's desk, smiling.