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

by Power, P. S.

  "You mean how you only got two of them? Yeah... I can see that. Still, you got us a warning, so part of the rest of it goes to you too. That's how it works. Now, we came for cocoa?"

  That they had, and being that they weren't jerks, or at least Bridget wasn't that mean that everyone outside got some, too. At least the ones on their side. The Agents, and when they came, the police. They had to talk to a lot of people, and she was sort of publically given away as Infected instantly.

  She made a hard face, and shook her head.

  "Fuck. Well, there goes my job. Glenda, my boss, is kind of a bigot. This is going to be on the news, isn't it?"

  Brian nodded, and looked around, since there were two news vans there, and more people that had camera phones out. The fight wasn't the problem, but the Agents didn't know that she'd been concealing her status, so had told the police, who in turn had helpfully run their mouths in front of the cameras.

  Annoying, to say the least.

  The man moved over to her and took a deep breath.

  "Um, have you ever considered government work? We can find a place for someone with your skills. I bet you're good at investigations. Your power has to make you a natural. Plus, you're tough, and not easily scared. We can use that." He clearly meant it to be polite, and helpful. He wasn't even thinking about himself on the matter. The man just felt bad about her suffering because of them.

  The problem, other than possibly being fired, was that the IPB base would have all those telepaths and people that might figure out who was going around killing people at the base. That would be happening if she had to live there, sooner or later. It wasn't like she had a choice in the matter.

  For some reason she kind of thought that the IPB might just have an issue with that sort of thing.

  So she shrugged.

  "I like it here. I don't really want to move to... Where are you based? Montana?"

  Brian smiled then, which seemed real.

  "Colorado. We're spreading things out now however, since there have been some problems. You could work out of Portland, I bet. Maybe even part time, if you don't lose your job? You shouldn't, since firing a person for being Infected is illegal, and it would be nearly impossible for your boss to claim that wasn't the reason now. At least for the next few years. It can happen anyway. Sorry about that. I should have kept that part quiet."

  Except, as his story was telling her, he hadn't really even considered the idea that anyone would be stupid enough to mention it in front of the cameras like that. Then, he had a history with the local police and while none of them had done it on purpose, they weren't about to feel bad about damaging one of Proxy's little Infected buddies. That was clear in almost all of them. About half of them kind of wanted to pull their weapons on him, and only the fact that they'd die from trying stopped them.

  As it was, Cindy noticed that none of them even tried to question any of them directly. The Agents were sent in for that part. One of them, Agent Rizzo, was waved over by Brian before they could all leave.

  "Hey, do you have a card for Cindy? We might be able to have her work out of your office. Her power is unique. She reads people like books." He grinned, but she was the one that ended up having to explain.

  The man wasn't bigoted in particular, for a regular human. He didn't really think that Cin looked to be like the kind of person that he wanted to work with however. That was down to her size, though he also knew that she'd gotten two of the men by herself. He just didn't think that was real.

  It would have made her mad, except that it was the exact thing that she wanted people like him thinking. Little old her wasn't enough to take out a big strong man, after all. Even thinking that would be ridiculous. On the good, possibly great, side, was the fact that the Portland office didn't have any Infected people working there at all.

  For all that the man wasn't impressed with her supposed physical abilities, he did see the use of her ability almost instantly.

  "We could use someone like that. Questioning and that kind of thing? Would you mind working with other agencies? We have a pilot program now, where we lend out some of our talent to other groups, at need. I can see how well you'd fit. You can pass, for one thing. What's your first mode?" He said it casually, as if it weren't a highly personal thing.

  Brian looked away, but it was a thing that he'd been curious about the whole time too. Mainly because he hadn't noticed anything too bad. He kind of suspected that she didn't have a normal sense of fear, which got her to smile. That was better than the lack of empathy she really had, and it was part of her, so she could fake that one well enough.

  Her answer came with a soft smile.

  "Nothing too major? I'm kind of fearless. Not to a level that I'm normally stupid about it, and I can worry if things are important enough, but it can get in the way at times. Like tonight? I really should have left the fight to pros. Most of the time I do better, I swear. Oh, did you get the plate numbers? Just in case anyone got away. I don't think so, but..." The paper had been dropped, and was wet, but still legible.

  Then, as if it made any sense, the Agent took her name and phone number, which left Proxy feeling slightly upset. Due to his not having gotten that first. Except of course he had. He recalled that just about the time she read the idea above his head.

  When the others cleared out, he started to walk toward his car, which was a rental. He was the one driving, since it was in his name. It made sense, but got her to wave him over, and then make motions for Bridget to go away when she tried to come too. The kid got the idea, not being that young, despite her looks. Besides, it was clear that she could hear what they were saying anyway. That was a good thing to keep in mind. No matter what, she couldn't do anything with the girl in town.

  The best way to watch them was to be right on top of the little group however. There was danger in it, but less than if she weren't there. At least she hoped that was the case.

  "So, that date? I was thinking we could get together tomorrow? It's a bit fast, but you're only in town for a few days, so I either rope you in now, or you'll get away. So, dinner? You're buying, just so you know. I might need to save my money for a while." She glared over his shoulder at where the news vans had been. It was enough for him to get the idea. Laws were fine, but Glenda wasn't going to be kind about it all, most likely.

  Proxy, the IPB's pet killer, made a face, and was about to apologize, when she shook her head.

  "Well, I'll deal. So, at six? Something nicer than Denny's. I'll let you pick." She was being pushy, but that was all about throwing him off balance. Plus saving funds. She wasn't totally wrong about work possibly going away. Right before Christmas, too. Luckily she didn't normally do gifts for anyone.

  Brian smiled anyway, and nodded.

  "Okay. Let's do that. Six. Something nicer than Denny's. So, like... Burgerville? El Taco Loco?"

  She laughed, but didn't fall for the line. His thoughts were scrambling to find the nicest places in town. She really would be fine with burgers, but it was sweet that he was willing to try. Helpful too, since the more real he thought this thing was, the better off she'd be.

  She got away, into her car, and drove off slowly, heading the opposite direction from the IPB. Not for the first time in her life, she was pretty glad she had her power. It let her know for certain that her plan was working. She drove slowly, since the road conditions required it, if spinning off onto the sidewalk wasn't the plan for the evening. For all that had happened, it wasn't that late yet, and though the roads were a nice and uniform white on the side streets, there was just enough to keep things covered.

  Even as she pulled into her garage it started to turn to rain. That was good. She had things to do, and the snow would have made them harder. Even her work outs would have been. This way she could get a run in before work in the morning. It was clear to her that staying fit was paying off. Not only did it have Proxy more interested in her for her ass than for the crimes she'd committed, but it had let her kick some booty of her
own. Taking down two men that had come to fight wasn't exactly nothing after all.

  For a moment, she let herself feel proud of that fact.

  Then she recalled how close she was to losing everything. Rather than feeling scared, there was a thrill that ran through her about then. It was a sturdy thing, that shivered down her spine and back up. There was a bit of a tingle between her legs from it too. Enough that she considered spending some time with her shower head, thinking about it.

  Which she did, wanting to clean up before bed anyway.

  Her thoughts made up a story, about how she could fool them all, and win in the end. The hero of her own tale. Even if it was just a fact that Cindy wasn't the good guy. She got off on it anyway, and managed a good scrub before she climbed into bed. She was dressed in her loose yellow pj's, which weren't exactly sexy, but were comfortable for sleeping.

  Then she went out, until the alarm went off.

  Even considering the risk, she woke with a smile on her lips.

  Chapter three

  Her run wasn't exactly a twenty-six mile marathon, but she did her best to get out five times a week and cover some distance. That day she was headed for five miles, which wasn't as far as she could go by any means. It meant pushing into pain, so she could build up a bit, cardio wise. When you had her hobbies, being in decent shape paid off.

  She had a regular route that she covered, which described a five mile loop, almost exactly. There were very few cars out, since it was about seven in the morning, and while a week day, it was right before Thanksgiving, so a lot of people had it off. Not her, but it would be a light day. Right up until she got fired. After that things would likely be tense. Thankfully she had some time to prep her mind for the shock of it. Otherwise she'd probably kill Glenda then and there, in the library itself.

  That would be foolish however.

  This way she could stand back for a while, a year or two, and then come back, when she wouldn't be a suspect any longer. It would have to be done differently than her normal modus operandi. Something so different that there would be no way to tie the two things together. Shooting came to mind for it. That wasn't a skill she had, but if she got in with the IPB, they'd probably train her in things like that. It would mean having a weapon that she could destroy too, so that it couldn't be tracked back to her.

  Thinking about that, musing on how to best murder her boss, reassured her in a way. It would be a disruption to her life, being fired, but she might be able to get around it, if she didn't sit on things. She could call up Agent Rizzo that day and see if he'd give her an interview. Hopefully they paid well enough. Not that she needed a lot of money. Her needs were simple, really. A working car, insurance, a place to live and good enough clothing to blend in. Some food. The rest, even warm, running water, was negotiable.

  As long as she could kill when she needed to.

  There was a kind of nagging hunger for it, inside her. Most of the time it wasn't that bad. She could hold off, let people go, for weeks, or even months, at a time. Then it would take her, and nothing she did would prevent it from happening. Cindy knew it was wrong, of course. Intellectually. She wasn't dim witted or anything. It was even possible for her to make a rational argument for why people shouldn't kill others like that.

  It was disruptive to the societal support mechanism, for instance. When she killed a man, he couldn't take care of his kids. His wife would have to struggle harder to make things happen. The little ones would have a much greater chance of being abused, most likely by the mother. That, or her new boyfriends. Then they'd grow up to be worse people, than if they'd had both parents there, and the odds were greater that their kids would be scum too. Horrible people bred more of the same, as a rule.

  The thing wasn't that she couldn't understand the cost of what she did, at least the potential one for it. Her deal, as it always had been, was that she didn't really care. Future generations didn't impact her directly, so they didn't matter. She'd be gone by the time the full impact of her work was felt. A legacy of pain and suffering that she'd never live to see.

  Her feet padded on the damp ground, as a fine mist hit her face. It was cold, but not freezing out. She'd had to dress warm anyway, so that she wouldn't go hypothermic. That was thanks to being so small. Her breath came a bit painfully, pushing like she was. It still wasn't fast, but she did all right that way.

  When she came back around she sprinted the last three hundred feet, going full out. That put her on the doorstep to her own house, gasping and feeling a tiny bit like she was about to throw up. The air rasped as it moved in and out, but she held herself well enough to get inside, and into the shower. Only after drinking two large tumblers of water.

  Her day was set to start a bit earlier that day, so Cin pushed through the morning routine, pretending she didn't know what waited for her at work. After a bit, she shrugged.

  "Fuck it." Either it would happen, or not.

  She got in a few minutes early, which was normal for her, and clocked in like she always did. No one else was in the back room with her, though a few of the women were there already, out on the floor. Wally was too. It was clear that they all had seen the news. Focusing on her coworkers, she was able to kind of swing their pages in front of her eyes before she went out onto the floor. Her desk was toward the back, on the right, but Glenda was planning to ambush her first thing, and accuse her of being Infected. The funny thing was that, while they all thought she might be, no one was actually certain of it. The national news feeds, which they'd been watching, had hinted at that, but hadn't actually made a big deal about it. They didn't have her name going up, just her face, standing with Bridget, off to the side. Looking awful, since she'd been in a fight.

  Wally was actually worried for her. Not just because he could get the general feeling of the room. No, he was worried that, if she was shown to be Infected, that she might well out him as well, as some kind of defense. How getting them both fired would help she didn't know, but it was written right there, in red and white.

  He expected her to use him, against his will. Even if it wouldn't help her in any way.

  That pissed her off, but she could kind of see it. He was expecting her to act like a psychopath. Not because he saw her that way, but because that was how most women actually seemed to him, all the time. That she was one, a real psycho, worked in his favor, even if he didn't know it.

  Taking a deep breath, she headed out to her desk. There were no patrons yet, the doors not being opened until nine that day. That was soon, and Glenda had her keys out, to do it herself. That wasn't the norm, but it gave her an excuse to be out there, instead of getting Wally to do it, which was what normally happened on the days he worked.

  The thing there was that her boss had no clue how to approach her. It wasn't due to fear, as much as the idea that accusing her of being Infected was a big deal. It was, to her mind, basically the same as claiming she was a criminal. Not all people that had the disorder really were, but when it happened, it was pretty often bad. Infected people could be dangerous, so it made sense not to push them.

  The look on her face was kind of stuck between a half smile and a deer in the headlights panic. It looked like she hadn't slept much, either. That was never good, since the woman got grumpy when she hadn't had enough time in bed.

  Cin read all of this, carefully and waved to her as she walked over. It was clear that if she left this alone, it would get worse, not better.

  So, she smiled hugely, a fake, but bright thing, and stopped about five feet away.

  "Yes. I'm Infected. No, I'm not dangerous. I don't have much of a sense of fear, that's all. Also, I can read data about people. Above their heads?" She waved a bit, indicating the normal place such things showed up for her. "So, it isn't dangerous, and while I do know all your secrets, none of them are all that bad. You don't have to avoid me or anything. It isn't a thing I can help, but..." That got her to shrug, and then just tell the bald truth. "Honestly? I don't care that much about most of i
t."

  Shrewdly, or slightly out of shock, Glenda stared at her. She was frightened. Even while knowing that was silly, since Cindy was her friend. A person that she'd known for years. That part was amazing actually, since her boss absorbed the news and while part of her wanted to close down, she actually rallied.

  "Oh... It must have been so hard to keep it all hidden. How long?" She was about to speak, to explain her meaning, but it was plain. Written large above her head.

  "Three years, more or less. The whole time you've known me. Most of the time it isn't that big of a deal for me, to tell the truth. I mean, it's an extension of my job here, really. Just another resource for information gathering." She grinned, and shook her head. "Which sounds cold, but isn't really. I read for a living, so it flows from one thing into the other. This is about the perfect place for me."

  The idea was true, but she'd be fine, if she had to leave.

  Glenda hugged her. It was impulsive, and a little worried. Fear of how she might react. She just hugged her back and broke off first, letting go and moving back.

  Her boss, pasted a fake smile of her own on her face.

  "Well, that isn't an issue. You do good work, and... I don't know how everyone else will feel about it. They might be scared?"

  Cindy had to nod at that, since a lot of the women probably would be frightened.

  "Well, I'm still just me. The same as I always was. So if they think I'm a bitch, that won't change. Not that they all do. I try to be nice anyway." In fact she faked that daily, and knew that it worked, having read all about it. "Also, you should all be nicer to Wally. He just found out his brother died."

  That got a nod, though it was stiff. The man seemed awkward to her, which meant he wasn't as good as he should have been in her eyes. Even if he worked like a horse and was both fast and mentally agile. It wasn't going to change either. Glenda knew, on a deep level, that she, and most of the other women, looked down on the guy. They found him creepy, even if he wasn't really. That meant, to her mind, that he didn't count very much. It was insane, because he was their best worker by far.