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

by Power, P. S.

  Glenda patted her arm, and started to move away, then stopped.

  "What... Do you need me to keep this secret? I won't tell anyone, if you don't want?" That one was a lie. She was going to go and call everyone into a secret meeting about it. On the good side her plan was to try and assuage their collective fears on the matter.

  Cin shook her head.

  "No? I'm just going to be out now, I think. I'm not a threat, and no one here is all that bigoted. Really, you're the worst one that way, and are smart enough to know that it isn't a personal failing on my part. The rest will be fine." She knew that one, but Glenda made a face at her.

  "You think that I'm a bigot?" There was a tone to her voice. Attitude.

  Cindy nodded, making the move big and adding a smile to it. One she really meant, oddly enough.

  "Yup. Not that bad of one, like I said, but it's there. No huge thing. Most people have something dark inside they don't want known. You're actually a lot better off that way than most, so you won't be catching grief about it from me." She'd mentioned her power, so it would be foolish to hide it now.

  The story above the woman's head started to go over everything she'd ever done that she was ashamed of. Her dark, violent rape fantasies, the time she ran over the neighbor's dog and then hid it, not wanting to confront them about it, and the affair that she'd had about two years into her current relationship.

  In short, nothing that would really work for blackmail.

  Most women had rape fantasies like that, even if they wouldn't have admitted it. She did too, from time to time. Not that she wanted to be raped, but the idea turned her on. Glenda was about the same that way. Then she caught on to the idea that Cindy was reading her mind, or might be, and blushed, which got ignored.

  "I'll go and tell everyone that I'm the hidden Infected, and see if anyone runs screaming? I bet they don't. It isn't that big of a thing. I'm just not scary." Not outwardly, which was what would count.

  There was a nod then, and another, smaller, hug. Then the woman opened the doors, only a little worried about her killing the public when they came in. Then she felt bad about thinking that, since she'd known Cindy for years, and she was always good with people. Better than most, to her estimation.

  So she made the rounds, and just told everyone, which was done by ten. Wally got to go last, since he already knew, but she did it, with a smile on her face.

  "So, I'm out and proud now. Infected. Yes, I know you like me a bit. You're also very sweet. Anyone who can't see that isn't looking. You're one of the best people I've ever met." She projected her words, and was about to go on, but could see that a lot of the others there caught the idea. Ben, the other man on shift, actually didn't care a bit about any of it.

  Not even that she could read what he was thinking. He did kind of want to have sex with her, but that hadn't changed. He also knew that Wallace was Infected, having overheard the conversation the day before. That was a thing that she'd missed, but oddly enough his plan was to say nothing about it. Not even to either of them. It was just the way he was. He kept to himself, and if Cindy wanted to know about him masturbating to elf porn that was fine with him.

  Especially since it was clear that he understood a lot more about what it had to mean than not. He seriously just didn't care.

  The rest of the people were all worried more or less. A few actually didn't believe her. They weren't asking for proof either. They just thought she was trying to get attention. In all, no one seemed ready to shoot her over it, or asked for her to be fired. It meant that, by two they managed to get the place into good order, and even though a few lonely people came in to get large stacks of books for the long weekend, they were all out by five-thirty.

  Everyone even came by to chat with her. As if trying extra hard to make it known that they weren't bigoted. Even knowing them all pretty well, having read up on each of them over time, it was a bit surprising. A year before half of them would have been secretly plotting to have her ousted. Politely, but no one even seemed to be heading in that direction. Even Glenda was pretty much good with the whole thing by the time they all left.

  Feeling pleased, she climbed into her little yellow car, and drove off into the night. The weather was even nice now. The road had dried during the day, and while there were clouds, she thought, the air was just chilly, not freezing. The only thing that was a little off was that Wally had lingered to talk to Tamara. She wasn't the best looking girl in the world, but she was cute in the right light, and was clearly being influenced by what Cin had said earlier about the man. Better than that, Wallace Clarkson caught the thread, and was running with it. No one really wanted to be alone over the holidays, so it might just work out.

  That was good. She didn't care that much, but if they were both happy, that would mean they weren't focused on her for the next week. It couldn't have gone better if she'd planned it that way. Considering she'd really just been trying to make the other women feel bad for dissing her work buddy, that was a great outcome.

  She dressed in her one remaining nice skirt, since it was a date night, and made a point of shaving her legs, and everything else, that night. Not that she was planning to have sex with Proxy, but she had to admit, it was a great way to get a guy to like her. Not having a relationship she wasn't on the pill, so that could limit things, as far as what they could do later.

  At six she looked up Brian's data, feeling surprised when it actually swung into place in front of her. He didn't know if he was supposed to get in touch with her or not. It made sense, but that hadn't been worked out, so she got his cell number from the screen looking thing in front of her, and called him directly.

  It surprised her a bit when he picked up on the first ring.

  "Brian Yi. What's the situation?" It was cold, efficient sounding and very adult. He was at least no older than she was. A year younger, she realized, looking up his birth date. Sixteen months. She didn't have to figure that out, it was just there, written in his info. In green. That was strange, but showed up instantly.

  "Cin here. About the date? We didn't make plans to get together, so I decided to call."

  There was an inhalation, then a soft chuckle.

  "Right. This is my secure IPB line. Only about twenty people have it, and when they call it isn't normally as pleasant. I have reservations at Del Casa Taco? You're good with that, right?" He was joking. The tone gave him away.

  So she nodded, and smiled before speaking.

  "Sounds great. Should I meet you there? I'll drive. I know where you're staying. Call it fifteen minutes?"

  "Oh? Um, great! See you then." There was an obvious pause, as if he didn't know if he was really supposed to get off the phone or not. It was the kind of thing that people got caught up in. A social rule that wasn't spoken or even written down anywhere, but no one wanted to risk being rude by hanging up first.

  "See you in a few. On my way now." Cindy tabbed off, walking already.

  Standing there with the phone to her ear wasn't going to get the job done, she knew. That was a bit of a danger for her in all of this. To her this whole thing, being around Brian at all, was just to get inside the investigation into her own killings. So far that hadn't come up, even inside of his own story, but that was fine. The thing there was that she couldn't treat a date like a job. Not if she didn't want him to pick up on the fact that she had an alternative motive in being there.

  She considered the whole thing as she got to her car, and drove to the hotel. It was downtown, or just off of it, and had a nice big parking lot with an actual covered area to pull into. Even though they hadn't planned out a place to meet, she knew to drive up to the front. He was standing right there, after all. Dressed up for a real date this time.

  Actually, he looked good.

  His lean form was dressed up in all black. It was a nice suit, that hugged him at the waist, with a deep red shirt on underneath it. His short hair was always tidy, kept that way to prevent it being pulled in a fight. That was a great ide
a, Cin knew, but not a thing that she could get away with. Proxy had a reason for it that was known and public. He killed people for a living. Ones that were going to take out others, most of the time, so it only made sense to almost everyone that he lived in a way that was ready to fight.

  His shoes were shiny however. Not running shoes, in particular. As she pulled up, the text over his head explained that part. They were soft soled, and built for him specially. He could, at need, run in them, or do almost anything else.

  The sound of her tires stopping got him to look over at her, as she drove up in front of the building. The idea that he hadn't realized she was pulling up was a bit planned on his part. The man was hyper aware of everything around him, all the time. Then, he wasn't pretending he wasn't himself with her, just trying not to seem insane.

  Cindy smiled, and waved. Two of them were working that number, so she could let it go. She could have anyway, if it had been a real date. As it was, the data point was a needed one. A thing she could use to survive.

  Brian came to the car as she opened the door for him, reaching across to the passenger's side to let him in.

  "Hey, you!" There was an attempt to make her voice bright and cheery. It was close enough that Brian didn't pick up on her stress level.

  "Hi! Um, Do you know where the Davenport is?" He said it softly, as if it wasn't a big deal.

  Cindy had to keep herself from whistling in appreciation.

  "Damn. Here I was getting all ready for a taco platter. I do know where it is, of course." Everyone did. It was the most expensive place in town.

  Then, she'd asked for something impressive.

  Brian smiled at her. It was more of a smirk than anything. A bit cocky seeming, really. The words over his head did let her know that he could afford it. Apparently being an IPB operative could pay well, at times. So she didn't have to feel bad, or worry that he was going to stick her with the bill at the end of the night. He even had his wallet with him. His mind triple checked that, feeling the shape in his inside jacket pocket.

  He also felt the small knife that was strapped to his right thigh, which could be reached through his pants pocket, which wasn't real. There was a handgun in a holster on his back, too.

  She nodded, and smiled a bit larger, responding to all of this. No one had ever stated that Proxy was a safe date. The very idea was ridiculous. This wasn't a real get together, however, so she could roll with it. Even if it had been, him being ready to kill people kind of turned her on. Even if it was her he ended up going for.

  "Buckle up. I'll have us there in... Ten minutes?"

  Brian didn't have a watch, but nodded, knowing the time. Exactly.

  "The reservation is for seven-thirty. We have a bit of time."

  That was good, it turned out, since it would give her a moment to adjust to the whole thing. The one where Brian was thinking of this as a real date. It was clear, and she'd known that was the case the whole time, but for some reason it was different, seeing him close up. Outwardly he was relaxed, but there was tension underneath that. Real concern that he was going to move too fast, or too slow, and mess everything up. Again. Even as he knew, inside that none of his failures in relationships were truly his fault. He'd been set up for what had happened, by a strategist that was so good that she'd nearly taken over the entire world.

  That was something interesting, really. The press had said that it was a big deal, but the fighting, the small wars and riots that had broken out all over the country had seemed intense, but not like they were that important. Bad, but not like the goal was anything except death and property damage by some disgruntled haters.

  From the story she was getting, and trying to ignore as she drove, it had really been close. Coming down to Proxy having to break reality a bit in order to stop a single person, an old woman. One that had already won.

  No one had told her that in the news.

  Brian looked at the side of her face, as they stopped at a red light.

  "So, research librarian... That sounds fun." Then he stopped and made a slightly pained face. "Do you still work there?" His voice dropped to a near whisper, as if getting that it might be a big deal if she'd just lost her job.

  That got her to smile and mean it, tense or not.

  "I do. Amazingly enough. I just walked in and told everyone that I'm Infected and what I can do. They barely care. A third of them think that I'm faking it to get attention. Ben, one of my co-workers, knows about Wally and me, but he's keeping his mouth shut about it. I mean, he just isn't concerned. Glenda is a bit freaked out, but she get's the idea that if I haven't shot her with my eye beams yet, I probably won't."

  That got a sudden relaxation from Brian. It was a visible thing, even from the corner of her eye.

  "Good. That... Isn't how it always goes. Sometimes. Hopefully it means that things are getting better? A year ago I probably would have had to fight your boss hand to hand before fleeing into the night. This is better." Then he stopped and shook his head. "Or not. You could probably take her, in a fight."

  That was almost certain, even if the woman was a hundred pounds heavier than she was, or more. It was seventy-eight pounds of extra fat, which didn't actually help that much in a real fight. If her boss exercised at all, it wasn't done that often, or hard enough.

  "Possibly. Plus, I can outrun her for certain. I practice that."

  Laughing a little, Proxy actually winked at her.

  "Good plan. I do that, too. I can't tell you how many times running away saved my life. If you get a choice in a fight, that tends to be the best plan."

  She glanced at him, but got her eyes back to the road without veering too much. Looking forward, Cin cleared her throat. It was a mannerism that was fake, and reminded her of her father. A bolt of anger ripped through her at that, which intellectually she knew was just wrong. She hated the man. Now. Which wasn't fair. He'd been there for her, coddled her when she was young, and paid for college. There had never been any beatings, and no inappropriate touching. He wasn't even cold hearted or mean in particular. Even she got that the real problems they had between them had all been her. Really, she thought she was supposed to dislike him, but really just didn't feel much toward him at all.

  The feeling was still there, saying she should, pushing at her. Part of her Infection, she didn't doubt.

  Recovering, she pasted a grin on her face.

  "So, that thing last night? We should have just left? We could have, you know that right? Snuck out the back, or something?"

  Instead of justifying what had happened, he nodded at her. After about half a minute, a time that was too long really, he took a deep breath.

  "Yeah. We should have. I'm not wild about hate groups, and planning to kill me and my friends is a hot button for me. I know, on some level, that if we hadn't been there nothing would have happened. So it was my fault. I know that."

  Cindy didn't have to read him to understand he meant it. She also got the idea. No one wanted to run all the time. Her own nature was to fight first. Looking at the road, she made the final turn to get to the restaurant.

  Her voice was friendly enough, she thought.

  "That's so hard to do. To just leave, and let the bullies and bad people run all over you. I know it was what we should have done too, but... Well, what if it had just been me? Or Wally? Yeah, they came out because of Bridget, because Impulse is famous now... What if it was just some innocent kid out on a date? One that looked like her? Would they have gone after them like that? This way we can at least pretend we're stopping things like that."

  That got a laugh, which was a bit out of place. It sounded real, anyway.

  "Great point. I feel better now. I was afraid that you'd think I was a bully, setting them up for a beating like I did."

  Cindy couldn't see that one. Not even a little bit.

  "Nope. My very first impulse was to go and fight. They were the bullies, we just were the wrong target." Looking up she made the last turn into the parking lot. The thin
g was full, which meant finding a spot as far away from the door as possible. Naturally.

  Still, they got out, dancing over the mud puddle that they'd parked in, and with only a little chuckling managed to get to the front door of the place.

  Almost playfully Brian let his shoulder bump into hers.

  "Well, so far no one is attacking. So, is this the best date ever, or what?"

  Cin nodded.

  "That is a selling point. Let's go in?"

  "Let's."

  They were seated awfully fast. In fact, it was clear that the host, or whatever the door guy with the list was called there, understood who Proxy was. He was in fact, both a bit worried and pleased at the same time. They had the occasional famous person there, but most of them were just minor television personalities. The local weatherman coming in was different than an Infected monster.

  Not that the guy was particularly bigoted. He was just freaked out by Brian, since he had a bit of a reputation. That being the one where he showed up, and people died. Openly. He killed and as far as Cindy had heard, never apologized for it. People loved it when murderers were taken down, and while the guy at the door was calling him a monster, he was thinking of him as their monster.

  Still, it got them seated, at one of the good tables. The service was nice and quick, too. The food... Honestly, it was fine, but not worth the nearly hundred dollar per plate that was being charged. The wine steward tried to pull a fast one too, pretending that the cost of the wine was included, and not fifteen dollars a glass.

  Brian caught on to that, but also didn't drink anymore. He used to, a bit, but the story unfolded about how he had to stay sober all the time, since he could be off to fight at any moment. It was a constant part of his world.

  Cin looked at the wine guy, who was holding a small leather bound list with French names on it. He held it out like it was just expected that they'd have some.

  So she lied.