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

by Power, P. S.

  That was another person that wasn't at the table, but when Cin checked, she found that he was all the way back at the base, having left the day before. That was due to him being the second in command there, even if he was nearly new. He'd gotten the job when everyone else had vanished and held on to the position somehow. Bridget was, on paper, the third in command, so killing the others wasn't going to remove her, just push her up the food chain.

  That was probably why those Agents and whoever was with them were going to trash talk everyone first. That would probably work better, overall than bloodshed anyway.

  Brie looked up then, her personal page not showing anything for a moment. Then the words came, announcing that the press had come.

  The woman stood, so Cin did too, because like it or not, she needed these people to think she was on their side. The best way to do that, at the moment, was to really be.

  So she said the words. It was kind of clear the Brie was waiting for her to do it, realizing the same points that she had already.

  "Several news crews. Out front." Then she stopped, looked at everyone and shrugged. "I don't know if this is the best plan, but I think you should go and tell everyone... Everything. At least about the data that's going to come out, and why. It probably won't help that much, but I don't think it will hurt, either."

  It was clear that no one loved that idea, but Brian stood and moved to pat her back too.

  "Right. Come on then. We have work to do."

  Chapter six

  The others, most of them, acted like the press showing up was nearly normal. Cindy was annoyed by it, and tried to stay in the house, being halfway sane, but Brian took her by the arm, and pulled her outside with them. He, it seemed, was the spokesman for the group effort, and while Ron and Lyn got to hide, like they should all have been doing, Hobbs moved from the back, on the roof of the garage, to the top of the house. No one saw it happen, but she could make out the words over his head, which had a lot of illustrations about how to fight the crowd gathering below.

  Then Proxy began to speak, and told them all everything. The press barely had time to get cameras on him, and a few of the techs were scrambling to go live with it, as he announced the coup plan. Then he went over how the IPB had lived for years, and how, yes, some of them were disgruntled about it.

  "But, rest assured, no one is really a cannibal, or thinks we should be. We also managed to catch the serial killer that's been hunting men in this area. Which is what we were brought in for. It turned out to be an Infected person, and the situation has been dealt with. There will be no more killings of that nature here." He didn't give her name, or say that she was dead, but everyone simply assumed that was what he would be going for. After all, he was Proxy.

  The death that came out of nowhere.

  Instead of going in, like she would have then, he got Prime and Impulse to fly around in the sky for a bit, showing off, then did it. The press still wanted to grill them on things, including who he was dating at the moment. The clear impression left was that if he didn't have someone, the whole thing could be spun as him being a homosexual. No one believed it, but that would be good content anyway, so the person asking would run with that without blinking.

  Brian got that too, and actually blushed. It was kind of adorable, really. Cindy raised her hand, and smiled at the cameras.

  "That would be me. It's new, so, not that official yet. This is our second date that you're interrupting. It is Thanksgiving though, so I guess that makes sense. Someone has to be a pain, right?" She smiled about it, and people actually laughed. The problem then was that they all wanted to know if she was Infected, what her name was and if she had any communicable diseases or insanity that they could exploit. She read this from several of the people, and managed to hold her face calm. Charlotte was waiting for her to blow it, and really wanted her to end things before that happened. Scott however, was really helpful, actually going over what she needed to do in order to look good for them.

  That got her to straighten up, and smile winningly, like the words were telling her, and look directly into the camera that the biggest local network was holding. It was a Fox affiliate at least, which Scott figured would be going out nationally. He also wanted her to not keep moving her eyes like she was, reading. That he got what was happening was nifty actually, though it was hard to do.

  She just read all the time, and hadn't realized others noticed it happening.

  "I am Infected. I just got a job with the IPB, doing low level research. My power is basically reading books, so it doesn't help that much in a fight. Apparently they have lots of people that don't go and throw down with the baddies? Now, if you don't mind, we should get back to the pie? Happy thanksgiving everyone!" Waving she backed off, as Scott did much the same, smiling vastly. After a few moments the others did too.

  The trick then would be to keep looking pleased, letting the expression fade a tiny bit only, as they went through the door. That was what people did with real emotion. Just dropping it would cue everyone in to it being fake.

  Just inside the door, Charlotte rounded on her. Smiling for real.

  "That, was not too bad, considering the rest of what was said. It seemed both warm and genuine, and didn't give away anything we can't back later. Plus, this way we can assure people that Brian is being taken care of. If you weren't a psycho we could stick you on Team One, given what you did out there. You don't quite have the looks, but you're close enough that we could work with that. Our makeup artist could make Brian look like a Playboy centerfold and have the world believing it, so that part isn't as big of a problem as all that. I'm tempted anyway, but we really shouldn't risk it. Not until you prove out." Then, almost warmly, the woman patted her on the arm. "I want you trained for it anyway. Bridget, would you handle that for us?"

  That part, asking her daughter like that, wasn't the norm. It was, in all truth, a compromise. Bridgie, as her mother was thinking of her, was both able to defend herself from pretty much anyone in the world, and able to go over the basic press protocols. Really, she was fairly advanced that way, and could probably handle being a PR person herself, having grown up soaking in the idea like she had.

  The tiny red head, who was standing by a larger version that looked older, but otherwise similar, nodded rapidly.

  "No prob. Cin, you're with me then. When Hobbs and the guys aren't doing you, I mean." Then, playing like she did, the girl looked around seriously. "I can watch right? As they do you?"

  Cindy tilted her head and then shrugged.

  "Probably. I really don't think I get to have that much fun for a while." Plus, the girl was thinking of Brian as being one of those guys, and he was the kid's grandfather. That she liked him enough to want to see that was, in theory, kind of sick. Given that there was a slander campaign about to take place, that should probably be avoided. At least if they could be caught.

  Everyone took it as her teasing back, which it really was, and Trivia gave the briefing floor over to Rachel. That seemed a little odd at first, since the woman wasn't in any chain of command for the IPB, but a bit of reading explained it. She'd helped to start it, at least in its current incarnation. That meant she got to know almost everything she cared too, and people still deferred to her there. It also meant that even if she looked like a youthful thirty or so, she was pushing eighty. Seventy-seven that year, to be exact.

  The woman was also kind of friendly, as far as sex went. It hadn't shown at all, but it was kind of clear that if Cindy, or Brian, wanted to get some, all either of them had to do was ask. Lyn and Ron too, but not being a home wrecker, she'd have required both of them to participate. It was a strange rule, really, but it made a bit of sense. That way neither of them would be able to blame her for their eventual break up. Not that she was planning to make a play that way.

  Brian, interestingly, was a person that she'd been interested in since the eighties. That was a time travel thing however.

  The woman looked at Bridget first and held it.<
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  "This is, ultimately, about fear. Of you. I can't blame anyone either. What you did had to be done, but it was showy and dark. We need you to be a lot more friendly to the masses for a while. Maybe go and work with kids and visit them in the hospital? Do high profile things too. Save stranded motorists, and... God, I don't know. I really don't. Char, can you come up with some things and set that part up? We can't afford to wait. It might also help to get you an age appropriate boyfriend. Tobin could work, but..." She didn't even make a face, and what she was going over internally was a lot different than what Cindy would have expected.

  Tobin Peterson was famous, and possibly one of the greatest singers in the world. He also looked very distinctive, being about four feet tall, and looking a bit like an amphibian. His skin was perfectly smooth, and could change color, though he was mainly green, brown or black. He did patterns too, it seemed, which was interesting.

  That could have been why Rachel didn't want her granddaughter to interact with him, but it really wasn't. He was just happily dating Kerry, from the Steinberg and Friends cooking show. The woman seriously just didn't want to get in the way of that, even to make Bridget look more stable.

  The girl nodded, and a list, which was kind of small, floated up on her screen. There were pro's and cons to each one of them, which were well marked. The big one, for most was that they were too old for her. Almost everyone in the IPB really was. There was a guy from the town, outside of the base, that she kind of liked, but his parents were bigots.

  Cin nodded.

  "Him. Will? Let me..." Checking on his data didn't take long, since he was clear in the girl's story really.

  His parents really weren't great people, as far as bigotry went, but they were trying not to be total assholes about it now, since the tide had started to turn against their kind, in the last months. They really wouldn't be in love with the idea of their boy dating Bridget, but then he was nearly eighteen, and was planning to move in June, as soon as he turned. If they kicked him out over it, the IPB might have to float him a loan for a few weeks, but that was all.

  Technically he was an IPB Agent, too. It had been a joke at the time, when Bridget had said it, but then he'd been stabbed, working for them. That had, in a very real way, sealed the deal as far as they were concerned.

  He also liked Bridget well enough. Being a good guy he hadn't tried to date her because of his parents, but if she went for him, that would work.

  Cindy started to nod, and so did Brie.

  The other woman spoke first, her voice smooth.

  "Good call. He's a decent guy, too. Not hard on the eyes either. You should get with him later and see if he wants to go out?"

  Bridget didn't blush, but she did look away, smiling a little.

  "Like that will work? I guess I can ask..."

  After that, as if things were settled, people started talking about other things. It wasn't that these people were too stupid to get the idea that nothing was fixed at all. Far from it. The fact of the matter was that they were so used to this kind of thing that it just couldn't phase them. There was always something going on, so if you wanted to have a real life, you had to adapt. So they sat there and talked about what was coming up, including the fact that they needed to go back to the base the next day.

  That meant calling in a team to pack up Cindy's house, which, she read about quickly, she wasn't going to get a choice in. Moving was required, and leaving her with a home would give her hope that she could come back, and that wasn't going to be a thing for her. She wasn't being treated as a prisoner, but she was, and stepping outside of what was wanted by these people would involve her death. They had one card, so would play it if they had to.

  That part was just way too clear. Even Bridget, who still kind of liked her, would have pulped her head if Cin got even a little out of line. True, she might feel bad about it the next day, not being a psychopath, but she'd do it. So would Charlotte. Of the people there, only Scott really wouldn't have done it. He'd killed, it was true, but he didn't want to. Not that the others did, exactly, but they all felt either duty, or honor, bound. Well, Charlotte just really didn't want things to get out to the press, but that was a kind of duty for her, so it still fit.

  So, she was moving, and someone else was going to paw her things, probably breaking half of them, and nothing would stop it. Unless she burned her house down. That was over the top, so she just had to swallow the fact that she was powerless now. It didn't sit well, which took her a little bit by surprise.

  About half an hour later, at nearly seven, the whole thing broke up enough that it was time to clean up, so she got up to help with it. The other option was to just sit there, waiting. For what she still wasn't certain. What they were going to do with her that night...

  She shrugged.

  "I should head home. After the dishes are done, I mean." She doubted that would go over at all, but Brian just shrugged.

  "I can't let you go alone. I'd go with you, but I need to actually get some work done."

  Cindy was a bit surprised, but the words over his head, since he was actually trying to avoid sleeping with her, in case he had to kill her later. He knew that she'd used him, but thought she might want to do that anyway, in order to try and get him to let his guard down. Not that it would happen.

  Given that had been her exact plan, she had to respect his being careful. Not that she was changing up that much from it, since he was still a great guy. It would just take longer to get things going, that was all.

  Bridget, having heard the whole thing walked over, carrying all of the dishes from the table. She was tiny, but so strong that it wasn't a struggle for her. The whole thing still looked funny. Even at that, Brian carefully moved to offload for her, from the vast stack. It didn't take him long, and things went next to the sink, to be rinsed rather than placed straight into the dishwasher.

  Cindy got the idea, and moved to do that part, but realized they needed to scrape the things first. That was done by the garbage being brought over to the stacks, as she wielded a wooden spatula, scrapping as fast as she could. Bridget grabbed them and washed, then loaded the machine, almost like it was planned out ahead of time.

  When they finished the girl looked at her.

  "I can sleep over? That way you won't be able to escape, but can have your own bed. That works, right?" It was baldly stated, about her trying to escape, but Brian nodded at them both.

  His brain was filling in that he kind of wondered if the girl would let her go, but knew that he really could find her no matter where she went. The whole thing was safe, as long as they didn't let Cin go and kill anyone after telling the press it wouldn't happen again.

  "That works. Clear it with your parents first."

  Bridget nodded, but didn't run off to do that, just standing there, expecting Cin to have a problem with it. The fact of the matter was that most adults really had kind of wanted her to go away for the most part. That had been half of why she'd really liked Clark. Even when they were done having sex he'd been nice to her. Her friend.

  That she kind of wanted a new one now was clear. On the good side, she wasn't assuming that Cindy would put out for her.

  She nodded.

  "Yes. That works for me. We can pack up my knife collection. I'm taking that with me. We'll need to dig that up first." She'd planned to use them all, but now that didn't seem likely. No one screamed about her being a monster though, which was a good sign. She hoped.

  Eventually Impulse wandered off, and came back a few minutes later, twitching happily.

  "Mom and dad are fine with it. We can't go bar hopping or anything, but I wasn't planning on it anyway. We leave early, and sleeping on planes is a bad plan. You never know when being awake will help save your life." Then she smiled, and shook her head. "Well, your life. I'm good, no matter what."

  That was probably true, so Cindy nodded. Bridget wasn't all that worried about the idea of planes going down, and didn't think it was going to happen all that ofte
n anyway. They were safer with her awake however, since she was able to fly people to safety if anything like that took place.

  Not that she was really considering all of that at once. The data was there, and a part of her, that was all.

  After they tidied, they moved into the front room, and started to say goodbye for the evening. No one made too big of a deal of the whole thing, since they were going to see each other in the morning. Very early. Six in fact, which meant getting up before that by about two hours. Cin wanted to groan, but no one else did, so she took a breath, nodded, and moved.

  Speaking while she did.

  "See you all then." She wasn't leaving her car forever at the airport, but it didn't matter otherwise. Her entire life was being left behind. Worse, she had to go and resign from work. More to the point, she'd have to call in about it.

  After coming out like she had and everything. She could have just quit and no one would have been the wiser. Then, she couldn't tell the future like that.

  No, if she wanted to do that, she'd need to find a psychic and read all about it... Which would probably only happen if they were keyed to her somehow. It wasn't like her reading would let her know anything they didn't on some level. Though at least with Bridget and Brian they didn't seem to be totally aware of what was going on that way all the time.

  They escaped to her car, with Bridget already having what she called a ready bag with her. It wasn't just a change of clothing and a toothbrush either. She had gear in it. A full day of concentrated food in the bottom, though Cin supposed that they could go back in and get some of the leftovers, since they were there, and take them along. Given that Lyn was already wondering what she was going to do with all the extra food she'd made, there was sense to that.