by Power, P. S.
Director Turner made a hard, somewhat disgusted, face and nodded.
"Do it. We need her alive, for questioning. Chambers, with me." Then she stopped and looked around at the rest of them, and noticed that they were all still in shock, more or less. Not Cindy, and not Bridget. For some reason the curly haired woman took a deep breath and waved at Cin. "You too. This is a cluster of monumental proportions. Proxy, stay here and guard Lauren."
Then she turned and walked away, like she actually expected Bridget to just follow along with her. That worked, so Cindy ended up following the other two, feeling a bit like a third wheel.
No one spoke for a long time, until they went inside the main admin building, and entered the large office that Marcia kept for herself there. It was nice inside, being tan and gold in color, with a lot of visible wood. At the very front there was a young woman with blue feathers on her head and a yellow beak, who stood talking to a tan lady with raven black hair. It was a dye job, obviously, since at the roots the color vanished.
Cindy read up on that, skimming, and got that the pretty young woman was invisible, most of the time, if not for her dye jobs. Everything that could be seen was clothing or something like that. Penny Cooper was the name. Cellophane.
She also wasn't stupid, and got that something was going on. She'd heard the commotion, but that kind of thing did happen there, often enough that no one ran to see what it was all the time any more.
So her voice, which was a bit soft and shy seeming, was also questioning.
"What's up?" Her look went, accurately enough, to Bridget, who just looked back, a bit coldly.
It was the girl who answered, after a few seconds, her voice firm on the topic.
"We found out that Lauren is a traitor, and working against us to take down the IPB. When I confronted her with the information, she attacked me. In the fight that ensued I managed to disarm her. Her right arm, in this case. Unfortunately it looks like she might live." She sighed and looked at Cindy, who was clearly to blame for that one. "We can't control her, or keep her prisoner for long. You know that right? Even with an arm down, no facility on the planet can do that. She's too great a threat to play with."
There was a soft glare, and then a head shake, for Turner. Bridget didn't keep going on about it, but it was pretty clear that she meant it, even if she'd also wanted the woman dead for a long time. The Director of the whole mess took a breath and blew it out, then nodded.
"I know. I just can't believe it. It looks like Burkes, too. The bastard. After I put him in as the head Agent. That makes me look good, doesn't it? Anyway, Lancaster went silent, to try and locate Burkes and anyone else helping him. Hush here sent him out for it."
Cindy winced, seeing that "Hush" was supposed to be her new nickname. The code that meant her, when it was used in the field. That was pretty bad. It didn't even really fit her powers that well. She got it, having been a librarian, but it could have been a lot better. Librarian came to mind as a name, for instance. Even calling her Reader kind of worked.
There was a hard look from the invisible secretary, and then a nod.
"I should go too. They won't see me coming. This is... Why? I mean, why would our own people turn against us? I know that Burkes had that thing with Tobin about a year ago, but they kind of made up. Tobin didn't seem to be holding a grudge. If Burkes was... Well, then he would have shot Tobin in the back of the head, not done this..." She seemed pretty certain of that one. Like it was the only way that things could have gone between the people. They either made up and meant it, or fought to the death.
Turner cleared her throat, but it was Bridget that broke in, her face pissed seeming suddenly. Angry on a level that wasn't very clear headed.
"It's me. After everything I did to help them, people are scared of me. They think that I'll hurt people. So they want to kill off all of you here in the head office and take over. At least that's what Trivia hinted at. I guess the idea would be to... I don't know, get control over me that way? It doesn't really make sense, does it?" She looked at all of them, stopping on her boss, who tilted her head, then shook it a bit.
"Doesn't it? There are ways to control you, Bridget. If they can manage to brainwash you, or get some kind of psychic control in place, it might work. The government has suggested it, but so far I've told them no, since if it backfires we end up with a half insane Impulse running around killing us all. That I was doing it to protect the fools in the military, and not me, didn't really get through the extra thick brain casings they use in place of skulls." Inside it was clear there was more than just that going on for the Director.
For instance, she knew, for a fact, that if they tried to displace her at the moment, that the entire body of Infected Operatives would go with her. Nearly. She'd thought it was all of them, but before that day she would have figured that Kerry and Lauren would have been with her, too. Now her own first mode was kicking into high gear and she couldn't trust anyone.
Even the people with her at the moment could be spies, or saboteurs. She looked boldly at Cindy then, since she, more than almost anyone in the world, had a good reason to be in on taking Marcia down. Their first modes practically made them natural enemies.
Marcia wanted to stop the woman from killing, and couldn't help but be suspicious that the new woman would resist that as hard as she could.
Which was pretty close to true, Cin realized.
"I do really want to kill Lancaster." She said it lightly, which got a troubled look from Penny, in particular. Her face screwed up and everything.
"Why? Did he say something?" Penny couldn't imagine her honey, Lancaster, doing or saying anything to a new person that would cause her to even tease about that kind of thing really. The tone had come out making it seem playful too, so the invisible woman started to imagine something about butt slapping, which seemed out of character for Darryl on a level that would make it silly to think about.
Cindy waved and short handed the whole thing.
"Nothing like that. He seems nice, really. My first mode, I guess, makes me a serial killer. He triggered that part of me, hard. Not that I could really get the job done, given his abilities, but I want to kill him so bad. That's why I asked if he could go away, which he took to mean head for the hills and move out in secret. Which might work pretty well, as far as that goes. I should look up this Burkes guy." She waited, wondering if Penny was going to shoot her, in order to save Darryl, because she had a gun on her, in the small of her back. The secretary knew how to use it too.
Then, she was also the IPB's assassin. That was a bit of an interesting thing to find out, but the woman didn't draw down on her instantly, just nodding, as if hearing that one of the new people was a psycho killer was pretty close to normal in her life.
"Try not to kill him? He's a friend of mine." That was all she said, with no threats involved at all about it.
"Will do. It's hard though. I mean, really." Then she paused, and looked around. "Is there someplace I can work? A computer? I can take notes that way. It doesn't have to be online." Since that wasn't going to be allowed, as if it would stop her from getting any information.
Penny nodded, and waved behind her, off to the right.
"The first door there. Do you need anything else? Food or anything?"
She shook her head, and then faked being polite. The other girl was doing it too, being pretty much as big of a psycho as Cin was herself. It wasn't even her first mode or anything. The woman was just a nutbar with nearly no sense of empathy. From the words that spilled over the page above her, one that looked like a regular book and read a bit like a spy novel, Penny Cooper was a creeper too. The kind that raped men and didn't think it should count, since they wanted it. Even if they couldn't know about it, or didn't want it at all.
It was kind of a big thing, though her powers had made everyone except Proxy and possibly Mindreader, forget about it. That wasn't going to be true of course, since Trivia would know, and now Cin.
Hush.
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br /> She wanted to glare at Turner over that one, but to her mind a good code name was a lot more random than what they used at the IPB and should have had nothing to do with anyone in particular. Calling an ex-librarian that was practically like giving away the store to the old CIA hand. It had been picked by Proxy though, and Marcia really couldn't afford to alienate anyone just about then. Not even the psycho-killer that had come to, apparently, uncover all the spies and traitors.
Even if Turner really kind of thought that killing her might still be the best plan. There was a real chance that she might take down Lancaster after all, now that she'd fixated on him. Oh, it wasn't likely, and Marcia knew that with a belief that bordered on religious faith. Darryl was just tough, and wary enough that sneaking up on him wasn't going to happen very easily. Especially after she warned him away from the new woman. Then, Cindy had herself, too, which was a good sign. It at least made it seem like she was really trying not to do the wrong thing. That was probably all about manipulating them, which to Turner was a great plan.
Hush though, much like Trivia, knew everything. Thankfully that didn't translate to having skills on a physical level, but just knowing when a person was about to go to the head, or when they were day dreaming instead of paying close attention could be enough to take down even the best. The other woman knew that Darryl was skilled and powerful too, so she wouldn't let herself make any mistakes that way.
Penny led her to the little office space, which wasn't all that small really, just empty. It had a desk and a computer in it, but it required codes to use. That got her to blink, and then clear her throat.
"I'll... Just use Director Turner's codes?" That anyone had thought being locked out would stop her for even a few seconds was funny, but Penny hadn't made that particular mistake. She just didn't care how the work got done.
"Whatever works for you. Let me know if you need anything. Coffee or tea. That kind of thing." Then the woman left her there, as if she were trusted or something.
That nearly would have worked, except that Turner kept coming by to stand in the doorway, at irregular intervals, meant to keep her off balance. That way escaping would be harder for her to manage. Finally, after two hours, she raised her right hand when the woman came, her youthful face smooth and unlined. Creamy, too. The woman had makeup on, but only the barest hint, which was kind of annoying. No one should get that kind of special perk from their power. Even Bridget had some freckles on her nose.
"I have a report on the main agents involved. Only three of them so far. From there I managed to find out who else was involved. It isn't as big as I thought on this end. A few more people here at the base. Phoebe? Sinclair? They're trying to get Rigsby in with them. I guess that makes sense. He's probably the only person here that could take down Bridget, going head to head." It had taken a lot of research to get at all of that, and the boss lady actually looked like she was trying to cry. Nothing happened, tear wise, but the effort was there.
More, it was real.
"The kids? Damn-it! I suppose the military is all over this too? People in congress? Do you have names?"
On that part she really didn't.
"Nope. They've all been pretty careful, to be honest. It's clear that beyond the agents there are people involved, but no one actually knows who they are. Blind drops, and... Uh, fake voices?" She'd just seen the term for it, but the actual name for the technique wasn't coming to her. Turner didn't help her out either.
"Firewalls. That makes sense. Otherwise we might do exactly what we are right now. You have a written report on all of this? I'll look at it tonight. For now... Well, report back here in the morning. You're with Bridget tonight. She was supposed to be babysitting you, but I'm going to have to change your orders on that. She needs to be watched right now. Don't tell her about any of these names. Keep them to yourself for now, because she might just try to take people out before we have what we need from them. This is so fucked up. Things like this always are. Worse, you know that they're all going to end up having good reasons for it, in the end. They thought that they were doing the right thing for the country or whatever bullshit line they ate to get involved like this." It was pretty certain that even if they were trying to keep them all alive for the time being Marcia didn't really think that would last too long.
After all, one of them could teleport. Short of a lobotomy they weren't holding Sinclair anywhere she didn't want to be for more than a few minutes. Phoebe was easier, but she was also their healer.
Cindy nodded, getting the whole thing, including what Turner wasn't saying. She didn't really trust the info found and wanted to run it past Christian Pours that night, in case it was all just a bunch of disinformation designed to mess with them for capturing her.
It wasn't, but telling the woman that wouldn't help anyone at all.
"Got it, then. Do you want me to meet with Pours, or just have her check this at a distance?" Proximity didn't really make a big difference to the woman, as far as everything Cin had heard and read so far. Except that she'd be happier if people weren't in her face.
Really, her best communications level was e-mail, which Marcia's text provided for her almost instantly.
Nodding, she waved at the computer again.
"I can send the report? I think I can do that anyway. This system is kind of dated." She wasn't trying to be mean, but it really was. Even the library had been updated to something newer.
Marcia ruffled her own hair a bit and then shook her head.
"It's needed for the encryption protocols. Send it to her. Then get a watch on Chambers. If she's planning anything, let me know, ASAP. Got that? Also, do a check on Rigs and make sure he's clean. If not... Well, then this is fubar, isn't it? He's over in the mess hall." That made sense, given her one bit of contact with him. He'd been cooking then, so it might be his job. The non-super-hero-team-by-himself one.
Standing, she stretched, and looked at the woman.
"I'm not working against you on this stuff, or trying to trick you. If I do that, Brian will kill me. I can't escape either. He can find me anywhere I could go. That..." It was all true, nearly, and the woman smiled, almost like she meant it.
She didn't. There was simply no way that Marcia Turner could trust her. Several people that she thought were among her best friends had betrayed them all that day, and it wasn't even over yet. The fact that her first mode was suspicion just meant that everyone was on her watch list now. Not that the new person she didn't know at all wasn't right up near the top that way.
Still, she was smart enough to lie about it, or at least try to.
"I know. Don't worry, I only use the thumb screws twice a week." She gave a tired smile then, which looked a bit evil, and went on. "True, I may have to change that policy now. I... I wish I could say that I didn't believe this could happen, but I knew. I've always known. Anyway, get to that stuff, and try to stay in lock down otherwise. I can't take any more problems right now."
That was clear, so Cin got herself out of the admin building. There was no particular security on the doors, to prevent her from removing documents, even though Marcia sort of wanted to do that. They weren't a secret branch of anything however, so they didn't really classify much. What they did, Cindy worked out with a bit of focused reading of her new boss, was just kept locked in the back room of Turner's office. There was a cool secret panel, a safe, and everything.
Not that she needed to break in there, though it wouldn't be hard to do really. If she wanted the secret knowledge, she could just pull it from the Director's head. At any time, day or night.
She needed, she guessed, to find Bridget first. That wasn't hard, since the girl was off stuffing her face, making sure she had energy, in case a bigger fight broke out later. Lauren was a traitor, but also well loved on Team Two. She didn't think she was, but Bridget wasn't certain that she wasn't going to be fighting a lot of them later that night. As soon as they realized that she'd tried to murder their big armored buddy.
Bri
an was sitting at the long white table with her, along with a moving teddy bear. That one got her to stop and just stare for a bit. The thing was perfect, and didn't even look creepy really, but also didn't have a stuffed quality to it. More than anything he, and from the clothing and lack of a bow on his head it was a boy, looked to be computer generated. It was a really great job though, and didn't look phony. Just like a stuffed bear had been rendered as something real for a top movie.
That was Rigsby, she understood, reading the text above him. He really looked like that too. It wasn't an energy projection to hide his real appearance or anything. Currently someone had dressed him up in a cute little white cook's outfit. It was freaking adorable. Inside, reading the words, she got a good sense of him however, even as she walked across the room toward the table. He was filled with a rage that by all rights should have ended the world, given his powers.
He really wanted to kill the two people with him, and when he looked up to see her, he wanted the same fate for Cindy. The only thing stopping him from trying was a being that he'd dreamed up, in the first hours after he woke up looking like a muscular child's toy.
Rigs just called it Endgame. It only had one purpose, which was to remove him from the world if he ever lost it, and started to go for anyone. He wanted to lunge for the people there, and kill them all, but if his resolve not to do that ever failed, he'd cease to be, instantly. In a large burst of light, that wouldn't harm anyone else.
The being stood there, behind him, invisible and unknown, all the time. She saw it, as an illustration. A really good one. Like from a high end comic book.
Brian saw her and waved, seeming tired, and like he was faking the will to go on at the moment. Bridget was a bit upset, with almost everyone, because they weren't backing her up. It left her feeling like she was on her own, even though she had that great argument about not being able to keep Lauren a prisoner.
The teddy bear man stared at her, and let his mouth curl up into a small grin.
"Hey. You must be the new person. I figured that out, based on not knowing who you are. June mentioned you to me. T'ket too. Any friend of my imaginary pals, and all that." He gestured to the bench across from him, next to Brian.