by P. S. Power
He didn’t see that, with the current crew. They were all pretty solid.
Howard also knew when his bread was being buttered for him.
“I don’t need you to make me feel like part of the team. I just need to know if I’m on the team or need to run after this is over.”
It was basic, to him. Also, a little suspicious seeming of him.
“You’re in. All the way now, if you want to be. Most of the world doesn’t run on the rules you and I lived by all that time. I’ve been feeling the same thing you are now, to be honest. It’s hard, going back home, after being gone so long. I played without real rules for a lot longer than with them, you know?”
He did. First hand. It was how he’d lived most of his life. Then, he still was. They all were.
“I get you on that one. Okay, I’ll pretend to stop thinking this is all a set up, so it won’t hurt your feelings. The team is decent. I’m not certain about having people from television in with us. Just for the fame thing, nothing else. They’re good so far. Which is probably your point. I’m a bit concerned about Denis, given that thing earlier. With the chubby guy?”
Instead of telling him it was fine, the woman smiled, darkly. Then she nodded.
“Yeah. Denis was raised in a hell hole. Kerry too. It’s easy to see that she had it hard, with the constant sexual abuse, but there were other things. Essentially torture. One of the things that their father did was accuse Denis of being gay all the time, as an excuse to punish him for being unholy. It’s even more messed up than that.”
Howard had figured it was bad, if not that exactly.
“Damn. We can’t even just find the man and kill him. So, what’s the plan here? How do we help him with it?”
He figured it wasn’t going to be easy. Oddly enough, the woman nodded at him as if he were making a point. It wasn’t true, he was just asking for her input if she had anything to say.
Still she was good, as far as knowing what to do with things like that.
“We need to reassure him that we know he isn’t gay. You’ve been doing well that way so far. Even with Dan, it seemed like you just assumed that the way he felt didn't have anything to do with Den. Which is true. He’s actually getting a lot better that way. It’s taking time, but he’s learning and making it happen.”
“Okay. Got it. Good to know that, actually. He’s a solid player. Plus, he’s kind of going to have to be on his game for the thing with the kid. We need to make that look… Well, like it isn’t him doing it. Maybe some other infected? I mean, me coming in through a mirror is pretty specific, but…”
She waved for him to pick things up, the I.D. and all that, which he put in the folder he was carrying. He had pockets, but no wallet to pack things around in.
At the door, she turned and touched him, on the arm. Her hand was warm, which got him to focus. Then, he hadn’t gotten a lot of friendly attention for a few years. Plenty of sponge baths, but that was just humiliating and normally came from an orderly. Having a burly man clean your foreskin was a special experience that he didn’t wish on anyone.
It did give him some insight into how Denis had to be feeling, in a small way. After all, the orderlies had never claimed to love him first. It made a difference.
She looked away, her voice soft when she spoke.
“We need you. I know it doesn’t seem like it. We have a lot of locked on Agents and Operatives. Penny Cooper might have done this job as well as you can, with only a little training. She’s profoundly invisible. Noah wouldn’t even disrupt her ability. The thing is… We need a role model. One that isn’t going to judge anyone for being different. A lot of the higher ups… Look, when we started the IPB, it was meant to help the Infected. Literally to protect them from the government. I know, it doesn’t seem like it. We need to get back to that. We need people like you.”
He wanted to make a joke then, but tilted his head, instead.
“How so? I don’t really have a useful power, do I? It’s a nifty trick, and useful for taking things, I suppose, but that doesn’t make me a great leader.”
Walking out into the hallway, the woman led him along.
“Sure. Power wise you’re interesting, but nothing to write home about. Not for the IPB. Compared to regular people it’s pretty impressive. I mean, you pretty much can’t be held prisoner. Short of keeping you in a dark room, that won’t work. Even at that, I bet you can get into that other world without a reflection. That’s just a handy entry point for you. Even learning that won’t actually make you more powerful in a fight. Just harder to hold against your will. So, that’s real enough. It isn’t about that though.”
She’d just told him what she wanted from him. Not how to get it done, of course. For him to lead, and try to get the kids back toward helping their own people. A bit more, anyway.
Kate nodded, but walked then, heading toward his bedroom. So he could put the I.D. down. That didn’t take long, though it was left inside the top drawer, with his license to drive in his pocket. That wasn’t perfect, being a bit low rent, but it was needed for the time being. At least if he were going to have the things in the first place.
When they got to the front room, she settled on the sofa and then stretched, her lithe form bending back as she reached up toward the vaulted ceiling.
“No one will get what you’re doing. Not if you do it right. We have people to manage the fighting and all that. What we need is someone that can come at things sideways. A thief, who can steal back our original goal. We have resources now, that we didn’t before. We have two methods of mastering first modes now. Four really, if we include biofeedback and meditation techniques. We’re using them for our own people, but we can do more than that. I could do it, but…” She held her hands out then. “Surprise, if you’re a super villain for thirty years, no one trusts you anymore. No one thinks of you that way. It was never true, for one thing. You were a great thief, but you can be more than that.”
He looked down, deciding to smirk at the woman. He stared a bit at his right leg.
“Sorry… You were just telling me it was raining?” She got the idea, even if it was an older one.
“I know… I’m not pissing on your leg though. Think about it? Devorah always said that you’d be the one to help the Infected again. By name. Both of them. Howard and Richard. You can do what you want, but… Yeah. I think this fits you. It will mean being involved with the feds, but that’s fine. So far you haven’t even broken any real laws. Not under your new persona.”
Which was true enough. Even the breaking and entry he’d done would be impossible to prove, so far. That idea got him to think for a bit, being silent as they waited for the food to be fixed. Finally, recalling what Kerry had said, he spoke.
“So, IPB Operatives can only be arrested for murder?”
That got the woman to stand up, heading toward the front door.
“That’s true, actually. Keep that in mind. We’re all IPB Operatives, including you. That’s official, even if it shouldn’t be needed for this.” She winked at him then. “The FBI is here. We should either tell Den and Kerry, so they can make more food, or get rid of them fast.”
Then, before anyone could knock, she opened the door.
Chapter thirteen
The feds didn’t bluster or anything that ridiculous. Not at first. Instead they started off with the normal kind of speech that they always used on television.
“Ms. Riser? I’m Agent Samson, this is Agent Carns. FBI.” There was a flash of shiny badge, which was visible to Howard past the shoulder of his pal.
Both men were white, and older than they would have been for a show or movie. Solidly in their late forties. The two men seeming very different other than their skin color. The first one, Samson, was built like a power lifter. Thick in the middle, but with a barrel shape that could be hiding a lot of physical power. The other fellow was fat enough that his gut was pressing against his shirt front, and his bare face had both wrinkles around the eyes and a double
chin.
Katie didn’t stand there, keeping them out, even if they hadn’t shown up with a warrant in hand. She waved them in, instead.
“Come on in. What’s the issue here?” She sounded slightly annoyed. Then, given her powers she was probably already aware of whatever the two men were after. If they were smart, it was going to be something unrelated to what the IPB wanted.
Howard had an odd feeling that they just weren’t going to be that bright at all.
For once, he was pleasantly surprised.
“Three days ago, FEMA contracted a trucking concern, Franklin Hauling, to move supplies for them in the East Texas area, after the hurricane there last week. They seem to have refused to do what they were hired on for, because of Infected people being involved? Since they’re from Louisiana that made the civil rights issue our domain to investigate. We were told by the IPB that Proxy, Denis Tompkins and Kerry Yoder were staying here for vacation?”
It was interesting, the way the names were said. Howard focused on that for a moment even as the conversation went on. The men had used proper names for Den and Kerry, and called Katie by a last name that he’d frankly never heard used for her before. Brian though, had been called Proxy. As if that wasn’t a good thing in particular, from the slight wrinkling of the man’s nose when he spoke the name.
They didn’t even seem to notice Howard. Not at first. Really, it wasn’t until the others wandered in, as they all moved toward the sitting area, that he understood something strange was going on that way. Denis wasn’t looking at him, in particular, but no one else was, either. Looking down at his own hand, he got the same sense that he had before, when Denis had made them all vanish in the Safeway parking lot.
Which didn’t really make a lot of sense, but was useful for keeping the men from noticing him at the moment. To help out with that, he slowly moved behind them, and stayed about ten feet back from the cream-colored sofa the two men had parked themselves on.
The scene was less old-fashioned feeling suddenly, since one of the men, the heavy one, Agent Carns, pulled out a small electronic pad device. Tapping on it, he started to take notes.
“Mr.… Yi. You were placed in charge of aiding section seventeen, after calls came in about Infected activity in that area? Can you elaborate on that for us? The IPB normally isn’t called in on disasters, are they?”
Brian smiled then. It was the one he normally used, which didn’t make him seem all that happy or sane. Then, for the con of the moment, the man didn't need that. It left him seeming a bit pissed, but like he was clearly trying to help out, his upset being about other things, not the men in front of him at the moment.
“Yeah. Really, we get called in for a lot of emergencies. Normally to help fight fires and that kind of thing. Powers can be useful for that. Search and rescue operations as well. This one was strictly in our wheel house as far as our area of concern goes. That part of Texas has a cluster of Infected living there. About fifty people that mainly keep to themselves. A commune of sorts. It’s not that uncommon anymore. A lot of them are afraid of un-Infected people, to be honest. They end up being attacked and kept out of jobs, so… Yeah. Anyway, the local police were worried, since a lot of people in their area were suddenly glowing, floating around and generally seeming agitated. Their neighborhood had pretty much gone underwater. So they had to be moved out.” He paused, looking at the men.
It seemed a bit bored, to be honest. Which was about what the story really needed him to be.
Yi went on, since there was a bit more, it seemed.
“When we got there, DHS had already set up. They had an operation in the area, totally unrelated to anything we were there for. That happens. It’s…” He shrugged and then looked at the men, his blue shirt being clean and pressed, but unremarkable otherwise. It was just a t-shirt, after all. Left untucked, since the man had a handgun in the small of his back.
That seemed to be consistent, for Yi. At least when he was meeting with people.
“Really, it’s part of how my power works. It seems to set up useful coincidences that make the world function a bit more smoothly. So, we knew the DHS man in charge, Galley, having worked with him before. It was after we were on the scene that we got word about FEMA not making the delivery. There were communications problems at first. It sounded a lot like they were just refusing to bring the aid in, due to Infected people being there. After we drove over and talked to them in person, it turned out that it was just the hauling concern flaking out on them due to fear and bigotry. So we helped them get the deliveries done.”
Carns, the heavy Agent, smiled then.
“We were told that your people teleported the goods to the correct locations? That’s impressive. They should get with you people more often, given that. It’s got to be faster. Anyway, we need to go over this with each of you. I take it the story is mainly the same?” It was, if not identical.
Kerry was subdued, but did speak more about the Infected people there and how they were being treated, which was a lot less pleasant than the benign neglect that Yi had spoken of.
Denis got that part too, if not as much.
“The cops there… They kept trying to start fights with the Infected people. It was like… Well, how things were a few years ago. I guess their training for that kind of thing isn’t very good in the area, yet? We don’t really have an outreach program on that. There are some plans, but no one has really just done it. We all get busy, you know?”
There was nodding from the other three there, then.
It was interesting, but they tried to ask Katie questions, only to have her chuckle a bit.
“I don’t talk to feds. Especially about things I wasn’t there for. It would just muddy the waters, as well as be breaking several laws that you gentlemen aren’t allowed to know about.” Then she grinned and shut her mouth.
Instead of throwing a fit, or acting like they wanted to fight, the two men just stood up then.
Samson, the bigger fellow, actually laughed over it.
“Ah, those good old secret laws. There are what, twenty-six of them now? So, you’re an alien, aren’t you? That or a time traveler? It’s pretty much got to be something like that.”
The other man rolled his eyes, but Kate just narrowed hers.
“I can’t say, can I? Now, you should be getting back to the office so you can report this. You have the contact information for everyone here, I believe?” She seemed friendly, if a little efficient about the whole thing. It wasn’t her normal way of behaving, but it got the men to leave quickly, without asking too many more questions.
That was the best way to deal with people that liked to investigate anything. Tell them as little as possible, without seeming suspicious. Kate had been skirting that part of the matter, as far as he was concerned. Being a little too helpful, for his personal taste.
After a few minutes, the car having pulled away out front, from the sound of it, Denis let the field that was keeping him from being noticed drop. Kerry sat up straight, suddenly, her eyes going wide.
“I didn’t see you there! I guess I was wrapped up with this whole mess. It’s strange, isn’t it? I mean, the FBI doing their job like that, when it’s just about Infected people? They normally don’t.”
Still standing there, a bit away from the door, Katie nodded.
“These two didn't know that much. It seems the orders came from the top on this one. Their director. It wasn’t even us pushing for the investigation this time. No, it was FEMA. They’re all about continuity of government, so to their minds, anyone refusing to help them do that, for any reason, is suspect. The haulers really were just afraid. That one is hard to beat, really. Infected people can be dangerous, after all.”
It was interesting, but everyone else in the room nodded, except Howard. Not that the words weren’t correct. Infected people all had emotional problems, if of different types. In his case it meant the silverware wasn’t safe, but a lot of people were different than that. Even without powers you
had a group of individuals that were basically insane, at least at times. It was kind of fair for the FBI or even FEMA to be concerned that way. The haulers as well.
Which had led to problems. The law said you weren’t allowed to use common sense in regards to Infected people. Survival told them otherwise. Not that bringing in trucks of goods to flooded areas was that dangerous. Even the worst Infected would have left them alone, for the most part. It was too important to screw with.
Yi stretched a bit, his shirt pulling up in the front from the endeavor. He had smooth skin and washboard abs underneath the thing. It meant he was fit, of course. Howard had that going on now as well. He always had though, until he’d hit his mid-eighties or so. Then the loose skin had hidden that kind of thing from the world. Now they were back.
They all had that kind of leanness to them. The person there that seemed closest to normal would be Kate, he thought. Not that he’d seen them all naked or anything. It was oddly intriguing, at least with the women. That was, he had to figure, all about his hormones coming back online after being at low ebb for a long while. Not that he was going to get stupid about it now. He’d dealt with that kind of thing before, so it just wasn’t going to take him by surprise.
Nodding a bit, he waved at the closed door.
“The real question is, will they be back? We need to know that, so we can control for it, when we’re doing the job. Kate? Anything on that?”
She shook her head.
“Right now, they pretty much have what they need. They’re just local Agents, sent to collect data. They aren’t running the case or anything. Really, it’s fairly low priority, even. They don’t think they’ll need to do anything except file some reports on us. Good job keeping Rich out of this, Den. We kind of want to keep him low key for as long as possible.” She looked at the others, fixing Yi with a solid glance, as if he were the troublemaker there.