The Infected 3: Cast Iron Read online

  Glancing at the black clothed agent Marcia grinned and moved closer to him, putting her hand on the back of his heavy winter jacket. It was done in black, like everything the non-Infected agents wore day to day. If he was going all anti-Infected on her it should be enough to get a reaction from the man.

  “If anyone asks we came out here to make out.”

  The guy shook his head, but grinned.

  “Like hell. Start saying things like that and you’ll ruin my reputation. Then my girlfriend will cut something off while I’m sleeping. Let’s tell them we were planning some kind of exercise for the slackers or something. Unless you really want to make out, but again, the girlfriend thing makes that a bad risk for me.” He gave her a hard, blank look, and didn’t waiver at all for a long time, until she finally shrugged.

  “Fine. Day long forced march with packs?”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  They chatted about the idea as they walked back into the compound. Nothing worked as a cover as well as something real. True, they didn’t need to meet in secret for a training exercise and everyone on the base knew to leave if you wanted to talk about anything more pressing than the weather now, since they were being spied on openly by at least two or three different government bodies. Other than their own that was. That meant no one would really think they’d been doing anything too naughty though. People left to talk about gripes and bitches anymore, on purpose to throw the watchers off, to give them cover for things that were more real. It had been hard to get people to go along with that idea at first, but Brian had helped her with it, taking people outside the wire every time he wanted to gripe about anything or make even the simplest plan.

  Denis had really stepped up that way too, in the last month or so. That was a bit of a surprise, but she’d taken him for a walk and explained the concept, which had gotten him to do the same almost every day with different people. It was hard to remember that the guy was actually trying not to be a complete tool anymore he was doing such a good job of it. It seemed almost effortless on his part, like he’d always been a team player. He used to be a real piece of work, but after he got out of the prison on the thirteenth floor of the underground complex it seemed like he was a new man.

  She didn’t really trust it yet, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t real. It just meant he had to keep it up to really earn her trust. Not that anyone ever really did manage to earn that, thanks to her first mode, but he was starting to get into the category of people she thought probably weren’t trying to do something bad to her at the moment. That was pretty much the best she had for anyone now.

  Inside the rebuilt glass and metal first floor of the headquarters, which she hated compared to the really nice wood building they’d had before, Marcia had to stop for a minute and figure out what she needed to do first.

  It wasn’t that hard really, she decided. She needed to take a team to Florida, which meant she needed some kind of reason to go there. The time frame was short, but there was always something to be done, in most places, if you were willing to stretch the idea of what was important a bit.

  There hadn’t been rumors of any anti-Infected riots or demonstrations planed in that area, or her special team would be on their way already. It was required by law after all. That meant she’d need to come up with something else then. Probably with Team one. They were good people, but not the ones she needed for a mission. Not a real one. Too high profile for one thing and often too nice. She was on that team too now, of course, but a decent looking thin white woman with dark hair could hide almost anyplace with a little make-up and a change of clothing. People didn’t see her and think government agent most of the time. There was no hiding Prime or Argos though. Too good looking and distinctive by far. Robert would work though. He might be the team leader, but most people didn’t even know he existed.

  He’d have made a great spy really. Nice and bland looking. Good looking enough that no one noticed him, plain enough that no one took his picture too often. Get him out of the business suit he always wore and he’d be nearly untraceable. Smiling a bit, trying to look friendly even though the whole phone call thing had set her back a half step, she took the elevator to the first floor, stopping at his office before heading to her own room or trying to talk to the Director. It was a normal enough thing for her that no one would think anything of it. Hopefully.

  She knocked on the frame of the open door, getting the dark haired man to look up and paste a pleasant look on his face. His first mode made him a workaholic, which was handy, since he always did a good job at everything he tried, but it meant he also kind of got a bit annoyed with frivolous distractions. If she didn’t want him to melt down at her, this would have to be something good enough to get his attention.

  “Hey Rob. I need to get a crew to Florida by tomorrow. We need a cover, photo op or event, but I want some of the people from other teams on it too. Team building and all that. Can you come up with something? Miami by preference. Near downtown if possible.”

  The man blinked, shook his head for a few seconds and looked pissed, which was totally atypical, but he didn’t sound more than a little bland when he spoke. Calm and relaxed.

  “I can come up with something. Go away and pack. I need a list of who’s going though. I also expect you to back me up if…” He looked down at his desk, then over at his computer monitor. Without speaking he started tapping on the keyboard, and after about two minutes looked up.

  “Can you work with the cast of “Steinberg and Friends” instead of Team one specifically? There’s a Food Network conference event in Miami this weekend. We weren’t going to send anyone if you remember, but we actually have an invitation and it’s good PR. Is that workable for you?” He stared for a moment, as if the idea might not be good enough.

  It was though. Nearly perfect really. Almost too perfect.

  “That… Yes… that will work very nicely. Really well in fact. Can I call you with the rest of who’s needed in about an hour?”

  He nodded, suddenly happier than before and started typing, not saying anything for a bit.

  “Do I need to book plane tickets?”

  She didn’t know. They had use of a private jet, which belonged to Christian Pours, the Team three leader, but where it was specifically at the moment she didn’t know. The woman would actually know what she had planned the second she walked into her office if not earlier, but that didn’t mean she’d agree to help her. This wasn’t strictly IPB business after all. It had to do with her old life with the CIA. Chris knew about it, of course, but it hadn’t really ever come up like this before.

  Just because it was important to Marcia, maybe at least, that didn’t mean she should get anyone else involved in her problems. In fact it was probably a horrible idea. Of course if it was a trap or trick, having some friends along for backup wouldn’t hurt. Unless it did. If it was about marring the image of the Infected or making the IPB specifically look bad, it would be a horrible idea for anyone to get involved, including her. If it was just about her old friends being in trouble, then having her current buddies along might make all the difference in the world. They had skills.

  “I… Let me talk to Christian about it. I’ll… Ten minutes?”

  He just waved at her, a contented look on his face, now that he had something to do again. Rob was good that way, once he knew what the plan was. It was why the man was in charge of Team one, really. That and, Marcia allowed, a lot of people thought he looked pretty good in a suit. Honestly he probably did, if you liked that kind of thing. She was always more of a fatigues and hunting jacket kind of girl herself, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t see the basic idea, did it?

  The trick to finding Christian at any given time wasn’t exactly something clever, it just meant a trip to floor nine where her office was, which meant going down in the elevator here, or taking the stairs. She opted for the later this time, since it was, in general, harder to trap someone in a stairwell than in a tiny box. She used the thing about
half the time, so that her patterns varied a bit, but she always felt better using her own feet when she had the chance. They were a whole heck of a lot more reliable than any machine. The elevators had shut off twice during the last year, but her legs had worked the whole time.

  The steps were heavy concrete, covered with a light colored tile, giving the whole place a hospital type of feel to it. The main hallways on the living floors were nicer, more like a hotel, done in different colors meant to influence people’s minds. She didn’t know if it worked, but the light colors of the first floor looked pretty good and the ninth floor wasn’t too bad, with cream colored wallpaper and light gold floors that some people might think of as tan, if they weren’t paying attention. They’d gotten new carpet just a few weeks before so it still had a crisp and clean look to it.

  Christian had her door open, which was a little odd, since the woman liked her privacy. The pure fact of the matter was that people in general annoyed the crap out of her, so she tended to not be around them very much when she could get away with it. She was rich, good looking and even slightly famous after a fashion, but between the high level telepathy and her first mode, the woman was halfway to becoming a hermit. Marcia walked to the door anyway, wondering who was bugging her, slightly surprised to find it was Brian.

  Proxy. Possibly one of the biggest bad asses on the whole planet, though no one had really bothered to explain that to him yet. He still pretty much thought of himself as a normal person. A regular guy that got randomly switched out with other people to fight their battles for them. If you didn’t account for the extremely powerful precognition and combat oriented mapping skills he obviously had and didn’t really acknowledge as being real, that was very nearly true. He was only about as strong and fast as anyone would be if they worked out a lot. Really she thought he needed to work out less for a while, if anything. He’d been way overtraining for months.

  He could also kick her behind, if it came down to it. She didn’t know that for a fact, but she suspected it was the case. Oh, not in training, or anything like that. She was still a better fighter than he was, but when it came down to it, the vast majority of the time, he just… won. Against almost anyone. It should have been scary, except for the fact that looking at him tended to just make her so damned sad instead.

  They guy was tough, no doubt, and didn’t whine about anything, but his power was ripping him apart, physically and mentally. He was always hurt, even with the nano-armor they had him wearing almost all the time now, and he had a thousand meter stare that even combat vets would have found spooky. If he lasted the year Marcia was going to be surprised. That he hadn’t stuck a gun in his mouth already was mainly do the fact that his first mode was a strange type of self-sacrifice, no doubt. It had come way to close at least once already hat she knew of for a fact and probably more times that she didn’t.

  He turned to look at her and smiled. It was a cold thing now, not the slightly sad grin he’d had months before. Hard and tight on his lean and scared face, lines at the corners of the eyes and around the mouth that didn’t belong there on someone only twenty-four.

  “Hey Marcia! Just the person I need to help convince Chris that I need to go to Florida for a vacation.” He sounded warm and friendly, as if trying to make the look on his face a lie.

  She blinked, wondering what the hell was going on for a moment.

  “Um… But, is that safe? If you trade out and get hurt, you should be near medical help, don’t you think?” It was the general rule for him. He stayed on the base or near it at least, unless his power made him go away and fight. He’d left before, but that was kind of extreme emotional stuff, not the desire for a vacation. He didn’t really trust everyone at the IPB and it had driven him away, but this…

  Brian sighed.

  “Dharma says that the schedule is clear for nearly ten whole days and that my subconscious mind is saying I need to go to Miami for some reason. Nothing too clear, but when the dead girl in your head tells you it’s time for a vacation, it’s probably a good idea to listen, isn’t it? Chris is reluctant though. I get the idea, but a change of scenery that doesn’t involve a fight to the death sound nice about now.” Shaking his head a little he included both women in a look that suddenly seemed a lot more tired than not.

  “We can grab someone from medical for it, so it should be safe enough. Or… I don’t think that will really be needed…” He looked half frustrated as Chris shook her head.

  “I don’t think…” She looked up at Marcia suddenly, reading her own intent it seemed.

  Grinning Marcia reached over and patted the guy in black military fatigues and running shoes on the back, leaving her hand there for a bit. He needed the contact to help prop him up psychologically, plus he was kind of cute. It wasn’t a hardship to be around him most of the time at all.

  “Good! There’s a thing in Miami anyway, for “Steinberg and Friends”. A conference. I was going to collect up a crew to head down and relive the spring break memories I never got to form in college. You two want to go with?” Pulling Brian to her Marcia grinned.

  “I get dibs on Brian, Chris. Well, if I can pry him away from Karen long enough. Mark is coming, obviously, and, well… you don’t get out much, so maybe we should all go? Besides, I want to beg a ride on your jet anyway, which means having you along will be so much less like I’m using you for your stuff, don’t you think?” She grinned, forced a happy tone to her voice, and then thought about the call she’d gotten, trying to explain, hoping it wouldn’t just be rejected as a bad idea.

  Half hoping that anyway. A big part of her knew it was foolish to involve everyone, even loosely, but if Brian’s power was bent on sending him, they probably shouldn’t get in the way. This was clearly something different for him after all. It might even have been as simple as getting the man a vacation too. He’d certainly earned one. No doubt about that at all. Marcia just didn’t think that Brian’s subconscious mind was that kind. Not toward him.

  Christian shook her head, worried, but knowing not to talk about the real issue out loud. They were all on camera after all. She looked past Proxy on the right and made a face.

  “Fine. We’ll all go then. Who else do you want to… Invite?” The words were loaded enough that Brian raised his eyebrows and watched them both closely, hand creeping slowly toward his knife. It was pure reflex for him now, to distrust anything odd or strange. That meant he should have people around him that were good at getting him to stay calm, if possible.

  She thought about who she wanted and held up a hand to count everyone off.

  “Mark, Warren, Den and Kerry, Prime… Brian, Karen and…” The next few people would be the hard ones to sell, she knew, and they might not want to go at all, but it was close to really needed, possibly at least.

  “Um, Penny, Ink and Tobin.”

  Penny was invisible and had a tendency to get lost, since only one person in the world could see her, that being Brian, but that just meant she was about the perfect spy. No one could hear her, or they couldn’t before at least, until Brian and some lab boys had figured out an earpiece thing that let her talk to people now. It was like using a satellite phone, with a horrible time delay, but it worked pretty well compared to not being able to communicate at all. She didn’t even show up on camera, which could be useful.

  Ink was kind of a random choice really. He was on Team two and had what looked like shifting tattoos under his skin that moved around slowly all the time. He was normal looking otherwise, if muscular, so not too scary to most people, but exotic enough to call attention off of the others if needed. It was a bit low to use the guy that way, but it would work, which meant she’d do it.

  That left Tobin, who looked like a black and green goblin, but was a little cutie for all that. Tiny, but he’d also call attention to himself pretty well. Since the man had a music album coming out in a few months, sending him to something that had cameras around just made sense. He was horribly shy, but Denis could help him out with t
hat, using his power.

  Brian looked at her, then Christian and smiled.

  “What about Peggy and Lauren? Peg is going to be on the album and hasn’t left the area for years and Lauren can be her “guard” so that no one will think she’s a danger to the public. If they want to go, I mean.”

  It took a second for Marcia to understand what Brian was doing. At first she figured it was just a first mode thing, his willingness to share his vacation with others, or even just a feeling of friendship for the girls, both incredibly distinctive looking. Then she got the idea. He was trying to provide bodies to act as cover for them. Those two would catch a lot of attention in the media, but along with Prime and a couple of the others, the rest would be nearly ignored. It was brilliant. Then, anyone that thought Proxy wasn’t smart didn’t deserve to live. The guy was a genius. A real one. It was just hard to see behind the scars and constant fighting.

  Trying not to make too big a deal of the whole thing, she let her shoulders raise a bit.

  “Sounds good. Are we just taking them on vacation with us or do we have some kind of reason for it? Publicity thing for Tobin or something?” She didn’t think that sounded very real, but Christian laughed a little, catching attention.

  “Seriously? Keep them together and no one will even question why they’re with us. This is exactly the kind of thing that stars use to garner publicity. Now all we need to do is get one of them to make a sex tape… I vote for Tobin, people would pay to see what he has inside his shorts.” Her hand went over her mouth, but she didn’t look ashamed for having said it.

  It got Marcia to grin, knowing that the woman actually knew what she was talking about there. Before becoming Infected and deciding to work in secret most of the time, the billionaire heiress had become famous in her own right by accidently “leaking” a series of sex tapes to the media. Now she dressed like the mom from a fifties television show, even wearing pearls and poodle skirts to work at times, but back in the day the woman definitely had a way with that kind of thing. She was still pretty famous for it in certain circles.