The Infected (Book 9): Proxy: War Day Read online

  That kept him going until seven, when he realized he needed to take a turn sleeping in the office on phone duty. That was going to suck, but someone had to do it and Marcia had been stuck with it the night before, after he left. It was only fair.

  Still, he was going home first, because there was no point in having one if he was going to be at work all the time. When he got there, the store was closed down however, and the lights were off. He walked into the house, only to find Mary hugging a strange man.

  That... Well, she could have friends, couldn't she? Trying to smile and not be a jerk, just in case this was what Bridget had tried to warn him about, Mary broke the embrace and turned to him.

  "Brian! We have a guest. This is my son, Zevros. He's sworn to Lady Bridget and the IPB, and has come to make certain his duties are being fulfilled."

  Because that made any kind of sense at all.

  "Oh? Well, nice to meet you. Zevros?"

  "Aye. You may not remember me, but I witnessed you in mine own world, standing down six that would seek to ruin us all, taking offense at the words of Edward Elcampayn. You thrashed them soundly, and put rout to those willing to throw away lives. I recently found myself at loose endings, so came to seek the lady of this world, Bridget, my niece. I fear the Wyrdcraft family is not over familiar with familial duties, but we do understand the taking of an oath, even one from a strange custom. I said that I was a deputy, and that is enough, is it not?" The man didn't look questioning, so Brian nodded.

  "That would do it. I can get you to the base. I think she's around. Say, I don't suppose you'd want to talk to the public, would you? I mean, if you work with the IPB, and are from that other world? People would love to hear from you."

  The man smiled, and gave a small bow. It matched the suit he was wearing which was made of shiny material, and seem to have big black buttons, as well as lace around the neck and cuffs. He also wore boots that had high heels and seemed to be made of leather. It made him a bit taller than Brian was, so about five-ten or eleven without them, at a guess. He was thin, but closer to normal than he was himself.

  "If that is the will of my lady, then I will do so, without question. I have no splendid gift for such, but I am willing, ere it be my duty."

  "Great. Now, I should..." Honestly he didn't know. Making a bit of a face, he nearly offered to make dinner, or take them all out, when Mary spoke, her voice firm.

  "Perhaps if you went and retrieved our Bridget? Lady Marcia as well? I would speak to Zevros, if that is allowed?"

  He nodded, "I'll get to that. It might take a few minutes?"

  She just looked at him, as if there was meaning to it. So he dawdled a bit, first finding Bridget, then collecting Marcia, and trying to explain why she needed to come with him. They were probably being listened to, so he wasn't very clear. That set her off a bit, because it really was suspicious, wasn't it? In the end he had to roll his eyes and just clear his throat until she stopped speaking.

  "It isn't anything bad, Marcia. I just don't know what you want known about it yet. So, come on?"

  On the good side that all took long enough that Mary had dinner ready for all of them by the time they got back, an hour and a half later. That left Doug manning the front office, but he was the second in command of the IPB, so he could manage it. If not, he could call.

  One thing was certain, this teleporting thing was awesome. Brian just needed to learn where some nice beaches were, and maybe find a few good stores and he'd be set.

  As much of a pain as Marcia had been to get into place, she was more than happy to talk to Zevros and Mary. The funny thing there was that the man wouldn't speak to her directly. Instead he addressed everything to Bridget first. Even though they were all in the same room. Luckily Brian had seen that one before.

  Looking at his boss, he explained.

  "He swore his oath to Bridget, and through her to the IPB. That means he's below you in that organization, and Bridget is required to protect him from you, or your wrath, if you get upset by anything he says. Basically, even though you can hear him, if he messes anything up, Bridget can change it and tell you what he should have said. It's a polite thing, in their world." Then, that kind of thing was what made aliens cool, wasn't it?

  That part understood, they were able to work out that Zevros should go and get some of the Doyle family members, and anyone else that was willing to speak to the public, and bring them in the next day.

  "After all, Brian said he'd try to get some of you in for that. People are curious about it." Marcia glanced at each of them, then looked at Brian directly. "Not that they all believe you. It's kind of a big thing. Having some people show up can't hurt. I just wish we could get in some of those Timberlands. They could collect up Braid and take her back with them." Marcia didn't seem to really mean it, not expecting the words to be noticed, but Brian saw Zevros and Mary nod along with them.

  Bridget too, after a bit.

  "Yeah. We should at least ask if they'd be willing. If we could get a few of them to come, they should be able to mess up her plans a lot. Didn't you say that once?" She looked at her uncle, who nodded.

  "Yes. That is the traditional method of controlling them. No one but another of their own kind can do much to stop them. Save perhaps a Wester. Though I do hear that you've managed to do some good work toward that end?" This was addressed to Bridget, which had Mary nodding again.

  It was news to Brian, but he'd been out of the loop for a while.

  She grinned a bit.

  "I don't really know. I did manage to break both of her legs. I can't tell if she let me do it or not, just to throw me off. Can we get anyone like that to come here? More than one, I don't want to help them beat Devorah, just to have a new member of her family take over. What do you think, Brian?"

  For a while he just sat, trying to feel what could happen in the future. It was hard to get a sense of anyone actually coming, since, he was willing to bet, they didn't actually exist in the world he was in at the moment. Logically speaking, it was both a good idea, and a giant risk. If anyone was willing to come in the first place.

  "Well... If they want to try things out here, and are willing to swear loyalty to the IPB, then that could work. Swear on a limited basis though, since we could be under a totally different President in a few years. We will be, actually. We just don't know who, or if they'll be supportive of the Infected. Probably not, if Braid gets her way." Though it was pretty hard to actually tell if that was a real problem or not.

  Which was why they'd been so stuck the whole time.

  It was impossible to know what she was going to be getting up to, or how many steps ahead of them she was. If they had a way to match her, or even just mess with her for a while...

  Well, that might make a difference, in the end. Most likely they were actually planning to bring in a bunch of wolves to help solve their pesky sheep problem. Still, he got the basic idea, and though it was clear that Marcia could see the same potential for disaster, they were really doing that poorly. So far his best try to stop Braid had been to tattle on her to the public. It had actually slowed down the violence a bit, which was good, but they were thrashing around in the dark, working against a person that could not only see them, but was an expert at fighting.

  "I... We should ask. I don't know if anyone there will be willing to aid us here, but if they don't know we need help, then we won't get it."

  It was all he could do toward that end, but honestly, he was starting to figure that they were just going to lose in the end. Devorah was just too good. She'd planned and worked for too long, and he just couldn't match her.

  "So far the best we've managed has been having molesto the wonder ghost slap her in the head for a while. Daily. It hasn't kept her from doing anything though."

  Everyone looked at him funny, except Mary, who explained about the shade that used to live in his head. Marcia raised an eyebrow at the story, and Bridget crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes.

  "What the fuck?
First she sleeps with my dad, and now my grandpa? I'm so screwing her sister. Mary, can you take me to the other location? We need to see about this one right now. I can't believe that Becky would do that! I'm..." She vanished then, along with Mary, leaving the three of them to sit and watch each other for a moment.

  Brian had felt them leave, but it had happened way faster than he could have done it.

  Finally, with his protector gone, Zevros spoke to Brian.

  "I must needs then go and see if I may find such aid. I shall return as soon as I may, before the sun sets tomorrow, even if I must come alone. Can you pass such words to Lady Bridget? I... Fear for this shade, and her kin. I have seen my niece battle against hundreds of powerful sports at once, defeating them all. Can this sister stand against her? Will such action cause a war, do you think?"

  Brian didn't really think it would.

  "Not likely. Karen is very kind. Bridget wouldn't force her to do anything anyway. I'm not certain that she won't sleep with Bridget to get back at Becky though. There have been some issues there."

  Looking at them both, Marcia finally chuckled a bit. "Not likely. Bridget doesn't like women that way really, and Kare had known her for years. It would be like doing her own little sister. No, I bet that she just threatens and that Karen will pretend to go along with it, just to yank Becky's chain."

  That really did sound pretty close to correct, so Brian stood and gestured for Zevros to do the same.

  "I'll pass that along to Bridget. Thanks for coming, by the way. Let me know if you need anything that I can do, or get, for you."

  It would probably end up being him fighting in a court case in a different world, but this man, already fully grown, was practically family, being Mary's son.

  "Thank you. I hope you will consider the same, if the positions are reversed? I shall not rest until I put the question to all that will listen. Even if I must live the same day more than once. Know that I seek immediately to remedy the problem the Timberland witch has wrought on this unsuspecting land."

  Then the man vanished. It felt different than what Mary had just done. That would be due to the travel being to another world?

  Brian put a hand out to Marcia, and she stood, taking it.

  "Want to go with me to see everyone else? Lancaster will want to be updated. I should take Penny along, but I'm already kind of worried that she'll have made everyone forget about what she did."

  "Right..." Then the woman squeezed his hand a little bit. "What did she do? I... It's like it's right there, but I can remember."

  Brian could see that. Penny had been working in the same office with them, and he was pretty sure that her power would have made sure Quartz would be good with her, one way or the other. Penny was scared of her, if only a little. She was one of the few people in the world that might just accidentally kill her, on purpose. She'd just need to lock them both in a small room and start flailing around in all the places a person could be faster than Penny could duck out of the way.

  "Yep, just like that. She's been going around and having sex with people, without consent. A few of them have a real problem with it. It was pretty bad, not just her feeling them up."

  "Oh. Yeah, we can't have shit like that. What are we going to do about it? You have a plan?"

  "You do. Counseling. Did you get anyone in for that?"

  There was a pause, but she nodded, which was better than Brian had been expecting, to tell the truth.

  "Yeah. It was on my checklist for the day. That's why I was doing that? Good to know. Well, crud on a cracker. I can trust you to make sure that gets handled? I didn't know she could really do that to me. Make me forget like that. I was hoping that I was immune." She did not seem happy to find out otherwise, either.

  Not at all.

  "Got it. You should have notes about it all, too as long as she doesn't steal them. I don't know if this will have gotten to anyone else yet. We can check. Here, this will take me a bit. I'm not Mary or Zevros, I guess. It seems like practice might well pay off." That was just true, but three minutes later he had them into place.

  Just in time to see Karen and Bridget making out, as Becky stood with her arms crossed, a bit of an angry look on her face. It took Brian a second for his brain to understand what was happening. The two weren't actually kissing, just pretending to. Thankfully. That had to be hard for Bridget, since her impulsive nature made anything that might seem like a good idea at the time very hard for her to resist, even for a few moments.

  Karen, on the other hand, was filled with compassion, most of the time. It could be hard to see, if you ended up on the wrong side of the equation with her. Like Becky was doing at the moment.

  The ghost girl was not amused by their antics, it seemed.

  "Oh, hey, funny. Just notice Bridgie, I don't go around telling everyone all about all your bad choices and behavior, do I? No, I don't. You either Karen. If you two really want to start playing that game, I think..." She was glaring at them, but the two did break off, stepping back from one another.

  Then she looked over at Brian, focusing on him. It was pretty clear that Christian was projecting her into everyone's mind, but at the moment, he couldn't really see why that was happening. The foot tapping girl was acting like she was the one in the right and everyone else was just being mean to her. Because that was the way of things, he finally understood.

  She really didn't get that her behavior had been misplaced, because her emotions had been guiding her to think of Brian as hers. Not just her boyfriend, but that he was, in some real way, her bitch. At least inside her warped and clearly deranged mind. Shaking his head, he knew he had to be wrong on that score though.

  It had taken a long time for him to get even a little attention from women... that he'd known about. The idea that Becky had some kind of crush on him had to be a joke. Most likely he was just becoming full of himself on a level that few would have ever imagined.

  There wasn't some large audience either, even though he and Marcia had come into the front room, near the television. Lauren was there, watching something that looked like a comedy, and Dave was beside her. So a giant suit of armor took up half the soft looking sofa, and a patch of total blue perched on the other side. They'd turned to watch the scene next to them, off to the left, but went back to their program almost instantly.

  Even with people teleporting into the room. It went to show how freaking jaded they all were, didn't it? Even Lady Glory making out with Impulse didn't cause a stir anymore.

  "Hey everyone. Um, quick question. Does anyone here remember the thing with Penny the other day?" He just asked, knowing the answer already.

  Dave gave him a blank look and shook his head.

  "I haven't seen her in... Since we got here, actually. Oh my god, is she all right? We didn't... She wasn't left at the... The explosion?" He stood up then, a good bit more than half panicked.

  Lauren started up too, so he waved them back as Karen looked ready to cry suddenly.

  "Penny!"

  He shook his head, feeling a bit sad himself.

  "No, she just got in trouble and had to leave. She's just back at the base now. Not lost or anything."

  Marcia looked at him sidelong, but understood what was happening, he was nearly certain. She might have been hit by Penny too, but she wasn't stupid.

  "So, she did a number on all of us?"

  He nodded, his face a bit sad, he figured.

  "She probably couldn't help it if she tried. It's just part of her ability. Still, I can't let her just get away with it. I don't really know what to do. I'll work it out though." Somehow.

  He took off to find everyone else, and noticed that the only person in the whole place that remembered that Penny was a hardcore rapist was Lancaster. Like Brian had figured, he'd taken notes, and put them in a place he knew to check more than once a day. The only thing there was that he shouldn't have been affected by her, once she was that far away.

  They all were though.

  Cellophan
e was erasing herself, or at least that one event, from all of their minds, from nearly a thousand miles away. Because that wasn't freaky. Her outer range should have been no more than a few hundred feet. That was his best guess. It seemed that he'd underestimated what she could do that way.

  Then, because he wasn't a complete jerk, he took time to hug people, pat them on the back and go over things with anyone that wanted him to chat with them. The entire time he held Mary's hand too, which was nice. They didn't talk a lot, but she didn't ask him to not be himself, or spend time with his friends. She just wasn't like that.

  She had him take Marcia and Bridget back to the base, correcting him gently when he made the warping of space a bit too small to contain them all.

  "No, Brian. Out here..." She waved her hands about three feet further away than he'd been trying for. "Smaller warping is simpler, aye, but you must account for movement, or else you can take damage and have to punch into the new location. A moment of extra work is almost always worth the doing, for the sake of safety and comfort."

  "Got it." It did take more effort, and time, but she seemed satisfied enough with what he did, as she followed along with him perfectly.

  Thankfully it wasn't too late by the time they both got back to her place, and while lovemaking was probably out, given the schedule for the next day, he did get to spend a few minutes just holding her. It was enough. Not perfect, perhaps, but it was something. A real connection to another person that actually wanted him to be there with her.

  After he got himself to the base, making sure he left plenty of room for movement, he wondered how much longer she'd be around. She hadn't said anything and wasn't acting any different, but it felt like she was going to vanish at any moment. Like one day he'd go to visit her and just find that she was gone.

  Except, when he thought about it, his brain seemed to be telling him something else. While it wasn't an exact future, or crystal clear prediction, it felt like she was going to be around for a decently long time. Just not with him. The line in his head that represented her moved out into the future. The thing there was that he did too.