Infected 8: Impulse: A Whole New Day (16 page)

He looked over at the Director, and stood up, moving to his left, toward the wall where a small box was inset. It was pretty, and seemed like carved wood, but there was a black button on it, that let his voice play over loud speakers when he leaned that direction and spoke.

"Cooper, Pours and Young, please report to the main office. Cooper, Pours and Young. Thank you." He winked at Bridget, since his voice had sounded a bit playful when the announcement had gone out. Like it was really all a joke. That was fine. It probably was.

Who was she to assume that her wiggly little butt had the secret to winning the war? Stopping it from taking place, really. That was a lot to ask of anyone, and out of the whole place, she was probably only tied with Charity in last place as to who people would be asked to come up with the strategy they needed to use. Even there it was only because the other girl was so new. In three months, if she were around at all, they'd all listen to her a lot more closely than unreliable Impulse. The scatterbrained scamp that shoved cake in her face with both hands, unless she used meditative tricks to stop herself. The idea... Sounded fun. It always did. So much of her life was like that. It wasn't like
every
thought that came into her head was acted on,
all
the time. She really had a lot of things occur to her that she ignored, and always had.

For instance, when her nose itched, she didn't just dive in with a finger and start scratching. Not in public. The problem was when she thought something would be interesting, or
fun
. Then it was really hard to resist. Cake to the face in big fistfuls
was
a good time. Most didn't ever try it, but she was willing to bet that a
lot
of people would like it, if they gave it a chance and weren't worried about their clothes fitting the next day.

Kissing people, feeling them up, even having sex, was
awesome
. So it was really hard to resist doing those things when she thought of them.

Hobbs had figured that out, almost the first day of her meditation training. Which was why it had really worked, she knew. He didn't just have her focusing on simple things, like clearing her mind. Not all the time at least. She had to do that, while
not
doing something that would be just on the edge of her ability to control. Holding onto a hot coal, for instance. She could do it and it hurt a little, but her mind would instantly think about how much better it could feel if her hand weren't on fire, and she'd have to fight throwing the thing down. For most people that would be a big deal, but not so much for her. It was uncomfortable, but not blistering.

Now, if the burning was inside her, that would make a giant difference. It
had
, when she'd damaged the tracking chip in her arm, earlier, for instance. She got partial protection from heat, but only from the outside. Under her protective skin layer, she was just a bundle of raw nerves, like everyone else.

She nodded, and moved a bit toward the door, trying to not just scamper out. She wanted to get to her new idea, so it became hard not to. Again, she realized, for about the ten thousandth time in her life, that wasn't exactly the same as
just
being impulsive. She would have thought that people would have gotten that. After all, she hardly ever just started fights, even if she'd win, did she? It wasn't that it wasn't fun for her, but that hurting people wasn't. It made her feel bad, so she generally tried to avoid it, just like everyone else. She did it, sometimes, but only when she was angry or upset and in those ways she really wasn't too different from the next girl.

"Is there a room where we can chat, that won't be watched?" She didn't know where all the cameras were yet. Back at the base that had been a lot easier, since they were almost everywhere. If you wanted to not be seen doing something, or overheard, you either went outside the fence line, or didn't do it.

Here there could be different set ups. She glanced around, but didn't see where they were. Then, other than a few holes in a piece of carved wood, she didn't know how the intercom worked either. She glanced around for other holes, but didn't know anything for certain.

Kevin stood up, his fat middle blocky and stiff. It wasn't that he carried a lot of lard around, she knew, having seen him over the years and hugged him almost daily for a long time. That middle portion was solid. Not muscle, and not armor, which meant that it probably related to how his power worked. He could make things vanish and, until recently, not come back. Somehow a few things had, like Spetnaz Ultima.

Tesseract had done that, or so the common thought went. It wasn't known
how
, or if that meant that the things he'd removed could all be retrieved. If so, he might even be able to do it himself, if he learned how.

Not that he used his abilities much.

He'd stopped, since it was too close to killing without consequences, most of the time.

What he said next surprised her enough that she stopped breathing for a half second, not sure if he were joking or not. It was just too different for her to process.

"There are no cameras here. No listening devices, either. We've had too much of that over the years, and it's important that we take our new found freedom seriously. When the place was built, countermeasures were put into the structure to prevent that kind of thing from being added later, as well."

Her mouth moved into an "o" and she waited for him to chuckle or somehow show that it wasn't a serious statement. That didn't happen however, as everyone else just nodded.

She closed her lips and forced a deep breath, trying to stay calm.

"That's... Very different, isn't it? I grew up knowing that I was watched all the time, now... Well, I'll deal. We need a place to do some business, where it won't bother anyone." She stopped the rest of the description, knowing that if they heard it, the others would all think she was
planning
to be a perv. It might happen, but it wasn't her goal. If it was, she'd have invited Lancaster along.

Penny was his hook up, after all. That
had
to be a good way to start a three-way.

The new place was good sized, but by the time she was at the door, four people came walking up, all of them seeming a bit baffled about being summoned. She was a bit interested in that part too, since Karen was there. She didn't really need Lady Glory for this, she didn't think. Just Penny, Chris and Becky...

Who was her sister, and had the same last name. Oops.

Well, that one was on Lancaster, not her.

She didn't let the others speak first, since it was her plan, and she wanted to be taken seriously, even if it turned out to be a stupid one.

"Chris! Read my mind, and no one speak please." There was a bit of muttering, from the other room, but no one actually said anything intelligible, which was all she needed from them. It was the three in the hall she was worried about. Giving things away without meaning too.

'Hey, Chris, sorry to do this to you, but I have some information, I think. It seems that Braid can't tell what we're thinking, only what we
do
. We can use that to organize against her. I also don't think she can see Penny or Becky at all. The
results
of what they do, but that's it. So, if I'm right, she needs certain things to be able to see and hear others. If we set Penny and Dharma on her, say in a pitch black room...
' She focused hard, which got the woman to go a little wide eyed. Hopefully that was due to her good clarity, not her mentally yelling. That would be annoying, if it were the case.

She was a bit shocked when the woman answered her, using her mind for the job. It wasn't the first time, but she didn't make a big show of that kind of ability either. Probably because she could influence people a bit using her ability and didn't want the feds to figure that out. Not the other ones, at any rate.

She gave a single nod.

'You don't need to concentrate that much. It is a tiny bit loud, to tell the truth. As for the rest, I think that might be right. Penny can't be sensed by her, according to Trivia, who sent her some letters to that effect. Should I tie us all in together? That way we'll all be in on the plan.
'

Bridget nodded, trying not to scream in her thoughts. Then she spoke out loud, because it made sense.

"I have some things to go over with you all. Nothing too huge. Slumber parties and cake.
Lots
of cake. I think I'm a bit hungry again." She looked down the hall and saw several other doors. If there were no cameras, all they needed was a place to stand around in, and maybe to kill the lights.

Possibly not, if Chris could actually tie them all in together like that. She'd never done it before, even if it could be handy, out in the field. That was most likely about her not wanting to be around people that much, rather than lack of ability to do it, Bridget thought. She was about to ask, when Director Moore pointed to one of the doors and led the way to it, as if he were included in her special party club?

He'd look
horrible
in the lace nighties they were all going to be wearing. The picture of it popped into her head, unbidden, and Christian giggled, her cool blonde looks suddenly becoming more lively when she smiled. She was in a skirt, which was made of soft fabric and pink, with a little picture of a poodle on it. Her sweater was a different shade of pink, and made of angora. Bridget knew that since it smelled different than wool or a poly blend. She also got the really expensive perfume she was wearing, and four kinds of deodorant, as well as her dad's aftershave.

Both Penny and Becky didn't have a scent however, that she could tell. That reminded her to stay on task, and jog ahead to the room they were headed for.

"In here, then."

Kevin stopped at the door, which opened on a small office that didn't have much in it yet. Just a desk, and a few chairs. No one was using it, and it had a new feeling to everything, untouched except to get it into place. Free of all but a trace of dust.

"This should work, for now. Have fun." Then he backed away, looking at the scene happily enough. It was a bit out of place, but good to see. He wasn't so stressed by losing the base and the IPB that he'd forgotten how to be himself. If anything, he seemed a bit relieved. Like a weight had been taken off of his back. Finally. Carrying the Infected world on your shoulders for three decades had to be a heavy burden, Bridget decided. Well, that was, it seemed, hers now.

Chris closed the door, and pushed on the brass handle until it clicked.

Then she linked all of them into her thoughts, which Bridget could
feel
happening, now that she was paying attention. It was a bit like cobwebs falling over her entire body, all at once. It was kind of tickly, to tell the truth. She wanted to squirm, but didn't since that would be unprofessional. No one else did either, but she kind of thought that they just didn't feel it like she did.

Chris let her internal voice pound into their heads, her outer self serene and lovely. She did both of those pretty well, naturally.

'Bridget is setting up a communications network, using telepathy, since it seems that Braid can't predict our thoughts. Her cohort, Trivia, is actually one of our agents. Never speak that out loud. Ever. If her being a double agent hasn't been found out, then that means our thoughts should be safe enough. Guard them when you can, because the woman might just point a telepath at some of us.
' She looked at the rest of them, which included Karen still, for some reason. Not that the woman wasn't fun, and nice most of the time, but it was a bit of a reach to think of her as being needed for this. Except... Actually, why shouldn't she be? If the rest of them tried to kill Braid, and failed, it might come down to someone completely unexpected doing it for them.

Lady Glory wasn't a killer, being a literal font of love and compassion, so that could work, if she'd move past that. Mark,
Stasis
, could do it, too. He was a pretty dedicated pacifist however, so no one wanted to make him do that kind of thing. He could act in ways that couldn't be seen too, she knew. Instantly, happening between two moments.

Bridget looked at the others.

'I have to get back tonight, with Doug. We're going to be facing the military tomorrow, so that should be interesting. Right now I think we need to set up a plan to take out Braid. It might not work, but even if we can just figure out how to monkey with her plans, without her knowing about it until it's too late, that's worth it
.' She went a little wide eyed then and nodded.
'Duh, right. Becky, you and Penny can do most of this, as long as we can coordinate. We just need to work out how to find her, and go from there. Mark can do a lot toward that too, I bet. Karen-
' Her mind went blank, so it was shocking when her mouth moved anyway.

"Kare, would you watch Charity for me, when she's here? It won't be a lot of work, since we need her back at Mary's too. She's been seen there and will be missed. If we have to bring her here though, she'll need a friendly face, and recognizes you. Her first mode is kind of like yours, I hear? Not as intense. Still it might help to have someone cool like you mentoring her." Karen was famous, after all. One of the few Infected that almost everyone didn't mind too much.

"Sure! That sounds fun. So far there hasn't been a lot to do here. We're mainly in hiding. Which is the point, but a lot of people are going to be getting bored soon, I bet. We should organize something to do. Games, or training. That kind of thing." Otherwise people would have to do that for themselves, which Karen wasn't able to allow. Unless that was what they really needed.

Bridget nodded at her, knowing that, for a while at least, she wasn't going to be around, herself.

"That sounds good. Hey, we should have a party. Soon I mean. Get Mark to cook for it. Denis too. He's gotten pretty good, lately." It was small talk, but the kind of thing that this group really might be chatting about together, if they were alone.