No, Really, I Am an American

They feel it.

I know they feel it.

The tingling that is so much a part of their being it’s a wonder it’s managed to stay dormant for this long.

I begin to pace lightly. I’m no longer concerned about how angry or bitter Meredith is. I can’t be. Not right now. They know what we have to do and yet they still take their time.

I do not call up, but rather ascend the stairs. I can hear them speaking softly.

“She wouldn’t have done this if it wasn’t important,” Topher observes.

“Whatever,” Meredith replies coldly.

“We need to be together on this. You know that.”

“I know that, but does she?”

I come into view of the door. I make no indication that I have heard their conversation. I tap lightly on the frame, “We have to go.”

Meredith glares at me. Her knife belts are already in place. I do not falter.

She gives this one to me. “Let’s do this,” she growls. Grabbing her duster, she brushes past me.

Me Da heaves a sigh and puts on his own jacket. “We’re ready, Wildcat.”

“Tap in, Silverfox,” I say flatly.

I follow Topher down the stairs. We’ll have to deal with this later. Meredith is already out the door, her attention focused down the street.

“Tapped?”

She simply nods. “They’re moving,” she observes.

“Then let’s go to them. Viczen.”

The area in front of us begins to shimmer and a hazy picture of Boston Common comes into view. I don’t need to say a word as the three of us rush through the Tear.

Boston Common is littered with people. No one notices our sudden appearance, much to my relief. The tingling intensifies. Have you ever had so much energy pent up inside you that you don’t know what to do with yourself? Yeah. Kinda feels like that. It can be a real bitch sometimes.

“My, my, my,” Meredith muses, “aren’t we arrogant.” Her eyes narrow as she scans the crowd.

I can’t help but smile. Yes, it’s true. We took a certain amount of pride and pleasure in what we did despite wanting normalcy; walking contradictions that we are. Mer may have been the most reluctant of all of us, but she’s damn good at what she did…does…and she knows it.

“Five,” she informs us. Her brow furrows, “But something’s not right…they’re out in the open.” She turns to me, “What’s going on?”

As if I have the answer. I shrug, “We won’t find out standing here all night.” My reply does not satisfy Meredith and she frowns.

She says nothing.

I feel it too. Something about these Infected feels…wrong. Not that the ability to feel them was ever right, but this is bordering creepifying. No time to reflect, dumb ass. Get to work!

We fan out. Moving together as fluid as water.

Inconspicuous.

The crowd doesn’t really notice our movements. But we notice theirs. We’re professionals. We observe their body language, the way they interact with the people around them…all the things most people don’t pay attention to.

Infecteds may wear our faces but they’re not the same people they were when they came into this world, that’s for damn sure.

They move about with a blank look to them. To the naked eye, the Infected person just seems all kinds of pensive and reflective. We know better though. They’re mind is gone. It ain’t as bad as a zombie, I don’t think (although, to be fair, I’ve never seen one, so I can’t really say for sure) but there definitely isn’t anyone with an ounce of intelligence clambering about in the brain pan. That all went squish.

“I…I can’t get a read!” Meredith is frustrated. Hell, so am I. Me Da is the only one keeps his cool. He was always good like that.

Something has upped the stakes in this. This ain’t just run of the mill. This is something…

“Wildcat! Your position! Three o’clock.”

How the fuck did I miss that?

“Affirmative.” I walk briskly towards the target – no need to run and draw attention to yourself, dear. When I’m within range of it, I flick my wrist. “Tag, you’re it,” I murmur triumphantly.

The darts aren’t anything you’d really notice. Heck, a lot of things we do and use aren’t things you really notice. That’s the whole point. I wish I could say that it kills the Infected or something impressive like that, but that’s not what they’re meant for. They’re tags.

There are these lousy rules to all sorts of things. Upsetting balances, cosmic forces, fuzzy wuzzies or some such. Basically, they’re just there to make our lives a helluva lot harder.

The bright side of the darts is that they prevent the Infecteds from doing their job. Omni and Viczen are cool like that.

Meredith and Topher had tagged some of their own.

Two to go.

But where, oh wherefore art thou?

“Gotcha.” I zero in on one of the others. It doesn’t take me long to tag it. “Silverfox?”

No sooner than uttering his name, the surroundings begin to shimmer once again. Only this time, the people in Boston Common start to move in slow motion and then stop all together. They fade.

All except our pretty tags.

This isn’t like the incident in the alley.

This is a sweep.

Unfortunately, it’s a sweep without a gorram firearm.

All’s well, though. If we had guns it would only make things smooth. Heaven forbid things ever go smooth. Besides, this way is more fun.

Even though we don’t have the speed of a bullet, we’re still fast. Meredith has a deadly aim with those knives. She’s already taken one out.

Sensing the seriousness of their situation, the others begin to scatter. Now, I bet you’re wondering why the hell they don’t Jump. I know I wonder about it some. It just ain’t that simple for them. Their tickets are one way.

We’ve got the better travel agents.

Lucky us.

Some things just aren’t fair. Take this for example. We have weapons. They don’t. Sucks to be them.

Doesn’t necessarily make this easy picking, though. Like I said, heaven forbid things ever go smooth.

Infecteds are tricky creatures sometimes. They retain some human qualities so if you shoot ‘em they still bleed, slows ‘em down somethin’ awful and bullets are wicked painful. But that doesn’t necessarily kill them. Their strength is heightened, too, but I think you probably already knew that. What with the Chronicles and all.

“Heart or head, little girl,” Cap had advised. “That’s the only way you’re ever gonna put ‘em down.”

The one I’m chasing whirls faster than I expect and lunges at me. But I’m not exactly a rookie. Evading it is easy enough. Its momentum propels it past me and my wazikashi takes care of the rest.

They needed us back again why?

“Wildcat!”

Meredith’s urgent voice stirs me from my short lived triumph. I turn quickly. Soofa bitch! Where the hell did you come from?

Instinctively, I thrust my wazikashi towards the rushing Infected. It there’s anything I’ve learned about this sort of thing it’s that sometimes in the heat of battle you’re likely to do something stupid.

Like run yourself through on an enemy’s weapon.

But then this one does something new and completely different – it hurtles something at me that bears a striking resemblance to a knife.

Thank God for reflexes! I’m kinda bendy which really comes in handy. Don’t try this at home, kids. It can hurt like a bitch sometimes — especially when you execute the motion like a moron and miscalculate timing and the like. You’re likely to end up flat on your back.

Kinda like now.

Well this blows.

Bounce back, kiddo. There’s still an ass kicking to be done. Just don’t try anything flashy this time.

I’m not grounded for long. Can’t afford to be. I guess this one’s bravery was short lived ‘cuz by the time I get up, it’s running. Awww, don’t run. We were just getting started. And you made things all kinds of interestin’.

Damn, this sucker’s fast. Musta been a track star or somethin’. I feel Mer behind me. Don’t know why she’s trailing me, there are at least three others she could take her pick from and she wants mine?

Ow! FUCK! There’s this lancing pain in my shoulder. I hazard a look and see one of Meredith’s knives embedded there. Talk about being stabbed in the back. My pace slackens and I spare Mer a look. Her reaction is one of genuine shock mingled with concern and regret…it doesn’t last long and it quickly morphs into indifference. She shrugs.

“Losing your touch, Darrow?”

“I was about to say the same thing of you,” she retorts. Another knife sails past me and finds a home in the Infected’s back. That oughta slow it down some.

Gritting my teeth, I pull the stinger out and whip it at the already wounded Infected. Strike two! Ha! Mer isn’t the only one who can throw lefty.

It stumbles which gives me the chance to gain on it. It’s on its back looking up at me with…emotion…

There’s emotion reflected in those eyes.

I’m taken aback for a second.

A second too long. It realizes it has an out and attempts to flee.

I just react.

My right shoulder is wounded, but I’m still effective with my weapon. Well sort of. I made more of a Pez dispenser out of the Infected than a headless corpse.

“Sympathy for the devil?”

This time I’m the one glaring at her. She apparently didn’t see it. “Thanks for getting my back, love,” I reply flippantly, “couldn’t have done it without ya.”

“Uh…Wildcat…Darrow…little help here?”

Abandoning hostility for each other we rush back towards Silverfox, attempting to redirect it to something that deserves it.

“What the…?”

I turn to Topher. He falters. “Don’t think, Fox, just do it!”

I know what he must have seen. I saw it, too. Wipe those thoughts from your brain. We can suss it out later.

The buzzing lessens and disappears all together as Meredith finished off the last one. This took longer than it should have. We’ll have to work on that.

“Wildcat…” Topher starts, “there was something…”

“I know.”

“What are you two talking about?” Meredith asks. She goes right to work setting off the discs while Topher fumbles a little with the liquid.

“These were…different somehow. They were unlike any of the others we’ve dealt with.”

Something in Mer’s face flashes and then it’s gone just as quickly. Did she see something, too, and just hide it? She says nothing.

“Your shoulder okay?”

I blink. I didn’t even realize I was holding the wound. “Oh, yeah,” I reply absently. “Got a little careless.” I don’t say whether it was me or Mer who was the careless one. Maybe it was both of us, honestly.

Focus, Wildcat. Just focus.

I close my eyes and breathe slowly. Infecteds have never shown complex emotion before. They’re usually vacant of anything but a killer’s instinct. But the Pez Dispenser was afraid. I saw it in its eyes.

Swallowing hard, I get to work. Clean up on Aisle 12.

Once the corpses are taken care of, we head back to Netherfield. “Silverfox, Viczen, do your stuff.”

Cue pedestrians.

Cue Tear.

Action.

******************************

(shakes head) Seriously. Why do I even bother writing this?

“Bring on the Night” - 7.10, Buffy:the Vampire Slayer