Science Fiction Multi-Feature Picture Show

Infliction Part 3: Codenames

The Agents were arguing. They didn't bother to keep their voices down. They knew Shaz sat in the hallway, they simply didn't care.

"Dammit, Cresswell, I had plans for Laurie Brett."

Cresswell snorted. "She'll be back on her feet in an hour. You know how Bantam works."

"Yeah on her feet and little better than a walking vegetable."

"So she won't be the asset you were hoping for. She can still orders. Her abilities are intact. She'll make the perfect soldier."

There was a pause. Shaz hugged her knees to her chest, rocking on her heels. The discussion made her nauseous. She thought for sure Laurie Brett was dead, or soon to be judging from the severity of her burns. What the hell could that cold blond woman do to her to get her 'on her feet in an hour'? She swallowed hard. It wasn't the first time she regretted her decision to come here, but there was little choice after watching her father at her mother's funeral. He couldn't even look at her.

She'd left her family, her religion, and her life behind. The girl she had been was buried in the ground beside the mother she killed.

Agent Harrow spoke. "What about Shazia Faraj?" She stilled, listening.

"Well now," said Cresswell. "She is much more powerful than your report suggested, and far more dangerous."

"Agreed," said a new voice, an unfamiliar woman with a cultured British accent. "Miss Faraj will be moved to the advanced class and given a code name."

"Any suggestions of someone who can survive mentoring her?" There was a note of skepticism in Cresswell's voice that made her shift in her seat.

"Indeed I do."

"Hi."

Shaz squeaked and nearly fell out of her seat. A hand caught her, righting her.

"Sorry, sorry! Didn't mean to scare you. I'm Rice, Reese Rice, but most people just call me Rice." He held out the same hand that caught her, waiting for a shake.

Shaz looked up at a skinny black boy with pencil thin dreads that fell past his shoulders. A pair of smudged glasses sat on his long nose. He smiled nervously as she stared, revealing a chipped front tooth. "Something wrong?"

"Where did you come from?"

The nervous smile turned into a full grin, transforming the awkward expression. Dark green eyes lit up behind the glasses. He was almost cute.

"Oh I just got here. The Madame called me up."

"Mister Rice, I see you heard me," said the British woman. She stood in the doorway, flanked by Cresswell and Harrow. She had the same ice blond hair as Bantam, streaked with gray. Shaz wondered if they were related. "I would like you to meet your new charge, Shazia Faraj.

"What?" sputtered Shaz, gaping at Rice. Were they out of their minds? She could probably break him in half by looking at him too hard. Rice gave her another blinding grin.

"She got a code name yet?"

Harrow stepped forward, clapping the boy on the shoulder. "Why don't you take her for a spin, see what she can really do?"

Shaz jumped to her feet. "Absolutely not."

Rice stepped up to her, placing both palms on her shoulder. "Relax, Shazia, I am sturdier than I look."

Another sparring room. How many of these bloody rooms did the Center have. Shaz faced off with Rice. The boy towered over her, all elbows and knees, but he danced around her with utter confidence.

"Come on girly girl, take a shot at me."

"No," Shaz snapped, stamping her foot. He'd been baiting her for half and hour. How he still had the energy to pounce around her like a playful puppy she had no idea. She kept her arms firmly folded, bracing herself whenever he got too close.

"I told you I can take anything you dish out. What, don't trust me?"

"It's not you I don't trust."

He stopped dancing for a moment, studying her. "It's just you and me here. I even made sure the agents hightailed it out of here. No collateral damage."

"Just you," she said, rubbing her arms.

"Oh you can't hurt me," he said.

"You sure about that?" Shaz squinted at him.

"Absolutely." Rice blurred in her vision. Something brushed against her, unseen, a feather light touch.

A second later, Rice smashed into the opposite way hard enough to crack the concrete. He slid to the ground, a look at surprise on his face before he started laughing.

"Are you out of your freaking mind!" Shaz squeaked, rushing over to him. "Are you hurt? Bleeding? How are you not dead?"

Rice kept laughing, wiping his eyes. "They weren't kidding when they said you were powerful. Can you control that? That was incredible."

Shaz fidgeted, feeling a bit warm. "Usually no one is up for round two, so I don't get much practice."

He grinned at her, leaping to her feet. "And I told you, girly girl, I can take whatever you dish." He didn't have a scratch on him, hadn't even broken a sweat. Still something held her back.

"This 15 year old girl just owned your ass. Aren't we done for the day?"

"Gotta keep sparring to get better, Shazia. I can help you learn to control it." Rice yanked his shirt over his chest, revealing a wiry build of knotted muscles beneath the baggy shirt. "I promise after we are done, you won't hurt anyone you don't want to again."

Shaz released a shuddering breath. "Then come at me."

***

The Madame and her agents watched the pair from the observation room. Rice zipped around the girl effortlessly, throwing punches and jabs that sent him flying each time. It was a stalemate between the two of them, the invulnerable versus the untouchable.

The Madame tapped her lips as she watched. "We could never put her into play. There isn't a match for her on the hero roster."

"Her personality doesn't fit either. She has a deep rooted moral code and sense of guilt the other don't have," said Agent Harrow. "But she was too dangerous to leave free range. You saw what happened to Brett. No control."

"I agree with you, Harrow, she needs control. She could be a useful tool for us. Someone like that could put down the rogues, the uncontrollable ones."

Cresswell snorted. "She might be a killer by circumstance, but she doesn't have the stones to kill for a cause."

A smile tugged at the Madame's lips "You'd be surprised, Cresswell. With the proper manipulation, anyone can find a cause worth killing for."

She turned to Shazia Faraj's file on the screen, typing in a new bit of information.

Name: Shazia Faraj

Code Name: Infliction