Iron Edge
Page 19
He shook his head, then moved in to hug her.
“Nope. We have to stick together. For one thing, you seemed to think that a Wizard might be able to help me? How? They seem to mainly work with fire and explosions, don’t they?”
She went a little wide eyed then, but shook her head.
“I can see that being the thought, but no… Most Wizards can separate things well. That is the heart of their power. Not the only part of it, but one such might do that. Though, do you need that kind of thing? I can’t see how it would be bad to live in many places. I do it, after a fashion. Speaking of which, Gina is doing well, in the rehab you arranged for her. They haven’t even had to torture her into compliance yet. Do you plan to marry her, in your other land?”
He didn’t. Not at all.
“No. She isn’t really the kind of person for that, I don’t think. Besides, you know, there’s a good chance that none of this is real.”
“So? You keep acting as if that has any importance at all. Nothing is real. Ever. This is all a dream. A seeming. Perhaps the dream of a greater being. Perhaps yours, or my own. You aren’t insane, husband. Just gifted. Even if this isn’t real, you’re being given two servings of life. Two chances to love, to make your way. Very few ever have that kind of a gift given to them. Instead of worrying about not being enough, you should be proud that you’ve been chosen to have more than most others even dream of.”
It was kind of similar to what General Sayner had said in D.C.
Except that he hadn’t been as exasperated when it was being said. Regina held him for a moment, then stood back, her face firm.
“Now, you need to go and find the beast you killed in that other world of yours, Husband. This is not over. You have a rogue and hunted Wizard in a world that is not ready for such a thing. Only you can deal with this. The other version of you is too innocent, I fear. You need to kill the man without warning. It is the only way.”
He knew that. On some level at least. The night before had taught him that one.
Closing his eyes, he nodded.
“I’ll get on that.”
When he opened them, he was no longer in Stena at all. Instead he was in Springfield, in the garage. Just as Captain Herret walked in, moving toward Gary.
Except that Captain Herret didn’t wear suits as a rule. Just his red tunic and leathers. Plus, he was probably dead.
George raised his hand then.
“Agent Herret?”
The man smiled, seeming happy enough for some reason.
“George Elder? I was in the area, so figured that I’d drop in and see if you were around. I need to pick your brain on things. You heard about the assassination? Mullah Abejine?”
Gary walked over even if the FBI man wasn’t there for him at all. It was his shop, so kind of made sense. He nodded however, as if they were all having a conversation.
His boss seemed to be interested in sharing what he knew.
“I heard about that. Some kind of vigilante thing?”
Agent Herret shook his head.
“Not likely. They got the right man, for one thing. The one behind most of the terror we’ve been seeing lately. The hit was professional, though. This wasn’t some amateur operation.” Looking at George, the man, who was very familiar, even if they’d never met before, waved at his vehicle, out in the parking lot. “That’s yours, isn’t it, George? It used to be gray.”
It was kind of clear that the man was suggesting something. He wasn’t wrong, but he’d come alone, which wouldn’t have been what happened if he’d seen George as a real threat. Then, he knew who in the area had the skills to pull that kind of hit off. Probably with road cameras that had seen his car. Maybe him behind the wheel, driving.
That was the reason for painting it. To hide it from that kind of thing, later. That didn't work if the FBI already knew about it.
He just smiled.
“Yeah. Silver. I was thinking that I need something that might attract the women. So I repainted it. Red. It’s an eye-catching color, don’t you think?”
That got a nod, as the man looked out of the bay doors to see the vehicle, out in the parking lot. Sitting there, shining brightly.
The FBI man smiled then, and seemed relaxed.
“I do. I thought you were seeing that woman… Gina Nevins? You got her into that government rehab program… It’s pretty exclusive, isn’t it? I had to call in actual favors just to find out about that. Interesting that you’d be able to set that up. The same day that Mullah Abejine died like that. Taking a single sniper round to the head. Interesting coincidence, don’t you think?”
George shook his head then, smiling.
“That kind of thing does happen. Hopefully we’ll see the acts of terrorism back off a bit. There’s more left to deal with though, I think. That sounds right, doesn’t it? I wouldn’t really know, not being in the loop for things like that. So, can we do something for you, Agent Herret? Look at your car or something?”
The other man shook his head, finally glancing at Gary.
“Thanks for your time, gentlemen. It was oddly instructive. Be careful out there, George. Laws are a thing.” Then he walked away, leaving Gary standing there with him.
“What the fuck was that about? He was acting like you killed that man, right? I got that one, didn’t I?”
George nearly lied, since he couldn’t admit to anything, but instead just shrugged.
“Yep. That was what he was hinting at. I can kind of see it. I mean, I was out that night, I have the skills, then… Repainting the car, that would seem suspicious.” Plus, the part that he was in and around the right area, if that had been uncovered. If so, he was probably going down for the crime.
Except that, if that had been the idea, Herret would have arrested him for it. That, or at least hinted he was being watched, instead of suggesting he be careful. Telling him to run.
Gary looked puzzled but made a silly face, instead of saying anything in particular.
“That’s ridiculous. Well, we should get back to work. The cars won’t fix themselves.”
It was all true, he knew.
That night, when he got home, there was a package waiting for him. This time there were no weapons with it, just a large envelope being passed over. The man doing it was the same one that had the time before. He didn’t offer his name, but did smile at George.
“Take care. See you soon.” That was telling, but George didn’t worry over it. After all, if the young seeming man was supposed to be his new handler then it would probably happen no matter what he said about things.
The information was different, being that Ahmed had gone to Florida. He was hiding at a friend’s house. A college buddy of his, from his old partying days. That was actually decently smart, or would have been if the man was trying to hide from amateurs or even private detectives. It was harder to do when you had the federal government on your behind.
He drove, instead of flying. It was going to mean he had to repaint his car again, but it allowed him to cut down on how easy it would be to track him. He also paid in cash. That didn’t keep him off all the cameras, but it was enough to throw off casual observation. It would take a lot of work to find him, if nothing else.
The final kill wasn’t that hard, since the idiot was just sitting in the house window. George just drove up, shot him in the head and simply left. Making it look a lot like a drive-by. It lacked in skill, and felt empty, but also didn’t have a massive explosion taking place first. If Ahmed had that power any longer. With the Chief dead, that might not be a thing.
Or it might.
Regardless, that problem was gone.
The only real issue he had to deal with then was that he might not be sane. It still ate at him, but Regina and Sayner had both been right in what they’d said. He had to live his life. In a way, he was even being given more than one shot at that kind of thing. As his other world wife had mentioned, that was rare. Wonderful even. At least if he made it that way.
/> To that end he decided to go and ask out Debbie from the gym. After all, he was going to get to sleep with Regina in Stena, and Debbie seemed like a better option in a lot of ways than Gina was. Not that he wouldn’t be helping her out, when the time came. It would be hard to know her in two worlds and not treat her well in both.
It ate at him, not knowing the truth, but he could see that he never really would. The world was either what it seemed, or had fooled him totally. That meant his only real path now was to live the best life he could.
Wherever he was.
Whoever he was.
It was enough. It had to be, since it was all he could be certain of.