Persist (Discipline Book 3)

by P. S. Power

  “I was thinking of taking some courses. On the web? Maybe see about starting a business or running for a minor office. Local politics, of course. I have that twenty-year contract.”

  The woman next to him took a deep breath, and grinned.

  “You… I can get you out of that? Not everyone, but… I was told that we could use you. If not my agency, there are others that have been floating feelers about you. Have you ever heard of Majestic?”

  Ben tilted his head. The faces and names of the leaders of the thing flashing up in front of his eyes. All of them, including their current addresses, phone numbers and their main computer passwords.

  “No? What kind of work do they do?” He managed to sound pretty innocent, but it was kind of clear that he wasn’t that great of an actor, yet. The agent snorted, at least.

  “Oh. I see, I think. Well, be careful. I don’t know what you have planned, but I will protect this country. Even from you. You have to know that Ben.”

  He nodded, staying relaxed.

  “Sure. And I’ll protect this reality. The others as well, if I can. But you know that as well, don’t you?”

  She didn’t speak for a while, smiling at a woman in a red dress and pearls that walked past. Like they knew each other.

  Finally, she looked at him, and shook her head a bit sadly.

  “I know that. We all do. That’s pretty much why you’re still alive. You do know that you’re also insane now, right? That nothing you see can be trusted? I should mess with your head and tell you that you’re in an asylum right now. You aren’t. I won’t be that petty. Anyway, if you can hold it together, consider working with us? We don’t have to be enemies. Someone said that to me once. Maybe it’s even true?”

  She got up, pretending to eat something from a tray that came around.

  Then over the course of minutes, the rest of them came back, with Mags holding his hand. She was in a rather pretty purple dress that was tight enough it had to be hard to move in. He was just in a black suit. It was plain and rather boring, except for the red tie. Even Glenda looked good, if a bit out of place. She was wearing makeup, and had on a nice dress that really worked for her. She even moved well in heels, which helped a lot. It made it look like she was a really muscular woman, instead of a man faking it.

  Clark was behind them, dressed a lot like Ben, with Lissa sitting on the other side of Mags, when Glenda looked around and nodded. That was due to the fact that Lenore came up then as well, and touched him on the shoulder, her hand lingering.

  “Everyone is here, isn’t this exciting? This is the best Christmas that I’ve had in the last seven years. Even if I don’t get presents… The lack of my head being in pain is enough. Thanks, Ben.”

  Mags cozied up to him a bit, smiling.

  “Yeah, thanks Ben. This is really nice. Plus, we don’t have to worry about our reality ending in the next few days, thanks to you. Dad wanted me to mention that you have his undying gratitude. Not that it will mean much, soon. This is his last Christmas in office really. Second term and all that.”

  Ben wasn’t worried about getting a payoff from what he’d done. Really, if he had a chance, he needed to work to make certain that the others were as safe as he was now.

  “That’s nice of him. You know, there’s music, and we should dance. I don’t suppose anyone knows how?”

  That got Mags to pull him off to the dance floor, where half a dozen older men and women swayed together to classical music. The others stayed where they were, giving them what space was possible. It was already close to a hundred and fifty feet.

  They danced for a while. Ben holding Mags closely, the woman smiling up into his eyes.

  “So, Ben, what do we do next?”

  He stopped for a few seconds, thinking. Then he nodded.

  “Pretty much anything we want. I was thinking of investigating some other worlds. Want to come along?”

  She nodded.

  “That sounds fun. We should do that.” Then she giggled.

  Ben got that, since it sounded incredibly impossible, but they could do it, he knew.

  In fact, they would do it. He knew that one, having seen parts of it already.

  Which was almost certainly a good thing.