Iron Edge

by P. S. Power

  “Yeah. I have your car ready, by the way. I’m not there though, but, well, clearly I am.”

  That got the woman to smile and shake her head at him. She stood back a bit however.

  “I can see what she does there, but can’t influence her. It’s a shame, given how much potential she has. Anyway, nice to see you here. We should talk, if you have the time? I see that you’ll be busy, in the coming days. You need to handle what the General suggested first thing. You look so young here.”

  That got him to think for a second, then he nodded.

  “Right. Could each squad send out their best fighters?”

  The Sergeant looked at him like he was being stupid, but Herret backed him up, listening to the Witch, it seemed. Then, she was up on things, so that part made sense.

  “Do it, Sergeant. Best weapons for each.”

  That was a real danger, but also the point. If anyone got a lucky blow in, he was going to be in trouble. Instead of whining about it, he just went and borrowed a spear, taking the head off of it, so that it was less lethal. By the time the twenty men got there, holding what they liked to fight with, George had a square roughed out that wasn’t too muddy. Yet.

  Then, because Weapons Masters were apparently prone to have sex with other people’s mothers, if not their own, Herret waved at him.

  “Battlefield rules. Get him!”

  The battle was epic, of course. The first thing he did was run away, because he knew the area and they were brand new to it. Tired from days of walking, though they were also all fit. The first man he engaged was down instantly, hit from behind. Some of the new men, the ones watching, groaned about it, since that was cheating. Then, no one tried to stop him, since coming at him in those numbers wasn’t exactly fair.

  Over the course of half an hour he dodged, struck and finally closed with the last five at once, using the men against each other. He was hit, with real weapons, but managed to keep things down to bruising and a few cuts. The problem was that people kept getting back up to join the fight. It was fair, but killing them to keep them down wasn’t, making the whole thing a lot harder to pull off.

  Finally, an hour and a half in, having switched weapons several times with the fallen, Captain Herret clapped, loudly.

  “This is Captain Elder. He’s a Weapons Master, as you probably all guessed. He and I have developed some new techniques, which you’re to be trained in. You saw some of them in action today. One man taking on twenty, and winning.” He smiled at the men on the ground, who were getting up, slowly. “Each of you will learn what you need to do the same against our enemies. We’ll begin in the morning. Sergeant Martin, please get with the command staff for set up options. We’ll meet for the evening meal. Dismissed.”

  Everyone kind of broke up then, but Herret waved Gina over, smiling.

  “So, Elder here is a Witch as well? That explains some things.” He wasn’t joking, but didn't seem upset about it either.

  The Witch shook her head.

  “Not exactly. He lives in two worlds. I can feel that much. He also thinks he’s insane, with at least one of them being false. Which isn’t true, but nothing we say can confirm that for him. After all, the other me, there in that far-off land, can’t speak to me to find out what’s going on here. I can tell George that this world is real, but wouldn’t a fantasy also say that? As for that other place, without confirmation it could still be either real or false. How did it happen, do you know?” There was a fixed look at his face then, her eyes locking with his again.

  Several places on his body were sore, but he’d taken a good beating, over the time he’d played with the other boys. A few times he’d nearly died, naturally.

  “I was kicked in the head by a mule here. In Springfield… well, off in the Iraq war, I was hit by shrapnel from an IED. An explosive device. At the same time, I think. When I woke up, I started switching back and forth between the two places. Except that, you know, I live there the entire time, so it isn’t like I’m physically doing anything.”

  She nodded at him then.

  “That would do it. You probably died in both places, at the same moment, with parts of each coming back to the other. That should be easy enough to fix, if we can find a Wizard. If you wish to do that. I can’t see why you would, but it’s an option. Later however. First I’ll want you to help that other version of me. Gina. I go by Regina, by the way. It’s a prettier name, don’t you think?” She smiled, which was attractive enough, even if she wasn’t made up at all.

  “It is. Though, if you’re imaginary, or she is…”

  That got a head shake from the woman, as Captain Herret stood there, looking bemused, instead of frightened to find out about how crazy he was.

  The Witch sighed at him, making it a large and very fake thing.

  “Oh, you silly thing! Think about it… If I’m real, then she is. If I’m a phantom of your mind, then she’s probably real. That would mean something in you sees helping her as a good thing, I would imagine. So, you can’t lose, doing what I wish you to.”

  He felt a bit foggy, mentally, from the fight, but nodded finally.

  “All right. What do you want me to do?”

  That got a shrug, then a sidelong glance at the other Captain.

  “Why, I want you to help her get off drugs, then to marry her, of course. That way my husband will be with me in both worlds. That sounds like a plan, don’t you think?”

  That was spoken to Captain Herret, who coughed into a fist. A bit of water vapor cloud came from it; the air being cool enough for that still.

  “Indeed. We can handle that later tonight? I can marry you off. It’s one of my jobs with the military, being a Captain. After the meal?”

  Then he laughed. George joined in, at first, but stopped, since the Witch just smiled at him, for some reason.

  It was spooky.

  Which was probably her point. Then, after a moment, she waved at her shoes.

  “There’s a space for me here? I’d love to clean up, if it’s all right.”

  Then, as if it made sense, she headed off without waiting, in the correct direction. Knowing more than seemed natural, having just gotten there. Like she was a Witch or something. One that apparently had decided he was going to get married.

  It really was about how that worked in Stena. You found out that you were selected about the time that the woman in question told you about it.

  Herret just patted him on the arm, and walked off himself.

  Chapter six

  The snow outside his apartment window was getting deep.

  George wasn’t really shocked to find that kind of thing happening, though, when he turned on the weather channel, it was clear that it was the same storm that he’d been worried about the day before. The thing was decently chilly, since the polar vortex had moved in right behind the nearly three feet of blowing snow. There was a nice breeze behind the event as well, making the world hard to see. The whole thing was shifting, moving and at times formed a wall of pure and blinding white.

  That got him to shake his head, considering what had just been happening.

  On the good side, he’d gotten laid.

  By his new wife, in a training camp near a contested border. The rough part was that his fantasy honey was a Witch. The idea got him to shake his head for a bit, as he sighed. After all, no matter what else was going on, his life, real or imagined, had just gotten a lot more complicated. Then, he hadn’t been required to get married in Stena. No one had held him at blade point to make it happen. There had been no magic used for it either, as far as he could tell.

  Then, there really had been, in a way.

  Gina, or Regina, as she preferred to be called there, knew a lot about things going on around her. She could clearly read minds, as well as claiming to be in tune with what was going to happen in the coming days. Up to about three weeks out, as far as she knew. Herret had asked her about it, as they’d sat in the officer’s eating tent. She claimed to be able to affect a few t
hings as well, but that part was harder to test. She could guess numbers and things that people were thinking really well however.

  All of that meant nothing as far as learning which world was real.

  As the wind blew harder, George settled in on the sofa, or started to. Even though he’d showered the night before, he decided to go and get another right then. It was very early in the day, but if the power went out it would be better to be clean than not. Living in the dirt and mud of the camp had brought that to mind. Not that they didn’t wash up there. They did, it was just really hard and took a lot of time each day.

  “I really need to get that plumbing around.” He grinned about that one. It would have to wait for the little border war to be over.

  Nearly two hours later, after he was clean and ready for the day, he started to call Gary. After all, he wasn’t getting in to work that morning, unless things broke soon. Even at that, there wasn’t going to be a lot of work going on, since it had been finished already. No one was coming to get their cars that afternoon. Not if they valued their lives.

  Just as he moved over to his phone, a cell that lived on the counter to his tiny kitchen, it rang. That got him to jump. No one really called him, most of the time. It was just part of how he lived, to be fair. He had parents, and a sister who lived three states away, but they weren’t close, in particular. As he picked the thing up he had to wonder who would be getting in touch with him.

  “Hello? George Elder here.” That was all he was giving; in case it was a phone solicitor. Not that he blamed anyone for making money however they could. The economy in the area was so bad that he was a little shocked that people weren’t starving in their homes at that moment. For all he knew, they were. Just because he was doing fine didn’t mean that everyone was.

  “Mr. Elder? This is Agent Herret, FBI. I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions?” The voice was familiar. Too much so, given everything.

  Rolling his eyes, he kind of figured that it was the final clue as to him being insane. After all, the FBI was calling him at eight in the morning, and it was the same person that he was hanging around with in a fantasy world.

  On the good side, it probably meant that both worlds were real. That or he was gibbering inside of an institution at that very moment, not being cognizant of anything of note at all. At least that would explain all the gruel he got in Stena. They practically lived off of the stuff at the camp.

  “Agent Herret? Marcus Herret?” That was, of course, a stupid thing to say. Even if it matched up perfectly, it would just make it seem like he knew things that no one should have.

  “Nope. Bill Herret…”

  He laughed then.

  “Ah. Okay. I don’t know who you are then. Still, I suppose we can talk. I have a rough schedule of everywhere I’ve been and when, over the last six months.” He did, actually. George had been making notes of that kind of thing for a while. It wasn’t hard, but he’d kept to it, even when he’d been out, as far as warping away went.

  The Agent made a strange sound. It was half chuckle, half choking gasp.

  “You… Do?”

  “Um, yeah. I started to compile it when I realized that there were sniping missions going on. Not that the skill is that rare, but I can see people wanting to know, so I did the legwork for you. Here, let me get my notebook.” It was by the couch, on the low side table that was used for that and warm beverages. Nothing else.

  He didn’t read a lot of magazines, not being from the nineteen-fifties.

  The Agent on the phone listened to everything he was saying, at length. After a while there was a gusty sound, as well as typing.

  “That’s comprehensive, if it checks out. Interestingly for you, you weren’t actually a terror suspect. I was going to see if you had any ideas about what would be needed, as far as the operations going on. Normally I don’t just call people up first thing in the morning like this, but the AIC is breathing down my neck and Homeland seems to have been lobotomized for some reason. I was steered your way by a General Sayner?”

  The words got him to go silent, since that name was suddenly familiar from both worlds. The man had been in charge of some special programs, forever ago, now that he thought about it. Which got him to shake his head. The overlap wasn’t right, he didn’t think.

  “Oh? That’s different. I wouldn’t have thought that anyone would have remembered me in particular. I did all right, back in the day, but have been out of things for a while. Um… Let me see…” He thought for a bit, the phone going silent while he did it.

  Minutes stretched by, the other man making clacking sounds on his keyboard.

  “Okay… There are at least three teams doing this. Possibly several inside a five-hundred-mile radius of Chicago. There is at least one person or group working Florida as well. The things in L.A. are different. The targets are police and the operations are sniping, but it seems to me like they’re going after targets of opportunity. The FBI Agents being taken… That has to be something going on from the inside. That or some kind of hacked information. Have you had any database breaches that would explain that?”

  George didn’t expect an answer to that. Especially over the phone. There was a hesitation from the other man then, and the sound of more clicking from the other side of the phone.

  Finally, the deep voice spoke.

  “That… All pretty much fits with what our best people have been saying. We have a bit more than that, but also more data to work with. Are you willing to be read into this? I need to get it checked out, but you have the military record for it. Heck, your security clearance is higher than mine, and still active.”

  That was interesting to find out, since he hadn’t done anything in years. Then again, he had secrets that weren’t things he was allowed to speak about to anyone. Assassinations, mainly. Not a lot of them, but more than a few high-level Muslim Brotherhood members weren’t with them anymore, because of him.

  Being read-in meant being included in the whole thing, more or less. It wasn’t FBI language however, as far as he knew. It was more like what you’d hear from intelligence agencies that operated in secret a good bit more than the feds did.

  “Sure. I don’t know what I can add, but I get the idea, boots on the ground. For now… Well, we’re snowed in here. So, I’ll probably be in all day.”

  “Same here. I got into the office, two days ago, but I’ve been sleeping behind my desk. Not that it’s all that rare for me. Good then. I’ll get things going that way. As soon as possible we need to get you the rest of the data on this. We can’t afford too many more attacks. The police are killing a person every other day in response to the events. I can’t blame them, either, but it’s giving the assholes what they want. The biggest damage being done here is to our own people.”

  Which was the point, he didn't doubt.

  “I’ll stand by then. Talk to you later?”

  “Later.” The phone clicked, so he tabbed off, not recalling that he had a call to make until the cell, still in his hand, chirped at him.

  This time it was actually Gary. His boss.

  “Hey, George. Just calling to let you know not to fight your way in. We can’t get out of the house here. How are you doing?”

  “Gary! About the same, of course. We’re caught up, but this could be a bit. Just to keep you in the loop, I just got a call from the FBI.” He waited, since it sounded a bit odd, once it was spoken out loud.

  “Yeah? Why, do they need their cars serviced? That would be a good gig, if we can get it.”

  He laughed a little, but it really would be a nice contract. They’d have their own people for that, no doubt.

  “Nothing that normal. They want to bring me in for the investigation.” That made a strange kind of sense to him, given his old job, but Gary made a sound that seemed incredulous.

  “That… Why?”

  “Ah. Well… I can’t actually tell you that. I have some applicable skills, so they reached out to me. Probably a lot of other pe
ople as well. An old boss of mine sent them my way. From when I was in the Army?” That at least was a known thing to the other man.

  “Right… I guess… Well, if you need time off for that, let me know? It will be hard at the shop without you, but I’ll make it work, if it’s needed. Don’t worry about that.”

  There was shrugging then, but he had to use his words anyway, since the cell didn’t carry things like that.

  “It probably won’t be that big of a thing. I’ll write a report or something. Maybe sit in on a meeting or two. The Agent didn’t mention full time work or anything. If they’re down to talking to me, they’re reaching, but… You know, I’ve got to help if I can.”

  “I get the idea. Different… Anyway, I’ll call you as soon as we can open. Probably a day or two from now. You have food and all that?” It was a throwaway question, since if he didn’t, George was screwed and there wasn’t a lot that could be done about it.

  Except that he could move outside if he had to. He was from Western Stena, after all. At need he could make some snow shoes and head out. The last months had gotten him used to moving around in the snow, even. That worked in more than one way, because it had reminded him to stock up already. He had about two months of food, stacked in boxes, in his spare room.

  “I’m good for a long time that way. The issue will be power, like everyone else. We have gas heat though, so that part won’t be too bad, I don’t think. It looks like it’s going to get cold soon.” That sounded stupid, but the front moving in was going to be frosty.

  “We’re good here, too. Good. One less thing for me to worry over. Talk to you soon, then.” His voice was a bit odd.

  Which made some sense, really. You didn’t find out that someone you knew and worked with each day had a secret past all that often.

  For the time being the power was still on, which meant he got to sit there for a while, watching television. He was used to entertaining himself, which was mainly done in little daily tasks in the other world. The one where he’d ended up married suddenly. Which was either real or not.