This choice: Guide him to agree with Merry • Go Back...Chapter #40When Treasures are No Longer Unique by: Nostrum   Is it ethical to alter a person’s mind to prevent them from doing something worse? Perhaps it has the same answer as whether it’s ethical to wear someone else’s skin and permanently assume their identity – and claiming that’s wrong is a little too late now. You’d hate that someone does it to you, obviously, but you’ve been benefitting from embracing your new life.
And yet, that’s precisely why you need to do this. You haven’t deviated from what Claudia wanted with her life - quite the contrary, you’ve embraced it, enabled her. She’s one step closer to becoming head of Tyneside’s Municipal Library, and she’s about to seal the deal with one of her suitors – Luke Strickler, who has proven to be unconditional.
Yet, those are your achievements; your efforts, the fruits of your labor. Had Claudia lacked your guidance, your decisiveness, she would be at the mercy of Archibald Smithers. Why does she have to enjoy them? The same is with these pens. You did all the hard work, even if it meant sacrificing the favor Leslie owes you. What if he sees you as a risk and puts your achievements in jeopardy?
Or worse – what if he challenges Merry’s wishes? She seems happy as Christina Anderson, but she’s torn between this new life and the love of her life. She needs the same guidance you gave Claudia. And while you desire to respect her wishes, she needs the security that comes with knowing that her partner won’t endanger their future for the thrill of the heist.
You lean into her ear, holding her shoulders tight. “Repeat after me. Leslie?”
“Les?” She repeats, giving it her own touch. “I love you, and I know you love me, but you’re married to the job. I wish you’d consider my feelings. I wish you’d really start thinking about making an honest life, whether as ourselves or as someone else. The pens aren’t gonna fix our lives. Drop that, willya?”
You see Leslie jolt, and you pull Merry back. He looks at the two of you, confused. “What the hell was that?”
“What was what?” she asks.
“You asked me if I wasn’t gonna abandon our lives, and I said when we were financially safe. We’re doing that, don’t we?”
You notice Merry shivers, but you comfort her. “See? He thinks about you?”
She’s not convinced, though. “Les? Are you, or aren’t you gonna abandon this life?”
He sighs, looking at the sky. “Not gonna lie, this is always a rush. But I’d do everything for you, babe. If you want us goin’ legit, let’s do it. Don’t know how I’ll take advantage of my skills, though.”
“How about you become a security consultant?” Luke suggests. “That way, you put your experience to good use.”
“Yeah,” he says, grinning, while looking at his partner. “And that way, Merry can put hers to good use as well!”
You feel your companion about to faint, but she makes one last question. “And what about the pens? You’re still interested in them?”
That gives him pause, but his answer surprises you. “Not really. I mean – they’d be great for a couple more heists, but if we’re going legit...”
You feel her release from your arms, refuging in him. She starts crying, embracing him tightly. “Why didn’t you start with that, you big lug!?”
“Because we’re still not stable, Merry. A lot of the money’s still dirty, and we’re gonna need a bit of it to pay your studies, no?”
“I know.”
“But I recall you told me this was enough to retire. Maybe that’s true? We’ll need to be a bit more frugal, but if we do this carefully--”
“We’ll push through this together,” she claims. Then, she turns towards you, refuging in your arms. “Thank you, cousin.”
“Anything for the family, no?”
She touches you with the pen, whispering. “Gonna need to refine this a bit, but... at least it’s what I wanted.”
--
It’s Friday, and the Society will convene on the Palais de Baton Tor, the fancy name Estelle gives her house. You leave early, but you’re satisfied to see that Smithers’s replacement isn’t causing you any trouble. The purple pen was a godsend to get his memories into the clone, but the suggestion made him less receptive to wear Smithers, so you leave Merry to handle that.
For now, the pens – the purple and red ones, that is – rest on your house, hidden in the place least likely to be found. You take them out only so that Luke – who brought his costume and will take you to the venue – confirm you still have them.
He brought something else which unnerves you – a case which has a pair of black and brown pens. Despite your little “adventure” this week, Luke insists on giving Estelle her own pair of pens. When you ask, his response is simple. “I promised them, and she paid.”
“How?”
“I don’t know how, but she left a money order with my replacement. Then again, she also pawned a couple pieces of jewelry. She’s serious about getting one of these.”
“But what if she uses it on me?” you muse. “She’ll know everything!”
“I’ll remind the Society that all of us members are out of bounds.”
“Perhaps. But what if she uses them on Merry? She knows the truth as well.”
“If that’s to happen,” he says, grabbing the purple pen, “then we’ll have no other choice. I won’t let anyone ruin your plans, Claudia.”
You grab him by the loins, grinning. “Are we going to announce our relationship?”
He grins back. “I wish, but you suggested an upgrade to my life, no? Perhaps we should wait until that happens – and if I’m not satisfied, then we shall announce our relationship to them all.”
“But that means we’re acknowledging it, no?”
He kisses you and struggles to hold you as you melt in his arms. “I think we do, no?” Stealing another kiss, Luke moves away to your atelier. “Does my lady need help with her caboose?”
“Only if it satisfies your highness, the Count,” you respond, sweetening the play. “What do you think if I change my name to lady Claudia Nicolette de Strigliotti, contessa de Dumas?
“Of Dumas and Montresse,” he adds. “Might as well make it political, no?”
--
Ever the gentleman, Luke helps you out of his car and into the sidewalk. Estelle’s house is nothing of a palace – though it’s a two-story house in one of Tyneside’s middle-class neighborhoods, leaning towards the mountains – and the kids around mock you as they pass. “Hey! Hallowe’en’s a couple weeks away!”
“Do I need one day to reflect who I am, peasant?” You flip your fan open and mock them in kind.
“What the hell’s wrong with you, ma’am!?”
“You’ll have to excuse us,” Luke intervenes in his silly Italian accent. “The lady and I do what you call ‘play-pretend’, and we are to engage in such play. I assume you take seriously your game of gendarmes and crooks – or, as you call it, ‘cops and robbers’. Am I right?”
“Yeah, but aren’t you too old to play like that?”
“Besides,” another of the kids argues. “Who plays cops and robbers nowadays?”
“It is very fun, let me tell you – more entertaining than spouting nonsense to the aether because you got ganked by a rando camper, certainly!”
Though his choice of words confuses the kids, one of them realizes what he meant. “You play Call of Duty?”
“What? You think role-playing is my only form of entertainment?” You see him write something on a piece of paper; at a glance, you notice it’s his friend code. “Consider yourself challenged – perhaps not today, but one day.”
The kid snorts. “Yeah, whatever.”
“Perhaps I shall double the humiliation by having my dame tea-bag you in your defeat,” he claims, and you snap at him. “She’s not the ludic Luddite you see her as, you see.”
“I’d like to see that.”
“My lord count,” you say, staying in character, “I think I may not be very good at simulated urban warfare.” However, you drop a little challenge of your own. “But I may teach them one or two things at a game of FIFA.”
“Ha! Whatever. Have fun, you losers!”
As they leave, Luke grabs your hand, smiling. “Didn’t expect my lady to hide such sharp steel.”
“Children need to be taught a lesson,” you tell them. “Perhaps I might challenge them to read a good book as their condition for defeat.”
He kisses you on the neck, snickering. “That’s what I love about you, my dear lady Montresse.” He escorts you, holding your hand, as Estelle receives you in the gaudiest purchased attire you can imagine – and fantasy jewelry, owing by how Luke claimed she pawned her real ones to pay him.
“Lady Montresse! Count de Dumas! What a surprise to see you together! Have you brought that wondrous device you showed last time?”
He draws the case from his vest, handing it to her. “As promised, madam.”
--
You bare your back, to the surprise – and scandal – of many. “Is this proof enough?”
Luke’s time with you has made him more confident. He insisted everyone prove their identity by baring their backs, and while you feigned hesitation, your stripping thoroughly convinced them and mortified Estelle. And of course, the delivery of the pens came with a promise signed in “blood” (or rather, cranberry juice) that they shall not be used on members of the Society.
“So good this ended well.” On your way back home, Luke surprises you. His face, however, doesn’t suggest it’s a good surprise. “I must tell you something.”
“What?”
“While I made the deal, I noticed there was another case they were selling – one of a kind. They asked a lot for it, so I had to use my premium and some savings to acquire it.” He opens the glove compartment and draws a larger pen case. “Guess we’ve got a bigger problem on our hands.”
As you open the case, you realize why. This case has five pens. The black and brown ones, alongside the green and white.
And to your dismay... So does the purple one. You have the following choice:  indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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