Cabal of Lies Read online

  Cabal of Lies

  Opus X™ Book Five

  Michael Anderle

  Cabal of Lies (this book) is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Sometimes both.

  Copyright © 2020 Michael Anderle

  Cover by Gene Mollica Studios

  Cover copyright © LMBPN Publishing

  This book is a Michael Anderle Production

  * * *

  LMBPN Publishing supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.

  * * *

  The distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

  * * *

  LMBPN Publishing

  PMB 196, 2540 South Maryland Pkwy

  Las Vegas, NV 89109

  * * *

  First US edition, April 2020

  eBook ISBN: 978-1-64202-405-0

  Print ISBN: 978-1-64202-406-7

  * * *

  The Opus X Universe (and what happens within / characters / situations / worlds) are copyright © 2019-2020 by Michael T. Anderle and LMBPN Publishing.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  Chapter 56

  Chapter 57

  Chapter 58

  Chapter 59

  Chapter 60

  Chapter 61

  Author Notes - Michael Anderle

  Books By Michael Anderle

  Connect with Michael Anderle

  The Cabal of Lies Team

  Thanks to the JIT Readers

  * * *

  Dorothy Lloyd

  Jeff Eaton

  Peter Manis

  Dave Hicks

  John Ashmore

  Lori Hendricks

  James Caplan

  Micky Cocker

  Larry Omans

  Deb Mader

  Paul Westman

  Kelly O’Donnell

  * * *

  If I’ve missed anyone, please let me know!

  * * *

  Editor

  Lynne Stiegler

  To Family, Friends and

  Those Who Love

  to Read.

  May We All Enjoy Grace

  to Live the Life We Are

  Called.

  Chapter One

  July 19, 2229, Neo Southern California Metroplex, Johansen’s Personal Flitter and Transport Emporium

  Change could often be painful, but that didn’t make it any less necessary.

  Jia had learned that lesson well from Erik during their time together. If she’d never met him, she might still be the same deluded, naïve person being led around by corrupt, lazy people who dishonored their oaths and their badges.

  However, understanding the necessity of change wasn’t the same thing as easily accepting it, which was why she’d waited months before purchasing a long-overdue new flitter.

  Jia rubbed her chin as she strolled between the long lines of flitters arrayed in the lot. The variety was staggering. Different sizes. Two-seaters. Four-seaters. Even larger. Every color of the rainbow was present, along with every color of hair she might see at a club on the weekend.

  A few colors should never have seen the light of day, and certainly not on the shell of any of these flitters. There was no accounting for taste, but Jia had a hard time believing those colors were selling well.

  Four different major flitter manufacturers were represented on the lot, including the oxymoronically named Off-World Systems, the German makers of Erik’s flitter. There were no cheap brands present, but Jia wasn’t there for an economy vehicle.

  A bright yellow Taxútnta MX 60 was parked a few meters to her right. The vehicle was more slender than her partner’s. She puzzled over that for a moment before recalling that a year’s worth of heavy modifications had all but turned Erik’s ride into a military vehicle.

  If he could get away with sticking in a hidden turret or missile rack, he would.

  He was already hauling around prototype military weapons in hidden compartments, and that was only quasi-legal. There wasn’t an MX 60 in the entire UTC like his. Probably no one else had even thought to modify one as much as Erik had. Why bother when you could just get a tank?

  Babe magnet? Unlikely. She was pretty sure she knew the truth of that statement.

  A bright-eyed salesman in a crisp suit trailed Jia. His smile hadn’t dared to leave his face during their short time together. “So, Jia, you mentioned you wanted a new vehicle, and you made your generous price range clear, but you could give me a little better idea about what kind of vehicle you’re interested in? I could help narrow it down. We have a wide variety of vehicles to meet a wide variety of needs. We’ll do everything we can to make sure you leave today happy with your choice.”

  Jia wanted to poke him over his presumption, but there was no reason to be rude. He was just doing his job. She couldn’t blame him because of her own lingering discomfort.

  She stopped and frowned at the yellow MX 60. “I need something new. My life’s changed a lot this last year, and my old flitter doesn’t reflect those changes.” She eyed him for a moment. “It’s too…boring and blue.” She shrugged. “I need something a little flashier. Sportier? It needs to fit my new lifestyle, too. I need good performance.”

  Jia wasn’t sure if she was flashier and sportier, but at the minimum, she wasn’t the same person she had been previously. Replacing her flitter was a way of acknowledging that truth and of gaining a small advantage over Erik, but she didn’t want the salesman to know that yet.

  He already had too many preconceived notions. She would pull the trigger on the full truth when the time was right.

  A knowing smile took over the salesman’s face, and he nodded. “I understand. A beautiful woman like you deserves a flitter that can enhance her beauty. One that tells the world, ‘I’m Jia, and I’m here. Pay attention to me, world!’”

  She agreed, her voice not reflecting what she was thinking. “Uh-huh. Sure. Something like that.”
<
br />   Jia strolled toward a huge green flitter across from the MX 60. The green monstrosity was so large it bordered on being a cargo hauler. It made a statement all right, but not one she wanted to make. She scoffed and continued past the overcompensation-mobile.

  “I understand that in today’s complicated dating environment,” the salesman began, “it’s hard to know what kind of signal you’re sending. But you’re right—your flitter should reflect you. May I be brutally honest, Jia?” He threaded his fingers in front of him.

  She shrugged. “Go ahead. I doubt you’ll say anything that shocking.”

  “The flitter you arrived in is the kind of thing your mother would drive.” He shook his head, a look of pity on his face.

  Jia grimaced. His words struck deeper than she’d anticipated. She wanted to complain, but he was right. While her mother didn’t drive the same make and model, she had recommended it and approved of the purchase. Was she that easy to see through?

  “That bad, huh?” Jia sighed.

  “Don’t worry,” he assured her. “You’re here now. You’re doing what you need to make the outward expression of your recent inner changes correct.”

  She needed to regain control of the situation. That was what she needed to do.

  While she might not be her mother, she wasn’t looking for some cutesy ride to zoom around in on dates. Her needs were particular, and it was time the salesman understood that. Form was one thing, but function was far more important.

  Jia pointed to a two-seater crimson flitter to her side. “Could that survive a collision with a tower? Not like the side of a tower, but say you had to crash through a window in an emergency situation?”

  The salesman let out a quiet chuckle. “Excuse me? Did you just ask if it could smash through a window?”

  “I get that it can smash through. I’m just trying to get a feel for how much damage the flitter would take and if the auto-repair systems could get it up and running in a few minutes. That kind of thing.”

  Jia narrowed her eyes at the flitter, trying to imagine crashing into a tower filled with terrorists, gangsters, or yaoguai. Her life had gone from boring to colorful. An image of a Tin Man with a blade arm ripping through the top popped into her head.

  “If it runs into a tower?” the salesman repeated. He coughed into his hand while his eyes searched around the lot. What he was looking for, Jia had no clue. “Am I hearing you correctly, ma’am?”

  Jia slammed her fist into her palm to demonstrate the collision. “Yes. Like that.” She held her palms up and slowly moved them away from each other. “I’m presuming a decent-sized window, maybe a long, wide hallway that could accommodate the flitter inside, but if you had to crash through,” she looked at him, “how much damage do you think it’d be able to take? I’m just trying to figure out if I’d be able to take off again, or if it’s more of a last-ditch desperation move.”

  “That’s a very unusual question. Have you had to crash into a tower before?” Confusion and doubt dripped from the salesman’s voice. “I can’t recall any other customer ever asking me something like this.”

  “I wasn’t the one who crashed the flitter, but I was in the flitter at the time. Stuff happens.” Jia considered her question. “I’m not asking for the technical information, but you know, extrapolations from crash tests.”

  This was what she got for not doing her research ahead of time. She should have shown up at the emporium with a specific vehicle already in mind, but she’d thought picking one out without excessive preparation would be more spontaneous and in the spirit of why she was purchasing a new vehicle.

  “I see.” The look on the salesman’s face suggested he didn’t believe her, but his smile returned. “I will note that every vehicle here has top-notch safety features, whether you’re colliding with a building or getting into a crash with another flitter, and the autodrive in all of our vehicles is the best on the market. If you’re having trouble with accidents, don’t worry. This flitter can assure you’ll never hit anything ever again.” He shook his head. “I almost never fly on manual. Why take the risk? If you ask me, it’s insane that it’s even legal for people to fly their own flitters.”

  “I don’t fly most of the time,” Jia replied. “But every once in a while, I don’t have a choice. Sometimes you don’t want to trust your life to an AI.”

  The salesman chuckled. “I’d rather trust my life to an AI than a human.”

  Jia couldn’t ask him how well the flitter would operate when controlled by a military-grade experimental AI, but she doubted she needed to.

  Emma had demonstrated little trouble adapting to everything from Erik’s flitter to a lunar transport. She wouldn’t have trouble running Jia’s new flitter. For that matter, properly interfaced, Emma could probably handle multiple flitters at once, but Jia wasn’t sure she wanted to rely too much on the AI in a situation where transmissions could be jammed. There were other, more immediate vehicular concerns anyway.

  She tapped her lips. “You didn’t explain if it could take the crash, but more importantly, how resistant is it to small arms fire?” Jia asked. “I’m not saying it has to be perfect. I just want to make sure it can take at least a few shots. I don’t want the thrusters or grav emitters cutting easily. It’s a long fall around here.”

  “Excuse me?” The salesman blinked. “First, crashing into buildings and, now, if I understand you, guns?”

  Jia walked over to the flitter and squatted. “I will say there’s a nice, narrow profile on the grav emitters. That makes for a harder target. You should read up on why the military doesn’t use many flitters versus dedicated ground or air vehicles. I was dubious for a long time, but now I’ve lived it.” She clucked her tongue. “And yes, guns. I’m talking basic pistols, rifles, and slug-throwers, not stun weapons. Any decent flitter can defend against those already. I just don’t want to plummet to my death because some idiot street tough gets a lucky shot. There’s only so much grav fields can do when you fall straight to the ground. I’ve seen it.”

  The salesman didn’t respond. She could almost hear the gears turning in his head.

  “So, you want to know how resistant the flitter is to getting shot?” the salesman inquired. “In addition to if you can crash it through large windows?”

  She wondered if flitter salespeople had panic buttons, and if they did, was he pressing his like a maniac at the moment?

  “To be clear, I’m not planning to crash it through any windows.” Jia offered a quick bob of her head before hopping back up. “As for the guns, yes, exactly. I’m not expecting it to take rockets or military-grade EMP, but I’m wondering about random gunfire. Think lucky punks rather than heavily armed Tin Men.” She furrowed her brow and tapped her lips once more. “Or yaoguai? But they wouldn’t be using guns. These things have to be pretty resistant to acid attacks, though, you’d think.”

  “I…honestly don’t know the answer to that.” The salesman glanced at the door leading into the building, licking his lips nervously. “Every vehicle we offer has top-of-the-line self-repair for standard damage. Is being able to take, uh, small-arms fire something you’ll anticipate needing on a semi-regular basis? I’m sure the general anticorrosive capabilities of the vehicle would help you with any acid-spitting monsters you might run into.” He blinked several times, realizing what was coming out of his mouth.

  “It’d just be nice if we didn’t have to lean so much on his vehicle.” Jia folded her arms and shook her head. “And also if I don’t have to take it to the shop every week just because some ass-tastic anti-government civilian decides to take a shot at me.” She snapped her fingers. “It’s fine if it can be modified. I know a guy. Technically, somebody I know knows a guy, but I’d prefer if I could have the dealer do it, so I would at least like some bulletproofing. Trust me, I’ll need it.”

  “I’m unsure if we offer that kind of modification.” The salesman tapped on his PNIU a few times before murmuring, “Show options: bulletproofing.” After a
few seconds of looking at something only he could see, he nodded. “Huh. It turns out we do. It’s part of a VIP protection package. It’s not something that comes up all that often. It’s not as if we sell to people who live in the Shadow Zone.” He let out a quiet scoff. “You don’t live in the Shadow Zone, do you?” He shook his head. “Of course, you don’t. There’s no way you would be here purchasing a flitter if you did.”

  “No, I live Uptown.” Jia waved a hand. “And to be clear, price isn’t a consideration when it comes to the modifications I want.” She looked up, and another flitter caught her attention. She jogged toward a bright red four-seater in the distance, a Tachyon Transport Aurora. Insofar as a machine could be sexy, the flitter was. Great curves, nice symmetry. It’d be a great change from her Mom-mobile, and she’d be able to prove a few things to a certain judgmental partner.