Investigating Deceit

by Michael Anderle

  “There are still many things we don’t know about them.” Agent Koval folded her hands in front of her. “It’s our belief that they might even have aided Kerrigan by providing them information in addition to what Dr. Marianne Karton stole from 46 Helix. That hasn’t been confirmed, but the evidence is pointing that way.”

  “So, the thing with Chen wasn’t even that important.” Erik shook his head in disbelief. “It was just them trying to cover their tracks. That’s the one thing I don’t get about all this.”

  “Yes?”

  “Wasn’t it kind of sloppy?”

  “Yes, it was, and that’s got us worried. One possibility is their operation got disrupted at an unusual time, resulting in rash moves, and another is that they became worried because of the involvement of you and your partner.”

  Erik narrowed his eyes. “Are you saying they’re out to get us?”

  “No.” Agent Koval tilted her head, her smile disappearing and cold harshness taking over her eyes. “You’re famous, Detective, for handling difficult problems. You proved it again on this case. You got us into the facility, and you stopped the final human yaoguai before it killed us all. Judging by your case notes, your partner’s investigative skills and instincts are as impressive as your military ability. I watched you both during the raid. You move and cooperate like two people who have been training together for decades, not less than a year. There’s confidence and trust.” She held up a finger. “That makes you both more competent, and it is dangerous to certain people and organizations. Some of them are now having to make cost-benefit decisions about going after you in a way that risks greater exposure or suffering if you run across their operations in Neo SoCal.”

  Erik stood and stared into her eyes. “Let me ask you something, Agent Koval. Where do your loyalties lie?”

  Her brow lifted. “What kind of question is that? I’m an ID agent. I’m loyal to the UTC.” She smiled. “That kind of comes with the job description.”

  “It’s not like the government’s never done anything immoral in the past. If the ID told you the best way to handle a yaoguai infestation in the Shadow Zone was drop a bomb on them, would you?”

  Her mouth curled in a lopsided smile. “I reject the premise of your question, so I refuse to answer it.”

  “What?” Erik frowned.

  “If I’m doing my job, we’ll never get to the point where we’d have to make that choice.” Agent Koval winked. “I’m not a murderous femme fatale, Detective Blackwell. I’m one of the good ones.”

  “We’ll see.” Erik nodded. “But thanks for your help. I wasn’t about to run and save my own butt while a bunch of wounded soldiers got blown up. You stopped anyone from having to make a choice they shouldn’t have to make. A commanding officer who loses most of their soldiers loses a lot of themselves.”

  “You would know, wouldn’t you?” Agent Koval headed for the door, looking over her shoulder. “You remind me a lot of the heroes of Greek legends and myths.”

  “That’s Jia’s area of knowledge, I don’t know a lot about them. However, don’t a lot of those heroes do something really impressive and then come to a tragic end because the gods or fate screws with them?”

  “Yes.” Agent Koval grinned. “But you don’t have to be exactly like them.” She pressed the access panel, and the door slid open. “I suspect we’ll be able to help each other a lot in the future. I’ll be in touch.”

  “Next time, bring a bigger gun,” Erik suggested.

  “I’ll keep that in mind.” Agent Koval stepped out of his apartment and closed the door.

  Erik returned to his beer. At least there was no way a conspiracy could screw that up.

  Alina smiled as the transportation center came into view.

  She’d found her time in Neo SoCal interesting, but she couldn’t claim she’d enjoyed it. Talos had gotten away with too much, and too many people had died. The bastards needed to pay, and not just the few sympathizers the ID had smoked out in the government.

  “I’m beyond impressed with them, sir. It’s also obvious Blackwell has his own special connections. I’m assuming DD contacts, given the kind of equipment I saw. Based on what we’ve observed, the most likely candidate is Adeyemi. I think both could be useful tools against Talos and several other problems.”

  “I get it. You’re a fan.” Her superior sighed. “I’m reluctant to recruit someone who won’t be able to play well with Directorate regulations. He might have spent thirty years in the military, but it’s obvious after what happened on his last tour that he doesn’t care much about rules anymore. We both know he only cares about revenge.”

  “I think that’s a potential advantage,” Alina insisted. “We just have to handle him in an appropriate way.”

  “I’ll take it under consideration, Agent. Take a few days off, then we need you on the Moon.”

  “It’s been a while.” Alina sighed. “I hope I don’t have to blow a hole in a dome this time.”

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  March 11, 2229, Neo Southern California Metroplex, Bar “Remembrance”

  Halil hoisted his glass and gestured to the floating holographic cartoon goblin above him. The eyes had been replaced with Xs. EZ 122 MONSTER KILLER PARTY hung above it in bright white letters.

  “The preliminary reports are done, the evidence has been collected, and some of the bad guys are already signing confessions,” he shouted. “We delivered this week. 1-2-2!”

  The officers gathered in the bar raised their own glasses and shouted. “1-2-2!”

  Jia felt warm, which was a good feeling. She was at least fifty percent sure it wasn’t because she was on her third beer. It might have been because Jared Thompson was conspicuously absent, despite taking part in the Kerrigan raid.

  She sat at a table near the center of the room with Erik.

  Halil took a sip of his beer. “I’m not done.” He pointed at Erik, then Jia. “We had it easy when we busted into Kerrigan. Their guards didn’t even put up a fight, but Jia and Erik, they had to crawl around sewer pipes in the Scar while giant radioactive cockroaches were trying to eat them. That’s dedication to cleaning up the town.”

  Scattered laughter broke out.

  Jia shook her head. “We were on mini-flitters. We didn’t crawl through anything, and while there were a lot of disturbing yaoguai, none looked like roaches. Honestly, I think I would have preferred roaches.”

  “Bugs are bugs,” Erik insisted. “And we killed a lot of them. Don’t get caught up in the details.”

  “Let’s toast to Erik and Jia,” Halil shouted. “They are the real deal. Monster killers! 1-2-2!”

  “1-2-2!” bellowed the gathered cops.

  Halil settled down on his barstool, content with his toasts for now.

  Jia took another sip of her beer. The events of the past few days could easily fuel nightmares, but she was satisfied.

  She looked at Erik. “I feel like we really made a difference.”

  “Yeah.” He slowly looked around the room as if he were searching for someone in particular. “We did. If they’d finished testing them in the Scar, they would have set up somewhere else, and then they’d have started shipping those monsters all over. Every terror group in the UTC would send yaoguai into the middle of cities. Kerrigan’s done, though. No other agency even poached anything this time. We both got personal credit, and the 1-2-2 got credit as well. The company we took down might not be Ceres Galactic, but they were doing nasty stuff.” He considered the two cases. “Maybe even worse.”

  “Do you ever worry that we’re getting too famous?” Jia asked. “Sometimes it’s an advantage, but what if it causes trouble? Brings people to us?”

  Erik grinned. “That’s an advantage.”

  “An advantage?” Jia set her glass down. She needed less alcohol to follow this conversation. “Why is that an advantage?”

  “If the criminals come to us, we don’t have to spend as much time investigating them.” Erik polished off the re
st of his drink in a few quick swallows and sighed in satisfaction. “I’m feeling pretty good too. You’re right. We stopped some real bastards, and I feel like things are moving forward with my…personal case. I don’t know if our Tin Men-loving friends had anything to do with it, but getting more contacts helps, even if I don’t trust Koval.” He shrugged. “We should take it easy while we can. I’m sure some giant yaoguai will drop into the city tomorrow and start eating everyone who makes beignets.”

  Jia laughed a little too loudly, but there was humor in her eyes. “That would be a heinous reign of terror, for sure.”

  Erik tapped the side of his head. “No matter what happens, you’ve got to keep your priorities straight.” He looked around again. “A lot of people brought their spouses and significant others.”

  Jia checked the room out.

  She recognized some of the people but she wasn’t all that familiar with the families and friends of the rest of the 1-2-2. Even though they no longer despised her, she still was an outsider in many ways. She didn’t mind. All she’d ever wanted from the other cops was for them to do their jobs. She had her own life, her own friends, and a great partner.

  “I suppose they did.” She shrugged and turned back to him. “What about it?”

  Erik stared at her, an uncertain expression on his face. He cleared his throat. “It means you could have brought Corbin. When they announced the party, they made it clear it wasn’t a cop-only thing. I would have brought someone, but I’m not dating anyone.”

  Jia stared at her glass. “Bringing Corbin would have been…uncomfortable.”

  “Why?” Erik frowned. “Does he not like cops? From what you told me, he doesn’t have a problem with your job. Or is he jealous because you’re around a bunch of guys all the time?”

  Jia shook her head. “It’s not that. It would have been inappropriate for another reason.”

  “If you’re going to be this cryptic, have Emma do some AI stuff to your words,” Erik suggested. “Have her translate them into Zitark.”

  Emma didn’t say anything.

  “Okay.” Jia groaned and put up a hand to forestall more comments from Erik. “It’s not a big deal. I broke it off with Corbin.”

  “Really?” Erik smiled before blanking his face. “Oh, I’m sorry. What happened?”

  Jia waved her hand dismissively. “I’m not sad about it. I’m relieved, but I am a little embarrassed. I’m mostly worried about what’s going to happen when Mei and Mother find out. They’ll reactivate the Lin Matchmaker Special Operations Squad.” She rolled her eyes. “I’ve been reluctant to mention it to you because it’d make it more real.”

  There was some truth to that, but she couldn’t look Erik in the eye and tell him she was attracted to him. Normal guys she knew didn’t measure up. If there was another thirty-year Army veteran who joined the department, he might at least have been a possibility.

  Given his spotty track record since they’d met, it was obvious he wasn’t interested in serious attempts at dating. That was reasonable. He still had to avenge his people.

  Erik nodded slowly, a ghost of a smile sneaking back onto his face. Had he hated Corbin that much?

  “Why did you give Mr. Down-to-Earth the boot?” he asked. “I thought he checked all the boxes for you. Did it turn out he was a secret freak?”

  “Yes and no.” Jia furrowed her brow as she mentally ran through her checklist of what made a good man. Various Erik-related traits kept popping up. She gasped and waved her hands. “I mean, no. He wasn’t a secret freak.”

  Erik grinned, using his beer bottle to point at her. “Took you a little too long to say that.”

  She shook her head. “It’s nothing like that. He was a very nice and normal guy. He’s handsome and has a good job. A lot of women would be lucky to have him.”

  “Just not you?” Erik pressed.

  Jia nodded. “He wasn’t the right man for me, just like the barista wasn’t the right woman for you.”

  Erik leaned back in his chair, his shoulders loose, and something in his eyes that Jia couldn’t figure out.

  She could have sworn it was hope.

  “Who is the right guy for you?” Erik asked. “If you’re worried about your family coming after you, you’re going to need to get ready. Part of that is knowing what you want and being able to articulate it to them. And it has to be more than, ‘Someone who respects my career choices.’”

  “I’m not completely sure,” Jia suggested. That wasn’t a lie. “I do know I need someone more exciting. Corbin was like my flitter.”

  “Blue?” Erik quirked an eyebrow and grinned.

  Jia chuckled. “If he was, maybe I’d still be dating him. No, boring and safe. I think at this point, I need someone not so boring and safe.”

  “You’re saying you need an MX 60 of a man?” he asked, taking a sip of his beer but eyeing her intently over the lip of his bottle.

  “Something like that.” Jia shrugged. “I’ve got time to figure it out.”

  It wouldn’t hurt to put a toe in the water. “So, I was thinking,” she continued. “One of the things I’m working on lately is improving my cooking skills.”

  “Oh? Not a bad thing,” Erik continued watching her curiously.

  “I kind of remember you mentioning something about liking Beijing Duck,” Jia replied casually. She swallowed. “It’s one of the recipes I’ve been working on. Maybe I could cook it for you sometime? I need feedback.”

  Erik smiled. “Sure. I’d like that. It’s been a while since I had a home-cooked meal.” His smile disappeared, and he put up a hand. “Wait.”

  “What?” Jia tried to keep the desperation out of her voice.

  He eyed her, a smirk on his lips. “Are you any good at cooking it?” Erik allowed the grin he was trying to hold back to surface. “I won’t end up sick, will I?”

  Jia rolled her eyes. “Keep it up, and I’ll send a yaoguai duck after you.”

  “I don’t care as long as it’s tasty and roasted.” Erik licked his lips. “Delicious yaoguai duck. You have to eat it before it eats you.”

  She picked up her beer. “I promise I will do my best not to have my cooking be what kills you.”

  “To the 1-2-2.” He leaned across and clinked her glass. “And yaoguai duck.”

  She eyed him as she took a sip, a satisfied smile playing on her lips.

  Maybe she would do better with the recipe this time.

  The Story Continues with Enlightened Ignorance

  * * *

  There is a reason Earth believes they are the pinnacle of advanced society.

  The past is fraught with lies that could topple everything, sending humanity into a tail-spin.

  Is it possible to uncover the truth Jia and Erik are searching for, without tearing apart the gossamer of ignorance and destroy the underpinnings of government?

  Both want the truth – but is revealing the truth good for those around them?

  ---

  Two years ago, a small moon in a far off system was set to be the location of the first intergalactic war between humans and an alien race.

  It never happened. However, something was found many are willing to kill to keep a secret.

  Now, they have killed the wrong people.

  How many will need to die to keep the truth hidden?

  As many as is needed.

  He will have vengeance no matter the cost. She will dig for the truth. No matter how risky the truth is to reveal.

  * * *

  Pre-order Enlightened Ignorance for Delivery on March 6, 2020

  Author Notes - Michael Anderle

  December 7, 2019

  Thank you for reading not only this book but through the end to these Author Notes in the back!

  * * *

  Where do we go from here?

  Right now, the first book has been released for Opus X, and we are just about one week away from releasing book 02. I am presently editing book 04.

  Opus X 12 seems like s
uch a long way away! (actually, it is…which is why it seems so far away!)

  We were talking to Gene Mollica Studios (specifically Gene and Sasha) yesterday while on the road related to the covers for books 07-12.

  Seven (07) isn’t a problem, but starting with book 08, we need a , which means I need to cough up a potentially large chunk of change to do the right thing.

  Well, my version of “do the right thing.” The bean counters might believe it’s the way-too-expensive thing, and for all I know, they might be right. However, I’m leaning toward giving the green light to the project without doing a significant amount of review because this series is my passion project.

  The project I have wanted to be super special from the artwork side of things. However, saying I want it to be special and seeing the bills and invoices coming in for the level of specialness I am paying for occasionally makes my wallet scream.

  I have to remind myself, “It’s only for six more covers…”

  * * *

  Changing the World

  Right now, I’ve been blessed to have helped a large group of authors / indie publishers by providing advice, guidance, and encouragement they can use in their careers through the 20Booksto50k® group.

  In the last month, I’ve spoken with other companies related to changing how the bookstore business operates, and while it is VERY early stages, I wasn’t laughed off the conference call.

  Which I was a bit worried about. I often dream big, but I also often don’t know the difference between dreaming big and a huge hallucination.

  So far, I believe it might be thinking big, but I should find out in the next couple of months if I’m really hallucinating.

  * * *

  THANK YOU

  Opus X is 1 story told in twelve books over eighteen months. Early indications suggest the Wide sales income is solid. Nothing to crow about with the New York Times, but that is why the plan is for eighteen months.