Cabal of Lies

by Michael Anderle

“You figured it out, huh?” Camila raised an eyebrow in appreciation. “You’re not just a pretty corp princess face.”

  Jia side-eyed her. “Funny.”

  Camila smiled. “I thought so.”

  Erik noticed that Malcolm had glanced up to see the two ladies annoying each other and quickly focused back on his own work.

  Smart man.

  Erik looked at the two women in confusion. “Care to clue me in? What does that science experiment stuff have to do with them injecting it?”

  “You said Z-22 isn’t very stable,” Jia explained. “And from what you’ve both said, it doesn’t seem like it explicitly needs a priming device. Given its chemical nature, part of its lack of stability will manifest in detectable vapors.”

  Camila nodded. “Exactly. Z-22’s decay products are similar to several other high-end explosives, so you wouldn’t be able to easily tell it’s Z-22 just by detecting a few molecules, but even crappy bomb detection equipment would easily pick it up due to breakdown product outgassing. They wanted to be able to blow people up without anyone knowing until it was too late.”

  Understanding dawned on Erik’s face. “Which means they couldn’t go after high-value targets in secured corporate or municipal buildings. And if the bombers had a container, it was going to get flagged by the other detectors. This wasn’t just about killing me. They were probably preparing for a major push when we appeared at the house.”

  “You heard Victor’s rant about Rena.” Jia frowned. “They probably wanted to make examples out of the people associated with that case, and who knows who else. They’re so far over the extremist line, it’s hard to know what they find acceptable or not. But we can’t be sure those people at the house were the remainder of their foot soldiers.”

  Malcolm looked up from his data window. “As far as the guys out in the field, I think you did get them all. I’ve been cross-checking data and records from accounts and recovered PNIUs and comparing everything, and I’m about ninety-five percent sure we’ve accounted for everyone not in the leadership. But, you know, we’ve still got a lot of people to check out to confirm things.”

  “Well, more parts of people,” Camilla suggested with a shrug and a faint smirk.

  Jia raised an eyebrow, “Now, that’s dark.”

  Camila shrugged again.

  “That leaves us with the Inner Friends,” Erik continued. “Where are we on them? If you need help, we could ask a certain redheaded friend to get involved.”

  Emma snickered over their PNIUs but didn’t say anything.

  Malcolm scoffed. “I’ve got this, and we need it to be by the book. If everything you’ve said is right, whoever is at the other end of the rainbow is going to be able to hire expensive lawyers. That means everything we collect needs to be as clean as possible so they don’t weasel out of this, right?”

  Erik’s hands clenched. “You’re right, but the Inner Friends just lost all their people. If we don’t move on this fast, they could be on a transport to the HTP already and preparing to spend months on a ship to hide from the law.”

  “I’m close, Detective Blackwell,” Malcolm insisted. “Very close. Just give me the time.”

  Camila made a shooing motion. “I guarantee you he won’t find what you need with you here barking at him. I’ll keep examining the remains. I doubt there’s any intact Z-22 left, but if I can find some, I might be able to pull the atomic serial number off the explosive. Then we can at least track where it came from.”

  “Let us know the minute either of you figures anything out,” Erik ordered. “I want the bastards who set this all up, and I want them yesterday.”

  “Taking it kind of personal, Detective Big Guy?” Camila asked. “I’m surprised. You don’t seem like the type.”

  Erik shook his head. “Yeah, but not for the reasons you think. I just don’t like the idea that those smug bastards are sitting in their fancy houses somewhere, thinking they can wind up people like toy bombs and send them out. I’m old-fashioned. A good leader leads from the front, even if it gets him shot.”

  “They chose to do it,” Jia countered. “They weren’t victims. They were accomplices.”

  “Doesn’t matter. They might be idiots, but I still want the cowards at the top.” Erik pointed at Malcolm. “Sooner rather than later.”

  “I know, Detective.” Malcolm rolled his eyes. “You can get off my ass.”

  Camila smirked. “Don’t point your finger at me. I might bite it off.”

  “The left finger might be a little crunchy.” Erik headed toward the door. “Just get us some new leads.”

  This time, Jia shrugged. She didn’t know what was eating at him, either.

  Chapter Forty

  “Just goes to show you there are too many conspiracies out there,” Jia mentioned.

  Both detectives were working on interrogation reports, and it’d been a few hours since either had said anything substantial. It was almost time to clock off, but neither wanted to go home.

  The air seemed laden with tension and the promise of a new lead.

  Erik looked up from his desk. “Yeah, I know. I was still half-wondering if this could be the other thing I’m working on, but everything keeps going back to this being too sloppy. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s some rich young assholes who just got promoted at some Hexagon company. They’re sitting in their offices thinking about how they’re at the top of the world and decided to take up a cause to fill the void in their empty souls. They probably got together outside of work and started having some philosophical conversation about the nature of humanity, and then it escalated into grabbing people and convincing them to become walking talking suicide bombs.”

  “You’ve put a lot of thought into profiling the leaders.” Jia shrugged. “I don’t know if I care at this point as long as we catch them, and I think we’re close. Very close.”

  “Close doesn’t matter if they get away.”

  She pointed to her chest. “Here’s where my background comes in handy.”

  “How so?”

  Jia grinned. “Because if we’re right about the kind of people at the top of this, they won’t pack up and flee Earth because we are investigating them. They’ll be too arrogant and too scared at the same time. It makes for a dangerous combination, but one that works to our advantage.”

  Erik looked at her in disbelief. “You really don’t think they’ll run?”

  “You’ve been all around the UTC. You don’t get how strange it can be for someone to be forced to leave a place like Neo SoCal, especially if it’s their seat of power. No, they might fight, but they won’t run.” Jia nodded, a determined look on her face. “That’s the weakness that comes from being ultra-wealthy and not just kind of wealthy. The power of wealth only means something if you can use it, and using it properly requires a certain infrastructure that makes you vulnerable to people like us. We’ll get these people. I promise.”

  Their PNIUs chimed with a call from Malcolm. They both accepted.

  “I’ve got the Inner Friends,” Malcolm blurted, almost tripping over his words.

  Jia grinned, and Erik chuckled.

  “You won’t believe it,” Malcolm continued. “I don’t know if I do. At first I wasn’t sure, and I said to myself, ‘This can’t possibly be who I think it is. That would be crazy.’ But it’s clear. I mean, once I beat the encryption, it made tracing certain things even when I take ac—”

  “Malcolm,” Jia interrupted, “we don’t care about the why at the moment. We care who. We need to put together teams and hit all the Inner Friends ASAP, so they won’t be able to prepare more than they already have. The one advantage we have is they probably still think they’re safe because of the way they handled their messages.”

  “Don’t worry about that.” Malcolm took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “This time it’s easy. There isn’t a them. There’s only a him. The man at the center of the Inner Friends pretended to be different people to other people in the group, but it’s d
efinitely one person, or at least I can trace it to one person’s home, and the writing style is exactly the same. The system used to prepare the messages was the same.”

  Erik stood and grabbed his duster. “Who is it?”

  “Carlos Kandarian.”

  “The Stella Infinitas guy?” Erik asked, puzzled. “The victim of the bank robbery?”

  “No, his cousin who washes flitters, Detective. Yes, the Carlos Kandarian.”

  Erik pulled on his coat. “That’s one way to keep busy in retirement. Damn. I didn’t see that one coming. Just goes to show you this job is full of surprises.”

  Jia’s eyes widened. She stood with her mouth open in shock for a few seconds before closing it with a thin smile. “I knew there was more to that robbery.”

  The MX 60 zoomed toward Kandarian’s mansion, but this time they weren’t alone. An entire squadron of police flitters, including armored TPST vehicles, flew behind them, every individual flitter’s lights and sirens blaring.

  The net effect was reminiscent of a school of bioluminescent fish converging on one location.

  “This man is so rich, Generous Gao comes to him asking for presents,” Erik transmitted to the raid team. “He’s smuggling in Z-22 and weapons, including rifles. We can expect heavy resistance, including heavier weapons and possible exoskeletons. The guy loves his suicide bombers. Disable all suspects from at least five meters away. I don’t want any of our guys getting hurt this time.” He ended the transmission as confirmations from the different teams came in. “Emma, coordinate Dispatch for me.”

  Jia stared down at an image from a surveillance drone. It showed Kandarian entering his mansion only an hour prior. Everything had aligned.

  “I was right,” she commented. “The incident with the Friends of Purity is all over the news. There’s no way he doesn’t know about us hitting them, but he’s not running.”

  “Maybe he’s so arrogant he doesn’t think we’ll beat his encryption.” Erik pulled a hand off the control yoke to adjust his tactical vest. “Or he’s got fifty mercenaries in there, all in military-grade exoskeletons.”

  “I don’t think he’s got an army of mercenaries in there.” Jia nodded. “That’s the other problem that comes from rising that high in society. Power is an intoxicating drug, and if you let yourself get high all the time, you forget that you’re not actually a god. He thinks he scared us off before.”

  “ETA one minute,” Emma reported. “Drones are not detecting active countermeasures. That said, most of the house is impervious to my sensors, which represents a dangerous unknown variable.”

  “Emma, take control,” Erik ordered. He gestured to the passenger seat. “Do you mind? I want to be ready to hit the ground running with four barrels.”

  The minute of anticipation felt like an hour. The raid team closed on the target, the vehicles spreading to surround the mansion. Kandarian had nowhere to go but down, and they’d checked the records. There was no direct passage from Kandarian’s residential level to the next level down in the tower.

  The man’s desire to be a king on top of the world had trapped him.

  “Movement from the front,” Emma reported as she landed the MX 60 in the front lawn about fifty meters from the entry. “The doors are opening.”

  A magnified camera feed popped up. Erik threw the door open and slid out of the MX 60, ready to start firing. Jia matched him on the other side, kneeling behind the door for protection. Both detectives held their breath, ready for everything from bullets to yaoguai.

  “That’s…not what I thought would happen,” Erik muttered.

  The TPST flitters landed and their loading doors opened. Exoskeletons clanked out onto the lawn, their heavy weapons pointed at the front of the mansion.

  Their suspect emerged, his cane in hand. He strolled forward, his pace languid, but not out of proportion to his previously demonstrated mobility. There were no weapons on his person or any evidence of armed allies.

  “Carlos Kandarian,” Erik shouted. “You’re under arrest for conspiracy to commit murder, disturbing the peace, conspiracy to commit terrorism, illegal use of communications technology, and a long list of other things that would take me all day to recite. All Article Seven rights apply. Do you need these explained to you?”

  The old man shook his head. He let go of his cane and raised his hands above his head.

  Erik stood, his TR-7 still aimed at the suspect. He and Jia advanced slowly. Other officers, both on foot and in exoskeletons, closed in as well, a semicircle of well-armed police doom if Kandarian tried anything. Once Erik had moved closer, he could make out the weary smile on the suspect’s face.

  Kandarian kept his arms up. “This is unnecessary and undignified, as well. Don’t worry, Detective Blackwell. You’ve caught me. I give up.”

  Fifteen minutes later, Kandarian sat on a couch in one of his large receiving rooms. Police and drones choked the mansion, everyone running scanners and taking pictures. TPST exoskeleton teams and drones were clearing the building.

  Erik and Jia were outside, watching Kandarian with a few other officers. The suspect had his arms bound behind him and an almost serene look on his face. A circle of drones surrounded him, producing a visible safety line in case the wealthy suspect had plans to go down in a blaze of Z-22 glory.

  “Last room clear, Detective,” reported an officer over the comm.

  Erik shouldered his rifle, a look of annoyance on his face. “That easy, huh, Kandarian?”

  “I didn’t want to drag my loyal employees into this,” the old man replied. “It seemed unfair, even if they agreed with me ideologically.”

  “That’s one of the few things you’ve done lately that isn’t totally disgusting,” Jia commented. “But I am surprised you didn’t put up more of a fight.”

  Kandarian shook his head. “You know why I did so well in business throughout my career, Detective Lin?”

  “You sent suicide bombers to blow up your rivals?” Erik suggested.

  Kandarian chuckled. “No. Crude violence might serve criminals and the police well, but business requires more finesse, even cutthroat business. No, I did well because I had an intuitive grasp of when a battle could be won and when it’d be a waste of resources to fight.” He offered a weary smile to Erik. “In this case, it’s not just my time and resources that might be wasted. I could hire mercenaries and fight off your attempts to capture me. I could even try to flee, but in the end, I would be caught, and I would have left humanity weaker, not stronger, in my wake. That goes against everything I believe in. True Purism is about keeping our species strong.”

  Jia glared at the man, her arms folded. “If that’s your attitude, why try to kill a cop?”

  “He’s a man who chose impurity,” Kandarian insisted. Unlike his acolytes, his voice and demeanor remained calm. His tone was filled with pity rather than disgust. “I’ve been funding certain groups for the good of humanity, groups like the Friends of Purity. I’m sure once you’ve gone through all my records, you’ll discover how many different pet projects I had. Most weren’t as impressive as the Friends, but they all had their uses.” He let out a wistful sigh as he looked around. “And only the Friends had advanced to the point that they were willing to undertake more extreme actions. It’s difficult to convince people ensconced in a comfortable existence of how diseased society is, and that we need to help humanity.”

  “’Help humanity?’” Jia snorted. “You convinced disturbed people to commit acts of horrific violence. They blew themselves up. Don’t kid yourself.”

  Kandarian shook his head. “They chose to be martyrs for a cause greater than themselves. Even if you believe it is too extreme, you have to admire that level of dedication.” He smiled. “In a sense, I gave those misguided souls something that many in society crave—a chance to prove their ideals.”

  “If you’re so into this extremist Purism, why weren’t you out there blowing yourself up?” Erik asked.

  Kandarian ran a hand over his
wrinkled face. “I’ve read about you, Detective. I know you’re not just a Tin Man, but you’ve also de-aged. You were a perfect symbol to get my message out, the famous Obsidian Detective. Once you were dead, it would have been easy to push propaganda about why you deserved to die. That was why I didn’t target your partner at first. She might be misguided, but she’s still pure and hasn’t tainted herself with false longevity.”

  “A lot of people have de-aged,” Erik replied. “I thought the Purists didn’t have a problem with that. Several Purist associations have given it their official seal of approval.”

  Police continued to stream in and out of the mansion, and official drones filled the sky. News drones prowled the perimeter of the police zone.

  “The word ‘Purist’ has lost meaning. It’s degenerated, along with most of society.” Kandarian sighed. “Values and beliefs are often shoved aside when something pleasant is dangled. It’s been man’s goal since time immemorial to live forever. While I can’t blame some for choosing a temporary extension of life, I can’t forgive them, either. I’ve been thinking about this issue for a long time, but I was always distracted by my work. Once I left the company, I had more time to think about what was important and what I could use my wealth to accomplish.”

  “You were sloppy,” Jia noted. “Why not just hire criminals to assassinate Erik?”

  “Because I’m not a criminal, and the values I express are not criminal,” Kandarian insisted. “I’ll admit a tendency toward micromanagement likely led you to me. I thought early on that I should put some more distance between myself and my projects, but my ego wouldn’t allow it, despite my unfamiliarity with the necessities of this kind of work.” He eyed her. “I wanted to be the one personally pushing these brave souls forward and knowing that I was directly changing the world. I might be going to prison, but I still win.”

  Jia scoffed. “You’re not going to be able to buy your way out of this. Just because you surrendered, it doesn’t mean you’re not going to prison. There is no might involved in your future.”