Interlude - Betrayal

President Richard Warner lounged into his comfortable, oversized, reading chair as he sipped his morning whiskey. Despite the high humidity, this was still his favorite part of the day. It was not yet hot enough for him to sweat, and he could almost pretend the apocalypse had not occurred. Especially clothed in his pajamas as he presently was.

He once again glanced out the window to observe the construction of the primitive buildings on the White House lawn. Initially, Richard had been wholly against the alien structures. He did not want them anywhere near him. However, after his Intelligence Advisor, Scott Peters, pointed out the benefits, he grudgingly agreed. Not only would a nearby faction hall ensure no alien creatures could appear within the White House, he was promised the rooms would be climate controlled as well.

What’s taking those builders so long?

It had been a week since construction began and, according to his chancellor, it would be at least another four before he could once again sit in an air-conditioned room. Richard took another sip from his glass tumbler, once again annoyed that it came without ice.

At least they can keep the whiskey cool in the cellar.

Warner scowled when he suddenly received a notification on the alien interface. Personally, he hated the technology, but as a pragmatic man, he forced himself to use it. He read through the message and grudgingly agreed to accept the holo-chat call. 

At least Scott is competent and loyal.

Moments later, his advisor appeared before him, clothed in a suit and tie. That was another thing he appreciated about his intelligence advisor, the man always appeared professional and somehow unaffected by the stifling humidity. 

He gave Warner the respect he deserved.

“Good morning, Mister President,” Scott greeted him.

Warner grunted a reply and took a sip from his whiskey.

“I have an update for you on the Blake Summers situation,” he began, straight to the point.

Warner suddenly sat up straight and leaned forward. “Tell me the good news.”

Scott grimaced. “Unfortunately, my assets were not allowed to accompany Mister Summers when he conquered the rival faction, so they were not able to obtain any footage from the event.”

“Damnit!” Warner swore. “We need the PR win! That stupid interview is still biting me in the ass. Do you know how many governors and congressmen took our billion nano investment and ran? Now, even my most ardent supporters are demanding greater concessions to stay. It’s criminal!”

While he ranted, Scott Peters showed no reaction to his plight. Only after he was finished with his tirade and took another sip, did the ex-CIA man respond. “Yes, Mister President. Due to the current chaotic situation, I believe there will be additional opportunities presented to my assets. I do, however, have good news for you.”

“I could use some good news. Hit me,” he ordered.

“I have additional assets embedded within Mister Summer’s organization. They have recently been invited to join this new subfaction, and are well-placed.”

“Wait, you have even more spies in their ranks?” Warner clarified.

“Yes, Mister President.”

“How well placed are we talking?”

Scott Peters hesitated.

“Spit it out,” he demanded.

“By a twist of fate, our inside man has been selected to lead the subfaction.”

Oh, that’s great!

President Warner threw his head back and laughed uproariously. When his chuckles finally resided, he asked, “Who is this spy? What’s his name?”

“Indigo Wasabi, sir.”

“What kind of name is that?” Richard asked in disbelief, then shook his head. “Never mind, it doesn’t matter. I’ll tell you what’s going to happen, now. I want Blake to suffer like I have. I want his own, brand new, subfaction leader to defect and publicly renounce that kid. Make sure everyone hears about all the awful, horrible, no-good things this Summers’ kid has done. I don’t care if he has to make it up, the goal is to trash his reputation.”

“Sir,” Scott Peters frowned. “I don’t believe that would be an effective use of the asset. May I remind you, if Mister Wasabi outs himself, he will no longer be of use to us. Depending on Mister Summer’s reaction, he could also be killed. I believe it is a far better use to wait until the time is right before…”

“I don’t give a shit about that!” Warner interrupted. “We need a win now, not at some future date that might never happen. You know how many times I’ve been burned by waiting for the perfect time? No, this is happening.”

“Sir, Indigo’s life will be forfeit, are you sure you want to eliminate a loyal supporter so easily?” Mister Peters attempted a moral appeal.

Warner shrugged. “Gotta make some omelets, sometime.”

Scott stared at him through the holo-chat for five full seconds before he stated, “No, that will not be happening.”

The president’s brows rose in outrage. “What did you just say?”

“I said I will not burn an asset for no gain, not when he is so well-placed.”

Warner leaned forward. “You will do what I say you will do, or I will have you thrown in jail!”

Mister Peters shook his head. “I don’t believe you will, Mister President.”

“Oh?” Richard snorted. “You think you’re irreplaceable, do you?”

“I believe you do not wish certain activities to come to light. I do not believe your constituents would approve of the way you treated Miss Clairborne.” Shit! How does he know about her?!

The president kept his face straight and asked, “Who?”

“The pretty young woman you had drugged and then brought to your bedroom,” Scott specified.

Deny everything!

“That never happened,” the president stated unequivocally. “And, even if it had, it’s your word against mine. My reputation’s withstood worse.”

“I would not rely on ‘witness testimony’ alone,” Mister Peters assured him. “I have proof.”

Hah! Does he think I’m stupid?! Cameras and microphones don’t work anymore!

“You don’t have shit,” he replied smugly.

Suddenly, a new video was overlaid atop their holo-chat conversation. It showed his private bedroom, with an obviously drugged young woman on his bed. Richard watched the next scene with wide eyes as he began to disrobe.

How did they record this? No one else was in the room?!

As if he read the president’s mind, Scott replied with a satisfied smirk, “It is amazing what kind of angles you can capture using the alien interface. Interestingly enough, if a person leans against a closed door, the camera is capable of recording footage on the other side. Fascinating, really.”

“You have your spies watching me?!” Warner shouted in outrage.

“There was no need,” Peters calmly replied. “Your own mistreated staff were more than happy to assist.”

Richard fumed. 

The faces of everyone closest to him flashed through his mind as he imagined who the traitor could be. Unfortunately, he could imagine each one of them betraying him. 

Is no one loyal anymore? What has this country come to?

Warner wanted to reach out and strangle the smug man before him, but they separated by miles. Even if he did manage to kill the other man, that footage would likely find itself broadcast world-wide. After all, the CIA man operated a massive propaganda machine.

“So, it’s a coup,” Warner spat out. “They’ll never follow you. They don’t even know who you are.”

“That is precisely why things will remain as they are. You will remain at the forefront as the forward face of the government. You may even continue to make decisions, assuming they do not conflict with my own. However, I would highly suggest you not attempt to alienate me from your other advisors. There is a reason I suggested them for their roles, everyone has secrets to hide.”

Is he blackmailing the entire government?!

President Richard Warner remained silent as the traitor continued. “Now, Dick, will you comply, or will things become… messy?”

Things will be messy when your head is impaled on a pike!

Despite his furious anger, he took a deep breath and pretended to comply. However, he had no intention of leaving things as they stood. He would not allow himself to be controlled.

No, I’ll use this… Collective… against him. I’ll pump myself so full of nanomachines, he’ll be helpless before me.

The only thing that had stopped Warner from taking a combat class in the past was fear. Fear of the alien tech, and fear of being controlled by it. However, if he were already under someone’s control, he had nothing to lose. He had seen the powers granted to psionic users, and he had an ultimate objective.

Mind Control.

***

Rajesh sat behind the conference table as he listened intently to his lieutenants’ reports. A week ago, things were rough. However, his ruthless nature had overcome many obstacles, and they had secured their power. He had even upgraded his title.

“Baron Rajesh,” his loyal chancellor, Zahir, addressed him with a slight bow of the head. “We are having issues with new recruitment. Our current faction members remain compliant, especially after your demonstrations. However, word has spread and the unaffiliated have fled the area.”

“Then recruit from further away,” Rajesh replied dryly.

Idiot! Must I fix everything?

“Baron,” Zahir swallowed. “Our teams are already kilometers away, and are running into the other factions’ territory. Governor Willis and Mayor Rico have accepted a surge of people into their ranks. I’m afraid only their faction level keeps them behind us. Once they reach level three, they will immediately run up against the five thousand member cap.”

He sniffed. “I’m not concerned. I’ll soon reach level four, and conquer every faction in Phoenix before they become a problem.”

Rajesh had big plans. He was currently level three, and with his achievements and title, was already immune to most bullets. When that was combined with his spells, he was almost unstoppable. However, he would not take foolish risks. Once he reached the next level, he would increase his Physical Resistance until he was immune to all gunfire, no matter the caliber used. Then, he could conquer his neighbors without risk.

Unfortunately, most of their current income came from new recruits. Each new faction member added two point five million nano to the treasury, courtesy of their directive reward. With almost four thousand members, that was almost ten billion nano. His members also went deeply into debt from all the services they received, such as food, housing, and protection. However, until they established their own income source, Rajesh and his faction would not see a dime.

Too bad I can’t use it all for myself.

As a tri-class, ten billion nano would allow him to level five times and increase his attributes by twelve each time he did so. With eleven billion nano, he could reach level six. However, there were other considerations that needed to be made. A large amount of wealth was required to expand his town, and he also needed to empower his lieutenants. In the long term, investing everything into himself would be foolish.

“Baron, the recruitment teams claim they need additional manpower to breach through the pockets of resistance. They say it is too risky to…”

A scuffle outside the conference room, interrupted his advisor. Suddenly, the sound of gunfire on the other side of the door almost deafened Rajesh, and he immediately activated his Force Resistance spell. Rajesh swiveled his chair clockwise and then stood to investigate. 

What foolishness is going on now?

He heard a gasp and was surprised when multiple guns fired, directly behind him. Rajesh whirled around and stood in shock while four of his lieutenants fired on him directly. Only Zahir remained loyal, but cowered in his chair.

Their bullets were easily slowed to a crawl by his Force Resistance spell. The instant the projectiles collided with the invisible barrier, they lost all momentum and fell to the ground, useless. Of course, even if he had failed to activate the ability in time, he would have likely survived. After all, they held pistols in their hands.

And THAT is why I never revealed my power.

Rajesh stared contemptuously at the four men as their expressions slowly morphed from grim determination to shock, then horror as their magazines were emptied, yet no bullet reached him. 

There was a pregnant pause as they stared at his unharmed body. Eventually, they broke out of their trance, extracted knives from their belts and brandished them.

That won’t help you either.

Rajesh cast Wrench Object on one of the knives, and smirked when it stabbed into its owner’s throat. 

One down, three to go.

He cast Mind Blast on another traitor, and felt nothing but satisfaction as the man crumpled to the ground in agony. With half their numbers eliminated, the two remaining turncoats sprinted directly at him. They shouted a pathetic war cry, which suddenly cut off the moment they slammed into the Kinetic Shield he manifested directly in front of them.

Idiots.

Unfortunately, after three back to back uses of psionic abilities, a migraine ripped through his head. His nose began to bleed, and he felt his vision blur.

That’s fine, I have plenty of other abilities.

Rajesh dropped his Force Resistance spell and channeled Amplify Mass on the first to recover. His target was immediately slammed to the floor by increased gravity.

Pity the spell can only affect a single target.

He slowly closed the distance as he maintained his aether ability and then added Alacrity to the mix. Once his speed was enhanced, he surged forward, faster than they could follow, and grabbed his two targets by their necks. 

Rajesh then activated Strengthen and squeezed. 

Bones snapped, and they immediately collapsed. He released his grip and stepped toward the last survivor. While the man cradled his head and writhed on the ground, Rajesh kneeled before him. 

“Now tell me, who else has betrayed me.”

Next Chapter