Executive Order by J.A. Armstrong

Author:J.A. Armstrong [Armstrong , JA]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9798398858174
Published: 2023-06-21T16:00:00+00:00

“Why does it seem like we’ve done this before?” Alex asked her brother.

“Probably because we have.”

“I have to say I never thought I’d see the day Edmond would sign over Technologie Applique.”

Jonathan Krause nodded.

“You did?”

“I don’t know. I wonder what he’s doing it now. Jim’s off on some mission he didn’t share with anyone. Edmond wants to retire. No one retires from what we do, Alex. Even when we try to walk away, we get sucked back inside the beast. Those two? They never walked away. I’m as sure of that as I am of anything in my life. And now? Pytor wants Edmond out—permanently? I don’t like it.”

“Do you think they know more than they’ve told us?” Alex asked. “Jima and Edmond?”

“Don’t you? I don’t know what to think. We both know the Collaborative splintered into factions.”

“Yeah.”

“What?” Krause asked.

“I don’t know. Part of me wonders if it’s not all coming back together.”

Krause nodded.

“You, too?”

“It makes sense. Many people benefited from the Cold War and all the little hot wars they created to line their pockets. Ones that carried little risk. Have you told Candace everything?” he asked.

“Everything I know. Yes. Something is different. I feel it,” Alex said. “Candace, Keller—they aren’t playing their roles as someone hoped.”

“No one in our world wants idealists in power, Alex.”

“I don’t think Candace is an idealist.”

“Seriously?”

“I don’t. She had ideals. Which I will grant you is a rarity. But she’s pragmatic about them. It’s not as if she’s out to shake the foundations of the world order.”

“Maybe not. She’d like to shift it. She’s already begun. Candace Reid believes people should have power. Not that the people in power should remain in control. We both know that’s not a popular approach. She’s coloring outside the lines, Alex. Keller, too. They’re not beholden to the machine.”

Alex sighed.

“Do you disagree?” Krause asked.

“No. Isn’t that what we agreed to do? Tear apart old machine piece by piece?” Alex asked.

“We did. We also knew what that would entail. Neither of us could anticipate a president who wanted the same thing. Maybe not for the same reasons. It’s changed the posture of the people we’ve been attempting to expose. They’re not about to play it safe. That presents us with opportunities.”

“But it also presents a danger.”

Krause agreed. “There’s no way men like Gregorovich will allow sanctions and restrictions to tug at their purse strings. You know it. I know it. And they aren’t about to lie back and let democracy flourish. No way. People are coloring too far outside the traditional lines. I don’t know who is at the helm, Alex. Maybe there isn’t one someone. But I’m as sure as ever that the Collaborative is retaking shape. It might call itself something new or nothing at all. There is a structure to what’s behind the latest events. A structure that hasn’t existed since—”

“Since Jim killed the admiral.”

“Yes. I know you don’t want to hear this. But I think you need to hear it. Candace has stepped into the same place as John.

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