Cheating Time
T. R. Graves
2012, 2013, & 2014 NaNoWriMo Winner
Smashwords Edition
Copyright 2014 T. R. Graves
http://thewarriorseries.blogspot.com/
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ISBN: 9781499755299
This book is a work of fiction. Any mention of
historical events, real people, or real locations is discussed
fictitiously. All other names, characters, places, and incidents
are products of the author's creativity, and any similarities to
real events, locations, or persons are a matter of coincidence.
Ebook formatting by
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Table of Contents
Chapter 5—Blame the Gunman Not the Gun
Chapter 9—Circle of Trust, Love, and Loyalty
Chapter 12—From Dreams to Reality
Chapter 14—Shooting Monkeys in a Barrel
Chapter 18—Longevity, Loyalty, and Devotion
Chapter 19—Preparatory Academy
Chapter 21—Muhammad Must Go to the Mountain
Chapter 23—My special little girl
Chapter 31—Contracts Made in Hell
Chapter 33—President's Prisoners
Warriors of the Cross (Warrior, #1)
Guardians of the Cross (Warrior, #2)
Enemies
of the Cross (Warrior, #3)
Since
Inception (Vanishing, #1)
2015/2016
Chasing
the Dragon (Lost Innocence, #1)
Dark Angels of the Cross (Warrior, #4)
Worth
Dying For (Underwater, #1)
Worth
Living For (Underwater, #2)
Everything about the scene before us: the
respect my father had shown Jayden, the appreciation the
Surrogate
felt, the fact that we
were merely minutes away from being separated—
possibly forever
—had Mom, Tawney, and me sniffling
back the tears and gulping down lumps.
Soon, everyone but Jayden was gathered
around hugging each other desperately. When I glanced over and saw
him standing stoically to the side, I reached out my hand,
intertwined my fingers with his, and pulled him into our circle of
trust, love, and loyalty. —
Carles Anise Enoche "Carlie"
President John Henry Barone
"Sir, I netted and retrieved the operative
report for the MicroPharm First Generation," Isaiah Manniless, the
special agent in charge of my protection, announced while dashing
into the presidential office.
"It was very clever of Dr. Enoche and Dr.
Panzali to save it to TOR I and to immediately transfer it to TOR
II. Under most circumstances, your most ingenious cyber forensics
investigator can't get to information or find out who its creators
are when TOR I is used. Moving the operative report from the
advanced encryption software to its even more innovative scion, TOR
II, makes it as if the information never existed and the
originators never loaded it to the internet." Manniless chuckled
before musing, "It really was quite smart of them."
Smart indeed.
Dr. Enoche's husband, Sam, had been my best
friend since childhood. I knew his work when I saw it. He'd been
begging me for years to invest money into creating TOR II so our
government and its most sensitive military documents could be
stored without fear that disingenuous hackers were studying the
Aspect Nation and without worrying that the plans most critical to
the nation's survival were being read by hackers who intended to
alert our enemies and stage their own preemptive strikes.
I'd known he was right. Manniless's
admiration for what Sam had done with the OP report only confirmed
my suspicions. Without a doubt, I'd like nothing more than to dive
full force into a project like TOR II, investing in a more secure
informational networking system. Unfortunately, the Aspect's
governmental resources were taxed in ways they'd never before been
burdened.
As if he were reading my mind and channeling
Sam, Maninless said, "You know, you really need to look into the
TOR II. I'd risk Junior's life on its ability to hide data in ways
no one'll ever find it, much less find out who put it out there.
From military and national security perspectives, it could be
useful."
"It must be secure if you're betting your
only son's life on it," I said, leveling my stare on the man who
periodically brought Isaiah, Jr. to work with him just so he'd be
able to say he was the first special agent in charge whose training
began while still in diapers.
"It is, and I would, sir," Manniless said
proudly.
"Well, here's the cold, hard facts. I want
to do just that, but the Aspect Nation's finances are already
stretched when it comes to protecting our borders from the
goddamned
Shadow Citizens who are
doing their best to invade our country. They're a threat to us, one
I can't ignore.
"Not very many people know the political
environment in the Shadow Nation has gotten so bad that its
citizens are cannibalizing each other for no reason other than
they're that desperate for food. Based on the footage I've gotten,
they've turned into a nation of
The Walking Dead
. If they
ever tear down the defenses at our border, we'll be invaded and
overrun by their special brand of militia. There won't be anything
worth saving."
"Damn! I didn't know it had gotten so bad
for them," Manniless exclaimed.
"It has. Then there's the Aspect Nation's
obligation to its own citizens' basic necessities, which of course
I'm not opposed to. What I am opposed to is all the money we spend
on healthcare.
"When I look at the monthly reports geared
toward helping me gauge the condition of our nation and its
finances, I'm appalled at how much we spend on our sick and
elderly.
"Believe it or not, we spend almost as much
on healthcare as we spend on our safety and security."
Manniless was interested and intrigued. "How
could that be, sir? Something about those figures just doesn't seem
right."
"Oh, they're right… and they're the very
reason I'm investing in MicroPharms. I'm confident those devices
will save our nation, and I'll be able to right the ship… get back
to basics like spending money on TOR II…
or
even TOR III
. That's what we should be devoting our
time, energy, and funds toward. Instead, I've got to pay for a
nation of aging, ailing citizens that don't believe they have an
obligation when it comes to minimizing the cost of healthcare.
"They have more children than they should.
They don't take care of themselves. They refuse elective abortions
in situations where they know the babies are going to be born with
significant defects, ones that will cost the government millions
before the end of that baby's life, even if the baby's life ends
early."
"How will MicroPharms help all of those
problems?" Manniless, earnestly curious, asked.
"If the First Generation's procedure is
successful, I'm going to sign into law a mandate that all babies
born have them implanted. I don't look for the law to bring too
much political backlash.
"After watching Dr. Selma Enoche for the
last nine months and following every heartbeat of the
Aspect Nation's firstborn
,
practically every new mother in the nation wants a MicroPharm
implanted into their child's heart. For no reason other than they
want to be just like Selma, and they want their baby to be just
like her baby
.