Read Online Dominant Predator by S.A. McAuley - Free Book Online

but didn’t comment on his orders. “Who’s his second-in-command?” I asked instead.
    “Chen is working on that.”
    “How do we not know?”
    “We’re unclear on the exact power structure and how the Committee members and leaders within the Singaporean government fit into it, if at all.”
    “Which is why you need the clean slate.”
    “One reason, yes.”
    “I’m reporting to Neveed again?”
    “You answer to me. His role as your handler has concluded.”
    At the very least that was one fewer complication in my life.
    “When do you move?” I asked, remembering his intent to get to the front lines as soon as possible.
    “A day or two. No more than that. Neveed will take up my residence in the capital at that point.” The President tapped his fingers on the desk. “What’s your end game, Merq?”
    I huffed. “You ask that when I expected to die.”
    “And I know you already have it figured out.”
    “There is a…complication I’m in the process of integrating into my plans.”
    “Mm-hmm,” the President muttered. “What is he to you?”
    “I can’t answer that,” I replied honestly.
    “You’re so sure of yourself, Merq. And one man? This one man has the power to make you question your objectives.”
    I bit down on the piercing in my lip. “I don’t pretend to understand it.”
    “And I don’t have the power to change it,” he said with finality.
    I narrowed my eyes and sat back in the chair.
    “He’s a gift, isn’t he?” I said, awareness dawning.
    “Don’t be simple. That is perilously close to the flesh trade. That would be rather crass of me and quite inhuman.”
    “Of which you are neither,” I said with a smile, and added, “sir.”
    The President laughed. “There are many who would beg to differ.”
    “And what is your end game, sir?”
    “The same as it’s always been. The balance of power returning to the people. Revolution is about life and unity. The value of the individual and the power of the collective. I’ve been a part of the wrong side of the movement for too many years now. It’s going to be difficult to convince the citizenry that the vast majority of my actions were manufactured. The people have something to fight for, but we have to give them a compelling enough reason to lay down their lives—to threaten the peace of their homes and families once again—for that cause. ”
    I scoffed. What was it with existential diatribes today on fighting? First Armise and now the President. Their apparent need to convince me of the rightness of our course of action was unnecessary and bordering on insulting. Especially when I knew that both of them held ulterior motives that stained the supposed purity of their intentions. I scrubbed my hands through my hair and tried not to roll my eyes in response. “Fuck. Not you, too.”
    “I suppose this distance you view the world with can be soundly laid at my feet and your upbringing. I wasn’t wrong for setting you on this course, but that doesn’t mean I was completely right either.” The President waved his hands in the air as if he was gathering his thoughts. “You must be wondering why I led you to believe you were on that mission solo and would likely be killed when you assassinated the Premiere. Why I kept Armise’s status guarded for as long as I did, especially when there is little that has ever been hidden between us. I personally would want to know.”
    I was surprised that he had decided to even broach this topic with me. “Does the truth of his involvement really matter?”
    “I can’t possibly answer that for you.”
    “I don’t want to know. Rather, I don’t need to know. You had your reasons and, more importantly, it’s done.”
    “It’s that easy for you?”
    “Guess it is, sir.”
    “I’ve known you nearly your entire life, Merq. Are you ever going to call me Wensen?”
    I frowned. “No.”
    “You’re my soldier, Merq, but I’ve come to think of you as more than that. I’d tell you