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Back Truth of the Divine Save as PDF
Chapters (70)
  1. Also By Lindsay Ellis and Available From Titan Books
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Contents
  6. Author’s Note
  7. Part 1: It’s A Fool Who Plays It Cool
  8. 1
  9. 2
  10. 3
  11. 4
  12. 5
  13. 6
  14. Part 2: Love Has A Nasty Habit Of Disappearing Overnight
  15. 7
  16. 8
  17. 9
  18. 10
  19. 11
  20. 12
  21. 13
  22. 14
  23. 15
  24. 16
  25. 17
  26. 18
  27. 19
  28. 20
  29. 21
  30. 22
  31. 23
  32. 24
  33. 25
  34. Part 3: A Crowd Of People Stood And Stared
  35. 26
  36. 27
  37. 28
  38. 29
  39. 30
  40. 31
  41. 32
  42. 33
  43. 34
  44. 35
  45. 36
  46. 37
  47. 38
  48. 39
  49. 40
  50. 41
  51. 42
  52. 43
  53. 44
  54. 45
  55. 46
  56. Part 4: Happiness Is A Warm Gun
  57. 47
  58. 48
  59. 49
  60. 50
  61. 51
  62. 52
  63. 53
  64. 54
  65. 55
  66. 56
  67. 57
  68. A Fiction Agreed Upon
  69. Acknowledgments
  70. About the Author

Kaplan reclined on the uncomfortable metal chair, trying to look like it wasn’t as uncomfortable as they both knew it was. “We’ve got some witnesses on the ground from the incident downtown that say you were acting as an intermediary between Nikola and Jano Miranda.”

Kaveh’s eyes popped wide. “‘Nikola?’”

“This whole nightmare has kicked a lot of gears into motion that should have been in motion a long time ago, one of them is the issue of legal names. ‘Nikola’ is the name we got, so it’s the name we’re running with.”

Kaveh was dumb with surprise. He’d given him the name Nikola without much serious thought, just an alternative to having his namesake be a landmark in mass murder. If that was true, then “Nikola,” a name he had picked on the fly, would be international news soon, if it weren’t already. Not just international news, it would be history. “Yeah, I . . . that’s not completely accurate. Mostly I was trying to get Nikola out of there before anyone got killed. Clearly, I failed.”

“You sure did,” said Kaplan, picking his fingernails with his thumb. “What was he doing there?”

“The truth is, he wanted to see it. He asked me to take him to downtown LA. I told him no, absolutely not. So he decided he’d go without me. And here we are.”

“Here we are,” repeated Kaplan, looking down at his fingernail-picking.

“How many?”

Kaplan studied him from under hooded eyes. “One gunman, shot by the LAPD. Another bystander, shot by the LAPD. Pilot of the helicopter, but the cameraman miraculously survived. Blades hit four, decapitated one, another died from injuries later. Driver of the van is in critical condition, along with several others. Five dead so far.”

Kaveh started to reply, but paused. Kaplan seemed to be evaluating him, and thinking back on all the people he followed for Internal Enemies, he knew that his life was in Kaplan’s hands. If he wanted, he could strip Kaveh of his citizenship. He could lock him away. He might even do the same to his family. Kaplan looked as though he was debating which of the above was the best option.

“If I were to put you in a room with Nikola, would you be able to speak for him?”

Kaveh forced a sickly smile. “Do I have a choice?”

* * *

“I AM GLAD TO SEE YOU SAFE, DEAR CLEVER CREATURE.”