Enemies of the State

By Jeff Altabef

Steven Cabbott is fighting some serious personal demons, and with America on the brink of civil war, knowing whom to trust is almost impossible. Especially when the person he trusts least of all is himself.

After joining a special operations unit at a young age, the government turned Steven into a killer, and worse—someone who enjoys killing. He tells himself that was a different version of him, and he has changed. Yet one simple question haunts him: does he really want to change?

As civil war threatens to rip America apart, he yearns only for redemption and a good night's rest. Two young dissident leaders may hold the key to Steven's absolution, and to peace, but the government is poised to abduct them.

Faced with near impossible odds, Steven must extract the dissidents, but he encounters treachery at every turn, and he's running out of time. Can he keep his personal demons in check long enough to save the rebels, or will the government claim them all as Enemies of the State?

NOTE: A special 5-chapter sneak previews of "Shatter Point" is included at the end of this short story.

Evolved Publishing presents a 10,000-word short story featuring Steven Cabbott, a memorable character from the award-winning suspense thriller "Shatter Point." [DRM-Free]

• Language: English
• Publisher: Evolved Publishing LLC
• Release date: Aug 20, 2015
• ISBN: 9781622533107

Jeff Altabef

Jeff Altabef lives in New York with his wife, two daughters, and Charlie the dog. He spends time volunteering at the Writing Center in the local community college. After years of being accused of “telling stories,” he thought he would make it official. He writes in both the thriller and young adult genres. As an avid Knicks fan, he is prone to long periods of melancholy during hoops season. Jeff has a column on The Examiner focused on writing and a blog on The Patch designed to encourage writing for those that like telling stories.  [AUTHOR OF: A Point Thriller Series; A Nephilim Thriller Series; Chosen Series; Red Death Series]

Book preview

ENEMIES OF THE STATE

A Steven Cabbott Short Story

EnemiesOfTheState

By

Jeff Altabef

Copyright

EPLogo

www.EvolvedPub.com

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ENEMIES OF THE STATE

A Steven Cabbott Short Story

Copyright © 2015 Jeff Altabef

Cover Art Copyright © 2015 D. Robert Pease

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ISBN (EPUB Version): 1622533100

ISBN-13 (EPUB Version): 978-1-62253-310-7

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Editor: Lane Diamond

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eBook License Notes:

You may not use, reproduce or transmit in any manner, any part of this book without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations used in critical articles and reviews, or in accordance with federal Fair Use laws. All rights are reserved.

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only; it may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, please return to your eBook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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Disclaimer:

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author's imagination, or the author has used them fictitiously.

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Thank you for picking up your copy of Enemies of the State. I hope it gets your heart racing! As a thank you for that, and for joining my newsletter list, I’d like to offer you a free gift. I’ve co-authored a new short story, Second Chances, which will be published at the end of September 2015. You’ll receive this new story by email when you sign up at FREE GIFT.

Other Books by Jeff Altabef

SHATTER POINT

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CHOSEN

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Book 1: Wind Catcher

Book 2: Brink of Dawn

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www.JeffAltabef.com

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright

FREE GIFT

Other Books by Jeff Altabef

Enemies of the State – A Steven Cabbott Short Story

Shatter Point – A Special Sneak Preview

What Others Are Saying

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Acknowledgements

About the Author

What's Next?

More from Jeff Altabef

More from Evolved Publishing

ENEMIES OF THE STATE

August 2041

Steven Cabbott stretched his arms behind his back and rolled his neck in hopes of working out a crick. He groaned as a shooting pain zipped though his shoulder and down his right arm.

I’m not getting any younger, and the world’s going to hell—a dangerous combination for someone in my business.

He trudged to a simple stainless steel stool in the middle of the room. The day had been a long one, and he suspected they’d all be long for a while—a war had started to brew and that meant trouble. All the elements swirled in the air: a clueless government, angry citizens, desperation, hopelessness, rage. Only a fool would miss the signs, and this would not be a conflict between countries.

No, this would be a civil war, a far nastier affair.

Steven sat and faced his captive—a well-muscled man in his mid thirties with short black hair, a flat nose, and dead eyes. He knew those eyes all too well; they stared back at him whenever he looked into a mirror. Those were the eyes of a cold-hearted killer.

But that was the old him, a version he desperately wanted to change.

He had chained his prisoner to a sturdy chair bolted to the concrete floor. Now he pulled an identity badge from his pocket, glanced at the man, and back at the card. Strange, but you don’t look like our computer programmer, yet you have her badge. I know they’re doing remarkable work with sex change operations these days, but this would be a miracle. Either that, or you stole her identification?

The man shrugged. I must have found it.

I bet you were probably going to return it when you saw her again.

Yeah, that’s right.

We found her dead in her apartment this morning, so naturally I was quite surprised when our systems indicated she had passed the DNA reader at our headquarters a short time later. He leaned forward. Either she had been resurrected, or a psychopath tortured her, killed her, and used her DNA to pass through our security. Either way I had to investigate. Being an optimist, I was hoping for the resurrection, of course. Imagine my disappointment when I found you, the psychopath, instead.

The captive shrugged.

Steven plugged a flash drive, which he’d taken from his prisoner, into a handheld device. Let’s see what you stole from us.

He hoped to find schematics for their latest weapon systems, or some code from one of their new programs, but what he found caused his heart to skip a few beats.

He narrowed his eyes. Who are you working for?

Go screw yourself.

"You have two choices. One is messy, with lots of blood and wild screaming and begging. The other is painless. Either way, we’re going to end up at the same place. You will tell me everything. It’s your choice. Pick."

The man spat at Steven’s feet. Go to hell!

Looks like we’re going to get messy.

He rose from the stool, walked toward a shiny metal cart, rested his hand on a pair of large garden clippers, and sighed. There was a time when he would have looked forward to this interrogation, even taken pleasure in it, but he’d changed, a different man now. At least, that’s what he kept telling himself.

Yet he had no other options. He needed to know everything—the stakes were too damn high.

He returned