Lessons In Corruption Novels & Stories

"Nothing. Savage forbade learning Coalition techniques. Said they were corrupt." "Then you'll learn. If the Coalition grants you asylum, you'll attend my basic defensive course. You'll learn shields, threat detection, and ward reinforcement. All the techniques Savage called corruption." Luna's silver eyes were intense. "And when you're done, you'll teach them. To wolves from traditional packs. Show them that reform isn't corruption. That's your path to redemption." "I can't teach. I'm not qualified."

I walked to the window and looked out at the grounds and tried to find the cold, precise, calculating part of my brain that I usually operated from — the part that made strategic assessments rather than reactive decisions, the part that had kept me functional and effective for twenty-eight years. It was there. Underneath everything else it was still there. But something else was there too, sitting on top of all the calculation, heavier than I was used to. I'd read files about bad people before. Spent significant portions of my professional life dismantling the operations of men who did unconscionable things. I understood cruelty academically, strategically, in the abstract. This was differen

He set a syllabus in front of me, keeping eye contact with me the whole time. While he stood up there lecturing I tried to concentrate on the words he was saying. It was probably the most difficult lesson I have sat through. All I could do was watch him. He moved so smoothly across his little stage. It was mesmerizing. He would look at me too, or I thought he was. Did I want him to? What is wrong with me, this man is my teacher, he is probably old enough to be my father. I just turned 20 this year. He is probably at least 45. "Iris, what philosopher did I tell the class was my favorite in college?" He smirked at me. What an ass. Did he know how distracted I was by him? I frantically looked d

"Do it," Austin said immediately. For the next hour, Hope moved through the building with Growth and Renewal, mapping corruption. They found it everywhere—in the foundation stones, in support pillars, even in some of the decorative carvings. "There's so much," Hope reported back. "Dozens of corruption points, all connected in a web. If someone activates the central node, the whole thing will trigger at once." "Can you transform it all?" Rosemary asked. "Not in six hours," Hope admitted. "There's too much. It would take days, maybe weeks."

He smiles back, his hand too occupied to wave. "You're so stubborn." His partner shouts at him, shaking his head but smiling. He laughs loudly and enters his car, horning at them with his car one last time before driving off, leaving his work of fourteen years behind because of something very much worth it. Corruption. Whenever there is corruption in something, it begins to eat it from the inside, until it begins to show on the outside and then, there is nothing left to show for it. He has refused to be eaten by the corruption from Hank Williams, who incidentally and unfortunately, is his own uncle.

"Eight signed. Four holdouts." "Four who will learn." She turned to face him, a small, sharp smile playing at her lips. "The evidence against them is even stronger. They just don't know it yet." He pulled her close, pressing a kiss to her temple. "You're dismantling an entire economic system." "I'm cleaning it." She leaned into him, letting his warmth seep through the exhaustion. "The council was the political arm. These wolves are the financial arm. Without money, corruption starves."

I accused, meeting their startled gazes. "You heard me right," I pressed on. "No need to look at me like that. You bribed Paul with a bag of money. That's plain corruption in our system." Eileen's face twisted in anger. She pointed at me. "You've started this, Omega," she spat. "I won't keep quiet and watch this corruption unfold," I declared, my voice steady. "Not when I can do something about it." Eileen burst into laughter, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "You can do something about it?" she asked, her voice laced with mockery.

Estel and I move to my dorm room at the end of the night and work till morning. Soon we have printouts all over the floor. Printouts of text messages between Cassie and Dean Howard, Cassie and Levi, Levi and several faculty members, and Cassie and some lecturers who she might have even exchanged sexual favors with. We have hard and solid proof of their corruption and how these lecturers have enabled Levi and Cassie to get away with anything they want to get away with.

And in this new dawn, I knew that the scars of corruption would serve as a reminder of our collective resilience and unwavering commitment to a better future. As the city gradually emerged from the shadows of corruption, a newfound sense of hope and optimism permeated the air. The people were emboldened by the victories achieved in the battle against corruption, and they started to actively participate in shaping the future of their city. Grassroots movements sprouted, demanding greater transparency, accountability, and citizen participation in governance.

“Yes, I know. How do you think it looks to the other Masters when my subditus does not do well in all the classes I teach.” Kim gave a chagrined smile. “But you are right, Charron focused on the workings of the state, its bureaucracies and not the use of power from the Source.” “But even so, is not turning away from any act of justice corrupting?” Kim asked, returning to the original question. “Even if a small act of corruption may save the lives of many at the expense of a few?”