Cabal
CABAL, noun
1. A number of persons untied in some close design; usually to promote their private views in church or state by intrigue. A junto. It is sometimes synonymous with faction, but a cabal usually consists of fewer men than a party, and the word generally implies close union and secret intrigues. This name was given to the ministry of Charles II., Clifford, Ashley, Buckingham, Arlington, and Lauderdale, the initials of whose names compose the word.
2. Intrigue; secret artifices of a few men united in a close design.