The Radical (Unity Vol.1) (31 page)

Our footsteps slowed
and I counted six in total. I glanced at Ryken and assured him I felt no fear. Ryken moved toward them in readiness when I swiped an arm out to knock him off course.

‘Ryken, no.
’

‘Seraph, I’m not going to let them take you.’

He was confused, misunderstanding me.

‘Who said anything about them taking me?
They are only the primers, yeah? No problem for me.’

I
turned to Ryken and stroked his cheek, before roughly swiping the weapons I knew he had hidden under his belt. I cocked the ceramic gun I had hidden in my boot and he winked, watching as I replaced it.

I
caught the look in his eye, one of love and fear, and shot him one in return to reassure him I was unafraid. Before moving off in the direction of the emissaries, I looked back to my lover and smiled, reassuring him yet again that I was confident.

I bounced off on my
paws and sucked in the love Ryken and I shared, breathing it into every vein in my body. I felt a shiver run down my spine and shook it out, knowing I was now more dangerous than I had ever been. I felt the rush of adrenalin in my body more than ever before, and my love for that man gave me the supreme strength I had never realized was in me. His energy was the most powerful catalyst I had ever encountered and my limbs pulsated with it. In the darkness of the underground facility, I became that other side of myself.

I
tucked the stun gun and taser into the back of my belt, before taking off my jacket and discarding it behind me. I ripped off my sweater and thanked my earlier self for layering. A strip tease commenced that had them wondering when the last layer would fall away.

I
sensed Ryken might leap into action at any moment, but when I looked back again I shot him a warning to stay put, and carried on walking in the direction of the emissaries. When I was only yards away from them, and out of Ryken’s earshot, I dragged a hand through my long hair.

‘Hello boys, wha
t exactly can I do for you?’

I flashed my
smile, appearing totally unthreatened. Stood in V-formation, they looked at each other out of confusion, and in that split-second, I used the chink in their armor to my advantage. I broke out the stun gun and aimed it at the two men directly in front, shooting one and then the other, before dropping the spent weapon to the ground. The emissaries sprang into action immediately and I could hear Ryken running toward us in the background.

Two
emissaries came at me from either side. I jabbed one of them with the taser and reached behind to kick the other one in the groin with the heel of my boot.

I regained my stance and saw another about to lunge at me. I retrieved my ceramic gun from my boot and shot him in the foot
, then the knee. I dropped my weapon to the ground and as the last one started to move toward me, I readied myself. He tried to throw a punch in my direction but I ducked to avoid him, instead sending a blow to his body with my own fist. I regained my composure and evoked some of Camille’s spirit. I eyed the emissary I had just winded and pivoted my body back to kick him right across the temple. He fell to the floor in a crumpled mess. Surveying the pile of squirming bodies before me, I picked my gun back off the ground.

Ryken reached me just as I had dealt with the last of the
emissaries.

‘These boneheads obviously
haven’t had it in a while,’ I purred in his ear.

‘Obviousl
y not.’ He surveyed the carnage and grabbed me for a passionate kiss, running his hands across my back and over my behind, his tongue sweeping through me like hot spice. He was rampant with desire, eyeing me with a lust I hadn’t believed could get any more fervent.

‘Come on, let’s go before this pla
ce is crawling with them.’

W
ith that, I picked my clothes back off the ground and re-dressed quickly. Ryken swiped a few guns from the wounded emissaries and revved the bike. I leapt onto the back of his Kawasaki Ignis and threw my arms around him.

‘No wheelies, soldier,’ I warned him. He chuckled and I knew he would ignore me. I
kissed the back of his neck before we shot off toward the Battery Tunnel, a wheelie announcing we were on our way.

W
e made it to Battery Tunnel, using his fake U-Card to get us through, swiping it as we sped through an unmanned, automated booth. We whizzed along the dimly-lit tunnel and I felt sure we were capable of accomplishing anything together. I held his body tightly and he rode one-handed to hold my hands between one of his.

When we
reached Brooklyn, my thoughts turned to what needed to happen next. Ryken took the bike to Prospect Heights and stopped just around the corner from an old Polytechnic. He got off and I followed, assessing the place from a distance.

‘Is that it?’ I
asked.

‘No, it’s that apartment building next to it there with the blue windows. It’s covert.’

‘Yeah, it don’t look like much. How are we bustin’ this joint, then?’

‘Umm, I’m not sure… I guess we didn’t think about that before leaving your apartment.’

‘I suppose ringing the front doorbell’s outta the question?’

‘There is something, one avenue you probably wouldn’t agree to though…’
he raised his eyebrows, looking down his nose at me.

‘Yes?’
I demanded impatiently, knowing well enough he meant more climbing.

‘The apartment building right next door is roughly the same height, and only a few yards away from that one. We could jump from the top of one to the other.’

I considered the prospect of facing my fear again. I thought it through logically, ‘And what then? After we get to the roof? How will you get in?’

He pulled out the Clever-Grip pads that were stowed in his inside poc
kets. ‘It will mean some free climbing down the side of the building to get into the lab.’

I
weighed up everything in my mind. I knew which the lesser evil was and I gestured, ‘Only one of us can safely use those. Our combined weight is still a risk.’

‘You’re right,’ he admitted, grimacing as he rolled his shoulder.

‘Ryken, don’t argue with me on this one. I will go in from the bottom, and you from the top. I can distract them, okay? You can get the stuff and I’ll find you.’

He looked unwilli
ng to agree to this plan, his eyes blinking away his awe of my bravery. I wanted to tell him I was just mad with desperation. I wanted to escape the city, that world of lies and deceit, and ultimately save him from the horrors and ghosts of his mind.

He cupped my
cheek in his hand. ‘I can’t let you do that, Seraph, I can’t risk losing you.’

He looke
d pained at the thought of us separated again. 

‘There’s no other way
, Ryken. I will be fine, you know I will.’ I turned my face to kiss his palm. ‘I love you. God, I love you.’

‘I know, angel. We need to move then.’

He took my hand, pulling us across the street in the direction of a narrow alley behind Officium’s lab.

He pulled
me in a doorway and held my body to his.

‘Oh god, Seraph.’

He kissed me ardently, pulling the back of my head toward him so that my mouth went smashing into his. We wanted each other again, so badly.

‘If I don’t get out of this my angel…’

‘Ryken, don’t. That is not an option.’

He held on to me
and lowered his deep voice to an even more sonorous tone, ‘I love you.’

I
grabbed his wrists and shoved him back against the door. I pressed my body up against his, squeezing his hands tightly within my own. I kissed him back passionately, our mouths becoming raw and bruised, our tongues aching with the exercise.

We shook ourselves from our
vigorous clinch with breathlessness. He smiled as if he couldn’t believe he had found such a partner. We could get through it all together, if we united for this one, last task.

‘Ryken, don’t worry about me, I have a plan. Go.’

With that, he rounded the corner and I missed him the minute he disappeared out of sight.

I ventured in the opposite direction
and went to scout the laboratory building, careful to move slowly down the alley. Once I reached the end, I peered around the corner to get a feel for the place. Sure enough, I spotted people in suits entering and leaving the building. I watched their movements for a few minutes and spotted my victim.

The young
woman seemed an easy target so I crossed the road and followed the girl, who was probably heading home from work. I saw my opportunity a few yards away and ran up behind her, pulling the girl into an alleyway sharply. I pushed my gun into the woman’s throat and demanded her ID badge. She panicked and adhered to my demands immediately, her hands shaking as she passed me her lanyard.

‘I’m real
sorry about this,’ I said and brought the butt of the gun smartly against her temple, leaving the girl flopped against the wall as I moved back out onto the street.

I tried to make myself
presentable enough to enter the building without drawing attention, smoothing my clothes and pulling my hair back into a ponytail.

I
slung the ID around my neck and got into character, adopting the persona of any other laboratory technician turning up for work. I followed other people flocking into the building and tried to look inconspicuous. I queued up with Officium’s employees to pass through a set of turnstiles set out in a lavish reception area, which rose up to the fifth floor above and showcased a giant waterfall streaming down, as well as many seating areas filled with luxurious settees and coffee machines on hand.

Dammit
.
I suddenly remembered I was still carrying the weapons Ryken had stolen from the emissaries.
Calm down. Don’t draw attention to yourself. You’re not really a reporter, you’re a bland office worker. A lab technician. Any ordinary member of staff. They won’t recognize you. Yeah right…

I
tried to think quickly and logically. I needed to offload them. I put my hands deep in my pockets and tucked the two handguns inside my sleeves before pulling my hands back out. I saw a security guard staring at me but my smile deterred his suspicion and he carried on about his business, surveying everyone else. I saw my chance and turned my body as though I was looking at one of the many advertising screens around the foyer. I used the opportunity to drop one of the guns in a large bag a woman in front of me was carrying at her side. Nobody could see what I was doing side onwards. After I rid myself of that one, I turned back to face forward.

When t
he woman in front went forward through security and set off a number of alarms, I spotted another opportunity amidst the ensuing chaos, dropping the other gun in a large plant pot to my left. The poor woman was escorted off to a room by several security guards. Meanwhile I patiently waited my turn to go through security, still trying to appear as ordinary as possible. Seconds later, a different security guard waved me through and I moved along without any problem at all, hearing a positive beep after swiping the stolen card.

Thank god
.

I didn’t have any idea where I was going, but once I
saw a sign for
Security Center
, I knew what needed to be accomplished. I wondered what Ryken would be doing at that precise moment in time and prayed he was okay. I hoped this would buy him some time at least.

I
walked down a corridor and looked for the room, peering through the glass window once I reached it. There was only one security guard sat inside and he was staring at various images on the screens in his office. I tried the door but when I realized it was locked, I quickly moved to the side to stay out of view, knowing whoever was inside would have heard the handle turning.

The door unlocked and the security guard stuck his head out to see if anyone was t
here, but I managed to remain concealed behind the door. As he moved back into the office and let the door begin to shut behind him, I caught the handle just before it locked and pulled the door open to let myself in, quickly shutting it behind me. The guard had no time to react as he eyed me up and down. I was easily five inches taller than the middle-aged, balding man before me, and I knocked him out with one fell swoop, punching him right between the eyes. His body conveniently fell back in his chair and I pushed him out of the way so that I could see the controls of the security system.

I
went to the main computer and found the control panel, setting the security configuration to a low level. I turned off all the surveillance cameras and ran back out of the room, smashing the fire alarm on the wall outside. All the doors unlocked to let everyone out. I then entered the stairwell nearby and ran up the five floors to where I hoped Ryken would be waiting.

Once
on the fifth floor, I waited behind the stairwell door for all the staff that were floating around to get in the elevators and leave. When it finally seemed quiet, I emerged into the corridor and started walking from door to door, peering through each one as I went, trying to detect whether Ryken was inside one lab or another. I got to the end of one corridor when I decided to try the other around the corner. I rushed round to start checking each of the offices back there, but an arm came out of nowhere to halt my tracks and quickly pulled me into one of the rooms.

The door shut and I desperately tried to escape my
captor, but there was no moving out of his unyielding grasp. I heard his almost silent whisper, ‘It’s me. Stay absolutely still.’

He held his arms around my
body, with his back up against the wall. We would be just behind the door if anyone decided to open it again. I was immediately comforted by his presence and felt for his hand. Seconds later we heard noises out in the corridor; figures trudging in heavy boots, shouting voices and weaponry slinging about. Ryken and I both held our breath while we prayed for the emissaries to leave that floor.

A
fter several minutes of silence, I let my head fall right back against my would-be-captor’s chest to look up into his face. He bent his head down to kiss my forehead.

‘Did you
get what we came here for?’ I asked hurriedly, turning to face him, still in his grasp.

Ryken shook his head in disappointment. ‘
I checked all three labs and they’ve all been stripped. They are all totally empty, nothing’s left. They’ve taken measures.’

My
nose was almost touching his and I saw no lie in his eye.

‘Fuck
, Ryken, what the hell are we gonna do?’

‘Take a boat to a deserted island and never come back?’

‘Ha ha, yeah, let’s just waste all our efforts at the drop of a hat, after coming up against one little obstacle.’

His eyes were bloodshot and darker than ever, while exhaustion paled his tanned face.
‘I have a horrible feeling our luck is about to run out okay. I say we cut our losses.’

I shook his good shoulder and reminded him,
‘We can’t. We’ve come this far. Remember what is at stake.’

‘Our lives?’

He was becoming slightly dejected, I could tell. I was exhausted and frustrated too, but something was driving me forward.

‘We’re missing somethin’
here Ryken, I can feel it in my gut. There’s something we’ve overlooked and I’m gonna get to the bottom of it. I don’t know what it is, but all this is just too weird.’

‘Look, Seraph, can we just get out of here? Get somewhere safe and talk this through?’

‘Okay.’

With that, Ryk
en checked the corridor and we ran for the stairwell, pounding down the steps as quickly as possible. We got to the bottom and went out of a fire exit, slamming the door shut behind us as we left at the back of the building.

We
daren’t go back to the bike, and when the building was no longer in sight, we started running and didn’t look back.