The Radical (Unity Vol.1) (33 page)

I powered up my
xGen and called Camille, who answered within seconds.

‘Seraph?’

‘I need help. I’m stuck on Long Island and Ryken’s gone. He left me here and I’ve no idea how to get back, or where to go, or what to do. I’m just stranded, and I feel lost, Camille. Please, help me.’

I
was rambling manically and felt panic set in.

‘Seraph, my love, calm down, please, calm down. Are you on a secure line?’

‘I don’t know, I think so, I can’t tell.’

‘Listen very carefully, I’m going to call you back in a moment, but until then I want you to get back indoors and wait. Wait there, Seraph.’

‘Okay,’ I agreed and hung up, going back inside to wait.

Several minutes passed and I
was starting to panic again when my xGen sounded. I was impatient for the image to come into focus and shouted, ‘Camille, Camille?!’

She
appeared on the screen, looking weary and sad. She would do nothing about this, I knew. Ryken was doing the bidding of someone outside of our jurisdiction. I would have to take matters into my own hands.

She spoke quickly,
‘Yes, it’s me. I’m sending someone to come and get you.’

‘What about Ryken?’

‘Seraph, just wait there. I’m sending someone for you. Send your co-ordinates to me at once and we’ll find you. Just hang in there, angel.’

‘Okay, okay. I’ll do that. But Camille, please find him for me. Please.’

‘I’ll do what I can, my love. Stay there, stay there my darling.’

W
ith that, we hung up. There was nothing I could do. I fell on my knees and sank into the blackness of my anger, storing it up for the fight.

Ryken

I held Seraph in my arms until she fell asleep and tucked a blanket around her body as she lay on the dilapidated couch in the beach house. I sat in an armchair, willing sleep to come. However, no matter how hard I tried, I could not rest. I knew what lay ahead.

I
seemed to go in and out of sleep for a little while, until at 6am, I was shocked into life by the vibrating of an xGen in my inside pocket. Seraph stirred a little, but didn’t wake, so I looked at the screen and read the message: ‘
The Plaza. One hour. Come alone.
’

It was time. I
felt a sinking feeling of dread wash over me. I would have to yank myself away from Seraph, for who knows how long, and yet I knew it had to be done. Ultimately, there was no other choice. If I didn’t do this, there would be no future for either of us.

I
crept over to where she was sleeping and kissed her mouth ever so delicately, so as not to wake her. I stroked her hair and stared at her face, imprinting it on my memory. I would need her image to keep me going. I took a deep breath and soundlessly went out of the house.

I
hunted through a number of garages nearby to see if there was any spare fuel, but eventually found something much better. A Ducati Tornado. It was unloved and would probably break down, but I had to give it a shot. I pushed it out of its hiding place, out of the driveway and then further down the road so that Seraph would not be woken by the sound of me starting it up.

I caught sight of myself in a rear
view mirror and what stared back nearly scared the living daylights out of me. The reflection was a shadow of myself, his face was black and blue, his eyes bloodshot, his skin a pallid green and his mouth contorted with torment at leaving behind the woman he loved. The woman who had saved me. I almost didn’t recognize myself.

O
nce out of earshot of Seraph, I started the machine. It took a few efforts but I eventually got it going and hopped on, heading back to New York with the engine spluttering along.

As I
rode the bike, thoughts of Seraph filled my head. Remembrances of our lovemaking, her bravery and her spirit. I loved the way she lingered on my lips, her teeth nibbling the corners. I loved the way she felt in my arms, like no other partner had ever been more right for me.

I
nearly turned around and went back, but I didn’t. I could have kicked myself, but instead I let the wind lash at my eyes, tears streaming down my face as I rode on. I felt sick to the core; every inch of me knew that I may never see her again. Even the sky overhead seemed to mirror my somber mood, with grey clouds tinged by brown dust and dreariness.

I
took the Expressway, traveling back through the decaying neighborhoods of Queens and Brooklyn ‒ and across Manhattan Bridge with my fake U-Card. At that time of the morning, I didn’t think anyone would be observant enough to recognize my face, and they weren’t. I rode one-handed through the dormant streets of Manhattan, seeing the city yet to break into life. I also knew that it would probably be the last time I would ever see the place. It had been home to me for the past eight years and I never thought I would be leaving.

I
had woken every day feeling so grateful to live in the Big Apple. I couldn’t wait to go out into the world and get on with the day. I loved the hustle and bustle, the crowding and the smells. I had always been a city boy at heart. That was pretty much the only kind of living I had ever known. However, I knew as I saw dozens of people asleep on the streets that there was a reason I needed to get this over with. I needed to help people see the truth for themselves, so that they could shake off their fears and rebuild their lives.

As I neared the Plaza, I
maneuvered the bike off the road and into the underground parking facility at speed, hoping I hadn’t been followed. I got off the machine and headed for the doorway to the stairwell, reading the signs for
Reception
before climbing two flights of stairs to get there.

I came up against a locked door
which had a combination entry system. I looked through the slit glass window and saw no signs of life in the hotel reception, but as I banged on the door to be let in, the shadow of a figure got closer. It was Mara and when she saw it was me, she unlocked the door.

‘Ryken, come in, quickly.’

I entered and closed the door immediately. Once inside, I felt I’d found sanctuary. The decadent surroundings were lost on me, however. I had so much whizzing around my mind. I needed to get it over with.

Mara
gestured for me to follow her and we moved quickly. We went into an office behind the reception desk and when she hung back, I knew she wouldn’t join our chat. I already knew there was something between her and Camille that meant the pair of them were never seen or heard together. What it was, who knew?

‘She’ll be with you in just a moment. Help yourself to coffee.’

I sat at a desk with a mug in hand, rubbing my eyes, which were stinging from exhaustion.

‘Hello Ryken.’

Behind me on the screen of the office vis-phone was a familiar face.

‘We meet again, Camille?’

‘Yes. Is Seraph safe?’

‘She’s in an abandoned house somewhere. She’ll probably be calling you up soon to come get her.’

‘It’s a certainty. Look, we’ve got to act quickly. There’s a drawer in the bottom of that filing cabinet next to you. It contains everything you need.’

I
looked down and was about to inspect its contents when she continued, ‘But first, listen to me. The guard at Officium’s headquarters changes over at 8am. This is when they are most vulnerable, this is when you will attack. One of our undercovers learned of a secret underground doorway on the south side of the building. There will be what looks like a utility worker’s tent. Go inside and key
Orpheus
into the entrance gate system. This is our last chance to thwart them. We have to end this once and for all. So, you need to get to the director’s office on the top floor. I’m going to send his DNA fingerprint to your xGen so that you can access his safe. You have the necessary software on your device, I imagine?’

I
nodded. I could do nothing but agree. Even over a satellite signal, she had me stunned by the unwavering gaze of her hazel eyes.

She contin
ued, ‘Superb. We recently discovered he kept hard copies detailing all the research that was carried out on the 2023 virus, just in case his group needed to be able to deal with such a catastrophe ever again. Any digital information was destroyed decades ago, which is why we’ve never been able to hack the evidence. In the drawer, there’s a page scanner. It’s old but should work with the Wi-Fi on your xGen. Scan the pages, and send them on to whoever you can think of. The data is more important than the vaccines. I know it will be tempting, but the data is all we need. We need to make sure these people don’t get a second chance at wreaking havoc on this world again. In the drawer, you’ll find explosives. Use them to destroy the labs and offices on the upper three floors. It would be more efficient to rig them up outside the building, that way their emissaries will have to look harder for the threat. The director’s Alphas won’t be agile enough to climb like you can. You know most of them are built like trucks…’ she grimaced, as though she had encountered a few of them, ‘…there’s also a small device which we call the Imp in that drawer, should you need a quick way back in or out…

‘So many people have given so much for this Ryken, and they are all relying on you. I know you can see this through. Once the job is done, get yourself out of there as quickly as possible. Good luck.’

‘Okay, I know what I have to do. Look after her, Camille. I really hate leaving her. Take care of her as well as I would.’

‘You know I will
, Ryken,’ she blinked, showing a little of herself.

She hung up and the sc
reen went blank. I went into the drawer and found a full set of body armor, timer devices, explosives, two PPKs and two AK-197s. There was also the slim, rectangular, A4-width scanner, and the high-tech Imp device.

Nearly a decade ago, I thought I
had done with combat. Now I was right back to square one. I stripped off my current clothing and pulled on black cargo pants, black t-shirt and steel toecap boots. I strapped on a bulletproof vest, plus protective legs and arm pads. I also pulled on a bulletproof balaclava made of high-gauge metal fibers and was ready to go. I tucked the various weaponry and gadgets in my vest, the explosives in my trouser pockets and the two AKs against the outsides of my thighs.

M
ara appeared at the door when I was ready and asked, ‘Shall I show you out?’

‘Yes, please.’

She walked with me and I remarked, ‘That was a pretty clever trick getting me in the cargo hold on the plane. Who knew what I’d find down there, eh?’

Sh
e winked slightly. We shared a secret.

‘
I thought… no other woman could impress me as much as Seraph.’

‘
She has been known to have that affect,’ Mara retorted with quiet amusement, arching her eyebrows.

My
militant appearance contrasted starkly with the decadent surroundings of the hotel. With Mara, too. She wore lavender, her clothing light and loose, swirling around her long limbs as she walked alongside me bolt upright. It occurred to me she was not just a practitioner of martial arts, but a believer too. Her limbs were taut and solid, unassuming behind her light outerwear. She was beautiful and had an aura of infallibility.

I
recognized the women of UNITY were strong leaders, complex and mysterious, but most of all dignified and full of integrity. I loved women, particularly this kind, and especially the most magnificent of all these fair creatures, Seraph, whom I hoped would one day become my wife and the mother of my children. I smiled to myself and contemplated ‒ “wife” didn’t really cut it. She was not the marrying kind and might require a certificate reassuring her that she was commander-in-chief of my heart.

I saw Mara working up to a pep talk, eyeing me
with unwavering eyes and a demeanor of absolute belief. I had been used to this throughout my military years. Somehow others’ words are sometimes so much more powerful than our own; stick in the mind and heart deeper than ones we can come up with ourselves.

‘All we needed was one person strong enough to take on this challenge, for this to work. It was fated that it would always be you, what with your combined combat and medical skills. I don’t envy what it must have been like to have to divide your loyalties so determinedly to get where you did in their organization, but you truly proved yourself to be incorruptible, unlike so many others we’ve tried to nurture over the years that have ended up entangling themselves too far. You and Seraph have sent them into a frenzy of fear. There is one other thing yet you have over them, Ryken. You have love. Those automatons at the heart of Officium don’t know why they kill, brutalize and maim other human begins. They have no thought for anything or anyone. They simply carry out orders and obey. You have a purpose much more worthy than theirs. Remember your ancestors, Seraph’s parents, my father, my husband and many other people’s loved ones. That is why you have to do what you must. They thought they could play God, and when it went disastrously wrong, they took whatever measures necessary to cover their tracks. Power in the wrong hands manipulated the course of human history forever.’

We
reached a doorway at the back of the hotel and Mara prepared to let me out. She stared into my eyes without shame, though she might have been sending a soldier to his death.

‘Remember why you’re doing this, Ryken. Most of the people in this world still don’t underst
and why we are living like this… and they need to know.’

‘Don’t worry, I’m going to en
d this once and for all.’

I offered my hand and she rigorously grabbed it
within both of hers, smiling warmly at the man standing before her. That was all I really was at the end of the day. Just a man who dared to love a woman.

‘
UNITY prevailed because we were there from the beginning and knew what these people were capable of. They wouldn’t have let you in unless they thought they could manipulate you. But you have her, just comfort yourself with that. She’s a very lucky woman.’

‘No, I’m the lucky one, especially
to have found her when I did.’

I
looked out of the door, turned back to smile at Mara, and ran off.