The Radical (Unity Vol.1) (36 page)

Dozens of
emissaries rushed in, tumbling over each other to get to me. I took my remaining AK and aimed, blasting them out of my way. Two got to me without being shot and I had to battle against them to get out, thumping them as if they were rag dolls. I roared as I nutted one, then kneecapped the other.

As I escaped, I
heard one of them say, ‘We need backup!’

I
sprinted back to the stairwell, up to the roof, with pistols in hands. I shot another three emissaries waiting for me on the roof, ran to the edge and waited to see whether I might have more company.

I
had taken a few direct hits and knew my armor wouldn’t hold out much longer. As I assessed the situation, I looked down at the ground and thought I saw a figure looking up, but couldn’t be sure. Then I saw her red hair. My heart stopped.

What is she doing here?

Gunfire rang out from
the door at the centre of the roof. I turned back to face my opponents and charged at them.

As I glanced
at my watch, I saw I had 30 seconds left.

I
thought fast and decided there was only one thing for it…

I
sat inside that putrid house for more than an hour, going out of my mind with worry. I tried contacting Ryken several times, but all I got was his message service. I left dozens of pleading voicemails, begging him to get in touch with me. I felt totally bereft without him by my side.

I watched from the kitchen window until the seconds seemed like hours, until I felt certain that nobody was coming for me. Wrapped up in despair, I watched the vaporous clouds swish and swirl above, thinking myself strong enough to control their movements because of the anger I felt.

I was beyond relieved when a
hover-car finally pulled up the drive. I leapt out of the house to see who it was and was struck dumb by the sight of Lucius. That meant everyone in UNITY was in on it. I imagined them all back in the city, doing the deed. They had purposely kept me out of it, sending their lackey – this young man – to pick me up. Meanwhile the major players were all having fun ripping Officium to shreds without me. Well, they weren’t the only ones who could have some fun…

‘Ser
aph, come on, get in!’ He was panicky and desperate to get back on the road, so I ran round to the passenger side and got in.

I was grateful for his urgency and we
were heading back to NYC within seconds. Lucius used the vehicle to its maximum capacity and a tiny part of me relaxed. Control was being regained.

I
turned to look at the youth, noticing he was as much of a brute as Ryken, though much more elegant with it. No doubt he was trained in the arts.
These people should have had a chain of studios, not a shitty, little dress shop
, I thought. I hated that they were keeping me out of things and I wanted to know why.

‘I thought you
would be back in England by now.’ I began the interrogation gently.

He turned sideways. ‘I thought so, too. But my mother said we needed to stick around for a while.’

‘What for?’

‘They don’t keep me abreast of anything important, I just get told where to go and what to do.’

‘Where’s Ryken? Do you know that?’ I scowled.

‘I don’t know anything. I only
know I’ve been told to come get you, and take you straight to the Plaza.’

‘Come on Lucius,
you’re holding out on me. I know it.’ I spat viciously, demanding information.

‘I’ve no idea, honest to god
. I was just told to get you back to the city as soon as possible. There’s a big shit storm going down at Genevieve Tower and we need to get somewhere safe before it gets worse.’

I
eyed him with suspicion and wanted to spitball all kinds of supposition.

‘What did you say?’
I simply said.

‘There are police vans e
verywhere, surrounding the entire building. Some intruder has threatened to blow it up… or something.’

I took out my
xGen and sent a mass message to my clique contacts, asking, ‘
What’s going on at Genevieve?
’

I
searched for the latest news stories and found one relaying what Lucius had just told me. I knew Genevieve was rumored to be Officium’s secret HQ, but I had never been able to find out for sure. The whole place was sealed shut with thick iron girders to prevent anyone but those who had special access getting in. I didn’t know what the key was, but I would need to find out.

‘Lucius, you’re taking me there instead, and
please, don’t fight me over this.’ I swung my ceramic weapon out to load it, and he gulped, swallowing hard in agreement.

A f
lood of messages appeared in my inbox and I scanned them one by one. They all pretty much said the same: ‘
There was a break-in, someone is trying to retrieve something
.’

I
sent out another mass message: ‘
What is the access key?
’

N
obody responded.

A lack of immediate response from my boss Francesca told me that there was something going on even outside of her jurisdiction. Fran had people in the know too – so many I had often considered whether she was
UNITY – but had thrown off that notion just as quickly as it had popped into my head. It would be too much of a risk for her to show allegiance in such a position of prominence.

So, when she messaged me seconds later with the words,
‘
Hardy got in. He actually bloody got in! Don’t get involved if I were you
…’

I gulped. I didn’t want to believe this was happening to me. I hated every single person who knew what Ryken was up to, while I had not a clue to his exact whereabouts. Not his motives, either.

What is he doing
?

I
suspected Ryken may have had plans for the tower all along but had kept me out of it. I was just along for the ride, the bargaining chip. Officium were going to let him in and buy him to take me away. I thought then… only for a moment… that he might take that offer. I had to brace myself for that. He might give in to them. They were cunning and who knows how people might react when their chips are already down?

I looked across at Lucius.
‘What weapons you got in here? Anything at all? We’re goin’ in and it’s not gonna be pretty.’

‘In the boot, I’ve got a couple of stun guns and a kangaroo knife. But Mum will kill me if I let you take them. She gave express instructions to take you back to the Plaza.’

‘The man I love is out there in danger, Lucius. I will kill you if you don’t let me take them.’

I knew my words were harsh for a kid meant to be related to me, but he had no idea what I was to potentially lose. I had spent years alone and Ryken was the only one who understood. I
was so hacked off by the obedient youngster, with his, “Yes Mum, three bags full Mum” attitude.

How dare she send my man into action
?
How did I not see that Eve’s heart had been taken by so many other people
? I was deluded for so many years and the questions were driving me freakin’ nuts.

Some part of me wanted to save Ryken from himself. A protective instinct was fuelling me, powering me, urging me on.

We traveled all the way down the Expressway and I could see the disused, unkempt Brooklyn Bridge up ahead. Lucius powered the vehicle across at top speed, reaching 150mph. I realized he was going to jump the Dam wall, using a well-used ramp to lift us into the air. It was the quickest way to fly over the structure that stood just after the end of the bridge’s crudely sawn-off road. I held my breath as we flew through the air, squeezing my eyes shut, praying for a safe landing. As we touched down in Manhattan with a thud, I turned to look at the youngster, who seemed totally calm.

‘Nice driving. Or is that flying even…’

‘Thanks,’ he grinned.

Lucius took the vehicle through the city streets, never
traveling in a straight line for more than a few blocks. I got ready in the passenger seat, preparing for whatever I might come up against. I didn’t even have any body armor! I reloaded all my weapons, shoving them into various pockets. I knew I would be spotted as soon as I went anywhere near the tower, but I didn’t care what happened to me anymore.

We neared our destination and I asked Lucius to drop me
a block away from Genevieve Tower. The vehicle stopped with a thud and I got out on Madison Avenue, without saying a goodbye to Lucius or giving him thanks. There was no time and he knew it too. He sped off into the distance and I surveyed the scene before me.

The streets were almost com
pletely empty. Whenever a fracas of any sort broke out, especially one involving both police and emissaries, people went indoors and didn’t dare come out for days. Just being on the street made you guilty at a time like this.

I
could hear the drum of action in the distance; police marching around, voices shouting into radios and helicopters heading in one direction. I had no idea how I was going to handle this and came to the conclusion there was nothing for it.

I ran
light on my feet toward the corner of 5th and E57th. My heart was thumping with thoughts of Ryken and where he might be right at that precise moment in time. I wished I could transport myself to wherever he was. As I got close I could hear the voices of the officers and stopped abruptly to peer round the corner. There were people everywhere. I eyed dozens of officers and emissaries, all crowded around waiting for their colleagues inside to let them know what was happening. There was no way I could take on all these people at once. I needed a plan, a way of getting in the backdoor or… something…

My
xGen sounded loudly and I nearly dropped dead in that moment. I hoped nobody in the vicinity had heard it and answered as quickly as possible.

‘Hello?’
I whispered, without even checking who it was.

I checked around the
corner to see if I was undone, but luckily in all the commotion, nobody seemed to have heard my noisy device.

The voice on the other end of the line belonged to Camille. ‘Seraph, get out of there, what are you doing? Get to the Plaza
, right now. You don’t know what you’re up against. You’d never get out.’

Camille soun
ded different to her usual self, angry and desperate, unlike her normal calm and collected persona. I brought the xGen up to my eye level to peer at Camille, who looked uncharacteristically upset.

‘Camille, where is he? C’m
on, there’s something goin’ on here. Where’s Ryken?’

I was distraught
.

‘He’s inside Seraph…
and he’s not coming out without a fight.’

‘Camille, I’m desperate.
I think he’s gonna do somethin’ stupid. I need help.’

Camille inhaled deeply and warned,
‘Seraph, this is bigger than you or I now.’

‘I just can’t s
top myself!’ I was wild with despair, trying desperately to think of a way of ending the nightmare. I kept pulling at my hair and swinging my fist about in midair.

Camille shouted,
growling, ‘No, no! You can’t Seraph, please, please, no! For Eve, please don’t go looking for him. Please. No good will come of it.
No
.’

I managed to squeak an almost incoherent ‘no’, that was all I could muster. Tears rolled down my cheeks.

‘I’m coming over there myself, right this minute… I’m boarding a jet,’ she continued, and I recognized she was on a private airfield, with dreary sky behind her but the lights of a runway not far away. ‘You’re not going to go anywhere but back to the Plaza. Promise me I will see you there.’

A solitary tear of desper
ation ran down Camille’s cheek; she was so upset at the prospect of something happening to me, her friend.

I wanted to scream and
was slowly realizing there was nothing I could do. I was defeated. I wanted to tear the whole building down with the anger, hurt and frustration I felt right in that instant.

‘Okay Camille, I won’t go. I promise. I’ll see you there.’

‘Thank you, thank you. Please go now, Seraph, go now.’

Camille
jumped some steps, presumably those leading up to a jet, before she left the screen. Still stood on that corner, I took a few deep breaths, telling myself to move.
Get to the Plaza
.

I
started walking, intending to go around the block to the Plaza. However, as soon as I set off, I heard shouting and running amongst the emissaries. I peered round the corner and saw they were all heading inside, sprinting with everything they had; guns, full armor and batons at the ready.
Dumb pricks, all for one man. One man stronger than all of ’em put together.

With the quad
in front of the building empty, I went to investigate, daring to ignore Camille’s plea. I wouldn’t venture inside but I was so inquisitive, I wanted to know what was happening. I waited a couple of minutes but it seemed like an absolute age. My heart was pounding as I willed Ryken to come flying out of the sky toward me. Just as I had that thought, I heard gunfire above. I almost jumped out of my skin, rocking back on my heels and falling to the ground. I scrambled for cover behind a police car.

I
looked up to see what was going on but could see nothing. The gunfire continued and appeared to be coming from above. Then I saw him – Ryken on the roof, looking down on me. He had full armor on but I knew it was him. I felt him, despite being many floors below. Something in my heart and soul was attached to his. He held a pistol in each hand, old fashioned weapons for an old fashioned gent.

For a brief moment, I thought I could feel him smiling. A trick of the mind, maybe.

There was more gunfire and he turned around, tearing off back across the roof and out of my sight. Several more rounds of gunfire rang out before I heard a catastrophic, high-pitch noise I couldn’t possibly have prepared myself for. Even shielded by the car, I felt the blast shunt my body and the screech of the explosion made me put my hands over my ears. There were several loud bangs and I fell flat on the ground. I squeezed my eyes shut and said a prayer.
Please don’t let anything happen to him
. I felt wretched. The ground shook. The reality of what humans could do to one another sank in.