by Lynch, S. M.
Fate. Answers. Plus, more damn questions…
‘This is truly amazing shit, truly. This is gonna help me so much, you’ve no idea.’ I was ecstatic with the possibilities.
‘Seraph, for now this has to stay out of the public domain. Their emissaries have been following me. I’ve been hiding out here scared for my life.’
I could tell from the jagged tone of his voice, he was deadly serious. He looked almost boyish with the fear I saw in his eyes.
‘Okay, fine. There’s one thing I don’t understand though. They don’t fire people, they kill them, so why are you still alive?’
‘I could ask the same thing of you. I think if anyone is a threat to them, you are. Perhaps they see that we’re more valuable alive than dead.’
I smiled disbelievingly. ‘Look, I have an invisible protection floating around with a security lock tighter than Fort Knox. There must be more you’re not telling me?’
A look of contemplation spread across his face, working out his response.
‘There is something I want to show you. I am betting you haven’t seen it,’ he explained, taking out a micro-disc, ‘if your xGen is safe, take a look…’
‘It’s safe, pass it here,’ I eagerly demanded, holding out my hand. I loaded the primitive item and saw a video file pop up. I pressed play…
Video Recorded December 5, 2023
‘This is Rick Jeffries, for Channel Four News. I have been trying to keep in touch with colleagues but nobody seems to be answering their phones. Those of us left are wondering… what is going on? There are people dying on the streets, and not just from the flu. I know we are dealing with unprecedented times but where are our broadcasters? Why are people left in the dark? I feel like I might be one of the few journalists left alive. What has happened to the others? I dare not imagine. Not all could have died from the flu, surely?
‘Like I said, according to eyes on the streets, there are corpses riddled with bullet wounds – not just marks of the unexplained flu. Currently I am sat up in my office, with all the blinds shut, the doors and windows locked. I can hear rioting out on the streets of Kensington and believe me, I would much rather be beneath ground in the panic room my wife installed in the wake of the Childs scandal… when sycophants of his started sending me death threats. So what if he made the country rich once more, so what if he re-created the Britain of old, he was sucking money from the treasury for himself! Common sense dictates such a man must be brought to justice and indeed he was, but not without cost to people such as myself who chased him down for months on end… before he was uncovered for what he really is.
‘I ask you all, if it weren’t for people like me, what would this country be if it were still run by that autocratic ape? Sorry to ramble, but I’m anxious to get back below stairs. I only came upstairs so I could bring you this broadcast.
‘What I can tell you is that over the last few weeks, the world’s population has been decimated. Reports coming in suggest the death-toll could hit three billion, but that astonishing figure is based on averages and has yet to be verified. It is with all the evidence before me that my mind has turned back to something I learnt last year.
‘In April 2022, I was told about an unlawful laboratory set up in a warehouse outside Manchester. A whistleblower came to me fearing for their life, claiming experiments were being carried out on live subjects, and not animals. No. Humans. I did not know whether to believe such a monstrosity of human rights could be carried out on home soil. But now in the wake of this recent devastating event I am left wondering… no, not even that, I am left unable to imagine whether this event is not somehow connected. Surely…?
‘When I first heard of these unethical practices, I did not make my suspicions public because the prospect seemed too outlandish… too heinous to be believed. I would be ridiculed! I did not want to make such claims when it would allege something terrifying and unreal. All I had were the words of this one source and after a few days of her coming forward, she was inevitably reported missing–’
Jeffries jumped when a shot rang out in the background, presumably out on the street. He looked more fervently into the camera, ‘Look at the fear in my eye, you know what I say is true… and why were so many fowl culled last summer? You have to ask yourself that. Why did it start in the north of England and spread from there? How is this possible? How did it spread…’
He stopped, out of breath. He regained himself and continued…
‘I would like to put it to the world that these tests carried out in the north might have something to do with the pandemic that has since decimated our planet. Following the London floods of 2020 and the sudden, infamously insecure, expansion of Manchester airport to add a temporary Terminal 5, this must have enabled a gateway ‒ so that whatever was being cultivated in those laboratories was given chance to escalate, reach through that airport and to other countries. Our global population, which exploded to 10 billion last year, could also have been a catalyst for the disease. It has been hailed as the “Black Death of Our Times” across the Internet. Many are asking where is the PM in all this? Since his address to the nation after the first dozen deaths were reported, nothing has been seen or heard of him since.
‘Desperate people have taken to the Internet to find out what they can about the illness. The general consensus is… well, nobody really knows. What I know… or what I have gathered from trawling forums… is that the highest percentage of victims are the infirm, children and those with pre-existing medical conditions. The disease took lives within 24 hours of infection in some cases. Scientists have been trying to determine the specifics of the virus and whether a vaccine can be developed. Such an aggressive strain of flu will take a long time to evaluate. Symptoms vary but include a high fever, bloody coughs, migraines, nausea, wheezing and cramps.
‘Adverts from the Global Health Council are invading every website, every radio and TV station. Their advice is to be aware and be vigilant, stay at home and don’t go out. But my question is, why are some people dead on the streets… and not from the flu? What else is going on that we don’t know about? That plays with my mind, how about yours?
‘Many have been left without food and water, heating and electricity. Riots have broken out. Laws are being broken. Panic is everywhere. Even in civilized societies such as our own, for instance, fear has driven some to desperation. Looting is rife. At this point in time, I am unable to give you any more details about the looting and the way in which it is being tackled. If I did, it might send more panic through the nation. What I am referring to is a corruption so deep… I can barely think about it. I feel so useless, but I dare not go out on the streets myself.
‘Now, I get to the most horrifying portion of these events. With so many world leaders incapacitated, a new, global support network called Officium is offering its services to help rebuild infrastructure and get supplies through. They are already putting disaster teams together to bring order from chaos, including militia-type rule over disparate communities…
‘This organization promises to work with scientific organizations to fund research, with inquests set to take place in due course. Bodies such as the FBI, CIA and NSA could be broken up. Similarly, here in the UK, MI5 and MI6 may be declassified to make way for Officium’s strategists, giving them access to intelligence files and security protocol. Russia, France and Germany have already given Officium unprecedented use of their systems and databases, and it is believed many other countries will follow suit. It is hoped that this central unit will be better positioned to pool information regarding the sickness. Yet… housing everything under one banner is bound to cause uproar, especially over the blurred lines between central and federal governments being administered by one, unified global authority.
‘It is unclear whether the world will ever fully recover from this catastrophe, and if it does, it will be a long time from now. I feel wretched at not being able to tell you more but I will say this… we have to ask ourselves the basic quest
ion. This was such a swift attack on humanity, was some malevolent agent responsible for it? The rise of Officium has been too rapid, organized and damned well opportune. When the dust settles, the spotlight needs to be shone on these people to determine exactly what it is they are promising to do for the world.
‘After uploading this, I will return beneath ground and wait, as long as it takes…’
I sat back, shaking my head. Why was everyone trying to tell me something I didn’t want to hear but already knew? My first thoughts were questions.
‘How do you have this?’
He pursed his lips and replied, ‘A friend of a friend of a friend. If you’re British and don’t have this, you’re seriously out of touch. Some people managed to record it before Officium wiped it from the newswires. Jeffries was never heard of again, you know? How does that make you feel? Not even a little bit scared? I grew up in the city said to be the source of the disease. We all know the truth but nobody in the UK goes looking for it… not like you. Coming from where I do, the way you work seems stupid… reckless. I think you have something they want… and you’re not going to tell me what that is.’
I ground my teeth. ‘We reach an impasse, then. You already know… you’re still alive… I am… blah fuckin’ blah.’
He scratched his temple, a smile on his face. He was so cute it was unnerving.
‘A New Yorker with humor?’ he chuckled.
‘I spent a lot of time talkin’ with my aunt… like you say, I work like this… it was never gonna get me many friends. Her ways rubbed off on me, her jokes…’ I trailed off, feeling grief hit me once more. ‘I am a dual person, Ryken, aren’t we all?’
‘Yeah,’ he smirked, but my attempt to unravel him wasn’t working.
‘How do you know there aren’t emissaries in here with us right now?’ I peered at him with a hint of suspicion.
He glanced sideways to eye the clientele. ‘No, none of these are.’
‘How can you tell?’
‘Emissaries don’t loiter. All they know is how to kill.’
‘Explain to me then, why didn’t they grab you when you left your hotel room earlier? If you’ve taken a room up in the Mercy Inn, which I’m sure you have, surely they’d see your U-Card had been used?’
He hastily thought on his feet; I could see the mental cogs turning.
‘Well, I pulled a few old-school contacts to get a fake U-Card before I left New York… and managed to escape from my hotel room without their notice. I climbed out of my window and scaled down the side of the building.’
That explains the physique.
‘You abseiled down?’ I laughed.
‘Yeah, I got a taste for it when I was in the Army,’ he retaliated, like he was hurt that I mocked his antics.
I didn’t believe for a minute that this man, as large and intelligent and wary as he was, was even a little bit afraid of a few emissaries after him. He was more afraid of me finding out something he didn’t want me to know.
I twitched at the thought of falling, of sinking, of dropping and landing on the ground with a thud, plus bones smashing. Heights were my biggest fear.
‘What floor are you on?’
‘The 15th… it’s nothing,’ he shrugged.
I scratched at the prickly heat that had broken out on my neck.
‘So, the great Seraph Maddon does have an Achilles heel after all?’
‘It’s… not a topic up for debate,’ I warned him. Changing the subject, I demanded, ‘So, you were in the Army? When?’
‘I trained as an officer in the medical corps straight out of university and became a captain, but once I realized I wanted to spread my wings, so to speak, I left for a change of career and ended up in virology.’
I recognized why he dressed so sharply, with his brown leather brogue ankle boots, cream jeans and delightful shoulder-hugging jacket.
‘That explains the get-up. You don’t scream boring scientist who peers over a microscope all day long. The British Army knows how to dress?’
He smiled and sat back in his seat. ‘They do indeed. I learned more than you can possibly imagine during my time in the military. It made me who I am.’
‘And yet, you left? It seems odd to me. I assumed most people got drawn into such institutions and never left?’
I wanted to get the measure of him. I didn’t know whether the Army had yet to be infiltrated by Officium.
‘It’s fitting you should choose the word institution. That’s exactly why I sought a new career. It afforded me an extraordinary lifestyle and discipline, and yet I felt constrained by it. I left because of that, but also really because I felt my purpose in life lay elsewhere, and I was right. Now, I’m lumbered with this.’
‘We’re both lumbered with it, but I’ve been hunting this mystery for what feels like decades now, and no substantial evidence has come along in all that time.’
I put my jacket on and got up to stretch the lethargy out of my legs before sitting back down. ‘You know, I always felt I would choose either one of two professions – detective or reporter. And guess why I didn’t become the former…? I would have been too constrained, as you put it earlier. Too bound by jurisdiction. Too thick within the enemy’s fold.’
Ryken was deep in thought for a few moments before speaking with mild gesticulation. ‘Look Seraph, it almost seems fated now that I should meet you here. You can help me, with all your contacts and whatnot. Now you know my predicament, we might as well see what we can turn up together. I’m in danger, there’s no doubt about it, but my biggest concern is getting to the bottom of this. That is what you do, isn’t it? Get to the bottom of things?’
‘Exactly. But aren’t the research teams constantly shifting around? Ulrich said they would sometimes leave one lab at short notice, to go to another secret location, just like that.’
I snapped my fingers and he raised his eyebrows as if in agreement.
‘Wait a moment, I have an idea.’
I took out my xGen and opened it up, sending a message to the Rascal: ‘Call me ASAP’.
Within seconds, the screen flashed with UNKNOWN CALLER. Ryken waited inquisitively, while on the screen I saw the obscured silhouette of a man who wanted to conceal his identity. He asked in a thick Caribbean accent, ‘Seraph, me beauty, what can I do for you?’
In the background, I saw a virtual beach bar packed with holographic images holding cocktails. He could be anywhere in the world.
I got straight to the point. ‘I need you to get me the last known location of Mara Dulwich. I’m praying you’ll say it was somewhere in the UK.’
‘Me dear, why you need this info, girl?’
‘Darling, you should know better than to ask questions.’
‘Who you with girl? You got a blush across your face, and I know it’s not me who gave you dat.’
Irritated, I commanded, ‘Atlas, just get me the info before I leap through the screen and grab your puny balls off.’
‘Okay, okay, I’ll see what me can scrub up. Catch you later sugar.’
‘Don’t disappoint me.’ I snapped my xGen shut.
‘That wasn’t who I think it was, was it?’ Ryken asked, enraptured.
‘Yeah.’
‘How do you know all these people?’
‘I guess it sometimes helps having a great rack. But also, the only thing worth squat in this world is who you know, not what you know. Look how much we’ve discovered since finally crossing each other’s paths.’
He didn’t know where to look and I relished every damn moment this man was under my thumb. He hid behind his coffee cup and drank eagerly, finishing the last of his drink. I needed my bed, so did he.
I got a response within seconds: ‘Drake’s Cottage, Waterside, Stratford-Upon-Avon.’
My response: ‘Thanks, you sure on this one? When was she last there?’
From Atlas: ‘Bout three day ago probly, her xGen were there for sure cos it spiked the whole area. She go by codename the apprentice. Would
know her anywhere. She has the fastest machine on the planet! Can’t fake the presence her device creates.’
‘Okay, he says she was in Stratford three days ago. What do you think? Shall we head there and see what we can find? You never know.’
‘I don’t see why not.’
Ryken
We made our plan to visit Mara and went our separate ways, in a rather formal, businesslike manner. I went into the gent’s toilets, saying I was going to climb back up to my room from a window that went outside. However, once I thought she had probably gone – I went back through the pub and the airport halls to get back to the hotel via all the normal routes.
Once back in my room, I was severely troubled. Laid on the bed with my legs hanging over the edge, all I could think about was Seraph. Despite wearing bland clothing, hardly any make-up and no jewellery, she was the most beautiful woman I had ever come across. I felt the need for a cold shower. Get a grip man. I quickly quashed those thoughts, pushing them to the back of my mind as I remembered there was business at hand. There were matters to be dealt with. Pull yourself together. She is just some arrogant reporter who thinks there are no consequences to what she writes.
The self-preservation part of me told me to leave her well alone. She would never understand the real me. Yet as I closed my eyes, I imagined her naked and dripping with sweat as I licked between those heavy breasts. I saw all kinds of illicit images and my heart rate soared, my breath quickened. I grabbed myself and pulled out the biggest orgasm of my entire life.
CHAPTER 14