by Lynch, S. M.
‘But a break away from New York, a funeral and a shock I had while there, changed my outlook completely. Clarity is a bitch. A cunning mistress who hides behind closed doors.
‘The truth is I was worshipping an idol, and a false one. To demonstrate, I might ask you whether there is a person, in your life, who makes everything seem better… who has always been there. One person… just one, who you can call on whenever, wherever…?’
With my eyes I let him know that he could speak and he opened his hands and whispered, ‘Mum. My… mum.’
He turned his face away to hide his eyes and I recommenced, despite the fact I knew I was upsetting him with my honest account.
‘For me, there was that one person too. I knew she was different, extraordinary, but what I didn’t know was that she was running UNITY.’
His head whipped up.
‘No,’ he whispered.
‘Yes, a woman. My great-aunt, Eve.’
I needed to pace the floor, so I did. The rest fell out of me.
‘A young woman… me… saw her parents laid on a slab. She felt nothing. She knew however that their deaths were suspicious. This spurred her on… this desire to investigate. This woman I was once fond of portraying myself as, she looked to a much older relative, a great-aunt, who lived across the water in a not-so-distant but still seemingly faraway land. She made bridal gowns, the aunt, she seemed simple. She had rare, humble taste in every sense. She was also an eternal singleton, free of the misfortunes of those who are or were partnered and either lost or have something to lose.
‘So I modeled myself on her, thinking myself brilliantly clever, aloof, unmatchable. Until I discover the possibility that she wasn’t always single. She was married, once, and lost him. She perhaps even had a child. The front was all false, fake, nothing more.
‘We have these devices, this medium all around us,’ I gestured to the airwaves, ‘when still, the most efficient method of communication is word of mouth. Whispers. Oh, my aunt was best at that. A plain woman from Yorkshire spread her word and gave herself the reputation of a cunning antithesis to Officium, when all she was really, was a woman who had loved and lost.
‘The difference between she and I is that if I lose, I won’t take it well. I will become something more monstrous than any of those emissaries we have taken out or ever might do. I spent my formative years alone, cold and afraid, wondering why my parents loved me but didn’t seek to know me. Why they were always aloof. Missing that love, of a mother or a father, shapes you. Creates you, you know? My default setting is emotionless, yet purposeful and regimented. So when I discovered Mommy and Daddy were UNITY and had been living in constant fear of their lives since forever, I understood, but I still didn’t care. The only person I ever cared about was Eve.’
Then I spent a long time telling him about her, about the way she listened to my rambling phone calls, the live-in assassin she saved from the streets, the numbers of couples she brought together, the life she lived and the jokes we shared, the way she loved me like no other, the way I loved her.
‘Ask anything of me, but never ask me to stop, not until they are dispensed with. Not until then.’
I went into the en suite and splashed water on my face but I could still distinguish the tears. Everything was starting to catch up with me and he was only making things worse. My mind was a jumble of jagged memories and cracked reflections that revealed the person I really was, the inner-me continually burying itself deep down inside. The person who was so lonely, so heavy with the weight of responsibility she carried, with never anyone there to pick up the slack.
He walked up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. I saw his reflection in the mirror was one of submission. He clung to my body and I sank back against him, roaring out my painful grief until I shuddered with the almighty scream I needed to unleash. I was overtaken and thrashed but he held me steady, his strength enveloping my insanity.
‘You have got me,’ was all he said.
We spent a short time laid on the bed in each other’s arms, just holding each other in silence. The unknown awaited us. When there was a knock at the door, Ryken got up to answer it, while I made myself presentable in the bathroom. It was Ashoka.
I walked into the hall, my front back on, and saw Ashoka holding her xGen open and ready.
‘I’ve managed to acquire you a jet. They are preparing it for you now at Thames Airport. You need to be at Hangar 13, on the south side. You’ll just have to improvise when you get to the security barrier.’
With that Ryken began highlighting on his map where that was, and nodded at Ashoka, who continued, ‘The bike is ready in the delivery area. I have to warn you though, there are emissaries surrounding the entire hotel and all buildings in the vicinity. They know you are here somewhere and they are not prepared to give up easily. My husband and I have done all we can to keep your whereabouts secret, but as the managers of this place, we can’t protect you once you’re out of here. Now listen… Seraph, I need you to key in your bank details here so I can arrange the funds for your flight.’
She held out her xGen for me and turned her head away while I keyed my details in before watching as about 50,000ED was instantly transferred from my account.
‘A benefactor lent us the aircraft so you are paying for fuel and taxes alone,’ she assured me.
‘No explanation needed, really. That is cheap for passengers like us. I just wanted to ask you one thing, though… you and your husband, how did you meet?’
Ashoka’s look said it all but to confirm my suspicions she said, ‘Eve.’
The pieces of the puzzle were still falling into place but I didn’t have time to arrange them all yet. Ashoka took back her xGen and waited for the transaction to fully clear, before motioning for us to get ready.
We put what few belongings we had in our bags and slung them over our shoulders. Ryken and I could barely look at one another; we could be each other’s undoing.
‘I’ll take you down to the delivery point and you can make your escape from there.’ Locking the door behind her, she looked at each of us with resolve, and asserted, ‘Once you get out of here, don’t stop until you’re on that jet.’
CHAPTER 21
Ryken
The lift doors opened and we entered the tunnel we had been in the day before. This time, however, Ashoka took us further under ground and when we heard vehicles whooshing across the roads above, I knew we were heading toward the main building of the hotel. After making a few more turns and taking a flight of stairs upwards, we were in a small warehouse of sorts, housing foodstuffs, linen, uniforms and all manner of housekeeping equipment. Ashoka led us unnoticed through a throng of busy workers rushing about and we arrived at a semicircular loading bay, where a couple of large vans were parked up.
The bike was there too, sat in all its glory between two delivery trucks. It was a Hellion Inferno, possibly the fastest, most dangerous domestic bike in the world, running on super-electricity and petrol, with a recorded top speed of 300mph, 12,000cc and an infamous booster button. The bodywork was black with purple flames running along the main cavity. The tires looked brand new and ready to burn. The carburetor was the size of an elephant’s trunk and the triple exhaust glistened against the lights overhead. I could hardly contain my joy, mouthing, ‘Fuck me’.
I had always wanted to ride one but had never had the money or the time to. Then I suddenly realized, I’m going to have to do this, aren’t I?
Seraph, my god, she looked beautiful. Shit. I was already desperately in love with her. I didn’t want to fuck everything up but I felt we were heading that way. There was something I had been hiding she wouldn’t like.
The adrenalin began pumping and I knew I would be reliant on it. I tried to place myself in a robotic mode of thinking, of simply acting and reacting. This can be done, we can outrun anyone or anything on this.
I grabbed a jacket from the bike and threw it on, along with gloves and helmet. I took the machine off
the stand and felt the weight of it. It was a beast. I got on and started the engine, revving it several times to get the essentials warmed up. I acquainted myself with the controls and heard it growl and purr at my touch. I had to be dreaming, it was the craziest possible scenario my mind could fathom.
Feeling ready, I gestured for Seraph to get on too. I watched her hug and kiss Ashoka and was struck by her hidden affectionate side. Seraph tucked her wild mane underneath her jacket, zipped up, gloves on, helmet on, and positioned herself behind me on the bike. She looked nervous but I shouted back, ‘Piece of cake.’
I showed her where to put her feet and gestured to the hand holds at the back so she could sit up straight without having to lean on me and hold my body. She motioned she was ready too and I revved the engine in readiness, testing the sensitivity of the clutch under foot. I knew this was a machine built for purpose and would be a breeze to ride. It was what we might cross that wouldn’t be.
Ashoka waved as she began raising the warehouse doors and I sped the bike up towards the exit. As soon as I was able to, I took us out of there, delighting in the power I felt under my command as we got away.
Seconds later, I flicked my visor down with a smart swipe once we were out of the loading bay and down a very narrow, empty street that led out on to a main road – a one-way carriageway.
We stopped at a junction up ahead and I kept my eyes flickering from mirror to mirror while we waited for the traffic pods to change. I saw Seraph’s eyes in the reflection, behind her own visor, and thought I saw a terrible fear I wouldn’t be able to smooth out until we were home and dry.
I willed the pods to change and peered around to catch sight of any possible followers. As I turned my body slightly to check my blind spot, I caught sight of some passengers in the vehicle that had just pulled up next to us. Obviously, the very same thing that had that fear burning out of Seraph’s eyes. There were two of them, each dressed in full bulletproof clothing, each holding guns. They were looking right at me.
Bollocks. Time to see what this monster can do.
I quickly checked the road ahead and saw the pods were still blinking red, but decided to hit the acceleration. Seraph hadn’t expected us to shoot off and knocked against the backrest with a blow, before slamming her chest right up against my back as I released the gas and changed gears rapidly. She threw her arms around me for stability and we shot off even faster down a dual carriageway. I weaved in and out of vehicles, braking hard, accelerating harder, hitting the clutch over and over as I madly tried to steer the bike – and us – away from danger.
I saw the white hydro-car chasing us with a siren screeching on the roof. Seraph and I had both seen the people inside – their blank faces – and knew instantly what they were. It perturbed me, let alone her. She grabbed hold of me tighter and I almost felt her silent plea, ‘just get us to that plane. I don’t care how.’
We jumped several red lights and caused two vehicles to collide when they both swerved to avoid our bike. Ever still, I twisted the acceleration to its full capacity, finding and expanding the engine’s limits, pulling the handle as fast and as brutally as possible. I drove the engine to the maximum of what it could withstand between gears, but still couldn’t get to a stretch of road where we could really see what the machine could do.
The sign for Thames Airport Ring Road was beautiful. I breathed a small sigh of relief. We weren’t too far away. However, there wasn’t just one car following, there were then three or four, including two official police cars. There was traffic up ahead, blocking our way to the ring road.
I could see only one solution. I rammed the pavement, sending the bike into shock, and shot off past a gang of youths loitering on the curb. They didn’t even have time to get a look at the object that had just whizzed by them.
I pressed the horn, alerting others to move out of the way. I constantly had to brake, accelerate, brake, and accelerate, and there was smoke from the tires billowing out from underneath us. Looking behind again, both Seraph and I saw that the emissaries’ cars were trapped behind the traffic and had no way of getting through. She squeezed my waist and smiled at me through the visor.
Coming to the end of the pavement, we reached the junction for the ring road and zoomed off, neglecting to check for oncoming traffic as we headed east. We left the swollen, graffiti-ridden neighborhoods behind, knowing we had to simply keep going.
I sped up a suspended ramp towards the motorway, revving the engine repeatedly to ensure it was warmed enough for what I was about to do next. I saw the 10-lane motorway was heaving but that wouldn’t matter to us on our chosen vehicle.
We swerved in between cars that were queuing to join the jam-packed highway, weaving our way in and out. I headed to the hard shoulder and checked the path up ahead. It was clear. I did something I had always wanted to. I hit the booster button and we screamed off, as the bike immediately changed up to eighth gear. Within seconds, we were traveling at 180mph.
I didn’t take it to the maximum because I was mindful of still needing to be able to brake within a good distance just in case an obstruction presented itself. Seraph held on to me with such force I knew she was terrified. I wanted to hold her so tight after this was all over.
Within minutes, we pulled off the motorway and took a single-carriageway bypass to the airport. It was empty, presumably because the Sky Jets had only just started flying again. We sped along at a steady 70mph down the road; I felt sure we had lost our tails. Just when I had dared to entertain that thought, a light drone-helicopter came flying overhead. Menacingly, it hovered right above, the door of a gun-mount sliding open on the craft to aim directly at us.
I would definitely need to open up the bike to its fullest. I shouted back at Seraph, ‘Hold on!’
She gripped my body and I was thankful she was with me, even if she was crushing my lungs. I hit the button again and accelerated, accelerated, accelerated, until we hit 272mph.
Seraph shielded her body behind mine as I endured most of the G-force. Stupidly, we weren’t wearing full leathers, but it hadn’t seemed that important earlier, we’d had more pressing things to worry about.
My strength was tested as I tried to hold the bike as steady as possible with the pair of us on it together. It took every muscle in my body to maintain control. Thankfully, the drone-helicopter struggled to match our velocity.
Soon, I saw the airport in the distance. It spurred me on to keep going. Seconds away from our destination, I slowed the bike down, and it seemed to whirr unhappily at being forced to decelerate from its maximum speed.
As we approached the barriers of a checkpoint, I shifted my weight back dramatically. Seraph clung on as I applied a blast of acceleration and flicked up the front wheel to send us crashing through. A guard stood at his post hardly had time to react to us screeching by.
I headed for the hangar, third one along on the south side. The place was eerily deserted. We came to a halt outside a small jet, which was already fired up and ready to go. The stairs up to it beckoned.
Pulling to a stop, Seraph leapt off the bike and I parked up quickly. I dumped my helmet on the seat, as did Seraph, and just as I was about to make off to the jet, I turned back to kiss the motorcycle on its front.
We jumped the few steps as quickly as possible and a flight attendant shouted over the engines, ‘Ryken and Seraph, I presume?’
We nodded and got on, helping to pull the aircraft door shut. The cabin assistant, a man of about 20, shouted messages of confirmation in the direction of the cockpit.
The plane started moving while I wrapped my arms around my woman and caught my breath, she also holding me tight. Taking our leather jackets and gloves off, we looked out of the cabin windows to see where the drone-helicopter was. We couldn’t see it but could certainly hear it, even over the jet engines. It must have been right above us, we realized.
The young attendant ordered us to sit down and strap in and the plane made a turn towards the runway. It all seemed
too easy for a moment and my instincts told me it was all wrong. The pilot took the aircraft to the top of the airstrip, ready to jet off, but then a drone-helicopter landed in our way.
Cars skidded to a halt and stood in our way too. Menacing figures piled out, all holding Harbinger-standard bazookas in their hands. Dozens of police vans with sirens blaring all sped up toward us and I felt sure we were facing total defeat.
Outside, however, the shadows seemed confused all of a sudden, looking around wildly, trying to determine where our craft had gone, as if it had disappeared. Some knelt while others rubbed at their eyes. It seemed to them that we had vanished into thin air.
Inside the craft, Seraph and I were unsure what was going on, but we were happy to see the plane slowly and quietly navigate its way around the helicopter, squeezing past it, so that we were pointed down the runway again. We heard the engines roar, louder and louder, until the pilot released the brakes and the craft sped off down the runway. Seconds later, we soared up into the sky, higher and higher.
Sat back with our eyes closed, relieved to finally be getting back to New York, we breathed deeply, trying to calm ourselves down. The seatbelt lights went off and the flight attendant got up to fetch us a glass of water each. He offered them, and they were taken gladly.
He spoke in a brilliantly eloquent British accent, ‘We should be safe now. Safe all the way to New York.’
When the aircraft seemed to level off, the door of the cockpit started to unlock, and the pilot stepped out. I saw her first, and then Seraph, who blinked several times to see whether her eyes were deceiving her. We knew her instantly from her website pictures. It was Mara Dulwich.
CHAPTER 22
Mara stood outside the cockpit door staring at us. ‘May I introduce you to my son, Lucius? Lucius, this is Seraph and Ryken, as you may have gathered. We’re at 48,000 feet now and should reach New York in around one hour, fifty minutes’ time.’