by Lynch, S. M.
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 continued, ‘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 screen 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.
Mara 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?’
She 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 automaton
s 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 understand why we are living like this… and they need to know.’
‘Don’t worry, I’m going to end 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.
CHAPTER 34
Ryken
Minutes later, I rounded the corner and was outside the tent. I checked nobody was inside and ducked in. It was deathly quiet in the area and I wondered whether UNITY had spread the word to stay off the streets. I keyed in the code and a manhole cover sprang open. I jumped in and the door retracted as soon as I was down. I was in a pitch-black tunnel, and after walking at least 30 yards, I came to a set of climbing stairs and launched myself up. I was then in a well-lit corridor with plastic floor tiles underneath my feet and cream-painted walls.
I walked along precariously, waiting to discover whether anyone had noticed my arrival. I strode on and came to an elevator, pressing the button to go up. Just when I thought this all seemed a bit too easy, a woman noticed me in my full kit and screamed. She ran off down the corridor, shouting, ‘Intruder, intruder!’
The elevator arrived and I stepped in. Pressing the button for the 20th floor, I heard the pounding steps of emissaries rush by as the door shut.
Seconds later I arrived on the 20th floor and as the elevator doors opened, I took two pistols in hand and fired off rounds at the ceilings. Screams from the staff rang out. I also shot at all the elevator computer systems too so I wouldn’t have company without them traversing 20 flights of stairs first.
‘Everybody out, everybody get out now. I’m going to blow this place up!’ I shouted in a vain bid to extort damage limitation.
I fired off some more rounds, shooting holes in the ceilings. I marched up and down corridors between frightened members of office and laboratory staff running for their lives at the sight of the armor-clad menace rampaging around.
I went into an empty office amid the commotion and took out an AK, pointing it at the window. I held my finger on the trigger for three seconds. This should do it, I thought, and released my digit. A high-velocity blast made light work of the window, puncturing it instantly. The recoil reminded me of being shunted in a scrum during my rugby-playing days in the Army.
I replaced the gun in its holster and took out my suction pads, strapping them to my knees to aid the Clever-Grips on my hands. I went out of the window and began setting up the first of the explosives outside, balancing perilously against the building on my knees.
I attached the device to an iron frame and set it to detonate in 30 minutes’ time. Quickly, I climbed to the top floor and set a load there too, carrying out the same routine. I ascended to the roof and ran to the other side of the building, sliding along the edge and down to set two more charges at that side too.
Once I felt sure my chances of blowing the place to kingdom come were set, I moved back down to an office on the 19th floor, where I knew the deep freeze units were kept. For personal reasons, I needed the phials, despite Camille’s warnings. I took out the Imp – a slim, sophisticated rectangular device with a concentrated nuclear power cell.
I clipped it around the metal join of a window and set it to pulse. I climbed away quickly, back up to the 20th floor, and heard the low rumble of what sounded like a seismic tremor. I reached down and kicked my leg against the pane; the glass shattering into dust as I did.
I launched myself into the lab as the material eroded. Just as I did so, an emissary came upon me, trying to grapple me to the linoleum. I shoved the man and whacked him around the head with my gun, before shooting him in the leg. Two more arrived and I shot them down too, before launching off to the storage compartments.
I madly searched for the ones I needed and found them, slipping them into a tiny refrigeration case, before bending down to tuck it into a small pocket at the bottom of my cargos. It was then I felt someone roughly tug my shoulders, pulling me back all of a sudden. I managed to swing my legs up in the air to perform a semi-handstand, grabbing the emissary with my ankles, before twisting his neck.
I leapt back up and took out two pistols, one in each hand. One emissary after another started leaping at me and I had to shoot each one of them, felling them easily. In their seemingly safe realm, they weren’t wearing any armor. I took a few shots myself but was impervious to their impact; I was in such a mode of concentration that I couldn’t feel one single part of myself. I had to switch off to complete the task.
I climbed over their bodies to get out of the laboratory and ran down a corridor, heading back in the direction of the elevator. This time I took the stairwell, smashing the door back into a wall as I began racing on up to the top floor. I took two steps at a time but another emissary soon came my way. I threw the man over my head as I chased on up, my body a furious battering ram determined to reach its destination. The brutes were sloppy and ill-equipped for real warfare. They used their size to intimidate but rarely engaged in actual hand-to-hand combat. Plus, they had all the grace of a dancing hippo.
I roared in self-congratulation when I got to the penthouse, the 23rd, thinking I had done all the hard work. I raced down another corridor toward the palatial director’s office, which covered half the top floor.
I took hold of the gold doorknobs and was surprised to find they turned easily. The door was open. The room inside was empty. Suspicion set in immediately.
I had been over-confident.
I was a fool. This had not been a hard task. It had been easy to get in. They had anticipated my arrival, I knew.
Something was going to undo me. Anything could be waiting for me. Anything. There was no official welcome party but I sensed I was being watched, being given easy access for some reason. I slammed the tall, oak doors shut and lodged an AK between the handles to barricade myself in. I walked into the gigantic, air-conditioned room, observing the surroundings.
I breathed deeply and tried to slow my heart, but felt pure hatred as I walked further into the room. The art deco wood paneling and ceiling crevices seemed so vile. I saw high shelves littered with stuffed animals and momentarily considered that I wouldn’t be surprised if he had the Poison Fowl stuffed somewhere. There were other various antiquities, most likely stolen in the aftermath of 2023, including a chunk of the Elgin Marbles laid across an enormous granite platform. The Magna Carta was kept in a protective casing, while what I presumed to be the original Bill of Rights sat alongside it. I shook my head, distaste bitter in my mouth. The man really was evil. I had that confirmed when I saw a globe liquor cabinet left open in the lounge area, a tumbler with a dram inside waiting. No doubt, for me. He knew my weakness, this director, and I knew I was going to have to overcome it.
There were tall brass lamps, numerous wingback chairs, worn-out leather sofas, matching pouffes and solid side-tables. This was a disgusting gentleman’s club where no real gentleman would want to be. The lighting was dim and there wasn’t a natural window in the place. I shuddered. This was a mausoleum of hell itself; a den of iniquity in which the director gathered his depraved minions about him.
As I moved quickly between items of well-used, old-fashioned furniture in the lounge, I reached the office area and began searching for what I wanted. The safe. I tried to put myself in the position of the director, trying to imagine where he might have hidden such a thing. I began frantically searching through oak cabinets and cupboards pushed up against walls at either end of the room, throwing them open and slamming them shut, attempting to discover where my destiny lay hidden. There was nothing. It wasn’t going to be that simple.
I walked to the far end of the room to view the semicircular library that reached up to the top of the high ceiling. A very large, wide writing desk sat just in front of that: dark oak, with a green leather pad laid on top. A gold, art deco lamp shone a sliver of light amongst the darkness at that end of the room.
It wouldn’t be here near the desk, I reasoned.
I turned about and was beginning to despair when I saw something. The sliding ladder was positioned at one end of the library, but I saw the parquet floor was scratched at the other end more prominently. I looked up at the shelves and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. There were simply rows and rows of burgundy, gold, navy-blue and racing-green-bound leather books, all of similar width and height.
I noticed a lot of the books on that side had no lettering on the spines. I leapt toward the ladder to pull it to the other side, racing on up after I had done so. I pulled a couple of the suspicious objects out and found they were merely cardboard boxes made to look like tomes. I pulled a load away, throwing them madly to the ground.