by Lynch, S. M.
I decided that this was it. This was where it would be.
Fuck. I could hear banging outside the door and realized I wouldn’t have much more time. They would soon get in.
Once I had thrown away the dummies, I saw the safe. It was a large, grey metal panel on a high shelf, with a sophisticated locking system that would only open up with the DNA of the director. I took out my xGen and loaded up its hackware, before connecting to the safe via Wi-Fi. I found Camille’s message with the DNA fingerprint and overrode the safe’s security system to convince the computer that I was the director. Within seconds, the safe clicked open. I retrieved numerous files from inside and slid back down the ladder.
I threw the documents onto the desk and had the sudden feeling that a ghost had entered the room. The banging outside the door subsided. I saw out of the corner of my eye a figure appear from behind a gold curtain hanging against a full-length, fake window across the room.
‘Captain Hardy, I’ve been looking forward to your arrival. May I say I am impressed by your skills.’
The gravelly voice revealed a habit of after-dinner brandy and cigars, as well as an accent seeming to belong to some Cambridge or Oxford-educated gentleman of substance. I instantly recognized him to be Crispin Childs, the head of Officium.
I took out a pistol and pointed it at the man. ‘Don’t move a muscle.’
The very elderly “statesman” stood with his hands held together in front of him. His white hair and tanned complexion contrasted starkly, while his cordial, patriarchal demeanor did nothing to assure me of his humanity.
I held the man’s gaze and waited. I tried to calm my heartbeat, sure the man would be able to tell even from a few meters away how tense I was. I held the gun in the air but my arm felt as if it were about to break in two. I was fighting the urge to simply shoot. That would have been much easier, but never better.
‘Did you think it would be that easy? Did you really think we would let you in that easily?’ He goaded me. The man tutted and grinned mockingly. I hated him more in that moment, though I didn’t think it possible. ‘You must have been out of your mind to think that we would allow you and that wench to simply undo years of progress with one, futile attempt. You are the one done for. Give up now and I will let her live. There is no chance of escape.’
I still held my arm out though I was struggling not to pull the trigger. I wiggled the gun in my opponent’s direction, absolutely furious at the term he had just used for Seraph. I remained silent, knowing any word would make me seem weak.
The old man continued, amusement in his voice and expression, ‘We knew as soon as you offered yourself up as an emissary what you were up to. As if we would ever believe someone like you, the son of the great Nathaniel Hardy, could be acting for any purpose other than revenge.’
I sniffed. I couldn’t help myself.
I growled, ‘I didn’t delude myself that I was safe even for a second, I promise you.’
‘No, but I bet she did. Told her about your little sideline, have you?’
The man goaded me with a menacing smile, threat in his soulless eyes. I was constantly battling an overwhelming desire to just shoot the monster down. However, some part of me wanted answers and resolution. I wanted to know how a man could have become so detestable, losing any semblance of remorse.
‘She thinks that she can make you bend to her will. Well, now you will bend to mine.’
‘Why are you doing this?’ I demanded, shouting. Desperation was a hard thing to battle.
The old man made a move across the room to sit in his black leather desk chair. I followed his movements with my gun and waited for a response.
With his hands resting casually on the armrests, Crispin began, ‘Fate tasked me with bringing this world back to reality. People believed they could turn their backs on those who slaved away for their country for years, gave their lives, turned up for work every day on time and labored for the benefit of their people, all the while getting pitiful rewards and little thanks.’
‘I am not some imbecile you can brainwash, Childs. Get to the point before I blow you away.’
He smiled, the bastard smiled. Goddammit I wanted to shoot.
‘When you offered yourself up as an emissary, I allowed you to undergo the training, certain that you would come in handy one day, just as your father did. I’ve no doubt the Operator sent you to us and I would thank him if he wasn’t dead. When we realized you and Miss Maddon were both heading for the airport, we put out the news about the storms to trap you both in the UK. She has been a terror for years. We spotted a way to finally deal with her without getting our hands dirty. We knew it wouldn’t be long before you got her in the sack. Unfortunately you had help, and then we had to lift the ban on the skies to let you loose again. However, we knew you would come home… and we knew you would try to get hold of the vaccines.’
I felt sick and my vision became blurry. I wanted to tear across the room and bash the living daylights out of the loathsome creature before me. I realized, quickly, he was using every trick in the book. He was going to use my newfound love to break me.
‘I’m offering you a chance. If you leave the country today and take her with you, we will deposit five million ED in whatever account you wish.’
The director retrieved two U-Cards out of his pocket and placed them on the desk in front of him. I saw my picture and Seraph’s, just with different names.
‘You will take these, and you and she will go, and never return. Leave today and you need never fear for your lives again. We can have a jet ready and waiting to take you wherever you want to go within half an hour. We will deposit another five million ED in five years’ time, and every five years after that. We will guarantee your safety, security and anonymity. As long as she never steps foot in this city again.’
My eyes wavered and the director must have known I was tempted. He grinned confidently and a set of pearly white dentures gleamed back. In the vaults of my mind, I heard Mara’s words back. Remember you have love. I saw Seraph’s face. I put myself in her shoes and knew one thing. If she were stood with me, she wouldn’t let this man get the better of her with offers of money and a desert island somewhere.
In return, I smiled menacingly at the elderly fellow and started laughing hysterically. ‘You puerile fuck! You hoped you could simply tempt me just like that, with your treasures and your so-called security and anonymity? There is something you have no understanding of in this world, and it’s called decency.’
He gave me a bored expression and re-asserted, ‘Just take the money and go Captain Hardy, before you pay with your life.’
‘I’d rather die than see you continue to manipulate this world without impediment. I’d rather die than turn.’
‘And if you die, what will happen to her? Think about that Hardy, think very hard, and very carefully.’
I didn’t respond; I knew doing so would reveal too much.
‘We could have killed you when you were sleeping in that shed with her in Warwick. We tracked you from your chip.’
What fucking chip? In that instant I realized I was not my own man, not anymore. I had been a weapon of Officium, a living, breathing one worth more dollars than any surface to air missile or nuclear armament. Now, I was a slave to Seraph. A grateful, willing one. A servant of UNITY too.
I felt deeply troubled to hear I was chipped. It meant they had known where I was, every step of the way. They had let us go on the run, hoping the journey would see us fall in love. It had certainly worked. I tried to shake off my despair. I knew now, I had to trust in myself. I had to block out everything else to think straight and complete this mission. A little improvisation never hurt, so I let him wax on while my mind worked.
The director continued, ‘Yes, we had one implanted in you. All this time and you never knew… We’ve monitored your movements all this time. Why didn’t we kill you then and there? Because she obviously hadn’t yet fallen for your charms by that point… and because of
the sensitive information she has and the danger of that being released. If New York society crumbled, so could our entire business empire, from the stock market downwards. It could take years to rebuild the damage. We knew she was probably the type to die rather than give up the information so easily. We knew you would be instrumental in freeing us of her once and for all. If you don’t do this, we’ll just have to deal with her ourselves, however we see fit. It would be much easier on everybody if you just take her and go.’
‘I’ll never accept your terms.’
The director rose from his chair slowly and moved around the desk, his brittle legs looking as though they might buckle at any moment beneath his massive bulk. He moved toward me to look me directly in the eye and I saw the look of devilry staring back, of absolute and unwavering faith in his own shameful beliefs, morals and codes.
‘I thought you might need some extra convincing, which is why I came prepared.’
I gritted my teeth and almost broke a molar with the fury I felt. I could feel my face getting redder underneath the balaclava so I pulled the headwear off to avoid becoming even more agitated, throwing it to the ground to stare at the director.
‘Throw whatever you’ve got at me. We’ll see where it gets you.’
The director smiled almost innocently, before retrieving a remote control from his pocket. The top of one of the oak cupboards across the room flipped over to reveal a holo-stream pad. Within seconds, a full-size image sprang up.
My heart thundered in my chest and each beat felt like it was popping my skull with the sound. Blood seemed to shoot to my head and I had to battle the fury within. My hand shook with the gun in it and this time, my arm fell by my side. I breathed heavily and almost collapsed with the feeling of light-headedness. I fell to my knees and hung my head.
There was a man blindfolded, bound and gagged in the image, alone in an empty room somewhere. Grey hair. Same hulking physique as me.
My father, Nathaniel.
With my head still bowed, I muttered, ‘Where is he?’
‘In the basement. If you don’t do as we say, he will be dealt with.’
‘If I do carry out your demands, how do I know he won’t still die?’
‘You don’t. But you will still have five million and that little temptress to keep you amused.’
I faced the floor and knew resistance was the key. ‘Do your worst. Kill us both. I’m ready. I’ll do whatever it takes to protect her. My death will ensure her safety, you know that. She’ll keep going until she nails you.’
The director turned beetroot-red and lost some of his cool, struggling as he ranted on. ‘You stupid, little boy. You think that this world is black and white, good and evil, rich and poor? You ignorant little fool! We never meant for the virus to escape, but it was such a force of nature, we saw that it was somehow meant to be. I have tried to protect millions of people from themselves. They all thought they could keep procreating without any consequences. This world is small Hardy, and it’s going to keep getting technologically and geographically smaller and smaller. Soon, it will be so small, only the fittest and strongest will be able to survive, just as in 2023.’
I lifted my head to stare into the distance, calmly responding, ‘You’re wrong. People are better than you think, you just haven’t got the capacity to see that. This world can change of its own free will. There are those out there who can lead better than this, better than you. People can evolve and adapt to the new world on their own, without bastards like you trying to tell them how.’
‘Delusion seems to be your tragic flaw, son.’
I eyed the murderous villain across the room and sneered, ‘I will never give in. Just kill me now.’
‘Just leave, Hardy. Take the girl and the money and we will release your father. We can all just carry on as before, but you will be slightly richer for it.’
I remained knelt on the floor, trying to appear as if I wasn’t working out a plan in my head. In actual fact, my brain was working on maximum output. I knew deep down what needed to be done. I was seeking a solution, a way of accomplishing all the things I needed to. I sought a path through the maze and turned to look at the director, whose tremulous breathing had given him away.
‘Why do you imagine the Operator was a man?’ I said, staring him in the eye without one iota of emotion. ‘How do you know he or she is even really dead?’
‘I have my reasoning,’ he said, his voice calm. ‘It went viral and the Operator’s online presence dropped off the grid. Could be no other reason for that other than death. The Operator had us over a barrel for years. This was our chance to right all his meddling.’
What an absolute misogynist. He couldn’t believe it.
‘The Operator was a woman, I assure you. I can verify that without question.’
‘It isn’t possible, it simply isn’t. The skills the Operator possessed were only gifted to one… a man… a former employee of ours who disappeared decades ago. He had no reason to leave our employment but he did… to work freelance. To fleece us of millions of dollars for his skills. The Operator was no woman, no, it isn’t possible. He was too merciless to be.’
The plot thickened. Who knew what people were capable of until pushed…
I laughed, covering my mouth. He was cornered.
‘Seraph’s aunt, Eve Maddon, was the Operator. Maybe this man of yours helped her. All I know is that she was married to Tom Bradbury, but he didn’t die in 2023. He took a new identity and became Stephan Dulwich. She wanted your blood because of that. You ruined his life. You killed him, too. So, there you have it. Silly fool. What have all your years on this planet gotten you? The wool pulled over your eyes, that is what!’
I stood, having regained myself, and moved toward the director. I pushed Crispin back so that he fell in his desk chair with a thud. I hovered above the frail old man and eyed him with a cold glare. I threatened him with a massive clenched fist held in front of him, reinforcing my own belief in myself.
‘All this time, you’ve had a woman running rings around you, you absolute cretin. Look at you old man, thinking you can rule the world with your iron fist! You’re a madman. You have absolutely no idea what people are capable of when they turn their minds to it. She sacrificed her whole life to protect him. She loved him that much! You sit there and you listen to me, before I throttle the living daylights out of you. She isn’t dead. She’s alive… and she’s coming for you. I saw her myself. She will get you when you least expect it and you’ll finally pay. She won’t stop until you’re done for. She’ll keep going until you finally get what you deserve.
‘It doesn’t matter how much money or technology you have, or what vile threats you make, you will never get her. And why? Because she has the love and loyalty of followers all over the world. People who believe unwaveringly in her. Look at you, what do you have? Those dogs you call your police force, who would realize if they weren’t so pumped full of drugs, what you really are. I’m giving you a chance now, director, to leave and never return. Leave and hide, otherwise she will get you, I can guarantee you that. Even I don’t know where she’s waiting for you, but she will keep waiting, until the time is right to finally thwart you once and for all. She will bide her time until she can send the Principal to blast the brains out of your skull bit by bit.’
I felt sure the director was in defeat and took several deep breaths to calm myself after that speech. The elder man sat in absolute shock, unable to move or make a response. I picked up the pile of documents and began pulling pages out on top of a sideboard nearby.
The director watched me as if he had become disabled. His eyes bulged from the revelations; he knew there was no lie in my eye. I found evidence of research into the Indonesian flu strain; memos, emails, employee records and various other documents. I scanned every paper, one after another, and took out my xGen to download the information, before tagging it on to a new message. Restricting the sender info, I sent it on to generic addresses including Americanpress, pres
suk, worldpress and NYChronicle. It would surely get picked up by one of them.
I noticed the man’s face had turned purple. He was going into cardiac arrest, breathing hoarsely, his body falling limp. I had no sympathy.
I frantically double checked I had done what I needed to do and headed to the doors of the office, preparing for the next onslaught. I breathed deeply and recovered, readying myself. I remembered her face and what we had and knew what needed to be done for that to remain untarnished.
I looked at my watch and saw I had three minutes before the roof was blown skyward. I needed to get out. I shot at the AK holding the door shut across the room, knocking it out of its resting place.
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…
CHAPTER 35
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.