The Radical (Unity Vol.1)

by Lynch, S. M.

  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…

  ‘Seraph, 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 everywhere, 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 flood 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?’

  Nobody 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 completely 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 possibl
e.

  ‘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 sounded 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’mon, 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 stop 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 desperation 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.

  Destruction.

  Devastation.

  Death.

  I could feel heat emitting from the building and continued to protect my ears, hoping it hadn’t really happened. I kept my eyes closed but when I felt some chunks of rubble fall on my back, bouncing off the leather of my jacket, I looked up from where I was laid and saw the entire upper half of the building on fire. Debris rained down and I was numb, staring at the scene as though it was unreal. I was in shock.

  I got up to survey the damage and a crashing sound shocked me when large pieces of the building started to collapse. Suddenly, I realized.

  Where is Ryken? He failed to come flying out of the sky, or running round the corner to rescue me and take us both away, finally, to freedom.

  I started to run round to the other side of the building, shielding myself with one arm, while tiny bits of rubble fell around me. I held my other hand against my mouth to prevent myself breathing in the smoke and dust. I could barely see where I was going, only able to make out the outline of the building from where I could see the fire.

  I ran around the back and saw only remnants of destruction. There was no sign of him anywhere.

  ‘Ryken, Ryken, where are you!? Ryken, Ryken!’ I shouted, coughing on the filthy air.

  Nobody responded to my cries and as I moved further away from the building to get a better look at the top floor, another explosion rang out and the top three floors vanished beneath flames and dust.

  In that moment, my heart stopped. I forgot to breathe. My lungs felt like they were collapsing in on themselves, while my legs gave way beneath me. I fell on the sidewalk, falling flat on my butt. I could feel saliva running from my mouth and snot dripping from my nose.

  I lost all control and nearly died in that moment from grief and despair. My head fell between my knees and I realized, I need to breathe. I took one, deep intake of breath, and in the next, I screamed at the top of my lungs until my whole body hurt.

  Even over the whistles and bangs still going on in Genevieve Tower nearby, my shrieks echoed louder. I wanted him back. My anguish was only compounded as the skies opened and down poured battering blobs of icy water. My hair matted and clothes drenched, all I hoped was that the storm would wash me away and obliterate all conscious feeling.

  Whatever was left of me felt arms try to grab my limbs. I looked back wildly to see if it was him, but it was Lucius. I tried to shake myself free of his grasp, refusing to leave until I knew what had happened to Ryken.

  He was persistent and grabbed my torso roughly, yanking me off the ground and toward safety.

  While Lucius pulled me along the sidewalk around the corner to the Plaza, I couldn’t cry, nor feel even one single part of my body.

  Inside, I was numb, empty and just as dead as Ryken.

  CHAPTER 36

  Three months later…

  My bed smelt unsavory but I refused to leave it. I had hardly moved from there since the day he died. I refused to take off his blood-splattered shirt and I hadn’t changed the sheets he had slept in with me. The one thing I had spent my life trying to achieve was done, and yet the cost had been so high. I had lost the only thing I had ever really wanted. I’d had a fleeting glimpse of life with him, and had only just discovered what real love could be, when he was torn away so cruelly. I was a wreck, hardly ever washing or eating, never answering calls or the door.

  Camille arrived at the Plaza the day of the explosion. I heard her voice but didn’t hear any of the words she tried to soothe me with. I cried into her arms for hours, sobbing and wailing in disbelief. Camille wanted me to go back home with her, but I couldn’t go. I wanted to be alone to deal with my pain. I languished in my bleak apartment, which wasn’t even really my home.r />
  I didn’t want any help. I accepted I had no hope of ever getting myself back on track. I couldn’t go back to the days of rampaging the streets of New York for stories, yet couldn’t move on either, without Ryken. He had freed me of my responsibilities, but was no longer there to help me go on. I was hiding away, burying my feelings deep down, trying to get over the anger I felt towards all the people outside who had a new lease on life because of him, while I had nothing.

  There were no more emissaries, no more people after me, and no more battles to be won. I slept for hours on end, feeling as though years and years of exhaustive work had finally caught up with me. I dreamt of the way he had made love to me and wailed at the thought that I couldn’t even bury him. Sometimes I wished I had never even known the great love he had bestowed, because thinking of it only agonized me more. I would never be able to love anyone else because of how much he had loved me.

  However, today was different. I woke with a ravenous hunger and went to the kitchen, feasting on some bread from the cupboard. I poured myself a glass of juice and drank that down too. I shuffled back to bed but felt nausea wash over me on the way and was unable to control it, rushing off to the bathroom to throw up everything I had just bolted.

  I wiped my mouth and felt the urge to eat again, yet told myself I shouldn’t if I were sick. Once back in bed, I rested my eyes but my head was spinning, my stomach churning. The more I closed my eyes, the more I felt nauseous. I sat up to see if that made me feel better, but there was no change, so I moved back into the apartment.

  On the couch, looking out of the windows, I had a thought. But, I had just reckoned it had been because of the grief…

  I hadn’t had a period since Ryken. Throwing some clean clothes on, I caught sight of my ghoulish face in the mirror as I left the apartment, but I didn’t care.

  After going to the store, I came back with a one-use ultrasound kit. If I were actually with child, I knew I would be at least three months pregnant. That meant the kit would work. However, I already knew the truth in my heart, but daren’t believe it.