The Radical (Unity Vol.1)

by Lynch, S. M.

  ‘I don’t know much for sure. I know only that I’ve covered some of the worst crimes imaginable, but most killers are more often than not just deadbeats who couldn’t control their trigger fingers. The way my parents were killed was too contrived. A truck hit them in broad daylight… some robber who conveniently got away. Dulwich was also killed in nearly the exact same circumstances only weeks later – by a vehicle with no identification plates. I tried to get satellite images of both incidents, but when I went to the NYPD’s archives, I found they had been conveniently deleted – on both counts. The thing had Officium smeared all over it.’

  I hastily turned to avoid his gaze, knowing he would certainly have drawn his own conclusions about my parent’s connections.

  ‘So, you know they control Dulwich Labs?’

  I rolled my eyes, ‘Just because I don’t publish it, doesn’t mean I don’t know it. I choose what I keep back, very carefully.’

  ‘Then you know the bastards are that arrogant, they put Mara Dulwich’s name to their shady clinical trials after she disappeared in the wake of her father’s death.’

  ‘That revelation is child’s play to me and you know it,’ I insisted, glowering.

  ‘Yeah well, I took that job thinking I’d be working for Mara, but Suranna soon put me straight on a few things.’

  ‘I bet she did… I guess they tempted you with Mara’s name?’

  ‘You could say that, yeah…’ he trailed off, anger in his eyes.

  ‘You ought to have known better.’

  ‘How do you know so much anyway?’ he enquired. ‘You are just a reporter. ’

  ‘I shall have pleasure proving the contrary. Just because I don’t read textbooks, doesn’t mean I didn’t have the wherewithal to write one of my own.’

  I continued guzzling the stout. It tasted bitter and creamy, but there was too much sugar in it.

  ‘Touché,’ he replied.

  ‘Ulrich was my informant…’ I muttered, staring him out, ‘…until he washed up on the banks of the Hudson. He had been rotting there for days until a boat spotted him just in front of the Dam.’

  He appeared genuinely remorseful but I didn’t know who was more at fault ‒ me for squeezing Ulrich for information or Ryken for leaving Dulwich Labs. Something must have happened that Ryken didn’t want me to know about. Two of his colleagues died, yet he got away…

  ‘Shit. I didn’t know about that. I’ve been off the radar for a bit.’

  ‘He had a baby on the way. Our last meeting didn’t exactly go well–’

  Both of his hands were at his face, ‘Fuck.’

  ‘I was angry, he said he was done with giving me info. He had a new love. I suspected he was going to make a run for it, you know, leave New York without them knowing. I don’t know whether that or his association with me cut his life short.’

  ‘He was a good bloke. I can’t believe it. I’m gonna find out who did it.’

  ‘Justice is extinct. Give up on the truth, join them, or exist like me. Eleven years later I’m still waiting to discover who exactly murdered my parents – and why.’

  He looked deeply troubled, as if his mind had wandered to a dark place. My own wellbeing was already plagued enough without him adding to my baggage.

  I tried to change the subject. ‘So, why are you trapped here too, Ryken?’

  I finished the Guinness and almost barfed when the unpalatable dregs at the bottom slid down my throat. It was then, with my drink gone, the napkin became my prop of distraction instead.

  ‘Oh, I was forced into attending a family gathering, but when I got here I found out there wasn’t any sort of reunion taking place at all. It seems my invitation was a hoax. This has been a totally wasted trip.’

  He looked suitably pissed off, but as I waited for him to expand, he seemed unwilling to reveal more.

  ‘I traveled here to attend a funeral. She is… was… in fact…’

  I couldn’t say it. She was the secret I buried. She was right under my nose all that time, the head of UNITY…

  ‘You don’t have to tell me, but I am here if you need to talk,’ the Adonis spoke, filling me with a delight I still doubted.

  ‘She was the only living relative I had left. Quite a unique individual, actually, so I flew out here in an instant. Crazy, huh?’

  ‘The only thing that’s crazy is that we can’t get out of here!’ he sniggered and shook his head.

  ‘Fuck, I know. This cesspit is the only place in the airport you can find a bit of peace and quiet.’

  We shared an awkward smile.

  ‘So, Ryken, are you ever going to answer my question?’

  ‘You already know, so why ask?’ he chuckled.

  I was constantly fighting a losing battle, attempting to keep up a demeanor of indifference, when actually I was secretly thrilled to have this man of all people fall across my path. I had been trying to get at him for ages. I supposed I could feign nonchalance, or hope silence would force him to speak. I was contemplating my plan of action when he got in there before me.

  ‘Look, Seraph, we’re stuck in this place together, seemingly the only New Yorkers within a 100-mile radius… and we’re both going out of our minds. Shall we share our troubles?’

  ‘Why the hell not,’ I chimed, ‘but unless that soda’s got bourbon in it, you’re not a real New Yorker, mister.’

  CHAPTER 13

  Ryken

  She and I spent the entire evening talking. I was in thrall. If this goddess had asked me to jump into hell, I would have. By 11pm we were both yawning in the soporific surroundings of the pub, despite the endless rounds of coffee we’d had. I think we were only talking because neither of us had enjoyed decent conversation in a long while.

  My senses were overpowered by luscious, wavy chestnut hair, alabaster skin, bright blue glacial eyes, full pink mouth and that figure. Rounded cheekbones, beautiful elegant hands, purposeful long nose and elongated neck. Womanly, yet strong, with a scent of powerful coconut shampoo and fresh linen. Ferociously intelligent, yet extremely feminine. She was a miraculous specimen of womanhood and the way she seemed so unaware of her beauty fascinated me. She exuded a spirit of depth that seemed to tug at something deep down inside of me; a kind of liveliness that made her body seem irresistible, the way it moved and communicated.

  I imagined slowly peeling her clothes off, kissing every inch of her long legs, before easing into her and staring down into her eyes while we fucked. I imagined it would be delirious, hot, sweaty and needy. I wanted to kiss her so badly. Holding her earlier while she had clearly been struggling to suppress her emotions was the most defining moment of my life. A woman as beautiful as she, upset, letting me hold her in my arms!

  Not many women wanted to entangle themselves emotionally with someone like me, because of my dangerous line of work. I was a virologist which put me at an immediate disadvantage. It was also well-known that ex-military types often went on to work for Officium as emissaries. In fact, that was the only reason why such institutions were still going. The Forces’ training programs were the best and made it all the more easier for Officium to get the best of the best without having to put much effort in themselves – the hard work had already been done for them.

  Back to Seraph. I realized something very important. Sure, there had been many women. They were just, I don’t know, lays. With her I hungered for intimacy – more than I had with any other woman I had ever come across. It was because I hoped she might understand me like nobody else could.

  Slowly, she had told me her story. Of the great aunt who seemed to be an eternal singleton, yet had apparently had to hide her husband to protect him in the wake of 2023. In great detail, she had described York and how it had changed since her aunt was a young woman living there. She told me she kept old photos and something about the sentiment of her heart yanked at my own.

  She spoke of her family’s ties to Yorkshire and how she had been so disappointed to see the place so changed. During all her talk, I
listened intently. I couldn’t help but glaze over when she was doing her thing of talking the hind leg off a donkey. All I was envisioning was my face smashed between her thighs, drinking her. I bet she would taste good.

  However, she seemed to be undergoing some sort of catharsis as she rambled on and on, so I let her, until she decided to turn the conversation onto me.

  ‘Hey,’ she winked, ‘I’ve shared, like we agreed, but I don’t think you have?’

  ‘I guess I’m a better listener than a conversationalist.’

  ‘You don’t get out of it that easily. What have you been doing with your time since being out of employment?’

  She had taken her leather jacket off and was fiddling with the long sleeves of her black t-shirt. I couldn’t help but show how coy I was feeling. Everything she did was driving me to distraction. If I could just get her in my arms and have done, I judged that perhaps I might be able to think straight again. I wasn’t used to feeling this devastating pull of attraction and for once in my life, I actually cared what someone thought of me. I felt if she knew the whole truth about me, she wouldn’t take it well. I would brave a partial confession, like she seemed to have done.

  ‘I admit my trip here was not exactly boring.’

  She turned her body in the booth to face me and raised a knee to the seat so she could twist right round.

  Her legs…

  ‘Ulrich spoke highly of you, but he warned me you were the one to watch.’

  ‘He spoke highly of you too. He once said you were the woman he’d have married if you’d given him half a chance.’

  She frowned and tried to hold back her emotion, but I could see it cross her face. Regret.

  ‘I thought he must have been mad, having heard about the way you mercilessly carry out your investigations. Acting the prostitute to infiltrate their dens, their hotel rooms, their clubs.’

  I knew this side of her and the reason I was mentioning it was because, in actual fact, it didn’t bother me. I wanted her to know that my bringing it up meant I didn’t care. No, that didn’t bother me. What did bother me was wanting to find out whether she had a hidden desire for the intimacy I craved – only with her.

  I could see she lamented my mention of the ways in which she worked. She raised a hand to her forehead and tried to cover her reaction. I knew I’d hit a nerve and was about to apologize, when she felt an impulse to explain herself.

  ‘There was me thinking you were above the rumor mill!’ She sniffed in disdain and twirled her hair provocatively, then pushed her boobs together in mock derision. She changed to sultry and fluttered her lashes, ‘Oh I can pretend for them, darling, and give them what they want. Play the woman I let them believe I am.’

  She dropped her hands down by her sides again and I saw the way her heavy breasts fell back into position.

  ‘The misogynists at the heart of Officium must love me, really. High society lives in a truly ridiculous world, of fakery, forgery and lasciviousness. The less people really know about me, the better… but you ought to realize that sometimes we never really know ourselves or each other even, really and truly. Being a physician, you ought to see that the human condition is ever changing, ever evolving, and never unsurprising. Quite why we weren’t prepared for 2023…’

  Her words reached a place deep inside me. I wanted to let her know me, show her I was more.

  ‘If I asked you not to spread a word of what I’m about to tell you, would you promise not to? As a friend, which I’m hoping you are now, could you take what I’m going to say off the record?’

  ‘I don’t know until I’ve heard what you’ve got to say though,’ she drawled, arching her brow, her interest heightened.

  She was on the edge of her seat and leaning forward to see into my eyes. She must have sensed my hesitation.

  She cocked a small smile. ‘Do you need me to pull the routine or are you just gonna whack me with it?’

  ‘I don’t need you to pull the routine, but I would like you to answer a question, first, if you don’t mind?’ I countered.

  She sharpened her focus on me and held a hand at her face.

  ‘Shoe on the other foot?’

  ‘Boot on the other foot,’ I gestured at hers, and then mine underneath the table. We shared a smile and it filled my veins with warmth, having her close to me like that. I found the strength to ask, ‘Before tonight, when was the last time anyone held you?’

  She took a deep intake of breath but it was quickly replaced with a scowl. I tried to seem anything but confrontational, least of all judgmental. I was not even with an ulterior motive. Yeah, right…

  ‘Honestly?’ she finally said after a pause that seemed to last a lifetime.

  ‘Yeah…’ I teased, ‘…Seraph? If that is who I am currently dealing with?’

  She nodded.

  ‘I’m not sure you’re prepared for my answer,’ she offered, a sly smile working its way across her face.

  ‘Try me.’

  ‘It was two days ago. She held me really tight, really close, put her arms all around me. I thought she held me a little too strongly.’ I watched her as she licked her lips, then revealed, ‘In the night I heard her fucking another woman next door…’

  This couldn’t be Seraph Maddon, but just who was it? Which guise did she have on in that moment? The throb in my jeans was beyond help. Lesbians? Is that what she was talking about? I didn’t honestly know.

  ‘The woman…’ she continued seductively, ‘…I could tell she was the passionate sort but I didn’t get the intensity of that hug until afterward, you know? I think she might have wanted me.’

  ‘B-b-but…’ I could barely speak.

  She started laughing.

  Hook, line and sinker…

  I shrugged off her annoying attempt to bat away my question. I couldn’t press her further, though. She was weary and emotional behind those beautiful blues and I didn’t want to push it. In that instant, her eyes momentarily fell sad, proving that she probably did have a soul after all.

  Seraph

  He made me forget all about Eve and that mess, just for a moment. Yet I found myself being distracted by something much more troubling. The closer I got to the giant specimen of virile manhood sat before me, the more I recognized how attracted to him I was.

  I felt weak, stunned by his masculinity. Everything seemed to fade into the background. He was not only attractive, but extremely intelligent, apparently decent and physically very imposing. His sonorous voice and accent were pleasing to my ear. I was just wondering how he got his body in such shape, when he broke my reverie.

  ‘If you’re gonna play games with your tales of college fun, then I will just tell you…’

  ‘You have my attention,’ I assured him.

  ‘Before Suranna died, she told me she had discovered some phials tucked away in a deep-freeze compartment that the team were told was off-limits. She accidentally ended up in there one day and found they were labeled H8K1-Z. She stayed late one night, taking one of the said containers out for testing.’

  He looked around and leaned further forward to whisper, ‘She thawed the stuff and analyzed it. She couldn’t believe what she’d found.’

  ‘Well? Tell me Ryken,’ my tone urgent, my heart racing.

  ‘Seemingly an inoculation unlike anything she’d ever seen before. I won’t bore you with the scientific mumbo jumbo, but basically, a very probable cure for the virus of 2023. From Mara’s research, we know that it was a constantly mutating strain of avian flu, attaching itself to its hosts’ immunities, trying to break those down. A conscious and highly intelligent organism, so to speak, that could counteract antibodies and even aggravate past medical conditions. It invaded every cell and learned to be dominant to survive. But it was more than that. It was something that had seemingly never encountered humanity before. Something so raw, that the civilized world was unprepared and unable to cope with its evolutionary strength. Officium must have had the vaccine all that time, and yet, they’d alw
ays claimed none could be created because of the speed with which the infection seemed to fall across the Earth and evaporate just as quickly.’

  He took a breath, his face weary, and stubbed a forefinger down on the table.

  ‘Yes, it would have been immediately impossible to create enough injections for the world’s population and for something that had seemingly never come into contact with humanity before then. When all the fowl were destroyed in 2023, eggs were too. Of course, we need fertilized eggs to cultivate vaccines. However, as Suranna discovered, they seem to have managed it somehow. How long they’ve had the thing in deep-freeze, I don’t know. I used to wonder why they needed virologists, when there was no chance of us ever carrying out more research on this strain. However, Suranna revealed to me that the group are terrified something like this might rear its head again, so they keep people like us employed for that purpose. There were rumors that the disease was genetically engineered, but according to Mara’s work, it was such a force of nature, it could have only come from an area uninhabited for decades. Without coming into contact with the infection for centuries, possibly even millennia, the human race had not been able to build up any immunity to it.’

  He sat back almost breathless, seemingly having unburdened himself of his troubles. I sat back in my seat too, eyes wide. I stamped my foot.

  ‘Fuckers. I knew it. I always knew, and yet, most other people probably knew too. But why are we still in the shadow of this?’

  ‘We weren’t alive when it hit, so I guess we will never know the effect it really had. All we know is that we were born into corruption and madness and that nothing can move forward until the veil is lifted. Knowledge is freedom, and if the world knew the truth for a certainty, I’m sure people would rise up against Officium finally. But without definitive proof, we can do nothing. We need hard evidence otherwise anything else might send panic through the population again. I know one thing for sure at least, they will stop at nothing to keep the truth hidden. Suranna started to fear for her life after her discovery, tried to destroy the evidence, but they must have somehow found out… because two days later she was dead, and the cold storage those phials were in was taken elsewhere. I couldn’t do anything, and then I got fired, presumably because they feared I knew something. So, I came to Manchester to return to the apparent source of the disease. The labs here didn’t turn up anything either, so I can’t prove a thing.’