Free The Radical (Unity Vol.1) by S.M. Lynch

chiseling any semblance of personality and humanity away until you only had your outer shell left.’
    I turned from the table and paced the balcony.
    ‘How can this be? I work so carefully!’
    Obviously not carefully enough, however …
    ‘Bloody girl! You are an asset if ever I saw one! A thoroughbred they could manipulate given half t he chance. This is what they do… their influence is crushing enough to make you start questioning yourself. It was a silly mistake, yes. We cannot afford those, not in these times, but Seraph… please, remember how important you are?’
    It hit me. Dread. It was so thick within my gut I felt ill. So many people had my xGen number. A little trickery and he made me think he was the Rascal . He wanted me to follow him so he could have his cronies pick me up at some suitable juncture. I was the only reason Reiniger was out on the streets. Damn.
    In that moment, I heard some terrible noise on the street below. I dared to look over the railing and saw a massive pile-up on Madison Avenue. Sirens blared. Voices shouted. In the distance I saw more collisions take place.
    Eve sat with her arms folded, unperturbed, indifferent to it all. Now I realize what happened… she took down entire sections of the city to divert their attention. For days after that, parts of New York remained useless. Without power, phone service or utilities. She shut them down with a little help from her “friend”.
    As soon as the city got back to normal, we went to a few fashion shows and I sat alongside her. I noticed Reiniger at one point, sat “enjoying” a display of recycled clothing. His presence prevented me being bored to tears. He sat at a distance staring at me for a long, long time ‒ with a look that haunts me still. He watched the pair of us curiously, before disappearing with a woman who seemed to be an old acquaintance. If my memory served me right, she reminded me of someone…
    Camill e must have taken him out. Their biggest asset handler was dead. He must have been, I never saw or heard of him again.
    Eve was quiet and distant for most of that visit. She always held my hand, wherever we went. She squeezed it so tight sometimes I could see my knuckles turning blue. The thought of me in danger irked her continually, I knew. She would say, ‘Come back to York, come with me. Stay with me.’ I always had to politely refuse.
    After we got over that near-catastrophe, Eve seemed to calm slightly and we spent evenings having meals at the Plaza, one of the last old world places not to have automated service. I shared her suite and we stayed up late every night, talking and reminiscing. We ordered bottles of Guinness because that was the only alcoholic thing she would drink, arguing, ‘Purely for the iron.’
    Ev e left behind a number of bizarre and retro outfits for me to keep, most of which never got an airing and remained hanging in the closet. We said farewell with so much regret. I remember waiting at the airport with her until the bitter end, desperately hoping her flight would be cancelled or she might decide to stay a bit longer. We promised each other we would try to meet again soon, but life got in the way, and that was the last time I ever saw her in person.
     

CHAPTER 8
     
     
    B ack at the bridal house, Camille hurried me in and locked the front door. She went behind the reception desk and pressed a button underneath, dropping the iron shutters outside and initiating an infrared detection system.
    ‘We’ll soon know if anyone tries to break in, but I don’t think they would dare now anyway.’
    ‘Camille, even I wouldn’t dare touch you!’
    She led me through to the back to check nobody had snuck in, before testing the industrial backdoors.
    ‘I think we are safe, Seraph. Let’s go down and I’ll show you where we carry out our work.’
    We walked past a gallery containing several mannequins on which hung various bridal designs, all lit up against some expert backlighting and yet