Read Online The Radical (Unity Vol.1) by S.M. Lynch - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: S.M. Lynch
Ads: Link
the main resistance groups… they are thought to be even more careful than Officium… headed by a mysterious figure known as the Operator. ’
My aunt quickly interjected, ‘Seraph, don’t mention names.’
‘Surely we are safe to spe ak freely here?’
‘Yes, but even still, I don’t like to hear them mentioned.’
‘Okay. Anyway, I hear they are based somewhere in Europe, but have members all over the world.’
‘I heard he was once one of them, ’ she said without hesitation. ‘In fact I think he got very close to the Operator … they might even have been friends. He used to deal in all the latest gadgetry but had a different name then. Different hairstyle. Shabbier clothes. He defected, if you like. Got a better offer and swapped sides.’
My aunt stared with quiet interest, a hand held to her face to offset her true emotions. Her similarity to me was extraordinary; I knew she craved scandal and anecdotes as much as I.
‘You know… I have this unknown source who has been feeding me bits and pieces of information over the years. A few months ago, this contact told me to watch a man fitting Reiniger’s description.’
‘How do you know you can trust this source?’
She was still typing I noticed, catching glances down at her lap when she could. I should have slammed my hand down on the table and cursed her for being so rude.
‘I just know that this informant more than any other has given me some very beneficial insights over the years, so it would be absurd not to trust them.’
‘Nob ody can be trusted anymore, nobody. You know that,’ Eve warned, her calm disbanded. She dropped her device onto her lap and the knuckles of her hands whitened on the table edges.
I was confused. I felt defensive but told myself to let the conversation take its course. I was just tired. However, with hindsight my hackles must have been raised instinctually. Under that table, she was up to something she didn’t want me to know about.
‘I think I realize that more than most,’ I assured her, ‘however, this is the way I have to work. I have to take whatever bones are thrown my way. My reputation isn’t gonna uphold itself–’
‘Listen to me carefully,’ she interjected, ‘how was this information communicated? To your xGen? Or otherwise?’
I thought back.
‘Of course, my xGen.’
‘Do you still have the message?’
‘Yeah, but–’
She held out her hand and beckoned me to pass my device over, her fingers outstretched.
‘Now, Seraph.’
The pace with which she took the device from me, got it up and running and the messages sifted through was incredible. It was a custom-made piece of gadgetry even I had been forced to learn to use! She was in within seconds, working quickly, sharp-witted.
Her words echoed when she said, ‘I just hooked you up to a hackfinder app I use, on a server I created. Your device is clean so at least we know they aren’t tracking you from that, thank god. However, if you check the details on that message, the ID numbers of the contact it came from are odd. It must have been sent straight from their central computer, not from someone’s xGen. They delivered it with the contact name, “ Rascal ”?’
She looked down her nose at me.
‘Shit, how could I have been so dumb?’
The Rascal ’s stuff usually arrived without a signature; most of his calls and messages were anonymous too. I had just trusted it from the off because Reiniger was mentioned and he was too tempting a lead not to chase.
‘They set a trap for you, Seraph. They want to recruit you as an elite emissary. I mean, come on! Look at you! What a boon that would be.’
‘I would never join them!’ I shouted, standing to bash a fist on the table. Crockery spilt and almost crashed.
I was mostly angry at myself.
‘They wouldn’t need you to submit, darling. That’s one of the cruelest truths about Officium. They would systematically brainwash you for months on end if necessary. Gradually
My aunt quickly interjected, ‘Seraph, don’t mention names.’
‘Surely we are safe to spe ak freely here?’
‘Yes, but even still, I don’t like to hear them mentioned.’
‘Okay. Anyway, I hear they are based somewhere in Europe, but have members all over the world.’
‘I heard he was once one of them, ’ she said without hesitation. ‘In fact I think he got very close to the Operator … they might even have been friends. He used to deal in all the latest gadgetry but had a different name then. Different hairstyle. Shabbier clothes. He defected, if you like. Got a better offer and swapped sides.’
My aunt stared with quiet interest, a hand held to her face to offset her true emotions. Her similarity to me was extraordinary; I knew she craved scandal and anecdotes as much as I.
‘You know… I have this unknown source who has been feeding me bits and pieces of information over the years. A few months ago, this contact told me to watch a man fitting Reiniger’s description.’
‘How do you know you can trust this source?’
She was still typing I noticed, catching glances down at her lap when she could. I should have slammed my hand down on the table and cursed her for being so rude.
‘I just know that this informant more than any other has given me some very beneficial insights over the years, so it would be absurd not to trust them.’
‘Nob ody can be trusted anymore, nobody. You know that,’ Eve warned, her calm disbanded. She dropped her device onto her lap and the knuckles of her hands whitened on the table edges.
I was confused. I felt defensive but told myself to let the conversation take its course. I was just tired. However, with hindsight my hackles must have been raised instinctually. Under that table, she was up to something she didn’t want me to know about.
‘I think I realize that more than most,’ I assured her, ‘however, this is the way I have to work. I have to take whatever bones are thrown my way. My reputation isn’t gonna uphold itself–’
‘Listen to me carefully,’ she interjected, ‘how was this information communicated? To your xGen? Or otherwise?’
I thought back.
‘Of course, my xGen.’
‘Do you still have the message?’
‘Yeah, but–’
She held out her hand and beckoned me to pass my device over, her fingers outstretched.
‘Now, Seraph.’
The pace with which she took the device from me, got it up and running and the messages sifted through was incredible. It was a custom-made piece of gadgetry even I had been forced to learn to use! She was in within seconds, working quickly, sharp-witted.
Her words echoed when she said, ‘I just hooked you up to a hackfinder app I use, on a server I created. Your device is clean so at least we know they aren’t tracking you from that, thank god. However, if you check the details on that message, the ID numbers of the contact it came from are odd. It must have been sent straight from their central computer, not from someone’s xGen. They delivered it with the contact name, “ Rascal ”?’
She looked down her nose at me.
‘Shit, how could I have been so dumb?’
The Rascal ’s stuff usually arrived without a signature; most of his calls and messages were anonymous too. I had just trusted it from the off because Reiniger was mentioned and he was too tempting a lead not to chase.
‘They set a trap for you, Seraph. They want to recruit you as an elite emissary. I mean, come on! Look at you! What a boon that would be.’
‘I would never join them!’ I shouted, standing to bash a fist on the table. Crockery spilt and almost crashed.
I was mostly angry at myself.
‘They wouldn’t need you to submit, darling. That’s one of the cruelest truths about Officium. They would systematically brainwash you for months on end if necessary. Gradually
Similar Books
