He said he killed an Agent
Chapter 1: Ignorance is Bliss
An unsure, shaking hand reached out to grab one of two pills, but hesitated. The hand belonged to a young man who was unconfident, scared, and more confused than anything. The man sitting across from him, the bearer of the two pills, was much more intimidating than he. That man was formally dressed in an intricate shirt, tie and vest, with a heavy gray trench coat over it all. The man was very well built, with long, slightly curly black hair parted down the middle, which reached to his shoulders. Stubble covered his coarse, rigid face, which bore an expression of indifference. More intimidating was the fact that his eyes were hidden by oversized, angular sunglasses that were the blackest of blacks. The young man also suspected he was carrying a gun.
The pills this man presented to him represented a choice, a choice that would dictate his life...forever. There could be no greater decision to make, and it had to be made now. The younger man's only comfort was that in the last month, nearly every other human had been faced with the same choice, and he had been warned about this scenario.
They were here to "free" him... from the world that had raised him. He was to be "freed" from the individuals he knew and the places he often visited. He was to be "freed" from the great tasting food, the beautiful women, the relaxing parks, the impressive architecture, and the comfortable precision of his world. The world, which he once knew as Earth, was now more accurately labeled..."the matrix".
But the younger man had made his decision before he had walked into the room, before the man in sunglasses had explained to him the intricacies of the fabricated lies of the matrix, before he had even presented those two pills. His life, even if it had been given a new name, was still his life. The matrix...or Earth...it was what he had come to love.
The younger man snatched up the blue pill, and before he could throw it in his mouth, the man in the trench coat had leaned over and snatched his wrist firmly. The man's hair fell on his face, and his sunglasses slid slightly down his nose, to reveal intense green eyes that locked onto his own.
" Are...you...sure?" The intimidating man said slowly and deliberately, squeezing his prisoner's wrist slightly. It was obvious that he was not pleased.
The young man nodded vigorously to his captor, too overtaken with shock to speak.
His hand was immediately released, and the larger man handed him a glass of water, stood up, and turned around.
" Fine. You can believe...whatever you want to believe." He paused before adding bitterly, " I hope you enjoy your false life." The man proceeded to grab a cell phone from the inside pocket of his trench coat, which slid open so he could speak into it.
" Operator." Was the automated response from the person on the other end of the phone.
" Hermes, get me the hell away from this coppertop." The next moment an older phone on the table next to him started to ring. The man picked it up, pressed to his ear, and left the program world of the matrix.
Ganymede, captain of the ship Mnemosyne, cringed as a large needle was pulled from the back of his skull. He looked up to see his first mate, Dial, standing over him with his arms crossed. Dial was a tall black man with a thin layer of hair, wearing a red long sleeved shirt that was tight and tattered. He was one hell of a gunner, and an even better friend.
Ganymede grabbed Dial's outstretched forearm to lift himself from his chair, and he started shaking his head.
" Another one said no. I'm starting to doubt that Zion will ever see another red pill." Ganymede said sadly in his gruff, commanding voice.
" Don't let it get you down, Gannon," Dial said, using the captain's nickname, " The kid's probably better off. Why would he want to live in a cold hole in the ground, rebuilding a half-destroyed city, when he can go back to playing professional baseball, earning millions of dollars a year, planning a vacation with his supermodel wife to go the Caribbean?"
" He has to know it will never be the same!" Gannon defended. " The matrix is more chaotic now than ever, economies are falling apart, people are disappearing on a daily basis, and more and more people are discovering how to manipulate the code! There are thousands who have learned to 'bend' the rules of the program, and crime is skyrocketing!"
Dial smiled. " It would be kind of fun." Gannon gave him a disapproving glare, so Dial changed his tone.
" Gannon, you know if I had the chance I would grab every blue-pill by the neck, tape their eyes open and make them watch the battle for Zion so I could tell them, 'Look what we went through so you could be free!' But in the end, the choice is theirs."
Gannon shook his head. "It's a waste. And it's dangerous. Especially with the Agent situation."
Suddenly an alarm went off, and Hermes, the operator, spun around his chair to face his captain.
" Speak of the devil, Gannon, we've got an agent situation."
" Son of a bitch..." Dial cursed.
" Who is it?" Gannon questioned.
" It's Pandora. She just jacked in, and is under attack. She's running from two of them."
The captain's eyes went wide, as he ran his hand through his long dark hair. Hermes was referring to the bold and beautiful blonde woman that belonged to their crew. Gannon had sent Pandora recruiting the same as he, as she was the only other crew member that he felt confident sending alone into the matrix. But even Pandora couldn't handle an agent, much less two.
" Dial, with me," Gannon commanded, " we're going back in. Hermes, send us through the construct, we're going to need some weaponry."
Pandora tried to ignore the burn in her long legs. She had been running for miles, through the winding back-alleys of a mega-city from two suit clad programs that were determined to empty the clips from their pistols in her. It was night, and she couldn't tell if she had been shot, she was hurting all over from the strain she was putting on her muscles. She was running so fast that the street garbage was flying up behind her as she passed.
It was moments like these when Pandora questioned whether or not the war was really over. Sure, the machines said that the agents had exiled themselves, and were acting on their own will, but there was always room for speculation. When the machines stopped attacking Zion, and reset the matrix, allowing everyone a chance to be free, there was no longer a need for agents. But after the agents saw the power Smith had gained, they resisted being deleted with the utmost intensity. They created their own purpose...to keep everyone in the matrix.
Anyone that was freed was now a target for agents, and those still plugged in were persuaded by the programs to stay. The machine world created a new breed of agents to eliminate the renegade programs, but the exiles destroyed them with ease. It seemed that without orders from the machine world, agents were now much more powerful.
Within the last month the crews of eight ships had been killed by agents. To say the least, the programs were very effective. The human struggle against machines had ended, but now there was a more intense struggle between the programs and the freed humans.
Pandora was on her way to give "the talk" to a middle-aged woman, trying to recruit her to join the Mnemosyne, in order to help rebuild the real world. When she rang the doorbell, the door was kicked down on her, and she was greeted by bullets. Somewhere during the length of the chase, another agent decided to join in the fun, and now Pandora worried for her life.
Gannon should have received the alarm by now...where the hell was he?
The bold blonde turned a corner sharply and leaped across a major intersection in one jump. She turned her head, still running, to see the two agents stepping on cars to get to her. Before she could turn back around she ran into somebody, and fell backwards. She cursed and looked up to see a tall, handsome man with short, white hair standing before her. He wore a long, red leather coat that reached down to his feet, and had what looked to be a grenade launcher perched on his shoulder.
He also wore an extremely smug grin.
Panicking, Pandora looked behind her again to see that the agents had crossed the five lanes of heavy night traffic, and were closing in on her with their pistols aimed on her back. She looked up to the man in red leather with his overly large weapon, and deduced that he had to be unplugged.
" Hey!" She demanded his attention. " Do you not recognize those two? Run or shoot!"
The man looked down at her, still wearing a smug smile, and he took the grenade launcher off his shoulder, and braced it in his arms, playfully squeezing the trigger, but not firing.
" They're not close enough, yet." He replied. " You should get behind me, or keep running." With that, the white-haired man looked back up at the agents, who were now only fifteen feet away. Pandora scrambled behind the man and stood up, slowly backing away, but still curious to see what he was going to do. The agents were now too close for the man to fire the grenade launcher, but the man maintained his calm demeanor.
Pandora was shocked to see the agents stop when they saw the man, and look at each other.
" The maniac?" One of the agents asked the other.
" It seems so." The other replied. " It could be dangerous to pursue this any further."
'The Maniac', as the agents called him, gave a short chuckle.
" Why don't you two step a little closer so I can read your nametags. It's very rude to engage in a fight without introducing yourself."
The Maniac took a step closer, and much to Pandora's surprise, the agents both took a step back. Pandora could only imagine what power this man possessed in order to illicit such fear in two agents. She had been in the resistance since she was five, and had never seen an agent back away, not even a single step.
" Gentlemen, please," the Maniac continued, taking steps forward as the agents slowly backed away, " you seem to know me, but I can't quite identify you."
" Should we abort our hosts?" One of the agents suggested.
" You won't get the chance." The man with white hair said as he leapt forward with his grenade launcher. The same moment he fired a short volley of explosives at the agents who were only 3 feet from the end of the barrel, and himself. The explosive fire engulfed all three of them in a loud and furious 'bang'.
The violent blast threw the three bodies up into the sky, which had become illuminated by the fire, and it spread outward and upward until it dissolved into the night. The maniac and the two agents' scorched bodies fell to the ground, enshrouded in a white cloud of smoke, hitting the concrete with sickening 'slaps'.
Pandora, who had been knocked off her feet by the explosion, looked up with a sigh. It was now easy to deduce why the agents called him the maniac, and why they were so scared of him- he was desperate. Silently she thanked him, his kamikaze technique had most likely saved her life.
She turned around and started to look for an exit, when she heard movement behind her.
As gooseflesh overtook her arms, she turned her head with terrible anticipation.
Just as she feared, she saw one agent push off the ground, wiping the dirt from his shoulders. A moment passed, and the other agent did the same.
They had not aborted their hosts...and they were still alive. Right as she was going to run, to her utmost surprise, the maniac stood up as well, arming his grenade launcher with the same smug grin as before.
Suddenly, Pandora had a little more faith in this white-haired man.
The stunning blonde clad in tight black leather was distracted, though, by the calling of her own name. It came from across the busy street, from two familiar faces.
Her captain and his first mate had arrived, a little late to save the day, but she was thankful they were there nonetheless.
The agents seemed to take notice of their arrival as well, as they looked to each other for support.
" I'll engage the rebels." One of the agents volunteered, leaping backwards to powerfully pounce on a moving car in the middle of the five lane street, tearing the car apart. Ganymede and Dial both drew their guns, wasting bullets on a target they knew they could never hit. The agent held to his reputation, leaning his torso in a cobra-like motion, so fast that he appeared to have five torsos blurring together.
Pandora was formulating a plan when she noticed that the other agent was circling around 'the maniac' like a shark, conversing. Having never seen this type of behavior from an agent, she listened, making sure to keep an eye on the rest of the crew of the Mnemosyne.
" So our information was correct... you are the second anomaly." The agent facing the maniac declared, straightening his tie, and pulling out his pistol. " In comparison, you are quite incompetent. The original anomaly terminated his use of firearms, upon realizing their futility."
The white haired man didn't even turn his head to watch the agent, he simply stood his ground, with his grenade launcher resting on his shoulder.
" I don't see why I'm such a mystery." The maniac stated. " I've got my purpose, same as you, Agent..." The white haired man leaned in to observe the name on the Agent's suit, " Agent Ferguson. You must be an upgrade."
Agent Ferguson's response came in the form of a bullet to the maniac's chest. The white-haired man leaned back and cringed as he took the bullet, but then regained his posture, stuck the end of his grenade launcher into the Agent's stomach, and pulled the trigger.
The blast sent them both flying in opposite directions, and in flames. Agent Ferguson's body flew into the other agent, sending them both into the side of a nearby building. This gave Ganymede and Dial the chance they needed to leap across the street to Pandora.
Gannon landed effortlessly in front of the blonde woman, but Dial landed on his chest screaming, having been shot in the leg while in the air. The agents were apparently already back in action.
" His leg!" Pandora declared as she tended to Dial's wound, tearing off a piece of Dial's shirt and tying it around his calf. Gannon worriedly eyed the two agents, which were once again walking across the large street to engage them.
" Let's move!" Gannon said, his finger securely around the trigger of his automatic weapon.
" No, stay down." A voice from behind them commanded. " I'll take care of it."
The Mnemosyne's crew looked up with surprise as 'the maniac' walked past them, towards the street where two enraged agents were firing endless streams of bullets towards him.
" Pandora," Gannon addressed the girl as they helped Dial to his feet, " who is he?"
The blonde woman shrugged. " The agents called him 'the maniac', and it's easy to see why. That's the second time he's intentionally set off explosives in close range, he has to be on the verge of dying."
" Is he a program?" Dial asked. " Something the machines designed to take out the agents?"
" At first I thought he was unplugged," Pandora admitted, " but you could be right. That would explain his total lack of fear. But...he moves like a human."
The crew turned to watch as the white-haired man met the agents in the middle of the street, as cars swerved furiously to avoid them, honking their disapproval.
Ganymede looked back to his crewmates. " It's obvious he doesn't want our help. We have to leave."
Pandora nodded, taking out her cell phone. She pressed a button to make it slid open, and pressed another button to hear Hermes' voice. After a few moments, she addressed her captain.
" 34th and Oak." Pandora said, giving the exit location.
Gannon nodded. " Tell him we're on our way."
The crew of the Mnemosyne started running in the direction of their exit, giving one final glance to the maniac who was about to fight an agent...and surely was about to die.
" Agent Ferguson," The Maniac addressed the suit clad program, " you and I have a fight to conclude."
Agent Ferguson turned to the agent next to him. " Abort your host, we're done here."
The agent nodded as his body started to convulse wildly, and blue electricity ran over his body until he changed into a very nervous taxi-cab driver. Agent Ferguson threw the aborted host behind him, where he was instantly killed by a car.
" Looks like we have ourselves a race." The Maniac declared, stepping closer to the agent as cars desperately tried to avoid him. " What's faster? Your ability to transform back into some street vender, or my ability to pull this trigger?"
While the maniac was still two lanes away from the agent, he pulled the trigger, launching a grenade.
Agent Ferguson twisted his body around and leaned far to the right abnormally fast, effectively dodging the grenade. The projectile instead hit a moving sedan behind him, sending the car soaring onto the sidewalk. Glass debris from the exploded car's windshield made minor cuts in both the agent and the maniac, but neither seemed too ill affected.
" Damn," the white-haired man cursed, " I guess you're just too fast." But he continued to step closer, taking slow and deliberate steps.
Agent Ferguson smiled at the compliment and then whipped out his pistol to shoot three rounds at the grenade launcher that the maniac carried.
The man in red leather couldn't move as fast as the agent, and one of the bullets hit its target, setting off one of the grenades in his weapon, which created an explosion that deformed the right side of the grenade launcher, and knocked its carrier down on the street.
" It would seem you're all out of fireworks... Mr. Maniac." Agent Ferguson smugly declared, following the white-haired man with his pistol as he slowly got to his feet again.
" Give it a chance, Fergie!" Was the maniac's reply as he stuck his hand into the side of his weapon, manipulating the code of the item, taking his hand back out to reveal a perfectly reformed grenade launcher.
The agent cringed with distaste, as he pressed his hand to his ear, receiving information through his ear piece.
" It would seem this engagement must be postponed." Agent Ferguson declared, as he started to convulse with blue electricity overtaking him.
The maniac's eyes went wide as he leapt forward and grabbed the transforming agent, punching him hard in the face.
" Stay with me, Fergie!" The maniac demanded, as the blue electricity dissipated, and the agent stopped convulsing.
Agent Ferguson's eyes opened with great displeasure. The maniac had caused him to abort his abortion.
The maniac proceeded to drop him on the street, pinning him down by stepping on his chest, and aimed the grenade launcher at his face.
" How...are...you able...to do...this?" Ferguson said, his body shaking with discomfort.
The Maniac smiled and cocked his head. " It's...my purpose." And with that, he fired a grenade from his weapon only six inches from the Agents face, causing a crater to form in the middle of the street, and causing the white-haired man to be pushed upwards into the air by the explosion.
The man in red leather landed on his feet in front of the crater, and in the center of the depression laid an anomaly in itself.
A dead agent.
Not a dead host, who had been aborted and was an innocent victim...this was Agent Ferguson, his skin scorched, his sunglasses broken, his body limp...dead.
A moment later white light erupted from the crater, out of the Agent's eyes. The light engulfed the dead body, incinerating it.
The maniac had just deleted Agent Ferguson.