I don't own the Matrix

Also, to those who have already read this and were wondering who Julie was, I had originally named the landlady Julie, but then decided that it didn't sound enough like an elderly persons name so I changed it. I thought I changed all the Julies to Ediths, but I guess I was wrong. They should be all fixed now.

***

"Come on Anderson, I'm not getting any younger here," Edith mumbled as she trudged out the door. She was carrying two large trash bags, each full to the top. "All I ask of that boy is to help an old lady like me carry out the trash." She paused and then added a little louder while looking over at his closed apartment window. "That and to pay the goddamn rent once in a while!" There was no movement at the window, so Edith went back to getting her trash to the dumpster. As she was heading back, she noticed that his car was still in its spot. He hadn't come out of his apartment in about four weeks now. Edith opened to door to the apartment building and walked down the hallway to room 101. She knocked softly on the door. There was no answer. She knocked a little louder. Still no answer. "Listen Anderson, I don't know if you're in there or not, but you need to pay the rent by next week or I'm gonna have to kick you out. It's nothing personal, but it was due three weeks ago, and I need the rent." She knocked even louder this time. "Thomas!" Edith took out her keys and found the one that unlocked his door. She slid the key in the lock and turned it. She opened to door and let herself inside. The apartment was dark and musty. It had the faint smell of food starting to go bad. Dust was settling on top of books and his computer. "Jesus Anderson, you really let this place go." She made her way to the bedroom only to find it empty. Same as all the other rooms. His answering machine was blinking, signaling that he had new messages. Edith pressed the play button.

"Hey Thomas, It's Jimmy," his voice was frantic and he was talking a mile a minute." You know that stuff I bought from you last month? Yeah, well, I need more. I don't care about money, whatever price you name I'll pay for it."

There was a beep as the message stopped. Then a new message played after. This time, it was a woman, who, in a very seductive voice said: "Hey Anderson, you know who it is. I'm calling about those codes. I'm a little short on cash, but I'm willing to pay you in… other ways. Call me"

The beep sounded again. "Thomas!" Jimmy's voice shouted through the machine. "Where the hell are you man!? I need that stuff. I'm gonna go insane. Come on Thomas don't leave me hanging here!"

All the other messages were of the same thing. People asking, sometimes pleading for codes and computer chips. After hearing this, Edith headed over to Thomas's computer. She didn't know much about computers, so she moved to mouse and pressed a bunch of keys, but nothing happened. Then, the computer made a sound, and all kinds of websites pepped up on the screen. Websites that told about some guys named Morpheus and Trinity. Just then, the screen flickered and went blank. A green cursor blinked a few times and then typed: You know too much

Edith turned around sharply to find three men in suits and dark glasses standing in the doorway. The one in the middle was holding a gun. Edith tried to scream, but nothing came out. The middle man fired the gun and left her dead on the floor.