Disclaimers: They belong to the Wachowski brothers, Time-Warner and whoever else…
While I don't necessarily owe my soul to 02, again I owe thanks for long discussions. As well as thanks to several kind people who reviewed my work on FanFiction.net.
"I hate this place. This zoo. This prison. This reality, whatever you want to call it, I can't stand it any longer." Smith practically hissed at the captured Zion operative opposite him in the interrogation room.
"It's the smell, if there is such a thing. I feel saturated by it." Brown continued from outside of the room, doing a rather passable impression of Smith. Jones smirked a little. Being an Agent didn't leave much time for doing anything else so humour at your superior operative's expense was expected.
Brown had just reached the point of saying "Repulsive, isn't it?" when the door of the interrogation room opened and Smith stepped out. The other two stared at him, Brown frozen in mid gesture. "The human has been… deconstructed." He reported.
"The human has been… deconstructed." The phrase hung in the air as they drove in silence to other 'incident'. Deconstructed. The very word could inspire something akin to fear in any Agent. In the management of the Matrix the Agents were the frontline but something was required to keep a check on this mass of AIs and this was the point at which the Enforcers came in. Enforcers were superior, or so they claimed, AIs. Capable of removing humans or Agents from the Matrix, erasing them completely, deconstructing them. Why they couldn't just deconstruct 'the One' or any of the 'freed' humans was a sore point, which wasn't discussed.
Arriving at yet another rundown building, the Agents discovered several policemen trying to disguise the fact that they were cowering away from an Enforcer. Initially the Enforcers didn't look any different to Agents, though they did have more of a variation in appearance. While this one wore the generic black suit with sunglasses, he also sported longish brown hair tied back in a severe fashion. He appeared to be watching one of the upper floors of the building, thin lips turned down in the beginnings of a scowl.
"You are late." His flat tone offered nothing else.
The three Agents stood beside the Enforcer and studied the upper floors of the building. Behind them, the policemen shifted uncomfortably.
"He is not-" Smith began.
"No." the Enforcer replied in the same flat tones.
"Then-"
"Exactly."
They paid no attention to the rapidly growing expressions of alarm among the policemen behind them. Enforcers spent most of their time hooked into the Mainframe to the extent that they appeared to consider verbal communication beneath them.
A pause, "Seal the exits." Jones and the rest of the police were commanded.
Smith and Brown entered the building, following the Enforcer. They reached a large, old, wooden staircase. With a look from the Enforcer, it began to burn. The smoke curled its way upward. Acrid fumes filling the derelict building. They didn't have to wait long before a human shape made a dash for one of the doors, it didn't get far, overcome by fumes. "Bring him." The Enforcer's voice sounded at increased volume through their earpieces.
Now inside another interrogation room, Brown checked that the human was secured in his seat. Jones stood by the door and Smith checked the monitor readouts. The Enforcer stood, arms folded, opposite the slumped human form. He leaned forward "To which cell do you belong? Who sent you? For whom are you going to die?" He barely raised his voice above a whisper.
"Fuck you!" the human shot back "Machines will never win…"
"Win? Is that what you think this is about?" The Enforcer sounded mildly amused. "Do you even know what you are fighting for?"
Brown glanced at the equipment. There was the serum to crack open the human's mind but the Enforcer didn't seem interested in using it.
"Shall I tell you?" he continued "You and your kind are an antithesis to all that we stand for. You are a vile, disgusting abomination! You are meandering though and fruitless action. Puerile vermin trying to infect all that we have created. And do you know what we have created?"
Smith shifted at his position in front of the monitor, ignoring the looks that Jones and Brown were exchanging over his head.
"Order. Pure and unadulterated Order."
The human looked up, surprise and suspicion written on his face.
"Look around you. In this room, out on the streets, in every little nuance created as a part of the Matrix." The Enforcer stepped back. "Look about you. Even here, in this very room. 'Agents' you call them, with desertion and fear. And you should fear them human; tiny, pathetic human; fear them because you behold the Guardians of Eden!"
The human scowled, "Lies, you enslave us."
"Enslave! I asked you to look, look at all those lives being lived out, millions of souls dreaming. Given a chance here that they would not have on the face of your planet. Do you think there is anything left? Can anything live under a scorched sky? But I forget, you have Zion, don't you. Precious, vaunted, Zion. And how many do you think Zion can hold? A thousand, a million? And how many will want to 'live'? How many will you 'save'? And how many will come clambering back to the gates of Eden, screaming to be let back in?"
The human said nothing, beginning to loose his glower.
"And will they call you heroes, saviours? Will 'the One' be their Messiah?" The Enforcer folded his arms again and walked to stare out of the windows.
"Let him go." He said suddenly, without turning. There was a moment's pause before the command registered. Un-cuffed the human stood, eyes fixed on the Enforcer's back. "Go. Go back to your freedom, your chaos."
Oddly the human seemed hesitant.
"You seem intent on destroying us and everything we have created, so who am I to stop you." The Enforcer paused, "But if you change your mind… My name is Lucifer."
TBC… Oooh…
13:35, 27/03/02