"Come..." Spark was about to say when Neo strode in. Spark opened her mouth to say something about privacy but Neo cut her off.
"Look, before you start complaining, there's an emergency. We're gonna have to go in after the kid we've been watching sooner than expected because the child care people are transferring her to Manhattan unexpectedly in a few hours. I think the agents are definitely behind this."
Neo strode out, with Axle running after him and Spark trying to keep up in her clumsy chair. She'd made some minor alterations, but there wasn't much to work with. Neo continued to talk quickly as he and Axle raced down the steps. "I'll go with Trinity and Morpheus to contact the child as we'll need all the help we can get- I'm afraid it's a trap; and you can stand by on the exit, waiting for when we get back. It's vital we don't lose the transporting equipment."
"Sure," Axle replied quickly, annoyed he wasn't going into the action, but in a way relieved as he still hadn't had as much experience as the others in combat. He stopped for a second, turning round to face Spark who had just caught up with him.
"You take care," she pleaded, nervously.
"I'll be fine," he assured, bending down to kiss her goodbye. Trinity, Morpheus and Neo were all ready to go. Axle joined them on the seats and winked at Spark.
"Tank," Neo called out, "Send us in."
"Right," replied Tank, twisting round to face the console. "Passengers please fasten your seatbelts as we come into land. Enjoy your ride."
Spark peered anxiously over Tank's shoulder, staring at the green and black screen. None of it made the slightest sense to her. Tank sensing her uneasiness reassured her, "They've arrived ok. So far so good."
Inside the Matrix, Neo, Trinity, Morpheus and Axle are standing in a wet, damp cellar, looking out of place in their slick clothes and sunglasses. Neo tugs gently on his collar. "Let's go," he said to Trinity and Neo, indicating the steps. Axle followed but stopped at the top of the steps, giving him a viewpoint around the exit. To his left is another room, with the transporting equipment in. The three quickly climbed into a car and headed off speedily down the narrow track.
Axle sat down on a bench outside, sighed deeply and began the long wait.
"They're just pulling up outside the home now," Tank informed Spark, who is nervously circling around the console.
"Have they had contact before," she questioned.
"A couple of times," replied Tank, "She knows Trinity, but neither of the others. It's a bit of a last minute plan, they'd normally send her to the Oracle, but there isn't time with this girl. She's got great potential for someone her age. She also seems to have a rough understanding of the concept. On top of that is the added bonus of not having to worry about the parents as she's in council home."
"How old is she?" Spark asked, stopping her circling for a second.
"Twelve I'd say. Just old enough to be able to make the decision. They do free them younger, but there's often more complications."
Tank glanced back at the screen. A series of repeating patterns covered a large portion.
"Shit!" he cursed. "Agents."
He typed into the keyboard rapidly. A phone started ringing in the distance- Spark could hear it through the headphones. Neo picked up. "What's up Tank?" he asked.
"Agents, and lots of them," Tank replied. "Where are you?"
"Just inside the building. Nearly there. I'll send Trinity and Morpheus back with the kid, while I give the agents something to think about."
"What does that mean?" Spark asked, pointing to a pattern emerging on one of the side screens.
"Oh, shit, no!" Tank cursed again. Hanging up on Neo, he typed some more stuff into the keyboard at such a pace that Spark could barely see his fingers. "Axle," he said, the moment the phone was answered.
"Yeah," came the worried reply.
"They've changed something in the exit. I don't know what- a virus possibly. I'm working on changing it back; I should be able to but it's gonna take me a bit. I think we've walked straight into a trap. There's agents on the way- a couple...I don't know how many exactly. Neo's kinda busy so you're gonna have to just sit it out, but I don't know how easy that'll be. Try to keep control of the exit and equipment cos we need it to get the kid out."
"Okay," Axle replied, his voice trembling slightly.
"Oh, and good luck," Tank added before he hung up and started trying to free the exit from whatever virus it was they'd closed the exit with. Spark rolled the chair round so she was beside Tank.
"Is it still possible to enter down that path?" she questioned.
Tank, concentrating on the screen mumbled, "um...yeah I guess." Realising what she was suggesting, he stopped temporarily and turned to look at her. "No!" he replied firmly, focusing his eyes back on the screen. "You're not going in. Morpheus would never forgive me. Besides, you're in a wheelchair- it's too dangerous."
"Look," she pleaded. "You know as well as I do that Axle hasn't a hope against 2 or 3 agents by himself, even if he does manage to barricade himself in somehow. You saw me that day. I can move my legs. I can even lift them slightly now. I believe that if I get into the Matrix I can walk. I can't just sit here and watch them kill the guy I love. I have to do something to help him."
Tank sighed deeply before turning to face her. "You really believe you can do it?" he asked. She nodded. "Well," he said, "Let's get you strapped in then.
Spark wheeled herself round into position. Tank placed the spike into position. "Good luck," he whispered, before tapping a few keys and sending her off into the Matrix, while he resumed his battle with the virus, praying silently that they'd be okay.
Spark opened her eyes to find herself in a cold dark cellar. She replaced the phone on the receiver. She looked ahead of her to the steps. Not thinking or even looking at the chair she was sat in, she stepped out and walked towards the steps. Her legs responded. Inside, her heart danced with joy. As her confidence built, she ran up the steps two at a time. At the top she found Axle standing behind a wall, taking deep breaths. Hearing footsteps he swung round, aiming his gun at her. Realising who it was, he lowered it. In amazement, he looked at her walking toward him. "What are you doing here?" he asked, puzzled.
"I though you might need a hand," she replied. "See," she added, "I told you I could do it." He was just about to insist that he always knew that she could do it, when he caught sight of a car turning the corner. Crouching behind the wall, Spark joined him. The car stopped further up, about 50m from where they were hiding. Spark breathed in slowly and quietly. The agents obviously didn't know their exact position and she didn't want to give a thing away. She knew it would only be a matter of time before they found them, a short time at that. She just hoped they'd be able to hold their own until Neo returned with the girl. Two agents got out of the car. Axle breathed a sigh of relief- it wasn't a wonderful situation, but it could have been a hell of a lot worse.
The agents started to walk slowly towards their end of the derelict buildings. As they approached, Spark and Axle both held their guns nervously in their hands, knowing the first shots they fired could be the most valuable, as they still had that element of surprise. The agents probably didn't know Spark was there- the trace being confused by the virus they had themselves implanted in the system.
Spark looked across at Axle, her heart pounding loudly in her chest, so loudly she was sure it would betray their position. Axle looked across at her. He mouthed, "I love you," at her. Smiling, she mouthed, "I love you too," back. Taking a deep breath, she checked on the agents position. They were only 25m away now. A tide of panic swept over her body. What if her and Axle fired at different times. In fact, when was she supposed to fire? She knew all the theory but she'd never actually fired a gun before. She pushed these thoughts out of her head, choosing to ignore them, instead watching the agents draw closer and closer.
Suddenly, she knew the time was right. She squeezed the trigger, and the shot fired, sounding as one with Axle's. They'd both aimed for the same Agent, something that probably did them a great deal of good. The Agent dodged to the right, expecting the first shot. However he was totally unprepared for the second shot which reached him almost at the same time. It hit him in the chest, more or less in his heart. He fell to the ground, changing back into the form of a young man. It had been a lucky shot, a chance in a million and Spark realised there wasn't gonna be another one of those. She was jerked back to reality and away from the dead body lying on the ground, by bits of stone ricocheting off the wall. She instinctively dodged, rolling to the right as two more shots whizzed over her head. The world became a blur, and seemed to go into slow motion as she ducked and weaved away from the bullets. She didn't even know where they were landing, but she could see Axle dodging them as she did. She counted the shots as she heard them fired, waiting in fear for the final one. She felt a scrap on her arm, followed by the clunk of a gun firing. Thinking she had caught it on something as she'd dived to avoid the final bullet, she glanced across. The saw shallow trough cut through the surface of her arm by a bullet. She knew she'd been lucky; but how much more luck could she have. As the pain hit her like a brick, she shut it out, rising to her feet. Axle was already approaching the Agent, ready for a fight. Axle leapt into the air, descending onto the Agent. The Agent, sensing this dodged to the side. Axle landed lightly, immediately kicking out the moment he landed. The Agent matched him blow for blow, never letting a blow through his defences, but landing several hard hits on Axle.
Seeing Axle slowly weaken, Spark attacked from behind, a brick in her hand, hitting the agent hard on the side of the head. Knocking him for a split second, it gave Spark a chance to take Axle's position. She faced the agent face to face. Her hands and feet did moves automatically, that she didn't even know she'd studied. Hundreds of different kinds of fighting were covered in a matter of less than a minute. After the initial brick blow, Spark never managed to land a single kick or punch on the Agent- he was just that bit faster. Her stomach and arms were sore from the blows she'd received, but she carried on in auto pilot. Unexpectedly, the Agent leapt up and kicked her backwards. She went flying backwards, through a window. Glass cut into her back and arms and legs, but she jumped up. Through the window she could see that Axle was once again fighting with the Agent. This time he had a fresh lease of life, and seemed more confidence. He wasn't taking so many blows, and he even managed to land a few on the Agent. Deciding to take a new approach, she instead ran inhumanly fast through the interlocking doors. Outside, the Agent once again took the upper hand. Taking Axle by the arm, he flung him against a wall. Spark bit down on her tongue to stop herself from screaming out. She knew she had to keep quiet. The Agent didn't know she was there; for all he knew she was still on the other side of the window. Reaching behind her, she picked up a plank of wood. The Agent headed towards the door, probably planning on waiting for the others to return and reporting the exit.
Spark hid in the shadows on the other side of the door, clutching the plank in her hands. As her reached the doorway, she swung it, knocking him back onto the floor. He just rolled over and was on his feet before she was out of the doorway, the plank landing about 3 metres behind him. A kick from her found it's mark, but he grabbed her leg and twisted it, causing her to fall onto the ground, painfully. Behind him, Axle rose up and grabbed the plank of wood that had landed nearby. The agent, hearing this swung round, disarming Axle of his weapon before he'd had a chance to use it.
At that moment, a long black car swept round the corner. The agent looked up long enough for Axle to kick him hard in the stomach. The car skidded to a halt 5m from where they were fighting. Neo leapt out of the car before they'd even stopped. The Agent halted. Neo approached slowly, a look of control in his eyes. The Agent looked absolutely terrified, as Neo drew closer. Silently, Neo stopped and closed his eyes; power and strength simply pouring out of him. And suddenly the agent was gone. All that was left was a brief weird pattern of haze where he had been standing.
Axle rushed over to where Spark was lying on the floor. She sat up slowly. Taking Axle's hands, she painfully pulled herself to her feet. Suddenly the pain hit both of them- they could feel where every punch and kick had landed. Spark walked slowly over to Neo.
"Congratulations," he commented, noting her sudden ability to walk. "You put a lot on the line to help us and it paid off. We're grateful."
"What," she said, in mock sarcasm, "You really thought I was going to miss out on all the fun."
Neo smiled. Turning to face Axle also, he spoke to both of them. "I think you two had better get back- Tank should have the exit clear in a second. We'll set up the equipment and get the kid through. I need you two on the other end to get ready to get a signal on her position so we can pick her up."
"Sure," Axle replied, taking Spark by the hand and leading her into the bottom room. As they approached, the phone started ringing. Axle picked it up and handed it to Spark. A moment later, she vanished. Axle replaced it on the hook. The phone started to ring again. This time Axle placed it by his own ear. He vanished, leaving the phone hanging off the hook."
It was time. Morpheus had finally decided that the rest of the crew, Tank, Axle and Spark should meet the newest release. Since her release, she'd been in rehabilitation, cared for by Neo and Trinity in the med room. Morpheus had kept the other three away, insisting she needed rest as her escape had been highly traumatic, not only because she was so young, but also because it had all happened so fast.
"Remember, everything's new to her, so she might be a little shy," Morpheus warned, making his was up the steps into the med room. Tank followed, as did Axle, with Spark bringing up the rear in her chair. It had been a fortnight now since her dramatic escapade in the Matrix. She had no visible scars, but she could still re-enact every moment of the fight. As they entered the med room, Neo and Trinity stood back from the bed. A young girl looked across at them, sitting up.
"Hi Morpheus," she said quietly, her voice barely audible over the engine noise. Morpheus went over to her side, and stroked her virtually bald head gently.
Turning back to face the three of them he said, "I'd like you to meet the newest arrival to the real world, Risk."