Chapter XII
There was such a flurry of activity surrounding anything that had to do with this newly freed mind that it made Trinity's head spin. She could hardly think with all the whispering amongst her crewmates about this prospect. And that was exactly what she needed to do: think. Sorting through her feelings was never her strong point, but right now it seemed overwhelmingly pertinent.
It seemed that all he wanted was a platonic relationship with all the crewmembers. Damnit, I thought he knew. Why do I keep getting the impression that he doesn't? How can this be? She was thoroughly confused about where she stood with him. All she knew was how she felt, but figuring out how he felt was a whole other story.
Just because he was unplugged did not mean she was going to stop watching him, she just had to be a bit more discreet. She had volunteered for watches at all hours of the night when he was still undergoing major physical work to repair his muscles. He was usually unconscious or sedated so she could simply watch him rest and marvel at his beauty. When he was recovered enough to be moved from the medic room, she periodically made stops by his room to bring him his meals. Then, it was easier.
When he was out and about and eating most of meals in the mess hall she could not so easily observe him. He regarded her kindly, but there was little she could detect that was different from how he interacted with the others aboard the Neb. Sure, she caught some stolen glances in her direction, but was it all her imagination?
At the time when no one, save for Morpheus, was entirely convinced that he was the One it was less formidable for her to have feelings for him. Then when he sparred with Morpheus she watched his skill and speed exceed any she had previously seen in a human. Everyone watched in amazement as he came within mere centimeters of Morpheus's face and she began to wonder if she simply felt obligated to fulfill the Oracle's prophecy.
All of her apprehensions were forgotten for a moment while she watched him stare in disbelief at Morpheus's seemingly inhuman jump across the gap between the two buildings. "C'mon…" she whispered under her breath as he prepared to do the impossible. He took a running start and made a valiant leap off the ledge of the roof but almost instantly began flailing when he saw he was quickly coming closer to the looming pavement below. It was heart wrenching to watch him thump against the ground after it allowed him only enough leeway to spring back up once more into the air.
She shook her head and averted her eyes to the ground as Mouse innocently lamented, "But what does it mean?" It was more than she could handle, especially with Cypher's seemingly endless snide comments directed at her interest. She retreated to her room before she had to suffer another blow to her self-esteem, which she could predict, with clockwork accuracy, would come.
Later, she was in the kitchen serving herself a dish of the not-so-delectable soupy goop Dozer called a meal. She was hunched over on the bench deep in thought when Morpheus walked in. She had not heard him enter, so she started slightly when his deep baritone penetrated her thoughts.
"Well, he didn't make the first jump, but he has great potential for combat." He sighed slightly, catching her eye as he sat down at the bench opposite her. "I guess no one makes it the first time…"
She knew what he was thinking; they were all having the same thought. It would've just been so much easier to label him as something special if he'd somehow defied logic to make it to the other building on the first leap. Hell, it took her five tries. And she remembered every single smack against the computer-generated pavement as if it had just happened. Just because the asphalt wasn't "real" didn't make it less painful to her body or her ego. Looking up at her captain, she smiled sympathetically.
"I'm sure it was rough on him too," She spoke wistfully. "Everyone expects something exceptional from him, but he just feels like he's a regular guy." She wasn't quite sure exactly how she knew that, but she could see it in his eyes.
"Mmhmm. I know Trinity, I know exactly what you mean. But there is something exceptional about him, didn't you see it?" She nodded in assent, unwillingly to reveal her feelings. He accepted that and continued, "He will know when he talks to the Oracle. I can feel that this is it. We got it right this time, Trinity." She only smiled, getting up to clean her dish.
There was silence for a few minutes while she washed her eating utensils along with some others that remained in the sink. When she spoke, it was tentative at first, as though she was unsure of her voice. "I, I think I'll take his dinner in to him. I'm sure he's far too exhausted to come all the way out her to get it." It was Morpheus's turn to smile. He did not have to ask who the "he" she spoke of was.
Bringing him his dinner had become almost a ritual for her, but it never actually lost its thrilling and unnerving quality. She expected to find him asleep, but hoped the cacophony of the large steel door being hauled open would not wake him. After the immense noise created by the door, it seemed absurd to tip toe in. She did anyway.
He was so cute when he slept. It surprised her, though little should have by then, that she would ever use a word such as cute. She had been watching him sleep for the past month, but it still never ceased to melt her heart. He looked so vulnerable, even if he was the prophesized "One". She set down the tray beside his bed, squatting down so she was eye-level with his innocent but weary face. For about five seconds she remained in that position, gazing affectionately at him while a half-smile played on her lips. She could've stayed there forever.
I wonder if he knows he's something extraordinary? Does he know his fate, or is there even such a thing as fate? She had been sure about the latter question that drifted through her mind until recently. She had become uncertain about the way he acted around her and it made her question herself.
Lost in her own pondering, she almost didn't notice the man leaning casually against the wall as she closed the heavy door as quietly as she could. She had managed to avoid him for most of a day that would've warranted even more of his provoking remarks than usual. Why now? She immediately transformed into her defensive cover as she had learned to do in order to deal with Cypher. The more aloof she became, the better she found she could deflect his interrogation. This time she was caught off guard.
Back in her the safety of her own room, Trinity tried to forget the unnerving encounter with Cypher. She began thinking back over the day's events and the training programs Neo had gone through. She had gone through almost exactly the same programs when she was first freed. The memories were still clear in her mind, even many years later.
She had flown through the combat training and was only a mildly achy to prove she had mastered the skills with flying colors. Her jump, on the other hand, had been less than spectacular, to say the least. She had tried to "free her mind" but wound up freeing herself from the top of the building and making rather sudden introductions with the pavement. To her surprise, though, the asphalt had acted almost like the trampolines she remembered from her days in the Matrix. When she came in contact with the street, that she was sure would cause her more than a few broken bones, it had sunk with her momentum and sprung her back into another free fall. She was not so lucky the second time around, as she quickly found herself lying spread-eagle face down 10 stories below Morpheus. Talk about a bruised body and ego!
After all that, she was not exactly looking forward to going into the Matrix again. What Morpheus says, goes, so she was left with no choice but to do as she was told. She imagined that whatever he had up his sleeve this time could not be too pleasant.
This time, though, instead of being on top of large skyscraper buildings, they were on the sidewalk below the overpowering buildings that cast their long shadows on them. On the opposite side of the street from them was a mass of business people, civilians, and various other characters that, oddly enough, were all dressed in either black or white. Also, their expressions exactly paralleled their attire in that none of them so much as glanced at Trinity or Morpheus. At the signal of the traffic lights the mob crossed the street as the two other people made their way in the opposing direction of the flow. Morpheus seemed to have no difficulty in dodging the various people, while Trinity struggled to keep him in sight as a multitude of very tall men passed between them.
They continued on in this manner for about a block with Morpheus explaining about the people in the Matrix and the stream of passing citizens continued without end. Suddenly, a flash of bright blue caught her eye. She immediately jerked her head around to see what it was. Striding past her was a tall, lithe man with his brown hair nicely ruffled by the wind and his blue eyes sparkling in the reflection of the silk dress shirt he wore above black slacks. She gave him a once over, well maybe a twice over, and couldn't help but smile.
Almost as soon as she'd given him a good look, Morpheus's words broke her concentration, "Trinity, did you hear what I said or were you too distracted by that man?"
"Well, I…" She looked away and blushed.
"Look again." He gestured in the direction the man had traveled.
She turned quickly around to catch one last glimpse of him only to gasp in horror. Instead of seeing the man in blue she was face to face with the barrel of a gun wielded by an Agent. Her mind froze in terror and her feet were rooted to where she stood. Her panic was almost too much to stand until Morpheus simply said to no one in particular, "Freeze it."
She let out a sigh of relief, then looked at her captain strangely. "How did you… I thought…?"
"You thought it was the Matrix." Morpheus finished her thought. She nodded, looking bewildered. "This is still the construct, it is merely another training program. It is made so that you understand one thing: if you are not one of us, you are one of them." He pointed to the Agent who was still pointing the gun at Trinity. She looked at the man questioningly so he continued. "They are sentient programmers – the machines that control the Matrix. They can move into and out of any program still hardwired to their system. So any of these unwitting people can potentially be an Agent, even your man in blue." He raised a suggestive eyebrow at her. "Unfortunately, this means you are never completely safe while in the Matrix."
That sounded pretty harsh to Trinity. She looked concerned, but felt a bit better when Morpheus smiled. "But based on your combat training, I think you'll be pretty well prepared," he said. Then she momentarily blacked out before she felt the long, metallic plug being removed from head. She opened her eyes to see Tank smiling at her.
"So, you were pretty taken with that hunk in the blue shirt, eh?" He chuckled good-naturedly. She couldn't help but laugh too as she punched him playfully in the arm. As she headed back toward her cabin she passed Mouse working at one of the computer stations. He looked up at her and smiled as a greeting.
"So let me guess, Mouse, you designed the guy in blue as well as the woman in the red dress?" She waggled her eyebrows in his direction at the mention of the woman in red.
"You bet!" He always loved talking about the programs he'd designed especially when they had to do with the woman in red.
"And he is… what? The woman in red's boyfriend or something?" She teased him, knowing what his response would be.
"The woman in red is most definitely still single! He's just, um, a friend." They both laughed at his ardent defense of the woman in red's availability.
She yawned and was suddenly overcome with exhaustion. "Well, I'm going to go get some rest, I'm beat." She turned to head toward her room and heard him say something else.
"Well I could arrange a much more personalized meeting if you'd like…" Mouse's words faded into nothingness as she neared her cabin door. She could've finished the sentence for him though. Digital pimp, hard at work, she thought of Switch's catch phrase for him with a smirk.