Vick says: chapter 3 of the FIREWALLS saga, keep reading!...and, oh, I slipped a reference of one of my favorite ships, all of those who know about Japanese anime will remember this fine ship...also...the names of the operators are vague references from another show I like...if you've read my Writer's Bio then you'll know what I am talking about and why I used the name of two of the most famous psychiatrists in history as the name of the operators of the Mordecai
Feedback point : vickpena@yahoo.com.mx please use encrypted email engine with fake DNS address, I suspect agents have been chasing me...
Disclaimer. Agent Smith, the Matrix and other characters related are property of other very creative persons and not mine, a fan who wants to write an entertaining and interesting Sci Fi piece based in this outstanding movie.
THE MATRIX:
Firewalls
By Vick
Vickpena@yahoo.com.mx
Book 1: The Agent and the Hacker.
Double Personality.
Chapter 3
Only humans: Smith's world
The Sentinel followed the human ship for three 24-hour cycles.
Silently luring its prey.
The human vessel was resting inside a cave like a mechanic beast.
The Sentinel sent a message asking for help...it was time to attack.
Six more Sentinels joined for the battle.
They shared information and traced a battle plan, all of this in complete conspiratory binary silence.
Then, they charged against the enemy.
The human vessel reacted by moving quickly inside the cave...perfect...
The vessel's speed increased and its weapons armed.
One of the Sentinels was hit by the vessel's weapons and exploded, hitting a wall in the process...
The other five dodged the fire and continued approaching.
There was a twisted pillar blocking the way leaving just a passage near the floor.
The human hovercraft zeroed that passage and barely made it, destroying another sentinel when it tried to follow it.
The other four had more luck.
One of them grabbed the hull of the human vessel and moved quickly, like a giant mechanic spider, toward the bridge.... the machine guns attempted to destroy it but were ineffective...the Sentinel stopped above a machine gun turret and used its mechanic tentacles to rip open the metallic hull like paper.
Inside a human looked up for a splitting second and continued firing against the other three machines now walking on the hull.
The Sentinel would never understand why that man didn't run for his life...it was about to die but he continued firing with savage fury in his face...humans...
The Sentinel killed him with a clean laser shot that split the human in two.
Then, the Sentinel climbed in the hole.
Inside. More humans...
Two of them fired a hand-held EMP at it...but it was too fast and they were dead a second later, killed by the machine's laser...humans were so weak and fragile...easy targets...
The vessel stopped.
There was a big rock wall ahead...the dead end of that cave...
The battle continued but the ship was lost...
Minutes later...a big explosion closed that cave.
Becoming the grave of a brave crew.
Only Humans...
***
The woman collapsed with no apparent reason falling over the body of her companion in a very crowded street.
With no reason.
They were talking in their cellular phones one minute and drop dead the next... just like that.
A big crowd gathered around the bodies, curious...paramedics rushed in trying to help them...there was nothing to be done.
They were dead.
One of the paramedics grabbed the phone and pressed it against his ear.
Nothing.
A police officer began dispersing the crowd telling there was nothing to see there.
The scene would appear in the news like a strange event with no explanation.
But it had one.
Sonic and Joyce wouldn't say a word, though...they just continued walking away with their heart pounding hard in their chest ...that could happen to them...that was their possible fate...dropping dead in the Matrix while their body died in the real world.
Joyce took Sonic's hand and he squeezed it gently.
Sonic's phone rang.
"Yes?"
"Keep walking and forget what you saw, O.K.?" Jung's voice said in her natural neutral tone. "Concentrate in the mission"
"Yeah..." Sonic said, "We were supposed to meet them."
This time Jeremy's voice was heard.
"You'll have to continue on your own...the Macross is gone."
Sonic looked at his companion once the phone was in his pocket.
"We are on our own...another one was destroyed."
Joyce nodded and tried to regain control of her emotions. After a few tries, she succeeded.
Sonic started the engine of the Viper GTS they were using for the mission and drove down the street, melting into Seattle's noon traffic.
***
The building where Gillian had to show up next day was a high skyscraper guarded by persons who dressed and acted like Smith… the building was full of them ...in every floor and every office ...and no sound was heard...nobody talked...nobody moved...they just stood in their places like they were waiting for something to happen.
When she said 'Hello,' to some of them they just looked at her as if she was a big, interesting, insect... weird people, she thought.
In spite of all that, Gillian McPherson was satisfied with her new office.
It was bigger and had better equipment than the one she had in the FBI.
She had the most interesting piece of equipment, computers so fast she continuously giggled like a school girl when they concluded their tasks with awesome speed ...it was a computer Heaven... also, the network and other hardware was simply breathtaking ...she could live there...
The data base she had access to had a lot of information about the entire population of United States...Social Security number...credit card numbers...addresses...phone numbers...all at the reach of her hand...Sonic would be trapped in no time...
Smith was very clear when he defined her duty...she had to trap Sonic...but she wouldn't participate in the action, all she had to do was to look for him, find his location and tell them where he was...pure and simple...Smith also said she had to report any conversation with Sonic...word by word...
Gillian said she'd do it and then locked in her office to start with her new job.
Smith showed up at noon.
He was in some sort of mechanic good humor.
He removed his sunglasses.
"Any update in the search for Sonic?"
"No," Gillian said without looking him. " He's been very quiet...."
"How do you know when he is online?"
"He usually contacts me," she stated, "He likes it when I can't get him."
Smith nodded "You know, Agent McPherson, there is something I am trying to understand."
"Yes?"
He sat in the chair across the desk.
"When people hear about the Matrix they usually become curious. But you seem to be very calm about it."
Gillian chuckled "My mother used to say the same when she talked me about Hell."
"So, you do not believe in the Matrix?"
"I only believe in what I see," she stated, pointing at him. "I believe in tangible things like you, the chair, the wall, the computer... not in secret societies like this Matrix."
Smith smiled "You are a very logical person."
"All the time."
"I am glad to hear it."
"What about you?" she asked.
"Me?"
"Agent Smith is a very silly cover up for your real name, don't you think?" she smiled, sipping her iced tea "c'mon...tell me...what's your real name?"
"My name is not important, Agent McPherson, all you have to know is that I am a person dedicated to chase criminals and keep the law and order in this real world."
"You're so serious," Gillian continued with her job. "I still wonder why you decided to bring me here with you."
"Let us say you're a very skilled Agent, Miss McPherson, and that it is good to have you working for us...hackers are a deadly virus that is spreading quickly in our networks and we have to eliminate them."
"That's my job," she said, proudly.
Smith rose.
"Good...now, continue..."
Gillian saw him leaving and thought, amused that the building and the personnel in it were just part of Smith's World.
***
Six hours later she stepped out the elevator in the parking lot of the building.
Outside, rain was pouring down.
She walked to her parking slot. She was tired.
Her white Pontiac Grand Prix's lights blinked when she disengaged the alarm.
Gillian yawned.
She sat in the driver's seat and started the engine.
She felt the cold metal of a gun against the back of her neck.
"Drive," a male's voice commanded from the back seat. "And don't play games with me. I'll kill you as fast you wouldn't have the chance to blink."
"They will get you."
"Maybe… but you'd be dead by then...Now drive."
She pulled the car backwards and then drove toward the exit and stopped at the gate wishing the guard would ask her to get down.
A woman in black outfit was there.
The guard's whereabouts were a mystery.
The woman smiled in her direction and then opened the gate.
"Wait," the man in the back seat commanded, "she's coming with us."
The woman opened the passenger's door and sat.
"Did you kill the guard?"
"No, " the woman said, "He's out to lunch"
"Drive."
The Grand Prix sped out the parking lot and turned left.
"Where are we going?"
"The old cinema in E.L. Scott's boulevard "
"Who are you?"
"I am still waiting for that mexican food."
Just then she ventured to look in the mirror the man in the back seat.
"Sonic?"
"Hello sweetheart" he smiled and leaned back still aiming at her. " Smith hired you to chase me?"
"Yes..." she replied, there was no need to lie due to the circumstances.
"How sweet of him, don't you think, Joyce?" Sonic chuckled. "Now look here Agent McPherson, I know you think I am nothing but a cyber wacko who spend more time with a computer than with humans, but let me tell you something...if you dare...I will give you the true vision of what the real world is."
"This is the real world."
"Like I told you the last time, you're the one who is trapped, " Sonic said, his smile vanishing. "I'd like to propose something..."
"Put the gun down," she said. "What can I do? You've got me two to one, and I am driving. Why can't we just talk?"
"The old cinema..." commanded Joyce drawing her 9 mm "Don't be smart or we'll kill you for your own good."
"How can that be good for me?" she asked.
"Agent Smith would kill you just to know where am I?"
"Ok...this is getting weird...I know you're a famous hacker but why is Smith willing to get you?"
"Feeling curious?"
The car stopped at a red light.
"Listen..." she tried to look at him but the gun stood in the way "This guy promoted me because he says I am very good and that I'm the only one who can capture you."
Joyce sighed, "You're what he will use to capture him. He knows we want you...That's why he hired you and gave you the best office in that building packed with Agents.... agents of the Matrix."
"You're very naïve." Sonic said, "But let us explain everything."
"Ok.... I'm listening."
"Very well, Dr. Crane... " Joyce replied, "But first you're taking us to the cinema."
***
The old cinema
They neared an old, rotten building that would be smashed to pieces any minute.
Gillian parked the car behind the building and into a little service ramp.
A door was opened for them.
With Joyce behind her Gillian walked in.
Sonic closed the door and locked it.
She was taken to behind the screen.
The room was dusty and seemed like the rest of the building...abandoned...thats why all the electronic equipment in there caught her by surprise...computer monitors...keyboards and other devices were mounted around a chair.
Three more chairs completed the furniture of that room.
"Is this your home?"
"No," Sonic said, sitting. "Please," he invited her to use the chair in front of him.
"Sonic...there is still time ...let me go now and I won't present charges against you...you know damn well kidnapping an agent is federal crime."
Joyce chuckled. "We are not kidnapping you."
"You can go if you wish, Shiva," Sonic added.
She rose.
"Right..." and she started to the door.
"But if you leave now Smith will kill you...that bastard will never stop until either he got me or I am dead."
Gillian lost her patience...she still had her gun.
She withdrew it and swirled, aiming at them.
What she saw next was incredible.
With breathtaking speed, Joyce jumped and back kicked the gun out from her hand, then fell in front of her and swept her feet out from under her, making her fall to the ground hard.
She didn't look tired or anything when she helped her up.
"I..."
"That was stupid," Sonic said, annoyed. "Why don't you simply listen to me?"
She rubbed her hand. "Why?"
"You have been looking for me for the wrong reason. You're no match for me. Not because you're not good but because I am aware of the Matrix."
Shiva got angry...Matrix , Matrix, Matrix...she was getting tired of that...
"What the hell is the Matrix?"
Sonic searched in his pockets and produced a little Silver case that was promptly opened.
Two pills were there.
"No one can answer you that question. You have to wake up from it and see the real world with your own eyes. You said you believed in tangible things. Well...I am offering you tangible proof of its existence."
"What are the pills for?"
"Ah," Sonic took the blue pill. "If you decide you like your present life then you will eat this pill...and you'll have your life back...you'll try to get me but the day you succeed ...well...that day you'll die."
He gave her the blue pill.
"This one, Shiva will show you tangible proof of the existence of the Matrix but it will cost you something...something very important...your life will change and will be no step back...you'll meet the real enemy and will see the real Smith and the real Agents..."
He gave her the red pill.
Shiva held them at her eye level. That was so stupid and so weird to be true...what could that tiny little pills contain?...drugs?...poison?...but the real question here was...did she want to know what the Matrix was?
Good question.
Sonic sighed.
Joyce's cellular began ringing
"Yes?" Her expression changed...her eyes widened and she began looking around. "Sonic?" she called.
A detonation was heard...the world seemed to move slow motion as Sonic's left shoulder seemed to explode...the bullet continued it's trajectory and destroyed a computer monitor the which fell to the ground in pieces and dragging down other equipment.
Sonic moved...his left arm hanged useless.
Blood was flowing from the wound and spilt to the ground.
"Damn it," he said in pain.
"Agents!" Joyce yelled and pointed to the other side of the cinema screen.
There was a tumult of footsteps and voices.... cops ...SWAT maybe...
"They followed us!" Sonic grabbed Joyce for support.
"What's going on?" Gillian asked, "What the hell is happening?"
"Smith," Joyce said and helped her friend to move toward the door.
They heard how the door was kicked open and more footsteps...they were surrounded...
"Are you with us?...or with them?" Sonic asked,
She noticed she still had the pills
"You're going to be arrested " Gillian said, her FBI agent side surfacing. "They won't hurt me."
"Really?" Sonic asked, starting to feel dizzy...the wound was bad and he knew he had to get out of there...he knew there was no real wound and that his body was intact on board the Mordecai but his mind experienced the wound.... he felt his blood flowing...he felt pain...and he knew that he'd die there...
"Let's move" Joyce said when the voices got louder...they heard the clear click of guns being armed...a little canister rolled inside the room and began puffing smoke...pepper gas...
"I am FBI agent Gillian McPherson !" she said, rising her voice "Don't shoot!...I have the suspects in custody!"
Gillian kicked away the pepper gas.
"Don't move!" A commanding voice said.
Joyce was talking into her cell phone.
"Good work, Agent McPherson."
Joyce and the weak Sonic looked at the man in gray suit that walked in the room.
Smith.
"This man is Sonic." Gillian said.
Both pills were now in one of her pockets.
"I know.... Daniel Newman ....also known as Sonic...."
"Fuck you, Smith."
He smiled.
"No...Mr. Newman...fuck you!"
The window in the service room behind you.
Smith aimed his gun and fired but Joyce and Sonic were not there anymore.
The escaped through a small door in the bottom of the room.
So quickly Gillian couldn't believe it.
Smith looked at her.
"Good job, Agent McPherson."
And with that he left, running after them.
How far an injured man could get?
***
how is he?
He's dying ...
Quick...Freud...a way out...
Sonic tripped and fell heavily...but he mustered all the strength in his body and with the aid of Joyce got up and continued running, but his pace was getting slow every minute and Smith could be anywhere.
People looked at the couple with a mixture of fear and surprise.
"Please...Freud...hurry!"
"There's an abandoned restaurant in Salisbury street , two blocks ahead...can you make it?"
"Yes."
She helped Sonic and crossed a street...a heavy Kenworth truck flew by, them missing by mere inches and killing two business men in the process...Joyce didn't have to look back to know who was at the wheel.
Smith was getting closer.
Sonic was panting feeling weaker...one more block...
Joyce stopped...Sonic kneeled down not knowing if he'd be able to get up again...blood formed little puddles at his feet.
"You're not bleeding," Joyce said. "Can you hear me?...the wound isn't real!"
Sonic jerked when the bullet hit him in the back breaking some ribs and piercing a lung.
"Go," he babbled, "Leave me ...here... Joyce…"
"I won't," she said fiercely.
Smith fired again missing by a hair's breadth.
She looked over her shoulder and saw the Agent running with unnatural speed while still shooting.
Joyce made her decision.
She dragged her friend across the six lane street in front of her.
Cars began braking...a red Beetle hit a Ford Taurus who spun out of control and hit an speeding tow truck...the driver lost control and rammed against the persons in the sidewalk, including Smith....
Joyce ran on.
A Mustang almost ran over them but Joyce hoisted Sonic and jumped, landing on the other side of the street.
Smith was nowhere in sight.
As quick as they could they reached the restaurant.
Desperately, Joyce kicked the door open and dragged her friend inside as quick as she could, trying to find the only possible way out...If Sonic died...
A phone began ringing somewhere.
The abandoned restaurant was a mess of dirty tables and chairs everywhere...the phone...the damn phone had to be somewhere in that place...
Joyce found it behind the bar where she promptly dragged Sonic.
"You first..." she said, kneeling down to see Sonic's face.
His eyes were open.
He was not looking anything...
"He is dead," Smith's voice echoed in the room. "And soon you will be too."
Joyce caressed her friend's face as a tear rolled down her cheek.
Another hero of Zion.