Disclaimer: Who cares?
It´s not mine anyway…
**
„Here we are!"
The two cars stopped in front of a huge iron gate. The residence itself was surrounded by thick hedges, so you couldn't see the inside. Morpheus cranked down his window and used the ´doorbell´.
A few seconds later the gate opened and they entered the residence.
"Oh my god, Trinity this isn't a residence it's a fortress!"
Two looked over the rim of his sunglasses.
"Yes, against that, the Merovingian's chateau is a spitting image of a castle. Truly impressive!"
The fortress was bordered with gardens and lawns in a Louis IX reminding style. A number of smaller buildings, a park and a stable could also be seen.
But at the other side of the hedges were solid walls, invisible from outside, and a noticeable amount of security people. Neo had the slight impression that Mr Barney prepared for a longer besieging.
Who the hell was this man?
They parked their cars at the main entrance and climbed the stairs up to the great door.
"Good afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen. Please come in, the Master already awaits you!" the butler said and opened the door for them.
The inside of the castle was in strong contrast to the outside.
It was dark, it was gothic, and it was ….frightening.
For a few minutes they just stood and gaped.
Then a small and chubby man in a dark velvet suit came down the stairs to greet them.
Felice bit her lip and tried not to chuckle. The man was at least half a head smaller than her and as round as a watermelon. Few hairs remained on his head and the tiny moustache twitched as he whistled merrily.
He reminded her of a bumble-bee.
The bumble-bee stopped right in front of them and beamed.
"Morpheus, old friend! How kind of you to pay me a visit! It's far too long that we met!"
"The pleasure is mine!" answered Morpheus and bowed lightly.
"And these young people are your crew then?"
"If I may introduce, these are Neo, Trinity and Niobe who belong to…my people. And this is-
"Then you must be the young woman with the ´small problem´, aren't you?" Barney turned to Felice and kissed her hand.
Two made a disapproving noise in his throat. Felice ignored it.
"Oh Mr Barney I'm so glad to finally meet you. Are you really able to help me..ahem us?" she beamed.
"Oh I hope my dear!" he winked at her and fumbled in his pockets.
"Gumdrops?" he asked and offered her a bag.
"Oh thanks!" Felice took one, the others refused.
"Well, James will show you your rooms while me and this charming young lady will try to solve this little ´problem´ of hers!" he laughed and gave the butler a sign.
You could tell by the expression of Two's face that he didn't like to be called a ´little problem´ and that he didn't like to be totally ignored either.
One casted him a sympathetic look out of his Leo sunglasses and followed the others.
Mr Barney then led them in a small laboratory with all kinds of technology and asked them to sit down. Then he examined their handcuffs.
"Hmm, agents shot them, you say?"
"Yes, they called it a security measure." Felice said.
Mr Barney casted her a bright smile.
"Well, by chance I know these handcuffs. I own one of the factories who produce certain pieces of them. Very useful and hard to remove. They ordered a lot of them!"
Felice and Two sighed.
"But not if you know how to!" Barney grinned.
"You'll see it's just a matter of seconds for me. Miss Canderhagen, my tool box please!"
**
Neo and Trinity sat on a velvet sofa and tried to relax a bit.
The rooms they were given really were exclusive and expensive. And everywhere you looked velvet. In all colours.
The furniture was antique.
The decoration was unaffordable.
The water-taps were out of pure gold.
Trinity didn't dare to move out of fear to break something.
Just as they decided to take a drink out of the expensive Waterford crystal glasses the door sprung open and Felice entered the room, dancing and singing.
"Look at me! I'm free imfreeimfreeimfreeimfreeimfree!!!"
Felice leaped at Trinity and gave her a bone breaking embrace. Then she embraced Neo too, who blushed furiously.
"Wow, I didn't expect it to happen this fast!" Trinity smiled.
"I'm free, I'm free, I'm free! No more difficulties while eating, sleeping, bathing and whatever!"
Morpheus and Niobe entered the room and were embraced too.
"Finally! That means we can leave the matrix and return to Zion!" Niobe smiled.
Exited she embraced Morpheus who got all tense and nervous in her arms.
He freed himself and looked at Felice.
"Where's Two?"
"Am I his Nanny? At his brother's side, I suppose."
"Excuse me. Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr Barney wishes you to know that dinner will be served in about an hour. He asks you to come into the red parlour to have an aperitif twenty minutes before dinner!" James the butler said.
"Oh great, that means I can take a shower before. And some fresh clothes!" Felice beamed, delighted of the thought to do that all alone.
**
After her shower Felice scouted her room and discovered a whole wardrobe full of dresses. Most of them in medieval style and mostly out of velvet.
Since her room got a connecting door to Trinity's room she knocked and together they chose a dark violet gown for herself and a deep blue one for Trinity.
In the Twin's room, Two absently looked out of the window and massaged his now free wrist.
One looked at his melancholic twin and joined him at the window.
"Well, it's over now.." he began.
"I know."
"But something-
"Has changed! We're totally aware of it." finished Two.
"But do we know what?"
"No, we don't!"
One gave his twin's shoulder a comforting squeeze.
"But we're in good shape again!" he said.
"We can phase again-
"And heal."
"Just like before the ´incident´!"
Silence. Outside, a pair of horsemen crossed the paths.
"Did you notice it, too?"
"That she started phasing? Of course."
"But what's the meaning of it?"
"We don't know!"
"But we will find out!"
"Yes, we will!"
**
They gathered in the red parlour and had their aperitif.
Trinity and Felice received some nice compliments for their velvet gowns till Niobe had her great entrance in her new leather mini dress. Morpheus eyes grew big like tomatoes. The twins stood in their corner and were very quiet but behaving in these surroundings like they were meant to be here. They truly had an aristocratic, condescending aura around themselves as they sipped their aperitif.
James was going around with his tablet and offered various drinks, but most of all sherry. Felice hesitated.
"You wouldn't have a gin tonic for me, would you?" she asked shyly.
"Everything you want, my dear!" Barney exclaimed who just entered the parlour.
One and Two in their corner narrowed their eyes and approached Felice, taking their usual positions left and right to her.
"You're extraordinary beautiful this evening!" whispered Two in a low voice.
"Yes, and velvet embellishes your body perfectly!" said One and kissed her hand.
Felice raised her eyebrow.
"Well, thank you." She said slowly.
Something clearly was going on here!
Then the butler came with her drink and she concentrated on other things.
"Morpheus, may I talk to you just a minute?" Barney asked and took his old friend by an arm, leading him into an empty corner of the parlour.
"Sure. What is it?" Morpheus asked curiously.
"You've been followed, I fear."
"What?"
"Those Twins, they're working for the Merovingian don't they?"
"You know the Merovingian?"
"Well, let's just say our ways crossed in the past. And I'm certainly not eager to meet him again, that's for sure!"
"I understand."
"It seems that he has sent some of his flunkies to collect the twins, I guess." Barney pondered.
"Or to eliminate them!" Morpheus followed.
"That's a possibility, of course. But I've got the funny feeling that there's more to the whole story then meets the eye. What about this marriage you mentioned? Is it legal?"
"I fear."
"Then the girl's not out of danger yet. But there's still something more that troubles me.´"
"What is it?" Morpheus asked worried.
"I've told you that I've met the Merovingian before. At his restaurant to be precisely. The Twins may not remember me as it seems, but I do."
Morpheus nodded.
"I saw them. And I watched them. They awaked my curiosity, you know. And therefore I can now say that they're behaving totally out of character."
"I noticed that too." Morpheus agreed.
"They act quite possessive about that girl. Even protective…"
"You're absolutely right! Continue!" Morpheus said.
Barney stroked his moustache.
"And that makes me wonder, you know. They're killers. Why don't kill her, get rid of her body and then fulfil their order. Surely the Merovingian has his ways to remove this digital toy."
"That makes no sense…"
"Have they even attacked one single time during your trip?" Barney asked, although he already seemed to know the answer.
"No, they haven't!"
"They're disobeying their orders since that evening. The Merovingian will not be pleased. And the Twins don't seem as if they are willing to give up the girl. Did you notice how they reacted as I offered her a mere drink? I wasn't even importunate!"
"You're implying that we cannot return to Zion right now, don't you?" Morpheus sighed.
"Yes, I'm afraid the whole thing's not over yet…"
"What about our pursuers?"
"Don't worry, you're safe inside here!"
"I know, but is it safe to keep the Twins in here, now that they have all of their powers back?" Morpheus wanted to know.
"Felice will keep them occupied!"
"Yes, what about her? Is it right to demand off her to be in their immediate company all the time?"
"Morpheus, old friend. Didn't you notice that she's changing too?" Barney sighed and suddenly looked very old and much wrinkled.
"She's changing? What do you mean?"
"Neo noticed and Trinity as well. Felice told her and Trinity told me this evening. She starts phasing."
"But how's that possible? She's human."
"She also starts developing some kind of telepathically binding with both of them."
Morpheus just gaped.
"Don't ask me how it works, because I'm not able to explain. But the Twins are a kind of virus program. Maybe the handcuffs worked like some sort of catalyst. After all, one of the purposes of a virus is duplication, keep that in mind!"
"But how will it affect her?"
"I can't say yet."
He squeezed Morpheus hand gently.
"But it doesn't automatically mean harm to her, old friend. Just stay a few days and we'll watch how things progress. Felice needs her old friend now more then ever. It wouldn't be right to let her see through it all alone, without Trinity's help or your advice or simply your company!"
"Your´re right of course. We stay a few more days. At least till our pursuers are gone!"
"That's nice to hear. Gumdrops?"
**
The dinner was exquisite.
The great dining room was decorated with fresh flowers and the wine flowed down her throat like liquid silver.
Speaking of silver…
Felice enjoyed herself and kept light conservation with Trinity and bumble-bee Barney, while Niobe just had eyes for Morpheus, who on the contrary shot her concerned looks ever now and then. The Twins sat on the opposite side of the table, much to their dismay. But Barney, in a kind but uncompromising voice had seated them apart from her, directly next to a voluptuous blonde, who giggled all the time and a bony brunette, who batted her eyelashes importunate at Two.
At her Two!
Whoaa, was that jealousy she developed there?
She took another sip out of her goblet and adjusted her neckline.
Better don't mess with me, Missy!!
"Stop that!" Trinity hissed into her ear.
"Huh?" asked Felice absent-minded.
"You're staring, Feli!"
"She's flirting with him!"
"But she doesn't get any approval for it. See? He's pissed off!"
Two´s facial expression looked like he had straightly bitten into an extra sour lemon.
"I guess you're right. But I don't have to like it nonetheless!" she giggled.
"What is so funny, my dear?" Ramon, the man seated next to her, asked.
"Oh nothing, really."
Ramon, the Latin Lover.
Latin Lover out of passion, she corrected herself.
Who had pestered her the whole meal through.
She smiled through gritted teeth at him. How she wished one of the Twins would intimidate god's self declared gift to women and scare the shit out of him.
She couldn't stand Latin Lovers!!
But then she noticed them staring at Ramon in uttermost jealousy.
Trinity winked at her. Oh how they understood each other!
Maybe it would be very interesting to flirt a bit with Ramon….
"What did you say, where do you come from?" she asked sweetly, fluttering her eyelashes.
Hah, two could play that game!....okay three!
"Does anyone like to dance?" bumble bee asked after dinner had been finished.
He gave one of the waiters a wink and then waltz music flooded the room. Neo dragged Trinity out on the parquet and Ramon didn't hold back much longer either.
With a charming smile he swept her up to her feet and onto the dance floor.
Well, she had to admit he certainly knew how to dance!
She danced the following tango with him too.
At the second half of their dance she noticed that there was something going wrong. Terribly wrong.
Ramon pushed her into a dark corner of the large dining room and started to grope her.
She slapped him. Hard.
He slapped her back. Harder.
A silent scream went through her mind. Confusion. Panic. Fear.
Surprise.
The scream had an echo!
The Twins simultaneous looked up from their port and phased.
Surprised screams went through the small crowd as the two ghost like shadows flew through the room, searching.
And immediately finding what they were looking for.
They phased back into full flesh and attacked without hesitating.
Morpheus stood up and looked at Barney.
"Don't look at me like that. I hadn't planned something like that. But at least we now know for sure that they're telepathically linked!" Barney said.
Ramon was a molester but not a fighter. And especially against the Twins he didn't stand a chance. After few moments he got to the ground.
The Twins pulled their razor blades out.
"Stop it!" Morpheus thundered.
"You've proofed your point and I doubt that he will ever again try something like that! Now leave him alone!"
The Twins slowly turned their heads and fixed Morpheus with their eyes, snap blades still poised.
Morpheus started sweating, they wouldn't obey him, he just knew they wouldn't!
Then Felice started staggering and Two put away his blade and pulled her in his arms, comfortingly stroking her back and whispering in her ear.
One slowly, very slowly followed his twin's example and put his blade away. Then he kicked the man on the floor a last time and turned his attention to Felice.
Morpheus dared to breathe again. Neo and Trinity next to him relaxed immediately. The crowd scattered. Some of the security men dragged Ramon's body away. Trinity got up to comfort Felice.
"No, stay!"
"But she needs me!" Trinity complained.
"I doubt that they let you help now. Wait till they've calmed down a bit!"
Trinity reluctantly sat down again.
"They're still dangerous!" Niobe said.
"They always were!" Neo opposed.
"Yes, I guess we were just lucky all the time!" Morpheus said and poured himself another glass of wine.
**
Will we have the long awaited hot love-scene in chapter 8 ??
…..
…..
(The tension´s building…)
….
….
Let me think about it…
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….
Well, if you behave (and review!)…
Okay, love scene in chapter 8 ;-)