A/N: Greetings again all! Sorry this last installment took so long. I was
out of town for the last two weeks with band trips and spring break and what
not. I'll try to be a bit more methodical with my postings but not
guarantees. I also will be playing catch up since I missed so much school.
Writing may be my first love but graduating high school and getting the hell
out of here takes priority. Sorry. Keep reviewing though. That just might
make the updates come faster (hint hint). Just a warning: I know nothing
about computers or hacking or anything so some things may not work the way
they do in real life. Deal.

Destiny Chaser: Hope I haven't been keeping you waiting too long. I also did
as you requested and spaced out the paragraphs. Hope that makes your life
easier. Please keep reviewing!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Matrix or Agent Smith and I am not making money
off of this. I make my money in different ways. As my chemistry teacher
says, "There is good money to be made in the business of blood." * smiles
showing fangs * The song is written by Matchbox 20 and isn't mine either.
No, Ring is not based on Switch nor does she have anything to do with that
twisted movie The Ring. Glitch is mine. No touchy or usey. Also, I actually
have no idea who authored the love bug or the Y2K scare so don't send the
cops after me.

Rating: Language and drinking are the only bad things in here. It will get
worse due to Ring's perverse sense of humor and foul mouth. Again, no
kiddies need to be reading this unless you want them to turn out like me.

II: Bending Glitch

I started out clean but I'm jaded
Just phoning it in
Just breaking the skin
Can you help me I'm bent
I'm so scared that I'll never
Get put back together
You're breaking me in
And this is how we will end
With you and me bent
******

After Agent Smith left, Glitch called Slice and told him what had happened.
He replied with a very creative string of swearing that made Glitch, even in
her panicked state, smile. In the midst of all the curses, he told her he
was calling up the gang at the Mainframe and to be there at eight the next
evening. He wanted everyone to have the whole story and Glitch agreed that
it would be best. The more advice and ideas she had to run on the better off
she would be.

The Mainframe was actually in the basement of a deserted warehouse on the
waterfront and the upper levels had been converted into an internet café
owned by Splinter. Some of the profits brought in by the café were used to
fund the Mainframe's big operations. A staircase in the kitchen lead down to
the main room of the basement, which housed most of the computers.

Ring and her sister Cancer were both at one of the many computers on a long
table in the center of the spacious room. Cancer sat cross-legged in the
chair and Ring stood behind her looking down at the screen over her sister's
shoulder. They hardly appeared to be related. Ring had hard, almost
masculine features. A pair of sunglasses was perched in the spikes of her
short bleached hair and silver hoops marched up the cartilage of both ears.
Cancer on the other hand looked like any sixteen-year-old would. She wore
faded overalls and a plaid shirt and her shoulder length brown hair was
pulled back in a ponytail. No one would suspect her of being a hacking
mastermind.

Ring glanced at her watch as Glitch walked in. "Wow." She commented. "She's
on time."

Cancer checked the time on her pager and frowned. "No she's not. She's ten
minutes late."

"That¹s as on time as Glitch ever gets." Came Splinter's clear tenor voice
from behind one of the larger monitors on the other side of the table. He
pushed his chair to the left a bit to peer at Glitch between the monitors.
He smiled at her, his crystal blue eyes glittering behind his shaggy brown
hair. "Slice tells us you got yourself some trouble." He hardly seemed
worried

"Troubles putting it mildly don't you think?" Ring said looking at him over
the top of her sister's computer.

"More than likely." Splinter replied. "I wasn't down there when they paid
you all a visit down here but I did see them walk through the café. Seemed
none too friendly to me."

"No shit. How many of them were there, sis?" Ring looked down at Cancer.
"Three? Four?"

"Three I think." Cancer replied with a thoughtful expression. "And they were
dressed in the same suits and they all wore sunglasses."

"Yeah I know." Glitch said in a rather dreading voice. "One of them dropped
by my apartment last night."

Ring rounded to face her. "You're shittin' me." She said. "They came to your
apartment?"

"Yeah." Glitch said nodding. "He wanted to see my computer."

"What on earth have you been up to?" Splinter asked sounding like a
concerned big brother.

"That's just it." She said folding her arms over her stomach. "I don't
really know myself." She looked around. "Where's Slice? He's the one that
wanted to hear all about this."

The door to the stairs slammed closed announcing someone's entry into the
basement. Glitch turned to see Slice striding in carrying a small plastic
grocery sack. "Sorry I'm late. I just stepped out to get drinks." He set the
bags on the table beside Cancer's computer.

"Wine cooler for you, Ring." He said handing it to her. "A Bud Light for
me." He said pulling it out and setting it down beside the bag. "A Coors for
Splinter." He looked up at Splinter who was still sitting in his computer
chair with his ankle propped on his knee. "No, come get it. I'm not throwing
it. It's not my fault you can't catch."

Splinter hauled himself out of the chair and retrieved his beer saying,
"It's not my fault you can't throw."

Slice ignored Splinter's cut and continued to pull drinks out of the bag.

"What do I get?" Cancer asked leaning forward to peer in the bag.
Slice smiled at her. "Cancer, love you kid but I'm not about to get caged
for giving alcohol to a sixteen year old. I hope a Sprite works."

Cancer smiled back at him. "Sounds great."

"Besides," her sister said as she unscrewed the cap of her cooler. "If we
wanted to get her drunk all we would have to do was give her the neck of the
bottle."

Everyone snorted with laughter.

Cancer turned a mock-offended glare to her sister and playfully retorted, "I
would not get slammed off the neck of the bottle."

"We'll find out when you're twenty one." Ring replied innocently as she took
a drink.

"And for our newest fugitive," Slice said, "I thought something a bit
stronger than usual was in order. Mike's Hard Lemonade sound good?"

Glitch smiled appreciatively as she took the bottle from him. "Sounds
great." She replied.

"Oh, and a cupcake." Slice said handing her a saran wrapped cupcake with
pink frosting. Glitch took it with a small chuckle.

"Hey, you didn't get me a cupcake when the cops were on my ass for the
Lovebug Virus." Ring complained.

"Yeah well, they weren't coming to your apartment at ungodly hours of the
night." Slice countered pointedly. "They never got within twenty feet of
you." Glitch felt herself swallow hard.

Ring blinked a few times. "Point." She said.

Splinter wheeled himself over in his computer chair to join the group. "Ok,
Glitch." He said in a rather analytical tone. "Start at the beginning."

Glitch ran a hand through her chin-length hair. "Trouble is, I don't know
where the beginning is exactly."

Slice moved the grocery bag and perched himself on the end of the table. "Ok
we are pretty sure whatever that shit scrolling on your computer screen is
what has their panties in a twist." He said. "So what is it?"

Glitch sighed pensively. "I don't know exactly but as best as I can tell,
its lines of code for some sort of alternate universe."

"An RPG?" Cancer asked.

Glitch shook her head. "No, its more complex than that by far. There's so
much information in these codes that I can't even start to decode it. Things
change too fast, so I had to learn the code." She took a bite of her cupcake
and set it back on the saran wrap. She chewed it quickly before washing it
down with a generous swig of her lemonade. She made an odd face. "Cupcake
and booze. What a combination."

"Hold on." Ring said pulling a Kleenex from the box beside Cancer's monitor.
She took a step forward and stuck it to the end of Glitch's nose. "I can't
take you seriously if you have icing on your beak. Especially pink icing."

Glitch laughed. "Thanks." She said wiping her face clean. "Anyway, It took
me about a week to learn the code so that's no longer a problem. I can read
everything that goes on in this program down to the last detail."

"How did you find it?" Splinter asked.

Glitch began to pace as she shook her head. "I have no idea. Whatever this
program is keeps erasing my browser history."

"So how do you find it again?" Cancer inquired.

"I don't. It finds me in a sense." She answered.

"Weird." Ring commented.

"So you can't cover your tracks because there are none to cover?" Splinter
said, half making a statement and half asking a question.

Glitch nodded.

Slice sighed heavily. "Maybe you should get out of dodge." He said. "Hide
somewhere. It's not good for you to be where the feds can get to you with
any kind of ease."

"Yeah." Splinter chimed in. "You could stay in one of the back rooms here or
go to a hotel in the suburbs."

Glitch shook her head. "No I can't. I don't want to put the Mainframe in
jeopardy for my personal problems. Besides, the man that came to my house
said he wanted to see me tomorrow at three. I get the feeling that if I ran
he would find me somehow."

"Did he tell you what agency he was with?" Splinter asked.

"He showed me an FBI badge." Glitch replied taking a drink from her bottle.

Ring shook her head. "That's bullshit." She said. The Bureau has better
fashion sense."

Glitch couldn't help but laugh.

"Well whatever these people are after you for, Glitch, it must be big."
Slice said not picking up on Ring's humorous tone.

"Yeah." Splinter continued. "They busted in the Mainframe and didn't even
blink. You were all they were after."

"I know." Glitch sighed.

"Look just be cooperative." Ring advised. "But only as much as they ask
for."

Glitch nodded. "That was my plan."

"And in the mean time," Splinter said standing from his chair. "How about I
treat all of us to coffee and cookies in the café?"

"Great." Glitch muttered. "First booze and now caffeine. This ought to give
me some trippy dreams."

"Oh will you quit bitchin'?" Ring retorted as she followed Splinter to the
stairs. "You ain't the one payin'"

"And besides." Splinter called over his shoulder. "Who says you're sleeping
tonight?"
******