Protector of Men Ch 32

"What the hell happened?" shouted Zandra. Kesia looked afraid at her reaction.

"I don't know," she managed, scanning the screens for any sign of a problem. "What happened?" She hadn't realized that she had just posed the exact same question that Zandra had posed only moments ago.

Zandra was annoyed at Kesia's lack of understanding. "Didn't you just see that? Didn't the code just glitch?"

Kesia's eyes grew wide. "It glitched?"

Cover came in quickly, his arms folded. Zandra turned to him, almost hysterical.

"Something changed, the Matrix glitched," she exclaimed, pointing at the computers. Cover looked nonplussed. "Don't you understand?"

Colombus was trapped. Both she and the rest of her crew were locked in a building that now had no doors and no windows. How it happened, they had no idea. But they did know that something bad was going to happen. Colombus flipped open her phone and called Tas, her operator.

"He's got agents coming for him," the man said immediately. It didn't sound good.

"Call Purgatory," she ordered. They would need help if he was going to live.

"Kesia, get someone in here," came Tas' voice back in Purgatory. Zandra heard it and stomped over to the chairs. She began to strap herself in.

"Put me in," she said, attaching her legs, "let me in."

Stephen tried not to panic. Agents, two of them, coming for him…

He began to run.

They did too.

"Kesia, put me in!"

"I'm going to, I just need to confirm-"

"Kesia, he can't wait!"

Cover started to strap Zandra's last arm into the chair.

"I'm coming," he said as he tightened her straps. Zandra watched as he too put himself into a chair and began to strap up his legs.

"Okay, I'll set up an entry."

"Where."

"It's about a half mile away from where he came out."

Kesia figured that it would be best not to mention that there were agents chasing him now. They knew he needed help, and she figured that information would be enough. More stress would not make Kesia work any faster, so she kept Zandra in the dark. Zandra grew more impatient as the seconds went by... let's go, let's go, she kept telling herself.

He was running fast – keeping a good distance away from the agents. But they were growing aggravated, growing tired of the chase. So they stopped running and decided to fight in an entirely different fashion.

Stephen suddenly felt pain shoot up his leg, his knee gave way and he was on the ground. Shit, he thought, I've been shot already…

Colombus and the rest of her crew were still imprisoned in the building that had no portals. Finally, they decided to break down one of the walls, which took almost everything they had. After a minute or two, Colombus decided to call Kesia again.

"Is someone in?"

"Zandra and Cover."

"Damnit," she replied, "She didn't need to get involved."

Kesia was quiet with servility.

"But he needs as much help as he can get," she continued.

"Keep me posted," she said, and hung up before Kesia could say a meek response. She was saved the effort.

Zandra hit the ground running, and was out of the building in seconds. Luckily, the glitch hadn't affected the one she was uploaded into. Or else Kesia had planned it that way. It didn't matter now, because Zandra needed to find Stephen.

Cover was right behind her, and was a little slower. He knew Zandra was running on passion – on feeling, and he also knew that it could either hurt her, or help her. He hoped it would be the latter, and continued to run after her.

"Stephen!" she shouted into the streets. No answer came. Zandra was growing desperate rapidly – who knew what this glitch had caused, and if it meant that he was in danger, she would have to be faster.

The agents had caught up to Stephen, and were now standing over his body. He wished he could run, but he couldn't. He wished he could fight, but he couldn't. Blood trickled down his leg and formed a small puddle on the ground. It hurt, but it was a strange kind of hurt. A metallic kind of hurt. He quickly forgot the unreality of the situation, and let the pain consume his actions. Stephen wriggled jerkily under the agents' gaze.

"Mr. Witt," one of the agents said, "So glad you could drop in." The other agent pulled him up by his shirt and dragged him. Stephen fought, but found himself unable to move under the agent's impressive grip.

The other agent paused, and pressed his fingers against his ear. "She is coming," he said. The other agent continued to drag Stephen towards another building.

"Oh," he said casually, "We'll still have some time to play with this one."

"Stephen!" she shouted again into the deserted town. Again there was no answer. Her voice was already becoming hoarse from her screams. Where do I run to? She asked herself hopelessly, I don't know where to go…

Her phone rang.

"Zandra, he's being pulled into a building down the street to your right," she told her. That was all Zandra needed. She hung up the phone and hastily jammed it into her pocket, resuming her extraordinary pace. Cover was still behind her, having gained little ground from her momentary pause.

He was now against the wall of a room. Both agents had guns trained on him, silently warning him of further injury.

"Mr. Witt," said one, "Enlighten us."

"Your friend's little project," the other started, "Had evidence of the Matrix."

"We'd like to know how, in fact, she found it." They both paused, giving him a chance to respond. Yet he didn't.

"Come now," warned one of the agents, now aiming his Eagle at Stephen's head, "We'd like to know."

Stephen's leg still hurt from it's first wound.

Zandra had found the street that Kesia had told her about, but to her dismay, there were buildings lining each side of the street. Which one was it? Cover was catching up to her now that she had slowed down. Her heartbeat was still slow, but Cover's was racing. Where to go… where to go…

"Stephen!" she shouted again

This time Stephen heard her. The agents did as well, and they looked at each other before one of them walked out of the room.

"Mr. Witt," the remaining one continued, "Do you have anything to say before we speak with Ms. Richards?" Stephen said nothing.

"I'm sorry to hear that," he said, and shot again.