Protector of Men Ch 53
She was waiting outside Emory's room. It had only been about half an hour since they had arrived at Zion, Cover told her to take her time in contacting Emory. But she knew better – the quicker she was able to get the information (or lack thereof,) then the quicker they'd be able to go back to broadcast depth. Shade had reminded her where his room was, and she had run off to go to Emory. Everyone else had basically gone their own way. Trim went off with Alias, Kemp with Kesia, and Cover on his own. Shade said he would go and get them something to eat while she was gone.
But Emory was not answering his door. After a few minutes she gave up, hoping that maybe he was out doing an errand and not ignoring her. She sat against the banister across from his door quietly, observing the walls, the doors, each screw…
And then she remembered. Her mood darkened as she recalled how Stephen had done the exact same thing only weeks earlier while waiting for her to leave Emory's room. She remembered fondly how he had worried that Emory might have been a love interest, remembered how she laughed when telling him otherwise. He had been so caring, waiting for her, not knowing when she'd come out…
Emory pulled her out of her momentary depression before it could take her over completely. Zandra heard him coming and watched him approach, the preliminary look of confusion soon replaced by a look of understanding.
"Zandra," he called, "Back so early?"
"Well," she started, getting off of the ground, "I was hoping you could give me some direction."
"Not out here."
"Oh."
"Come inside," he suddenly said, watching the sides of the hallways as if someone were coming for him, "We can talk inside."
It was the same darkness that she had been in before; the same feeling and smell of the room still pervaded its walls. Emory gestured for her to sit down, and she relished the comfort of the chair. He was watching her expectantly, willing her to explain herself.
"Have you talked to Neo?" he asked her, his hands clasped in his lap. He was sitting on the edge of his chair, awaiting her response.
"Not recently."
Emory was puzzled.
"He's disappeared."
"When," he instantly asked. His face was dark, and serious.
"A few weeks ago."
"Did he leave anything?"
"One message, written on the entrance to his 'home', I guess…"
"What did it tell you?"
"Basically, it said that he was being held by a Merovingian."
"Did it say where?"
"That's where I have a problem," she sighed. "There are two answers to that."
"What two?"
"One answer is at the Rennes-le-Chateau in France. But I don't think he'd be there because it's too obvious. The other was an address I found from a source in the matrix, for a building in a town."
Emory scratched his ear in thought.
"He did mention to me that he had a last resort in case he was caught."
"The Merovingian?"
"I'm not sure. But, he did say that it was a dangerous idea in itself."
"Hm." Zandra paused in thought. "That means he could have gone there intentionally."
- "That would be the general idea."
Zandra sighed in frustration. Emory wasn't being overly polite, but he didn't have to be… just that she was looking for information, and he was treating her as if she should know it already. What am I missing here?
"Why would he tell me where he was going if he went there on his own accord?"
"I am not sure," he replied, staring off into the darkness of his room, "Perhaps he has changed his mind."
"Hm," was her repetitive response.
"Did you come to Zion to talk with me?" he asked, fiddling with a loose string on his shirt.
"Yes," she replied factually, "We came to ask you for direction. After we're done, we go back in."
Emory nodded slowly.
"Who was your contact for the address?"
"Well," she started, a bit worried that he would laugh at her when she revealed the source, "It was kind of a coincidence…."
Emory watched her, interested.
"We were jacking out, and a man sleeping by the phone told me that the answer was in front of me, and then after a few words left. I found the address on the phone."
Emory was quiet, a quiet that left Zandra in the dark, hoping that he wouldn't regard her as naïve, looking too far into something that was trivial…
- "I know it was just a strange coincidence, but-"
"I wouldn't dismiss things like that, Zandra," he suddenly replied, his eyes closed.
"Even the most obscure of actors will play his part. Each is vital to the final production."
Zandra nodded slowly, a little unsettled by his choice of words. Emory was getting more and more strange every time she met him.
"So you think I should try the address first."
- "If you think it will work."
"I'm just not sure."
"Then try it," he told her, shrugging his shoulders, "You have nothing to lose by trying."
Zandra nodded again. Soon enough Emory had wrapped up their conversation and was shoving her out into Zion again, closing his door quickly behind her with a clunk and the faint noise of many locks being put into place. Zandra sighed wearily. Time to go back to Shade's room and try to get some sleep, if that was possible. The enigma was eating at her incessantly now that she was in Zion, so far away from the place where she could actually help. Zandra looked around once before heading to the elevator on her way to Shade's. There wasn't anyone in sight.
She walked to the elevator but found it on another floor. Patiently she waited for it to return to her level, observing the surroundings of Zion. Soon enough she heard a beep, and the elevator doors opened. There was a woman in the elevator, but Zandra didn't say anything and went in. She silently pressed the button for Shade's floor and settled in for a long ride. She tried to ignore the woman's impolite stares.
"I'm sorry," the woman finally said, "Are you Zandra?"
"Yeah," she replied slowly.
"The Zandra?"
"I didn't know there was a 'the' in it."
The woman laughed a little, but stopped quickly.
"Do you have a few minutes?" she asked curiously.
"Eehh," she answered slowly, "Sorry, I really don't."
"Oh," she replied curtly, "Important business, I assume."
"Sleep, actually." The conversation was sounding worse with each second. Zandra was suddenly reminded of the bartender she had met so long ago – at least he hadn't recognized me for who I really was…But there was something more, something eluding her…
"Well, I guess every hero needs their beauty rest," she retorted with a smirk. Zandra was about to say something smart, but the elevator stopped prematurely.
"Boys, glad you could join," she told the two large men that stepped into the elevator. Zandra suddenly felt very threatened, and shrank back into the corner of the elevator. The woman gave her an evil smile.
"This is the famous Zandra," she told them. They both turned around and looked Zandra over critically, enjoying the look on her face.
"I was just going to invite her to our upload."
The two men laughed and continued looking Zandra over. She wanted to get out, but it was impossible. Does everyone hate me here?
"I'm sure you won't hesitate to demonstrate your clearly superior talents for us, would you?"
Zandra was quiet.
"Not so smart now, are we?" she asked, cocking her head to one side. Please let Shade come find me…
"What are you doing?" Zandra finally asked. Who was this woman? Somehow she seemed oddly familiar.
"Just making sure you are what you say you are."
Zandra made a face and looked to the side. Things weren't looking good. The elevator suddenly stopped again, and Zandra found herself being manhandled out the door, an ape on each side of her. The woman laughed once, shook her head, and led them down a darkened hallway into a large room. There were upload chairs everywhere, and operators were at chairs.
"We're here," she said in a mockingly cheerful voice, "Ready for some fun?"
