Protector of Men Ch 60
"What is going on, my love?" Persephone asked her husband who looked rather ruffled from something. She was a little confused, a little hesitant to ask… but did nonetheless.
"La chienne d'un problème dans cette situation horrible…" (1) he mumbled, completely ignoring her. He continued to whisper slurred curses to himself as he blew completely past her, aiming for the entryroom. I will not let this happen again, he thought resentfully, I will not let them get the better of me! Enveloped in himself, he neglected to even recognize that his wife had spoken, and continued to walk away.
"Why do you continue to be a prick," she asked after him, knowing fully that he would not respond.
"Every time." And Persephone went her own way. If he was going to act the same as before, then she would too. Persephone didn't forget easily, and though thirty some years had been a long time, the memories lay fresh in her mind. After all, Neo hadn't exactly been… gracious… to her hospitality, either.
Zandra was now wandering the entryroom lazily, knowing that without help, she wouldn't be able to get anywhere. Every door would be locked.
She looked at the weaponry on the walls – swords, knives of every kind adorned the cream colored boundaries, along with the Greek statues every six feet or so. It was elegant, but somewhat foreboding at the same time. Zandra noticed the 'M' painted on the wall in front of her, probably for 'Merovingian'. She wouldn't have been surprised.
Zandra sighed and walked towards the wall, eyeing one of the swords with interest. Such craftsmanship, such beauty melded into something so deadly… it enticed her with its sheen. The twins did nothing as she plucked it off the wall and examined it. She looked at them for a moment, but they made no gesture of recognition. So she walked up to the top of the stairs and sat on the banister, her legs dangling off the rail like a child on a seat too tall. She smiled at Shade and Cover who were staring at her with their mouths open.
"We can't do anything now," she told them, swinging her legs in a mixture of boredom and nervousness, "We can't get out without a key, and they're," she pointed to the twins with her sword, "Not going to do anything."
Cover looked at the Twins for a moment, then looked back at Zandra.
"Surely we can do something," he asked, "Is the informant here?"
"Neo? I'm sure he is."
Shade spoke up quietly.
"But if they have keys…"
Zandra glared at him, but her eyes soon turned cheerful again. With a swing she jumped off the banister and landed with a tap onto the ground, approaching the Twins with masked confidence. The twins could see through it; Zandra stayed a good five feet away.
"Are you just going to keep us here?" she asked, keeping her distance. One of the Twins' hands reflexively jerked into his pocket; Zandra had a feeling that he was reaching for a weapon. She backed off, and the twins relaxed a bit.
"Until further notice," One said, the other stepping a bit closer to the first. They gave Zandra another evil sneer, but Zandra was quickly becoming bored of their responses. They were almost predictable, and though she was afraid of them, she was quickly getting over it. She rolled her eyes – thankful for the reflective protection of her sunglasses, and went back to the wall.
"Get something," she advised Cover and Shade, "Something's going to happen, eventually." Reluctantly they got up and joined her, Shade taking a pair of small daggers, while Cover opted for a sword like Zandra's. They shrugged, and went back down to the bottom of the stairs to wait for something to transpire.
Neo was waiting for the door to open; he had heard her footsteps long ago and was now anticipating the twist of that doorknob that would free him from his Bordeaux prison.
It opened a crack and he inserted his hand in it, pulling the door open wide so that he could escape without Persephone creating a problem. But he paused: her face told him something was up. She looked bored, like she was expecting him to escape?
"Go to them, if you want," she said, sighing.
His face displayed confusion, but there was no time for him to ponder. There had been absolutely too much time devoted to that lately. A chance for action. He began to run down the hallway, Persephone still stood at the door.
"They're in the main hall," she called out after him. Persephone tensed her jaw, stuck. Was this really what she wanted to happen? Perhaps this had been a mistake…
Neo looked around him in the hallway. There were so many doors, which one could he go through? Certainly Persephone wouldn't have unlocked every one for him. His eyes and mind searched the code around him, looking for the unlocked door, the open portal… right in front of his face. Neo pushed the open door a little wider, and went in.
"Why do they hate her?"
"They're jealous."
- "That can't be the only reason."
"It is."
Kemp sighed loudly and sat on the ground, not satisfied with Trim's answer.
"That woman didn't kidnap her because she was jealous."
"They can't deny it," he shot back defensively, "There's no other reason."
"Kesia said that Echo was mad about Tevy," Kemp replied. Trim narrowed his eyes and went back to watching the radar. Still there was nothing.
"Some people said he died because she was a coward," Trim answered, quietly. An afterthought, "But they're bastards."
"Don't they know what she can do?"
"If they can't, they're blind." And they continued to talk about other things, Kemp soon moving to sit in the unoccupied seat next to Trim.
Kesia was similarly unoccupied. She had been just watching the trio in the matrix, trying to catch a glimpse of their elusive code, waiting for something big to happen, when she got a line request from Zion. She accepted reluctantly, and almost dreaded the person she'd soon see on the small link screen.
"Hello Kesia," a man said, nodding once in courtesy. It was Councilor Gallup, the lead councilor of Zion. He looked pleased, and Kesia was a little nervous by his presence.
"Is Cover there?"
"Ah, no… – sir," she fumbled, her heart beginning to race, "He's jacked in right now with Zandra and Shade."
Gallup nodded once in comprehension, "I am not surprised. Do you have a moment then?" Kesia nodded quickly.
"We just wanted to let you know that the Council is backing Purgatory one-hundred percent. We heard about the little incident a few days ago and are truly embarrassed by our lack of control in the matter. Something like that should never happen in Zion. We need to unite; lest I have to remind everyone that we are participating in a war."
Kesia nodded a few times in rapid succession.
"We've spoken to the Zion Interface and they've agreed to tone down the opposition a bit. They admitted that much of the negativity was from a desire for drama, and not out of true controversy, which is a little saddening, is it not?"
"Yes – sir," Kesia answered quietly.
"Again, I apologize. Zandra shouldn't have to worry about danger in Zion as well as danger in the matrix. Just too much for her to handle – she's already got enough on her plate, I'm sure."
He paused for a moment, looking up, probably asking himself if there was anything else that needed to be spoken.
"That's all I can remember for now," he finally said, shrugging his shoulders.
"Oh, please tell Zandra to come to the room assignment center once she gets back to Zion." He looked down a second. "It seems her friend left her some possessions of his, as well as his apartment. So if she can come by then, we'd appreciate it."
Kesia nodded again, and the conversation terminated. She blinked a few times – a lot of information had been told in the past minute. Alias was silent behind her.
"I guess Zion's coming to its senses," she said. Kesia nodded and went back to watching Zandra. Hopefully things would start happening soon – they had already wasted much of their time already.
1. "Bitch of a problem… this horrible situation…"
