He said he killed an Agent
Chapter 5: I have dreamed a dream...but now that dream has gone from me
" I just don't think its a good idea." Pandora said plainly, as she sat on the edge of her seat, with the rest of the crew around her. " The Oracle hasn't even been seen since the war ended!"
" I know, Pan." Gannon assured her. " But she could have been trying to keep quiet for a while. In any case, she's requested our help."
" Just the Mnemosyne's help?" Dial questioned.
Hermes answered for the captain. " The message I received asked for anyone who's is willing. So far, nobody has jacked in."
" And I don't think we should be the first." Pandora said. " I sympathize for the little girl, but...how could the Oracle not have seen this coming? Why didn't she ask for our help to prevent this from happening?"
" That's not how she works." Gannon answered.
" I have to be honest with you Captain," Dial said, " I don't see why the Agents even need the little girl. It's suspicious why they would take her, instead of the Oracle."
Gannon nodded. " I was thinking that, too. The Agents would have had to fight off Seraph to get to the girl, and Seraph is the Guardian of the Oracle. If they could get past him...then they might as well have taken the Oracle."
" It looks to me," Nighten said, " like the Agents aren't trying to get to the Oracle. They're trying to get to us. And honestly, Captain Gannon, I think we should go."
The long-haired man looked surprise, as he rested his hand on his beard. His new crew member was obviously bold. " Nighten....", the Captain said slowly," why would you want to send yourself into what you believe is a trap? We don't fight Agents, Nighten, we run from them."
Nighten looked like he wanted to say something, but he refrained.
A noise sounded from Hermes' keyboards, and the operator looked to the monitors at his station to see what the computer was trying to tell him. Hermes' eyes went wide.
" Two red-pills just jacked-in, Captain." Hermes told Gannon. " They're a safe distance from the location of the girl and the Agents, but it looks like they're going to attempt a rescue."
Gannon frowned. " Any idea of who they are?"
Hermes nodded vigorously. " I have a pretty damn good idea, Captain. It's Morpheus and Niobe."
The crew was in shock.
" I thought he was leading the envoys to the machine city?" Dial pointed out. " He should be in Zero-One right now. That's one dedicated guy."
" He knows the Oracle better than any of us." Gannon declared. " And if he is helping her...then I will too." The crew looked up at him respectfully. " The Oracle is asking for volunteers to help her, and now so am I. But...I won't force any of you into this."
" I'll gladly go." Nighten said.
" And I go where you go, Captain." Dial stated.
Pandora sighed. " If we're careful, and heavily armed...I'll be there. But I suggest we ask Morpheus what his plan is before we go attacking Agents."
" Agreed." Gannon said with a smile. " Hermes, load us up as close as you can to Morpheus' location."
" You got it, Captain." Hermes replied.
" And Hermes," Pandora said, " Crusher is taking a nap, let's try and keep it that way."
The short man nodded, as the four crew members were strapped down to their chairs and had the needles inserted into the back of their skulls.
A payphone started to ring on a nearly deserted street in a downtown area. Congregated around the phone were three leather-clad rebels, all with guns in their hands.
Gannon, in his signature gray trench coat, had his hair slicked back and possessed an Uzi in his left hand. Pandora had her long blonde hair back in a perfect ponytail, and was wearing the same outfit she had worn in the jump program with her little brother, the black leather jacket over a red tank-top. The woman carried a silver pistol in each hand, and also had hidden a spare pistol in her jacket.
Dial, wearing a styled black suit jacket over an open red shirt that complimented his dark complexion and strong build, wielded a heavy, modern shotgun.
Gannon looked around with concern, before picking up the ringing payphone.
" Where's Nighten?" The Captain asked clearly.
" I don't get it." Hermes replied. " He should be right with you. He's jacked in, Gannon...but I don't read him anywhere. The hack was perfect, Captain, there's no reason he shouldn't be there."
" Nighten's missing." Gannon reported to his crew, exchanging doubtful looks with Pandora. " When you find him," Gannon commanded over the phone, " contact me and give me his location."
" Of course, Captain." Was all Hermes had time to say before Gannon slammed the phone down.
" Alright," Gannon said, " Let's meet up with Morpheus. Nighten is on his own."
Morpheus looked very commanding, as usual, with his long leather trench coat covering a sophisticated shirt, tie and vest. And of course there was his sunglasses: strategically positioned on his bald head, resting on the top of his nose securely without touching his ears. But now Morpheus had another trademark, and that was having Niobe at his side.
Looking tough in her crocodile skin jacket and oversized sunglasses, with her hair tied up in radical knots, Niobe's presence demanded no less attention.
" What are you thinking?" Niobe asked her partner.
Morpheus sighed. " It's times like these...I remember how talented Neo was. Undoubtedly, he could have taken care of this situation."
Niobe chuckled. " Yeah, but now we're stuck with it. So what the hell are we gonna do?"
" These agents..." Morpheus was slow to reply, " are obviously looking for a fight. The question is...who is the person they are looking for?"
" You don't think it's us?" Niobe asked. " You found The One, Morpheus, the man who caused them to face deletion, and killed their idol. Maybe they're trying to draw you out."
" I don't see why I would still be a target. Agent Smith was always persistent in finding me, but..."
" And the two Agents that are now in charge were his partners." Niobe contended. " You said they were there when you were captured."
Morpheus smiled. " For the last month I have tried to contact the Oracle every day, and thank her for her help. We won the war because of her, and I found Neo because of her. So I owe it to her to help this little girl."
" She's a program, Morpheus." Niobe pointed out. " And not a very important one. I understand why you feel you need to help...but Morpheus, the war is supposed to be over. Why are we still fighting?"
" The war is most certainly over." Morpheus contended. " You and I have seen what no other living human has seen: the machine city. There are machines living peacefully in Zion. There is even a machine on our Council, negotiating for a way to co-exist."
" Exactly." Niobe said. " So this isn't our fight. This should be between the machines and the programs. The Agent's are not kidnapping humans, Morpheus. It's programs fighting programs, and it's the responsibility of the machines to take care of."
Morpheus grinned at her. " But you know as well as I do, that they have made it our fight. The machines are either unwilling or incapable of disposing the Agents, and as long as they exist in this false world...humans will continue to live in it. The Agents have taken control, and are trying to keep our race enslaved. That is something I will not tolerate."
" Okay, Morpheus." Niobe said with a smile. " You know I believe in you. If you say we're going to go in the middle of this park, and rescue this little girl from a group of Agents, then I'm with you."
" And I'd like to help, too." A voice from behind them said.
Morpheus and Niobe simultaneously turned around with their guns pointed to see a man with short white hair, dressed in red leather, with a grenade launcher slung over his shoulder.
" What do you want?" Niobe hissed.
" I hear you plan to fight some Agents." The white haired man replied. " If that's the case, I think you'll find my assistance useful."
" And whose assistance is being offered?" Morpheus asked.
" The Agents call me Mr. Maniac." The man replied with a shrug. " I guess they don't really understand my techniques."
" Have you ever fought an Agent, crazy-boy?" Niobe asked, still pointing her gun at him.
The Maniac gave a smug grin.
" I've killed an Agent."
Niobe and Morpheus looked to each other with stone faces.
" What did he just say?" Niobe asked.
Morpheus gave a large smile as he looked back at the Maniac.
" He said he killed an Agent."
" Actually, I've killed a few." The Maniac admitted. " And if you'll let me, I'll take out the Agents hosting this party, so the Oracle can get back to babysitting the little girl."
" I know of only man who could make such a claim." Morpheus said, obviously intrigued by the character. " And that man is dead, and does not resemble you in the least."
" Agents don't die, crazy-boy." Niobe told him. " They're cowards. They escape from the body they've stolen before they get hurt."
The Maniac shook his head, maintaining his smug grin. " If I can get my hands on one, that all changes."
" What you're saying isn't possible." Niobe declared. " Morpheus, we don't have time to waste on this guy."
Morpheus shook his head. " I do not believe we are wasting our time." He looked at the rocket launcher the white haired man carried. " Where did you get your weapon? I've never seen anyone pull a grenade launcher out of the construct."
" Well, there's only one like this. And a friend of yours gave it to me." The Maniac replied.
Morpheus paused as he wondered who that "friend" could be. He then smiled even wider, and stuck out his hand.
" In that case...I'd be honored if you would fight with us." Morpheus said.
The Maniac grabbed his hand firmly and put on his smug grin.
" Glad to hear it." The white-haired man said. " If you can get the girl out, I can cover your escape."
Niobe seemed skeptical. " So you're saying you're not going to do any fighting until we leave."
" I don't want to endanger the girl." The Maniac defended himself. " I deal with explosives, and plan to use them on Agents. If the girl is near these Agents, she could definitely get hurt."
Niobe shook her head. " Fine." She turned to Morpheus. " Let's rescue this girl and get the hell out of here."
Morpheus nodded. " They're in the middle of the park." And with that, he started to run with his gun drawn, as Niobe and the Maniac followed suit.
The park was in proportion to the scale of the mega-city, and there were patches of dense forestry between the paved paths. The three rebels made their way through the trees, trying to avoid being seen by any civilian leisure walking in the park. Niobe looked back to see that their new white-haired friend was still wearing that ridiculously smug smile as he ran, and seemed to have no problem supporting the weight of his over-sized weapon.
" We're closing in on them." Morpheus said as he slowed to a calm walk, and stopped at the edge of the forest. He turned around to face the grenade-launching maniac. " If this indeed is a trap," Morpheus cautioned, " I want you to fire that weapon until an Agent cuts you down, or it runs out of shells."
The Maniac took his grenade launcher off his shoulder and grasped it with both hands.
" That could take a while." The man in red leather warned. " I don't plan on being cut down by any Agent... and this baby doesn't run out of shells." Morpheus paused at his comment, and then nodded.
" Here we go."
Morpheus pushed aside the wall of greenery around him, and emerged in the center of a sunny park, in front of a fountain. Sitting on a bench in front of the fountain was Sati...and the Merovingian.
" Ah, and so he arrives." The Merovingian said in his classic French accent. Sati tried to scream, but the Frenchman put his hand over her mouth. " The poor Morpheus, so dreadfully predictable. You do not need to be here, and yet I knew you would come."
Morpheus' eyes went wide when he saw the Frenchman, but he hid his expression well behind his sunglasses.
" And I see you have brought a woman!" He continued. " What different company you keep since the last time we met. But, where are your old accomplices, poor Morpheus?"
The former captain of the Nebuchadnezzar cringed at the Frenchman's reference to Trinity and Neo, but he remained calm.
" That last time we met," Morpheus said, " we were able to free another person you kidnapped: The Keymaker. Why are you so confident that we will be unable to do it again?"
The Merovingian smiled. " I think you know why, Morpheus. You are lacking a crucial member of your force."
Morpheus ignored the comment, and remained silent.
" Are you at a loss for words, Morpheus?" The Merovingian said, half-amused.
" I am trying to figure out the reason behind your allegiance to the Agents."
" Is it really such a difficult thing to understand? My creators have abandoned this world, a world in which I enjoyed power. The system, Morpheus, the source...has no use for programs anymore. But it is irrelevant, now. The Agents have overruled the system, and made their own. They are the new power, and so I offer my talents in service to them."
" And you consider kidnapping little girls a talent?" Niobe challenged.
The Merovingian frowned, looking at Sati. " This? This is nothing, woman, this is not what you should be concerned about! Poor Morpheus, have you learned nothing from our last meeting?"
" Cause and effect." Morpheus stated. " You stole something that didn't belong to you, and now it will be taken back."
The Merovingian gave an inward laugh. " Causality extends beyond the immediate circumstances, Morpheus. This is not about you, or the girl. It is about...him." The Frenchmen pointed to the white-haired man behind Niobe.
Suddenly two old ladies walking near the fountain started convulsing, and blue electricity came over them.
" Agents!" Niobe yelled, keeping one of her guns on the Merovingian, and aiming the other at the convulsing women.
Within seconds the transformation was complete, and two suit-clad programs walked towards the group. Morpheus had to look twice, as one of the agents had blonde hair, that was not slicked back. And the other agent had a silver tie, instead of a black one.
" Morpheus." The agent with blonde hair said in a monotone. " We have heard much about you."
Niobe turned to her partner. " My God, it's true. Morpheus, they found a way to create more agents!"
" And we must thank you." The agent with the silver tie said. " You have brought us exactly what we wanted."
" The second anomaly. The Maniac." The blonde-haired Agent finished.
Morpheus and Niobe turned back to the Maniac with wide eyes.
" This is about you?" Niobe asked angrily.
" What do they mean, the second anomaly?" Morpheus questioned.
The white-haired man removed his smug grin, and lowered his sunglasses.
" If I had time to explain I would." The Maniac said in a whisper. " When I put my sunglasses back on, I want you to duck, grab the girl, and sprint directly away. If you don't, you will lose your escape window, and we'll have a lot more Agents to deal with. You won't be followed, this isn't about you."
Morpheus frowned, and then nodded grimly.
And as ordered, when the white-haired man slid his sunglasses back up, Morpheus fell to the ground and pulled Niobe down with him, as the Maniac fired a volley of grenades over them in the direction of the two agents, creating a large explosion and an even larger smokescreen.
Morpheus immediately got up and ran towards the girl, as Niobe leaped in the air, performing a flying kick to the Merovingian's face, which effectively knocked him off the bench.
The former captain of the Nebuchadnezzar swept the alarmed Sati off the bench, and started running, giving one last look to what the agents had called: the second anomaly. As they made their escape, Morpheus couldn't stop wondering what exactly he had witnessed, and just how significant the man really was.
One thing was certain: when Morpheus returned Sati to the Oracle, he would have a hell of a lot of questions for her.
(End of Chapter 5)
In response to reviews:
Punk up the Volume- glad you're enjoying it. I'm making an effort to update every day, usually posting at night. So keep checking back!
Basia Adami- thanks for providing criticism as well as compliments. But please let me explain myself. With the name Ganymede, I really wasn't trying to use mythology. I actually just remembered it being a name of a moon of Jupiter (I believe) and really liked the nickname "Gannon", as it sounds like a strong captain name. The unfortunate character with the same name in Greek mythology...I wasn't aware of...but ultimately I'll disregard it, though thank you for pointing it out. I'll just try to keep calling him Gannon more often. I realized the name of the ship Mnemosyne, which I pronounce Meh-nem-oh-sin, is a little hard on the eyes (and tricky to type) but on that one I actually did want the Greek reference. And hey, it can't be too much worse than Nebuchadnezzar, right?
As for Pandora, I'm sorry I come off as sexist. But I imagine her as a beautiful woman, and that's a trait I want to emphasize and want my readers to associate her with. I don't believe I've written, " And the large breasted Pandora", or " Pandora with the really great looking posterior", but I'll take your comment into consideration. However, I think it's more interesting to read, instead of saying Pandora this, Pandora that, Pandora whatever. I do the same thing with male characters, describing traits instead of using the same name over and over. Sorry to offend you. And Pandora's long hair is a symbol of her time in the matrix, and commands respect. I don't believe I ever said Pandora was fighting since she was five. If you do find that remark in my story, please tell me where so I can correct it. Pandora has not seen Crusher since HE was five, which was six years go. That's why Crusher is now eleven, and why Pandora has had time to grow out her hair. As for the whole washing her hair thing, we'll just say that showers have just been installed on the Mnemosyne, and they store lots of shampoo in the cargo bay. Honestly, I can't afford to be that anal about it, that's not why I'm writing the story. This also applies to the Dial's leg issue. An honest slip up. Maybe I'll try and explain that one later on. And yes, Dial refers to a phone (rotary dial phones most certainly exist in the matrix world) , not the soap that's stockpiled in the cargo area of the Mnemosyne, lol.
And I'm afraid you'll definitely be seeing more of 'The Maniac', as he is the HE referred to in the title of this story. The agents seem too much like individuals? Well...yeah, that is kind of the idea I'm trying to get across. It seems to make sense to me, as they have now broken away from the system. They are no longer attached to the machine world, and are living out their own lives, having their own experiences, and thus become their own individuals. That idea is exemplified in the agents at the end of this chapter, they are starting to look different, and have different personalities. Anyway, thanks for the great review and I hope you continue to read the story and continue reviewing.