Protector of Men Ch 92

[Sent7.3-2264 "Johnson" broadcast]: Exile 6.0N is back.

[Sent7.3-1980 "Jackson" broadcast]: Dispatch?

[Direct connection: Mainf.exe to Sent7.3.exe]: Dispatch all available forces.

[Direct connection aborted]

[Sent7.3-3066 "Thompson" broadcast]: Find hosts now.

[Sent7.3-1981 "Jackson" broadcast]: Exile 6.00S will come.

[Sent7.3-2270 "Johnson" broadcast]: Delete on encounter.

[Sent7.3-3123 "Thompson" broadcast]: Forego formalities.

[Sent7.3-2271 "Johnson" broadcast]: It ends now.

It was unnaturally quiet as they made their way to the hardline. Trim was in the process of calling Kesia to make sure he would have access to the internet so that he could make the final hack. Shade had decided to walk next to Trim instead of Zandra, since seemed to be occupied by Neo. Though he tried to forget it, he couldn't help feeling a bit threatened by this new man's presence.

Neo was still getting accustomed to the harsh light of the outside Matrix world. He had hidden so long in the dark that it was even harder to determine what was real for him. Her world – Zandra's world – wasn't real because he couldn't live there; at least, not anymore. That was a dream; a place he knew he could never hope to attain. The Oracle's hideaway wasn't real; it was a shoddy attempt at eliminating the very feelings that were keeping him human. It had almost done the trick, but not completely. He was a soul without a body, and fought for those he longed to be a part of. As they walked down the cobbled street he stared about in wonder, soaking in the light that played across the debilitated buildings, the clouds that rushed through the sky…

"She says we're ready," Trim suddenly said, knocking the rest of them out of their solitude. Zandra approved, and Trim went off at a faster pace towards their line. Shade looked back at her.

"Go," she told him. Obediently, he followed Trim at a canter. Zandra continued pace with Neo, who had suddenly stopped walking.

"What?" she asked, looking up at him. She wanted to call out to Shade, but held back. Neo pulled out a pair of sunglasses and put them on.

"They're coming."

Back in her apartment, the Oracle and Seraph sat uncomfortably. It was hard to sit while they knew what was going to happen outside.

"Will they all…?"

"I don't know, I just don't know." She paused, and lit a cigarette with shaking hands. "After all these years, we're finally sending him off."

"He will go knowing his task is complete," Seraph answered. "That is the most any of us can ask for."

The Oracle nodded jerkily, clearly still irritated. "He'll do anything… I just hope that he does it for them, and not for himself."

"Hope is often enough."

The Oracle nodded once and inhaled deeply.

Kesia was calling Trim; Cover was at her back already beginning to sweat.

"Trim, get out. Now."

He gripped the phone tightly in his hand and looked to Shade. "We're coming."

"What is it?" Shade asked, fearing the look in Trim's face. They were standing in the foyer of their building, halfway up the stairs to their hack. "What is it?" he repeated.

"We have to go," Trim whispered, shoving the phone back into his pocket and pulling out his gun, "They're coming."

"We have to get Zandra," Shade answered instantly, moving towards the door.

"Go!" Trim shouted in reaction to pounding on the roof. He pushed Shade back down the stairs but instead of leading him out the door, he led him to their hardline. Shade was taken aback by Trim's sudden strength; he would have never guessed that Trim would be able to successfully detain him from getting away… especially getting to her…

"No," Shade resisted, "we have to get her!"

But before he could wrestle himself out of Trim's grip, Trim had locked the door and shot off the bolt. He dropped the gun almost in horror and kicked it to the side of the room in a frenzy.

"It's too late," he whispered in fright, trembling. They could hear agents walking upstairs. The phone rang, and Trim picked it up immediately, his face white with fear.

Shade stood astonished in front of the empty table. He shakily put the phone back on its resting plate and waited for it to ring again. He would have gone out to find Zandra but at that moment, something more pressing caught his attention.

A fist came through the wall to his right, leaving a hole almost a foot in diameter. In an instant the hand had grabbed for a gun and was blindly emptying its cartridge into the room. Shade covered his arms over his face, having no time to react. The phone began to ring.

He screamed out in pain as the bullet hit his wrist, but was only momentarily fazed. The phone was still ringing, and as the agent broke down the door, he answered it. In retribution, the agent destroyed the hardline. There was still time for the Exiles… and the anomaly.

Zandra had two guns on her and had already given up one of them for Neo. He stood in the street much like a cowboy: unmoving, no display of emotion, and a micro-Uzi at his side. There he stood waiting for the agents to approach, with Zandra nervous at his side.

They had not long to wait. Gunshots were soon fired, Neo's arm instantly sweeping backward and shoving Zandra to the side, away from the danger. The look he then received was enough to back off momentarily, though the urge to assist was almost overwhelming. They turned to the source of the noise, but more shots were heard from another direction. Neo spun to look while Zandra remained standing how she was, her gun aimed at the air in front of her.

Neo was confused at the agents' actions. Never in his experience (though he reminded himself haughtily that his experience was more than somewhat outdated,) had he known the agents to hesitate before attacking, and certainly they would abandon their weapons with an opponent such as himself? Of course, there was Zandra – but hadn't she shown her potential when she rescued him? Neo attempted to wipe his mind clear in preparation for the seemingly inevitable battle.

Kesia bit her nails in fear as she watched Zandra and Neo. Trim stood behind her, still shaking, with Shade. Shade was furious, but was more worried for Zandra's wellbeing to pummel Trim at the moment. He too shook – but out of fear for her.

"How many are there?" he asked quietly, his voice breaking at the end of his question. Kesia began to rock slowly in her seat.

"Too many," she whispered, "Too many…". Her voice became unnaturally loud, and she answered quickly. "Twenty-fi-… twenty-six. Damn it."

Cover appeared behind them, his face blank.

"Trim," he said commandingly, "Go watch the cockpit."

They came in groups of two and three; on top of buildings, out of doors, and off from the horizon down the street. Zandra had her gun trained on the closest, but was soon becoming aware that there was no way that she could win this fight.

Four was a crowd; fifty was a problem.

"Neo," she whispered urgently, "What can we do?"

He took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly, but at that moment, the agents began to fire again. Bullets rushed in the hundreds towards the two; a tidal wave of deadly metal heading for the small island of pacifism they occupied. It took only a moment, but Zandra watched it like a movie: slowly, but unable to do anything to stop it. This time, she couldn't defeat it.

She squeezed her eyes shut in anticipation, and everything became a whirlwind of black.

A/N – next chap is Jaw-some. Hah. But splitting up writing time between this and my original story is hard… but this is first priority! Heh…

Steelsings – Don't worry, I knew it was you… I noticed all your old reviews changed to that name, so no prob. Oh, and my way of dealing with a boy-dearth is writing them into stories.. haha! No… its just all the guys at my school are eunuchs. Again, haha. Aw! It's really *touching* that you like this so much, :)

Alocin – okay, the NEXT chap you will love. That's all I'll say.