Chapter One
The room was dim; Karen Bastian's laptop provided the only light. She lived alone in her small apartment, and had ever since graduating from high school a few months before.
Searching... the computer screen's green text assured her. Newspaper articles scrolled across the screen; headlines in several languages.
Her eyes were bleary from searching; she'd done this for hours every night, looking for something. There had to be a clue.
Morpheus Kills Police Squad Single handedly, one read. They all went past, and she sighed. There would be nothing new tonight, as usual.
Then the screen went blank. Karen had fallen half asleep by then, but she sleepily dragged herself from the world of dreams. Oddly enough, she wasn't sure if she'd awoken or not...
There's no place like home...not even the Matrix. Karen stared at it in disbelief. What was going on?
When you're over the rainbow, there is only one way out. She scooted her chair back and looked around. No one was fooling her...but this couldn't be real.
Follow the yellow brick road.
And don't forget the ruby slippers, Spark.
Then the screen went black and stayed that way. Karen was shaking now; she had no idea what it could mean. Besides, how did they know her by that name? And she had a firewall thicker than the CIA's. No way could anyone have simply hacked in. It would take years to do that.
She got up from her computer and turned on a lamp, which illuminated her shabby, cluttered apartment. She never had guests, so there was no reason to clean it.
I need to go for a walk, she told herself, just to clear my head. That was so weird...
She opened her closet door and reached for...then she stopped. Her athletic shoes. They were red.
Karen shook her head to clear it. That was just a dream, she said to reassure herself. But why do I feel like I'm still dreaming?
The military building was guarded by several dozen troops, all of them well-trained and confident. Their computer systems were virtually un-crackable, and everything or everyone inside was perfectly safe.
The revolving door opened, and he stepped in. He wore a black suit, black tie, and a white shirt. His dress shoes ground the dirt into the marble floor with a faint crushing sound. His black hair was slicked into a comb over, and the sunglasses seemed to complete the picture. He stepped through the metal detector and ignored the guard who began to stand.
"Just who do you think you are, anyway?" the security guard demanded, stepping in front of him.
He grabbed the man by his shirt and lifted him off the floor.
"Cole." He tightened his grip, so that the man's face grew pasty. "Agent Cole."
He set the guard down, who dusted off his uniform and laughed a bit nervously. "Why didn't you say so, sir? There would have been no trouble at all if you'd introduced yourself."
Cole turned his penetrating gaze on the guard. "You didn't ask."
The conversation was ended as the Agent headed for the elevator and stepped inside. He pushed the 36 and waited as it carried him up. With a dull ding, the doors opened and he exited. Turning his head left, he peered down the hallway and then turned left, entering the door at the end of the hallway. The guards by the door let him in.
The three looked up as he entered, and stood to their feet.
"At last," Smith rumbled.
"You have come," Brown added.
Their faces twitched in what might have been an almost-smile.
"Agent Cole." He nodded to them.
"We have a job for you," Jones stated, handing him an earpiece, which he rigged beneath his jacket and placed in his ear.
"You can mask yourself as human,"
"Can you not?" Jones and Brown said.
"I can," Cole simply replied.
Smith glanced out the window. "Excellent." He said.
