Karen arrived two minutes after she set out, not having run into any problems. Raven literally shoved her into the chair, forced the red pill down her throat, and pushed her into the mirror just as Johnson kicked open the door of the warehouse.
"DOWN!" Ghost yelled as Johnson pulled out his .50. He fired twice at Niobe, who ran off the wall, then at Ghost, who dove behind the counter, then at Raven four times. She sank into the ground and quickly used her magic to create a bubble around the Agent's head.
"Ghh..." he gasped for air and quickly exited the host. Niobe lifted the unconscious woman out the door and dropped her onto the pavement.
"Call Sparks," Niobe ordered. Raven fumbled around her jacket for the phone. "NOW!" she screamed. Raven yelped and dialed Sparks, throwing the phone to Ghost.
"Sparks. Sparks, are you there?" Nothing. He hung up and was about to throw the phone back when the phone rang. "Sparks, where the hell where you?"
"Helping the girl we just freed. Duh," replied Sparks. "Whaddya need?"
"Get me a location on Aqualad and Speedy. Our friend here is getting worried."
"Okey-dokey," said the Operator jovially. "Garth is on his way to the docks, he'll be there in four minutes. Speedy be not on here... OH SHIT!" the Operator shouted, realizing what he had just said.
Ghost knew what that meant. It had happened twice before to him. When a person's RSI leaves the Matrix, it means that either they were freed or they had been killed.
Speedy was dead.
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Aqualad's unplugging went without a hitch, and the Logos jacked out just as the Agents stumbled into the building.
"Goddamnit," Johnson whispered. "We need to locate the Trainman," Jackson said quietly. "Simply hacking in car bombs will not suffice. We need to renew purpose."
Thompson shifted. "Sometimes needing purpose can get out of hand." His fellow Agents looked at him, bewildered. "Just... don't let it get out of hand."
Johnson slowly stepped towards Thompson. "Do NOT give me orders. I am your commander. We will go where I say, we will do what I command, and we will die when I decide it is time to die. Understand?"
Thompson nodded.
"Now then, send this letter to the Architect. We need some replacement programs." Johnson handed Jackson a small paper.
"Time to go." The Agents morphed out of their bodies, leaving behind three confused people. "Hey, I remember you!"
One host, a tall Caucasian man in a grey trenchcoat, silently exited as the two friends were pointlessly reunited. "Something happened there. It's time to find out how far down the rabbit hole goes," he muttered as he disappeared into the darkness of the city.
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Jackson slowly walked down the hallway leading to the Architect's study. As he opened the door, the Architect looked up. "Jackson. What do you need?"
Jackson gave him the paper. "Johnson wants you to have him write these."
"Very well. But don't forget, we're still on peaceable terms," the Architect reminded him, smiling. Jackson turned, realizing what the Architect had just said.
