Chapter 12 - Imbroglio
Stopping outside the door, I rested my hand on the handle and listened. I could sense Hannah just on the other side, but couldn't hear anything else. I was hesitant to go in; I was dying to see Hannah again but I didn't want to risk a fight if I could avoid it.
It's okay, Sarah, come in, I heard them leaving a minute ago, she thought to me. Come on, I need to see you! Relieved, I pushed the door open, and saw Hannah standing there next to the wooden chest in which she'd been hiding.
For a moment we stood sharing an incredulous stare, then Hannah cracked a smile that could have broken her face in half and we threw our arms round each other. I was still feeling guilty about what I'd done to get there, but it was well worth it to be able to hug my twin again, to be able to feel her presence next to me and share all our thoughts together.
I can't believe you're here! I missed you so much! We were both thinking the same thing, as usual; I'd been so scared for Hannah, and she'd been scared for herself.
I stepped back and looked her up and down, almost unwilling to believe it was really her. Suddenly we both started laughing at ourselves as we realised how ridiculous we looked dressed identically again for the first time in about 8 years.
However our laughter stopped abruptly when the door on the opposite side of the room started to open. I instinctively grabbed Hannah's arm and pulled her back so she was just behind me. To her horror, two men came in whom I didn't recognise, but she clearly did.
Oh shit…they're the guys that were after me earlier…we're so screwed…
I flexed the fingers on my left hand and they automatically snapped into a knife-hand, anticipating what was going to come next. They walked slowly towards us in perfect unison; it was like one man walking next to a mirror. They reminded us uncannily of ourselves.
They stopped about 2 metres away from us and stood still, just looking from me to Hannah and vice versa over and over again. Finally the corners of their lips curled in identical Mephistophelean grins and they disappeared. Not instantly; they became transparent green like the souls of two dead men, and sank slowly into the floorboards.
Hannah's grip on my arm tightened.
That is not natural.
We looked sidelong at each other.
They must be programmes, I thought. What else could they be?
Hannah snorted indignantly. Huh, programme? Virus, more like.
OoOoO
Morpheus crept along the corridor, staying as close to the wall as he could, his hand ready to whip a gun from inside his voluminous trench coat.
He slowed down as he recognised the sound of voices coming from a room quite nearby. He crept closer, and began to be able to make out the voice of the Merovingian and a few others whom he couldn't place. Suddenly he thought he heard his own name, and slid up to the door, pressing his ear to the wall beside it.
They were talking about the twins.
"…brought Artemis here yesterday. She woke up zis morning, I saw 'er only a few moments ago."
Morpheus smiled to himself. That was one of them accounted for. So Artemis was here, that was a good start. But what about Apollo?
"Is the other one here yet?" He heard a stranger's voice say.
He leaned in as close as he could without denting the wall.
"No, not yet. I 'aven't sent for 'er yet, but I will very soon. J'ai besoin des deux.I need them both."
Morpheus cursed silently. Harendotes was lying, then, or misinformed. That was very bad news, as they were relying on the Egyptian hackers to find Neo.
"Where's Artemis now?" Inquired a second unrecognisable voice.
"Oh, somewhere about. When I saw 'er she ran off for some reason, was scared of me per'aps?" He laughed. "Non, chepa I dunno. I wouldn't worry, the Virus Twins will find 'er and bring 'er back if she tries anything…stupid."
Morpheus could have hit the wall with frustration. He had heard enough. Silently, he glided back along the corridor 'til he reached a bend and then broke into a run. He scrambled back to the exit they had planned and put the ringing phone to his ear without hesitation.
He would return for Artemis before they continued the search for Apollo, who ought to be easier to find as she had left of her own accord. But if the Virus Twins were going to be involved, then getting Artemis back was not a job he was intending to attempt on his own.
He never found out that he had left his spy-hole outside the Merovingian's office too early.
As Morpheus reached the bend in the corridor, the Virus Twins phased through the wall and materialised in front of their master's desk. He went back the Nebuchadnezzar without hearing them explain that they had just seen both the twins together, and should they go after them or leave them be.
Neither did he hear the Merovingian's permission for the Virus Twins to bring Hannah and Sarah back to him by whatever means they found most entertaining.
