Chapter 7: Jacked in
As they got ready, Captain Jackson looked at Mia and said, "I hope this is not some suicide mission we're on and to be honest, I hope he doesn't show up." Mia grinned to hide her nervousness and nodded her head in reply as the rest of the crew agreed. As she lay in her chair waiting to be jacked in, she had the feeling he was going to show up no matter what.
They came to in an old TV repair shop and everyone looked around. Again, everyone was dressed in black and had extra weapons, it seemed no one was chancing anything. Captain Jackson looked at Mia and said, "There's a club right down the street, we can all go there as it has plenty of exits and we can try and blend in with the crowd. They all left the shop just as dusk was settling and headed for the club. The club was already full and there was blaring gothic music playing as they made their way to a table. They chose one that gave them a full view of all the exits and waited. Mia looked over at everyone and they all tried to appear calm but she could tell that they were nervous.
Agent Smith stood in the office of their head-quarters. He had had just finished uploading his latest report when Agents Brown and Jones came into the office. He twitched his mouth in annoyance, it had been weeks since his encounter with the human and she had not been back. He had tried not to frighten her and open a dialogue between them, he had felt it essential to making his plan work. There had been other rebels but she was never amoung them and he was regretting letting her leave. He needed her to help him end this war once and for all. She would be his key to finding out how these humans thought. If he would figure that out, he could use it against them. Agent Smith came back to the present and looked at his two partners and only growled, "What?"
Agent Brown inclined his head and said, "We have located a small group of rebels, shall we proceed?" Agent Smith tried to keep the annoyance out of his voice when he asked, "Where are they and what are they doing now?" He raised his finger to his ear piece and listened. He kept his face completely neutral and said, "Wait, my target is there. We must proceed with caution and separate her from the rest of her crew." Agent Smith explained how he wanted everything to happen and hoped that the humans would do exactly as expected – just like last time.
As they drove to the location, Agent Smith was formulating his plans and what he was going to say to this female once he had her. The Agents got out of the car and two of them waited for Smith to get into position. They knew the minute they exited the car, the rebels would be informed that Agents were in the area – exactly what they wanted.
Mia heard the phone ring and watched as Captain Jackson answered it. He leaned over and whispered, " Agents are on their way – what do you want to do?" Mia's mind froze as she saw two Agents enter the club and look directly over at them. She watched as one of them raised his gun to fire into the ceiling and someone screamed. Everyone ducked for cover as the sound of gunfire filled the room. She saw Captain Jackson motion for everyone to head towards a side exit and hurried to catch up As they made it to an exit, everyone regrouped. She looked at the Captain and said, "Screw this! I knew this was bad idea, I don't want to do this – this is crazy!" Everyone nodded and took off running as sirens filled the air. A police car came screeching to a halt a few feet away from them and everyone scattered. Mia and Captain Jackson had just turned a corner when the rest of the crew was cut off by a wave of heavily armed police officers. She heard him say, "Stay close, I know an exit at the end of this block." They raced down the alley towards an old auto repair shop and they were half way there when an Agent stepped out in front of them. They both stopped and she heard him say, "Mia, you're leaving so soon? Why, you just got here, I thought we could talk, continue our conversation from before." Captain Jackson backed up and grabbed Mia's arm and leaned over and whispered," Do you want to do this?" Mia stared wide eyed at the Agent and felt herself shudder at the way he spoke her name. She only nodded as they both turned and fled. She heard the Agent say, "I really didn't want to have to do it this way!"
A single shot filled the alleyway and as she screamed, Captain Jackson hit the ground. She stopped and ran to his side, he had been hit and she could see where the bullet had grazed his leg. She looked over at the Agent who was calmly walking up the alley towards them. She grabbed Captain Jackson's arm and tried to help him up. He stood and then stumbled, as she looked to where the Agent was, she heard Captain Jackson scream the order, "Leave me, go – GO!" Mia stumbled as he shoved her away and drew his gun. Mia ran only a short distance away, she couldn't just leave her Captain there. She watched as he emptied his gun at Agent Smith who easily dodged every bullet. Mia took aim and did the same, knowing it was useless. Jackson looked over at Mia and yelled – "Get out of here!" She started to run but found she couldn't just leave him. She watched as Agent Smith walked up to Captain Jackson and aimed his gun point blank at his head and said in a deadly calm voice, "Mia, the way I see it, you have 2 choices. I can either kill him or you can agree to come with me and "Talk". Either way, the choice is yours." Mia looked from Agent Smith to her Captain and said, "If I agree to come with you, what stops you from killing both of us?" She heard him sigh and say, " I will not harm you as I've said countless times, I only want to talk. As for him, I give you my word that I will let him go, this time. Agent Smith stepped forward and looked at Jackson's wounded leg and said, "It's only a flesh wound, I have never given anyone just a flesh wound before. I could have killed him but I chose not to, as a demonstration of my good will."
She heard Jackson snarl, "Mia, don't trust him – never trust an Agent!"
She shook her head, she knew if she didn't go along, the Agent would probably kill her captain and catch her anyway. She squared her shoulders and said, "Okay, I'll go with you but you have to promise me that you or those other agents will let him get away – not that you let him live and then they come and finish him off." Agent Smith tilted his head back and looked at her through the dark tint of his sunglasses. Yes. He had chosen well he thought. He narrowed his eyes and said, "Alright but then you have to agree to not to try to get away."
Mia looked at him and answered – "Deal." Agent Smith holstered his Desert Eagle and said, "Follow me." Mia didn't look back at her captain as he screamed at her that she was going to her death.
When they rounded a corner, he stopped, looked at her and said, "I did not want to do that to get you to come with me but you left me very little choice. I only wounded your Captain, had I wanted to kill him, he would have already been dead." He then turned without another word and started walking again, Mia had to run to catch up with him.
Jackson watched her leave with the Agent and fumbled for his phone. He flipped open the phone and heard, "Operator" Jackson had managed to drag himself to the exit that he and Mia were heading to when they ran into the Agent. As he felt himself disconnect from the Matrix, he was aware of someone checking his leg and he immediately sat up and said, "Where are they now?" Lewis already had the screen up and said, "They're just walking, I can't tell where they're headed."
Mia walked along with Agent Smith and tried to keep up with his long strides. He had not spoken since they left had the alley and she tried to calm her fears – he said he just wanted to talk so maybe that was all it was? As they turned another corner, she noticed the street had a familiar look to it. She finally asked him, "Where are we going? I thought you said you wanted to talk?" The tall Agent stopped in front of an apartment building and opened the front door. He motioned for Mia to go in first and he followed behind her. He walked to the elevator and pushed the up button without saying a word. The doors opened and once again, he motioned for Mia to get in. She watched as he hit the button for the 3rd floor and looked over at her and gave a slight smile. The doors opened and he walked out first and looked behind him to make sure she was following him. He walked to an apartment door and turned the handle opening the door. He then stood back and said, "After you."
As they got ready, Captain Jackson looked at Mia and said, "I hope this is not some suicide mission we're on and to be honest, I hope he doesn't show up." Mia grinned to hide her nervousness and nodded her head in reply as the rest of the crew agreed. As she lay in her chair waiting to be jacked in, she had the feeling he was going to show up no matter what.
They came to in an old TV repair shop and everyone looked around. Again, everyone was dressed in black and had extra weapons, it seemed no one was chancing anything. Captain Jackson looked at Mia and said, "There's a club right down the street, we can all go there as it has plenty of exits and we can try and blend in with the crowd. They all left the shop just as dusk was settling and headed for the club. The club was already full and there was blaring gothic music playing as they made their way to a table. They chose one that gave them a full view of all the exits and waited. Mia looked over at everyone and they all tried to appear calm but she could tell that they were nervous.
Agent Smith stood in the office of their head-quarters. He had had just finished uploading his latest report when Agents Brown and Jones came into the office. He twitched his mouth in annoyance, it had been weeks since his encounter with the human and she had not been back. He had tried not to frighten her and open a dialogue between them, he had felt it essential to making his plan work. There had been other rebels but she was never amoung them and he was regretting letting her leave. He needed her to help him end this war once and for all. She would be his key to finding out how these humans thought. If he would figure that out, he could use it against them. Agent Smith came back to the present and looked at his two partners and only growled, "What?"
Agent Brown inclined his head and said, "We have located a small group of rebels, shall we proceed?" Agent Smith tried to keep the annoyance out of his voice when he asked, "Where are they and what are they doing now?" He raised his finger to his ear piece and listened. He kept his face completely neutral and said, "Wait, my target is there. We must proceed with caution and separate her from the rest of her crew." Agent Smith explained how he wanted everything to happen and hoped that the humans would do exactly as expected – just like last time.
As they drove to the location, Agent Smith was formulating his plans and what he was going to say to this female once he had her. The Agents got out of the car and two of them waited for Smith to get into position. They knew the minute they exited the car, the rebels would be informed that Agents were in the area – exactly what they wanted.
Mia heard the phone ring and watched as Captain Jackson answered it. He leaned over and whispered, " Agents are on their way – what do you want to do?" Mia's mind froze as she saw two Agents enter the club and look directly over at them. She watched as one of them raised his gun to fire into the ceiling and someone screamed. Everyone ducked for cover as the sound of gunfire filled the room. She saw Captain Jackson motion for everyone to head towards a side exit and hurried to catch up As they made it to an exit, everyone regrouped. She looked at the Captain and said, "Screw this! I knew this was bad idea, I don't want to do this – this is crazy!" Everyone nodded and took off running as sirens filled the air. A police car came screeching to a halt a few feet away from them and everyone scattered. Mia and Captain Jackson had just turned a corner when the rest of the crew was cut off by a wave of heavily armed police officers. She heard him say, "Stay close, I know an exit at the end of this block." They raced down the alley towards an old auto repair shop and they were half way there when an Agent stepped out in front of them. They both stopped and she heard him say, "Mia, you're leaving so soon? Why, you just got here, I thought we could talk, continue our conversation from before." Captain Jackson backed up and grabbed Mia's arm and leaned over and whispered," Do you want to do this?" Mia stared wide eyed at the Agent and felt herself shudder at the way he spoke her name. She only nodded as they both turned and fled. She heard the Agent say, "I really didn't want to have to do it this way!"
A single shot filled the alleyway and as she screamed, Captain Jackson hit the ground. She stopped and ran to his side, he had been hit and she could see where the bullet had grazed his leg. She looked over at the Agent who was calmly walking up the alley towards them. She grabbed Captain Jackson's arm and tried to help him up. He stood and then stumbled, as she looked to where the Agent was, she heard Captain Jackson scream the order, "Leave me, go – GO!" Mia stumbled as he shoved her away and drew his gun. Mia ran only a short distance away, she couldn't just leave her Captain there. She watched as he emptied his gun at Agent Smith who easily dodged every bullet. Mia took aim and did the same, knowing it was useless. Jackson looked over at Mia and yelled – "Get out of here!" She started to run but found she couldn't just leave him. She watched as Agent Smith walked up to Captain Jackson and aimed his gun point blank at his head and said in a deadly calm voice, "Mia, the way I see it, you have 2 choices. I can either kill him or you can agree to come with me and "Talk". Either way, the choice is yours." Mia looked from Agent Smith to her Captain and said, "If I agree to come with you, what stops you from killing both of us?" She heard him sigh and say, " I will not harm you as I've said countless times, I only want to talk. As for him, I give you my word that I will let him go, this time. Agent Smith stepped forward and looked at Jackson's wounded leg and said, "It's only a flesh wound, I have never given anyone just a flesh wound before. I could have killed him but I chose not to, as a demonstration of my good will."
She heard Jackson snarl, "Mia, don't trust him – never trust an Agent!"
She shook her head, she knew if she didn't go along, the Agent would probably kill her captain and catch her anyway. She squared her shoulders and said, "Okay, I'll go with you but you have to promise me that you or those other agents will let him get away – not that you let him live and then they come and finish him off." Agent Smith tilted his head back and looked at her through the dark tint of his sunglasses. Yes. He had chosen well he thought. He narrowed his eyes and said, "Alright but then you have to agree to not to try to get away."
Mia looked at him and answered – "Deal." Agent Smith holstered his Desert Eagle and said, "Follow me." Mia didn't look back at her captain as he screamed at her that she was going to her death.
When they rounded a corner, he stopped, looked at her and said, "I did not want to do that to get you to come with me but you left me very little choice. I only wounded your Captain, had I wanted to kill him, he would have already been dead." He then turned without another word and started walking again, Mia had to run to catch up with him.
Jackson watched her leave with the Agent and fumbled for his phone. He flipped open the phone and heard, "Operator" Jackson had managed to drag himself to the exit that he and Mia were heading to when they ran into the Agent. As he felt himself disconnect from the Matrix, he was aware of someone checking his leg and he immediately sat up and said, "Where are they now?" Lewis already had the screen up and said, "They're just walking, I can't tell where they're headed."
Mia walked along with Agent Smith and tried to keep up with his long strides. He had not spoken since they left had the alley and she tried to calm her fears – he said he just wanted to talk so maybe that was all it was? As they turned another corner, she noticed the street had a familiar look to it. She finally asked him, "Where are we going? I thought you said you wanted to talk?" The tall Agent stopped in front of an apartment building and opened the front door. He motioned for Mia to go in first and he followed behind her. He walked to the elevator and pushed the up button without saying a word. The doors opened and once again, he motioned for Mia to get in. She watched as he hit the button for the 3rd floor and looked over at her and gave a slight smile. The doors opened and he walked out first and looked behind him to make sure she was following him. He walked to an apartment door and turned the handle opening the door. He then stood back and said, "After you."