This was meant for Christmas but I never got around to writing it in time, being sick and family coming over.
WGAnubis, a left hand of the merovingian, captain of the Devil's Advocates Terror Squad, self sustained, engineer, biologist in his spare time, murderer. He was many things, but he knew honor, he knew rights and rituals that every man must do, even if they are unspoken. He sat in the back seat of the vintage Rolls Royce, one of many of his masters treasures, though being loyal to him completely, and being mentally bound to him, he was allowed to take it out every now and then. The black car silently drove down the endless streets of the city, like a ghost flying in the snow, people saw it, but a second later it left their minds as they busied themselves with last minute Christmas shopping. Anubis didn't have any need to do such useless tasks, after all, at the heart it was just code and if he needed to, he could recreate the most priceless of diamonds, the strongest of cigars, the best of the liquors with just some code.
"Driver, head to Daley ave. and be quick about it." Anubis said. The driver only nodded and proceeded to head to the new destination. The driver, though he appeared to be an elderly old man was in fact a trusted program of the Merovingians. Skilled in transporting people and objects quickly and effectively he was the exile of choice when something needed to get from point A to point B with no questions asked.
Anubis looked out the window of the car as they continued on their way, the snow reminded him of his youth, his innocence, before he became what he was today. He sighed before closing his eyes.
Anubis awoke with a start, his instincts were to reach for his magnums or strike whoever was assaulting him, luckily, for both parties, he saw who it was. The driver had arrived at the requested location and came to awaken the passenger. "Thank you."
The Driver only nodded, Anubis couldn't remember if he actually had ever heard the exile speak, though it didn't matter now. As he stepped out of the warm interior of the car and into the cold snow he looked around, he hadn't been here for nearly five years. Walking up the hill he looked around, the place was strange at night with the snow fall, the trees were without leaves and not a sound from the city surrounding the place could be heard.
At last he found it, brushing the snow off the cold marble he looked down at the engraving and then up at the statue. An angel with open arms, legs bent slightly, wings pulled back, its face was soft even though their was no detail within the eyes as if the sculpture had forgotten that little bit of his job. The snow strangely did not collect on the statue but rather at the base of its bare feet on the pedestal it rested on. If he didn't know about the matrix he would have said that it seemed super natural that this "messenger" of God was untouched by the falling frozen water. Looking back down at the smaller monument he read the inscription to himself. "Alan Bonness, beloved husband and father. "I went to see God, I'll be back later."
Anubis chuckled, his father had been a pastor for the longest time, it seemed only fitting that such an inscription be put on his tombstone, he would have laughed if he was still alive to see it himself. Taking his black suit hat off in respect he bent down. "Dad, if you only knew, if you knew what this world was, would you have done things differently? Would you have blamed me for the choices that I took? Would you forgive me for the blood that is on my hands?"
Anubis sighed, stood up and looked around. Everything was silent, nothing living was around him, exile or otherwise, and so, he dropped his facade. A soft glow emanated from his body as the tattoo on his face disappeared, his eyes shifted from yellow to light blue. His facial features changed, going from a hard chiseled jaw to something softer though no less handsome. His hair faded from blood red and spiky to brown and messy. Taking his glasses off, he looked down on his fathers grave for the first time as he truly appeared in the real.
Looking to his right, he read the name of the tombstone beside his fathers. "Catherine Bonness, beloved wife and mother. Born and died a fighting woman."
Anubis had a rule, the past should remain in the past. They were in his past, buried their by his own hand, but tonight was special. Tonight was the night that he came to pay his respects to the two people that put up with him and loved him all the same without question. And for that, this was the least he could do. He could come here, drop the false face that his enemies and allies knew, feared and hated and say the things he needed to say, do the things he needed to do.
After saying a few things under his breath he took a few things out of his inside coat pocket. One was a single red rose, that he laid gently on his mothers grave, the other was a cigar, one of his fathers favorite brand, that he lit, took a few puffs, and placed it carefully on his fathers tomb stone. The scent of the burning cigar began to spread threw the air surrounding the graves. Memories of finding his father in his small office in the apartment, with a cigar in his hand or mouth with him hunched over the bible reading and marking passages for the next service came back to Anubis like a tidal wave.
Whenever he smelled that scent in the air he knew his father was home and when he was but a small boy, he took comfort in that. The Rose, he remembered his mother had box gardens full of them hanging from the windows, they were her favorite flower and always seemed to bloom on command. He wondered briefly if his mother knew a bit about the matrix, maybe subconsciously, and that was the secret to her trick with the flowers.
Then that night came, both of them taken in a single night by some random person. After that, the smell in the apartment of the cigars seemed to disappear, the roses seemed to wilt away all to quickly and never came back. His world had changed so fast, to fast. One night his family was perfectly together, the next, it was just him and his sister. Shortly after that, he was saved by the Merovingian from the Smith army, his sister, he didn't know if she was lucky enough to hide someplace or if they had gotten to her and she simply was reset with the rest of the blue pills after the incident. But after that, his luck began to change, for the better or worse, it was a step up then being pennyless, about to be kicked out by the landlord and have no family.
Getting up, Anubis put his glasses back on, once again, he Facade took over and the man that was kneeling before the graves in respect disappeared once again. Turning he walked back down the way he came, he left no tracks coming or going to the graves.
