Author's Notes: This chapter is a little shorter than the previous ones. Mostly Morpheus trying to break the ice with Alexia so he can Segway into the real reason he came to see her.

Morpheus & OC centric chapter. Trinity appears at the beginning and end only.


Chapter 3: Speculations & Introductions

With his back turned to the young woman Morpheus called Trinity's phone. He had moved a few paces away beforehand so there would be some measure of privacy. Alexia stared at his back and tried to eavesdrop but the distance was slightly out of reach of her hearing. Any attempt to get closer or try to cup her ear to pick up the sound better would be too obvious. She pouted and folded her arms over chest and waited for the man's response to her request.

'

Morpheus: "Trinity will you join me? She won't talk further until you are standing here with us."

Trinity: "Morpheus are you sure about this? If the Agents come now they would take us all at once."

Morpheus: "It will be alright. There have been no indications the Agents are aware of our presence at this location. Link would have called to warn us by now if there was. We have no evidence to support this girl could harm us. You need not worry.

Trinity: "I don't like this. It's risky."

Morpheus: "All the same we have invested a great deal of time and resources to find ones like her. Now that we have made contact with one I intend to see this through."

-Trinity can be heard sighing on the other end of the line.-

Trinity: "I'm coming over now."


Morpheus hung up the phone satisfied with Trinity's compliance. During the whole conversation he had maintained his stance with his back turned on the young woman. While he spoke she had been staring intently at the mysterious man's back and Morpheus could feel her gaze but tried not to let on. After Morpheus put the phone away back in his jacket pocket he then turned to deliver the good news.

'

Morpheus: "She agreed to join and will be here shortly."

Alexia: [spoken with sarcastic anger] "You gonna give me some BS name for her too?"

Morpheus: [in a very calm, even manner and facial expression] "No I won't and you don't need to be so hostile."

Alexia: [challenging Morpheus' calm with mock debate followed by cold anger] "But don't I though? Strangers who look like something out of a spy movie corner me in a somewhat isolated area, possibly to abduct me for some secret organization, and you expect me Not to be uneasy about this? Only an idiot would be calm at a time like this and I am Not an idiot."

Morpheus: [spoken persuasively]"If we were going to abduct you don't you think we would have rendered you unconscious by now and carried you away?"

Alexia: [still argumentative and mocking] "How would I know? In a movie that is the way it goes down but this isn't a movie. Maybe it's not really that easy."


Morpheus didn't answer her. Instead he smiled again letting her draw her own conclusion. The silence between them was making Alexia visibly nervous. She couldn't help making a fist and then opening it over and over, sometimes changing the motion to other movements with her fingers. Her eyes darted around taking in everything around her but the man's face. Direct eye contact with anyone had always made her uncomfortable. As she surveyed the park she kept finding herself continually falling back on checking the approach of the other mysterious stranger. Still unsure if it was a good or bad idea to allow herself to be outnumbered, the girl tried to work out what her options were in case of emergency.

'

Morpheus: "Formulating an exit strategy are we? I'm afraid at this point your options are limited and it would be difficult to get away."

Alexia: [responds after a short pause] "True, but you would have a hard time doing anything without being noticed as well."

-Alexia glances over toward the playground.-

'

Running over there would be her best bet if things went south. One thing she could count on would be those soccer mom, babysitter, grandparent types raising a fuss when something out of the ordinary occurs. She had already seen them calling the police when a few teenagers were causing a scene with a water gun battle and the time a drunkard almost fell in the pond. On more than one occasion the police were brought in to escort the homeless away from the playground or when they suspected someone was dealing drugs.

Although she loathed depending on their sense of prejudice, after overhearing some of their conversations while walking past the playground, Alexia was certain at least one of them would find a black man chasing a screaming young woman worth alerting the police. And if the situation came down to it, Alexia had no qualms telling this stranger she would resort to this tactic if necessary. Before that she had a desperate need to break the silence so tried speaking with the man again.


Alexia: "Do you plan on telling me your real name? I would feel less inclined to need an exit strategy if you did."

Morpheus: [responds without hesitation] "Morpheus."

Alexia: [showing her confusion at the out of place comment] "Huh?"

Morpheus: [clarifies his response while looking at Alexia] "My name, it's Morpheus."

Alexia: [reacts as if she can't believe what she heard] "Like the god of dreams from Greek Mythology? Seriously?"

Morpheus: [sounding impressed] "So you have heard of the Morpheus from the myths? Not many recognize it."

Alexia: "I used to be very into reading the myths of a few cultures for a hobby. Your last BS name was more believable by the way. The first one was a little too obviously fake but this one …. This one is just a little too out there."

Morpheus: "And yet it is the name I have chosen for myself."

Alexia: "Chosen? Like a legal name change?"

Morpheus: "Something like that."

Alexia: "Okay, that I can sort of believe, maybe. Uhm …. Interesting choice.
[gestures toward Trinity] And the woman?"

Morpheus: "I'll introduce her when she joins us."

-Trinity approaches.-

Morpheus: "And here she is. Alexia, this is Trinity."

-Trinity doesn't greet her but nods in Alexia's direction in acknowledgement.-

Trinity: [her voice reflecting impatience] "Have you asked her about Neo yet?"

Morpheus: "Not yet. As I was getting to it she refused to continue our conversation until you were present."

Alexia: "Morpheus, Trinity, Neo ….." [voices trails off as her face reveals she is having trouble processing the information]
"You people have some unique sense of naming, assuming you all chose your own names."
[then she realizes she skipped over an important fact] "Wait a minute." –pause- "Who's Neo? Is there another one of you hiding around here somewhere."

Morpheus: "No Neo is not with us, but you have already seen him. You just didn't yet know him as Neo."

Alexia: [sounding confused] "I don't follow."

Trinity: "He's the Flying Man."


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