Ch. 4 The Escape
I was, at this point, furious. Not just with Morpheus, but also with myself. I had given away yet another piece of my dwindling dignity for nothing. I had been hoping for some return, not more confusion. It was then that I decided that I did not mind being caught by the Mainframe because I'd already been captured by the rebels. At least I knew what the Mainframe was going to do to me. Maybe deletion wasn't so bad. No one could humiliate me any further if I did not exist. And so after laying there for another three hours with the rebels behind me whispering to one another (boring stuff, really), I set out to free myself. I pulled my arms away from my body as hard as I could and willed the tape and chains to stretch. It was difficult, but finally my bonds were significantly slackened. The guards behind me were not oblivious to my efforts and began shouting at me to stop it or else. But they could give me nothing worse than what I wanted for myself, so I continued my struggle. I felt the barrel of a gun pressed against the back of my head and paused.
"You! Go get one of the captains! You bastard, hold still! I would love nothing more than to kill a program, even if it is a worthless has been."
Again I was amazed at my refusal to die by their hands. Not by the likes of you! Not by some filthy rebel!
In a second, with much less effort than before, the trigger of the gun disappeared and I simultaneously rolled away so that I was facing my adversaries. To say the rebel was shocked would be an understatement as his index finger contracted onto air. His companion wasted no time, aimed, and fired. The bullet hit me in the shoulder, just south of where a collarbone would have been. It stung the way bullets always did when they made their mark and I winced slightly. Before I could decide what to do next, the second rebel had fired again. I saw it coming, but could do nothing to prevent it too from connecting. I decided to let it make its course and prepare for evasion of the third. I stretched my bonds and they gave way like taffy. At that point the second bullet hit me, about eight centimeters lower than the first. I pulled my handcuffed arms over my head as the third bullet was fired and with my greatly increased mobility was able to squirm out of the way to avoid it. Although my bindings were loose enough so I could move, they were still stuck to me and I worried that if I did get to my feet I would trip. I ripped the handcuffs apart and a fourth bullet was fired. I tried to pull off the tape, but my hands were not properly responsive from the cuffs. I managed to avoid the fourth bullet, but the first rebel had given up on his triggerless gun and threw it at my face. It struck my nose and I felt blood begin to flow down my face.
The rebels were now shouting for help to anyone who would listen. The first had backed away. I was impressed by the fear I could instill after all this time even in such a dilemma.
Apparently the second rebel had been one of the people on the ground shooting at me that morning because no more bullets protruded through his gun, only a faint clicking noise. A wave of relief washed over me. He was also too fearful of me to physically attack, only he did not even bother to throw his gun at me. They both gaped at me momentarily and then fled the room. I'm not sure what they expected of me covered in duct tape and bleeding from three places.
I felt tired, not just from my manipulations, but also from the blood my host was losing. I panicked slightly. Every time this happened, it was possible that this shell would become permanently damaged. Programs need a shell to exist in the Matrix, so without it I would die.
First things first, I had to get loose. I awkwardly attempted to push the tape off with the limited use of my hands and was partially successful with all from my arms and torso removed when someone entered the room.
I had expected more of the rebels to start a fresh attempt to subdue me. The person who entered was a young woman of average stature and long, dark hair pulled back in a bun and wearing a blue suit and three-inch white heels. I recognized her immediately and cowered just enough for her to notice and laugh.
"I had hoped it would be you," she said smiling. She closed the door behind herself.
I said nothing. I did not know what to say. I was convinced that she would soon be accompanied by the upgraded agents since she had discovered me. But there was silence and no one else came.
"I see you've gotten yourself into more trouble. But that is old shoe is it not?"
I was afraid of her. Certainly too afraid of her to correct her expression. I knew she had the power to delete me then and there without the aid of the agents. But if she had wanted to delete me, why had she not done so already? Oh, do not get me wrong, she loved to gloat, but she was also very efficient and would not have allowed her desires to deter her from her purpose. I was sitting up against the wall, bleeding quite badly and praying with her, the way I used to pray when she could actually hear me, to get it over with. But she did not delete me.
She approached me slowly, silently, and dropped down on her knees to look me in the face. She stayed there, motionless for nearly a minute, thinking I had no idea what. Then she leaned forward, reached behind me and pulled me toward her in an embrace. My wounds stung more as her shoulder bumped mine and then the pain faded. She rested her head on my good shoulder and I realized what she was doing, but was still struggling with her motivation.
I felt fine, I felt great.
I remembered how close she had once been to me and I wanted to cry, but settled for relaxing. She released me, stood up, and backed away a couple of paces.
"Why?" I whispered.
She giggled gently.
"That was always one of your favorite questions." She waited and then continued, "I am too old and set in my ways to be told by the Mainframe how I'm supposed to feel. I could not stop caring just because you had been dismissed. I am the Glitch Manager, there is nothing anywhere that says I cannot aid exiles if I see fit. I came to serve my purpose, to investigate the glitch. Now I know what caused it, I have a good idea why it happened, and the glitches have been repaired."
I looked at the gun on the floor next to me, the one that had hit me in the nose, and noticed that the trigger was back where it belonged. The stretched duct tape was gone completely, as were the debilitating handcuffs. I look at her mournfully. She knew she shouldn't have done what she had. She knew she could get in trouble for it. I did not want to be the cause of any trouble for her. But what she had done, while it could be undone, the action itself could not be erased. I wondered how many exiles, how many past associates she had aided. I knew I would have been angry with her had I known, but at that instant in time I was grateful.
"Thank you."
It was then that the rebels reentered the room, with Morpheus in the lead and Niobe taking up the rear.