4.
Inter spem et metum
The Oracle moved around her apartment with a slowness that amazed her. The glitch melted into her visible form and for the first time in her very long life she felt old. It only mattered that there was enough time left to accomplish the things that needed accomplishing. Seraph had confirmed that Niobe and the others had been unable to locate the woman. She had to change that or the Architect would win and she wasn't about to let the bastard have the satisfaction.
"Her name is Mirielle." The Oracle reminded herself, holding onto the name as though releasing it for a moment might make her forget. "Damn them."
"Oracle?" Sati's youthful voice rang from the front door of the apartment. It meant that both she and Seraph had returned.
"In here, Sati."
The tiny Indian girl bounded into the living room and embraced the Oracle. Her thick and lustrous hair was bound into a complex French braid that wove around and around her head. "Do you like my hair, Oracle? Seraph braided it for me."
"Oh, he did, did he?" She chuckled and patted the girl on the head. "I left you some cookies in the kitchen."
"Won't I spoil dinner?"
The Oracle leaned over conspiratorially. "I won't tell Seraph if you won't."
Sati bounded away as Seraph entered the room. His face immediately fell. The signs were all too obvious now, she couldn't hide the weakness anymore, the absolute certainty that her program was no longer functioning properly. Even his care wouldn't be able to stop the inevitable decay.
"Don't give me that look." The irritation entered her voice making her sound like an invalid. "I can see what's happening as surely as you can."
"I can call the Doctor."
"I have spent my entire life trying to keep away from that man. No, Seraph, there aren't enough patches in the world to fix what's happening to me and not enough patience in me to deal with the personality changes. I can only try to hold on long enough to see the last few things done."
"Sati needs you."
"She has you."
He tucked his head in acceptance.
"The Frenchman's thugs are interfering with the girl. Can you help them?"
"I will do what I must."
"Good man," her eyes closed tiredly. "Have I ever told you that I wouldn't have made it this long without you?"
"Many times."
"And I meant every one. Will you tell Sati that I am going to take a nap for a little while?"
"Of course. Oracle?"
"Yes, Seraph." He reached out and took her hand.
Seraph's message had been cryptic, and Niobe hated cryptic messages. He hadn't bothered to tell them what they were coming in to accomplish, only that they needed to meet him on a particular rooftop at this exact time.
"Are we on time?" Roland asked as they stepped through the doorway.
"Ten seconds early." Ghost checked his watch as he followed the older man.
They'd brought an entire team loaded for bear. Niobe led the operation with Roland and Ghost as her seconds. At their flank were Karma, Delial and Barricade. The latter, who was more than double the size of both women, was built like the love child of a body builder and a concrete wall. He didn't even bother with guns, they were unnecessary on top of the mixed martial arts fighting that the man excelled at. Even Ghost couldn't best him in unarmed combat.
"Oh, shit." Niobe hissed as she looked across the rooftop and saw what Seraph had not bothered to mention. "That's her." She snapped the cell phone onto her palm and spoke rapidly into it. "Sparks, get me a suicide hotline guide."
"On it." His voice echoed back.
"Goddamnit." Roland stared at the rooftop like he didn't believe what was happening.
"What is it?" Niobe asked and then her eyes fluttered as the information download began.
"I've got this." Roland started to step away from the group but with a hesitation that showed.
"No offense, but…" Karma started. She was a pretty blond with the kind of features that wouldn't look tough no matter how many piercings or tattoos she showed inside the Matrix.
Niobe finished the thought. "You have all the subtlety of your ship. And she had no grace and a big ass."
"Maybe she wasn't pretty but she got the job done. I don't know how that woman knows things, but I know this place. And I've got to be the one who walks out there." The thought seemed to war across his face. He'd always been too practical to see the hope in prophecy, but now, faced with something he didn't entirely understand, he was forced to believe.
"Well, you're not pretty either. We need her alive and in one piece. There's no time to be a hero."
"I'm too old to be a hero."
He started across the rooftop and was halfway to the woman when the air started to get hazy around her and then another spot formed in front of him. She hadn't noticed him yet but he slammed to a halt as a Twin coalesced three feet in front of him.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. The girl is ours."
"Get out of my way."
The Twin looked amused by the statement. "How will you do that, chap?"
Roland reached for the holster inside his jacket. A razor blade snapped in tight to his neck and drew blood. It burned with a sudden pain that made him recoil. Then, Karma and Delial were at his side and the Twin was forced to fade away from the long knives they carried. His brother saw and Roland could see the apparition crossing the roof toward them.
"Hurry." Seraph said. The man appeared from nowhere to stand at their side. "I will help you hold them but you are running out of time. You must save her."
Roland ran as the battle started at his back. A fiercely quiet battle with no sounds but the hard strike of flesh on flesh and the whistle of blades through air. The four Zionites fought the Twins with Seraph at their side. It was not quite an evenly matched fight.
He slowed as he got within ten feet of her. "It's a lot less fun than it looks."
She jerked in surprise. "What?"
"Jumping." He stared at the woman, she wasn't what he'd expected to find. Most of those they freed were computer geeks or counterculture revolutionaries. He'd been a child of the 60s himself and anti-government long before age and responsibility gave him a different purpose. This woman looked normal except for the deep black circles that traced her eyes and the stress lines that pulled them even further down. Behind all that he would have said she was pretty, with long brown curls and eyes a flat mossy green. "You should only jump for the right reason."
"What's the right reason?"
"When you know you'll bounce."
His words startled a laugh out of her. "Why do you think I'm going to jump?"
He made a gesture to encompass the roof and the sky all around them. But she wasn't watching him. Her eyes flickered wide open and from the hand at her side, she lifted a gun almost straight at his head. Roland backpedaled and fell as the gun went off. The bullet wasn't intended for him. The Virii Twin had been just behind him preparing to pounce. Now a hole punched through the immaculate white suit and left a bloody stain there. Seraph grabbed the Twin from behind, keeping him from fading and repairing himself.
"Now!" Seraph yelled.
The woman stared, her gun raised as though she thought Seraph was talking to her. But before she could move, Ghost ran the Twin through with a samurai sword. Seven inches of custom forged steel sliced out the front of his body and was rammed into place there.
"You're real." The woman breathed as she stared at him. "You weren't a voice in my head. You were real."
"You should have killed yourself when you had the chance." The Twin rasped, unable to save himself, and yet still trying to pull himself away from Seraph's iron-tight grasp. "I'm not real. Just a prelude to what is coming."
The Asian man standing there looked at the woman and at Roland who was picking himself up off the ground. The sounds of battle grew louder behind them as the other Twin fought to reach his brother. "You must name him." He said.
It was a strange command but the Twin's eyes widened in abject fear. "No."
The command made her smile as she realized, that however strange, this was her vengeance for the weeks and weeks of torture and doubt that he'd forced upon her. It was payback.
"No!" The other Twin shouted. The first time anyone had ever heard them speak in a voice that wasn't bland and cultured.
Roland found that he reached for her and without knowing each other, they leaned together for comfort and a strength that he knew she needed. The gun dropped back toward the pavement as though she knew that it was now unnecessary.
"Ash." She whispered. "I name you Ash."
The Virii twins screamed as one and blood streamed faster and faster from Ash's chest. It gushed forth freed from its reservoir and soaked the front of his body. He fought with all his might, like a wild creature not only captured but promised imminent death. He fought savagely but could not separate Seraph's hand from his arm.
"Name the other."
Karma cried out as the other Twin managed to slash her across the face and she went down bleeding profusely from the cut. Barricade responded by throwing the Twin at Seraph whose other hand struck and latched on. Both Twins were now restrained in his grasp.
"Name him." Roland told her without understanding why it was important.
"Coal. I name you Coal." She said softly.
The rooftop went supernova around them.
Sade crept toward the hard line, it rang and rang again although she hadn't gotten close enough to snag it. Cyrus was going to kill her anyway as soon as she jacked out. Rules were rules, she was supposed to be looking for the woman, but it had been too tempting to have a bit of fun. Fucking with an Agent was especially sweet when she knew he wasn't going to kill her. Of course it had also gotten her cut off from the others and running towards a separate hard line. He was going to murder her once she got out.
The scuff of a boot made her jump and she glanced back. Her adrenaline ramped higher and higher until she saw the woman come around the end of the corridor.
"Thank god." She sighed.
Nue smiled as she moved closer to her prey. Hunting the unwary was almost too easy. They weren't even smart enough to flee.
"I'm Nue." She answered. "Are you going to answer that?"
The phone rang on behind them.
"What ship are you off of?" Sade asked, her brow beginning to furrow. "I know they brought up a lot of untested but I've never seen you before."
Nue examined the girl slowly. The residual self image was to her liking which meant the real girl on the other side of the hard line would also be. She extended one hand as though to shake the girl's hand.
Sade responded without thinking.
Nue grabbed the slender fingers and squeezed. The human screamed and screamed again as the virus leapt between them and began transferring data. Huge gigabytes of information plowed through the resident information and rewrote the data bits. Awareness sparked in Sade's eyes too late as her data stream was corrupted and lost.
But Nue smiled as her program echoed her.
"Are you going to answer that?" She asked and her copy nodded. "What should I call you now?"
"Sphinx will suffice." The copy reached toward the phone and halted with her hand on the receiver but not lifting it.
"And?"
"The Merovingian doesn't yet understand what we've given him. Make sure he does."
Nue nodded slowly and code rippled slowly through her veins. Slippery code born of a program corrupted by man and then corrupted again inside of her. The virus would survive and propagate in all three worlds.
Until it was all hers.
Latin translation: Between hope and fear