Chapter 4: Irregularities

"Fuck!"

Titus' voice echoed from the stones, across the sand and back to them. Edward had seldom seen him as agitated as he was now. He started walking around the Coliseum furiously.

"So what? We'll get them out, have this place to ourselves again. Why is he so angry?" whispered Leslie to his right.

Edward felt a drop of sweat trickling down his temple. It was scorching hot in the sun Titus had programmed to burn down onto the Coliseum, but Edward had to admit: The Roman structure's imitation was a wonder of the Digital World in its own right.

"It shouldn't have happened in the first place. Somebody screwed up," he whispered back to his colleague, who had taken out a tissue to dry her forehead of sweat.

As he leaned down to reach her ear, he noticed that she had chosen even poorer attire for their meeting. Leslie was dressed in a black turtleneck and cloth slacks of the same colour. She had to be burning up. He wondered whether Titus had an agenda when he chose these places.

His steps in the sand seemed to have calmed their leader. He returned, his face still flush with anger, but at least his voice restored to its dry and low tone.

"Now would be your turn to provide some input," he commanded, flashing irritated glances at them.

Kennedy took a step forward, eager to shine, as always.

"We find them, we bomb their base and smoke them out. Voilà," he proposed, an expectant smirk crossing his face.

"And how do you suppose we do that?" demanded Titus. Kennedy's smile faded.

"Sometimes I don't know why that boy is even with us," whispered Leslie. Edward remembered that Reed Kennedy was only a few years younger than her, but he knew what she meant when she called him 'boy'. Kennedy often behaved like a spoiled child. He was always looking for competition, always trying to find a way to best one of them. Only Titus as a figure of authority seemed to stand above Kennedy's petty jealousies.

"Well, it's easy. I'll come up with a little program to search irregularities. That way we'll have them in no time," suggested Kennedy, the sly smile back on his face.

Titus stopped dead in his tracks, his gaze remaining on the younger man, who stared back unwaveringly. A few seconds passed and Titus closed his eyes, a look of pain crossing over his face as if in defeat.

"I guess that'll do the trick," whispered Leslie. But Edward had known Titus long enough to know that his expression meant the exact opposite. It would not do at all.

Their leader had opened their eyes and stared at Kennedy with renewed annoyance.

"Are you really that stupid or are you trying to mess with me, Reed? How the fuck are we supposed to spot them when all the A.I. does is produce irregularities? We can't possibly look into every line of code that deviates from the original. It's impossible. The system's pretty much autonomous."

Within moments, Kennedy's smile had turned into a pout. He repeatedly dragged his right foot across the ground, scraping a line in the sand.

Titus took another minute of silence to let Kennedy's defeat take effect on them.

"Although we cannot search the whole system for just—well, anything, really—we can still find what we are looking for. We only need to know what we are looking for," he explained, his eyes pausing a little longer on Kennedy than on the other two.

"And what is it we are looking for?" Edward asked, entering the conversation. Titus' eyes flicked over to him.

"The only thing neither we nor the A.I. have been able to produce. Digivolution."

"Leslie, indulge me for a moment."

She did as she was bid and followed Titus' wave. The other two had been dismissed and had returned to their task, but he had asked her to stay. She felt a drop of sweat run down towards her eyebrow, unsure whether it stemmed from the heat or Titus' intimidating presence.

But he smiled warmly, a rare sight these days. He took a step to close their distance and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Listen, you don't need to bother with this if you don't want to," he said, his tone almost paternal.

Leslie looked at his face for the first time in a long while and felt as though she had not seen him in years. How old was he now, she wondered. Taking their ten years of age difference into account, she estimated him to be in his early or mid-forties. About the age that Thomas would be.

She shook her head. "No, no, I want to. This is my world, too. You know how I've fought for this."

He nodded, his eyes searching the sand for memories. "I remember well. And do you remember," he said, his eyes finding hers again, "what I did for you?"

She cast her eyes down and let her head hang ever so slightly. "I do. You've helped me succeed in this industry. I wouldn't have made it without you, John. But more importantly, you've made me a part of this."

He put a finger under her chin, raising her head up again.

"Exactly. And do you remember what you promised me?"

She wanted to avert her eyes again, but found that she could not. His grip on her face was gentle, but his hand felt like steel to her. When she did not speak, he answered for her.

"You promised me you would rise to the challenge. You told me you were over it, didn't you? You said that I was right to trust in you, when they all laughed at you simply for being a woman," he reminded her, his voice angry but low. "But tell me, what has it gotten me?"

Tears had formed in her eyes. He saw that she was scared of him, but corrected the thought as it passed his mind—she was scared of what she thought he might find. With a sudden motion followed by a surprised scream from Leslie, he yanked down her sweater's neck, exposing her throat.

"So that's your newest diversion," he concluded. He let go of her.

"Out of all of you, I put my hopes in you, Leslie. But you've failed me. They were right: You're just some sentimental cow who breaks down every time she thinks of her long dead husband. It's been eight years; you've had your time to mourn. It's time to get your act together. Now get out of my sight."

"John, please," she pleaded, her voice unsteady, "I can explain. It's not—"

He gave her an icy look. "And destroy that abomination of yours, or I will."

With that, he left her standing in the middle of the Coliseum, her tears falling on the bright hot sand.