Smith sat in the back of the darkest bar in the city. No one walking by his table would have looked at him. It was a dive, and a lousy one at that. Not a social place.
Smith wore a leather jacket. He hadn't succumbed to the long coat look that the hackers favored, but he liked how this one looked. He sipped his beer slowly. Alcohol didn't make him drunk, but he could taste it. Smith was trying to figure out what he liked. A second beer sat untouched at the empty seat across from him.
Neo approached his table. "That's a good face for drinking bad beer," he said. "Are you learning or is that your own?"
"That's mine," Smith said. He gestured at the seat.
Neo sat down. He considered the beer."What do you have for us?" Neo asked.
Smith handed him a sheet of paper. "Hacker. Calls herself Whisper. She lives in the west side of the city at this address."
"How do you know about her?"
"Chatter in the Matrix. Agents are tracking her, too. I've felt them triangulating on her address. They won't move, yet, but if you want her, you may want to move sooner than you thought."
"How long do we have?"
"If it were me watching her, I think you'd have two weeks."
"If you're lying, I'll kill you again."
"Watch yourself, savior. Power corrupts. I know." The corner of Smith's mouth turned up as Neo sat up straighter. He must have been taking his new responsibilities seriously. It was funny to watch.
Neo took a sip of the beer. "Ugh. If this works out, I'll teach you more about drinking."
"A start's a start."
Neo got up to leave. "Good night, Smith."
"Eon." Neo looked at him. "My name, for you and your friends. Eon."
Neo folded his arms. He smirked. "Why Eon?"
"It's an anagram of your name. And I've always been here. Good night, Neo."