Part Three - Fight ?
Part Three - Fight ?
Part Three ! Yaaay ! Der hat ganz schon gezappelt , bis ich ihn hatte . Ich wollte immer verraten , wer die Hauptperson ist *was ja sowieso ziemlich offentsichtlich ist -.-"* Zwischendurch hing ich immer in einer Art ThePatriot-Tavington-Stimmung fest , was meine Planung total durcheinander brachte . This Part is dedicated to André / Pitti , der davon sowieso nie was merkt wie ich ihn kenne , Shadow_Gaia , weil ihr die Story anscheinend gefaellt , to all Matrixfans XD und der Person , die mir fuer den Agenten ( es ist uebrigens Brown ) Model stand und das wahrscheinlich auch nicht weiss . Der Humor sollte eigentlich gar nicht lustig sein -.-" Irgendwie ist das Ganze eine einzige Selbstreflektion geworden - untypisch fuer die Hauptperson - , aber da ich grad dringend Psychoanalyse brauche , faerbt das auf meine FFs ab . Und er ist zu lang .. Ach , eigentlich ist er ueberhaupt schrecklich XD
" Surrender ."
The voice was expressionless . Not cold , but like a blank piece of paper , frightening because of all the possible words that were yet to be written on it . It had not the faintest trace of any emotion in it , which made it even colder , the words like iciles in the dark room . The voice of an Agent .
I shifted very slightly and at once three bullets came whirling through the darkness , hitting nothing but air . Hesitantly I resisted the great urge to comment on the Agents poor shots and ducked deeper .
What was it with sarkasm ? This was clearly not the right time for it - even my shallow breathing could easily give away my position , not to mention what a little joke could do - yet it seemed oddly attracting . Maybe it was because of me holding on to my old life and likes . In any good action-movie , the person in my situation would easily drop one ironic line after the other and since I love , no , had loved humorous action flicks , my mind obviously wanted to fill the silence . I was not the person to go for flat humor , so there was no point in hitting on the Agent in any stupid remark , I told myself again .
" Surrender , human ."
I hadn't even seen the Agent and he was already getting heavily on my nerves . Once the first feeling of immediate doom had faded , I never felt very intimidated by Agents . Another thing my Testers had not liked . Agents were dangerous , of course , possibly lethal , but not daunting . More like a big Dobermann , waiting to rip you apart . Or your school director , waiting to kick you out of school . Perhaps even a bit silly , come to think of it . I bit back a snort as I had a sudden vision of an Agent in a Drag-Queen-costume . Now that was what I wanted to have as an enemy !
" Surrender ."
Couldn't he say something that made sense and was actually true ? Something he really meant to say ? Like , " I'm going to kill you anyway , so how about you quit the dodging and the bullet-wasting ? Because if we go on like this , the chance of you escaping is growing , not much , it will stay almost zero , but still . I'm a machine , I like to be precise . So sue me or fuck of ."
Immediatly , I saw Niobes face looming in front of me and her reaction to these thoughts . She'd probably groan and bury her head in her hands . I was facing combat with an Agent of the System , and all I could think of were sarcastic remarks . Bad enough that I was thinking so much already ..
Sometimes I felt guilty for being such a bad protegé . I didn't often show my feelings or even my thoughts , I did what had to be done - and what I wanted to do - , but occasionly , they slipped out of me . Feelings only burdened you down . The stupid thing is , even though I know I shouldn't be all emotional
- because an Agent is never emotional , so we can't be - , I am . As I said , I don't show it , but I have feelings . My strong fear for Niobe , Ghost , Drive and all of Zion proved it .
Ghost had been freed on the same day as me . While he had quickly given up everything that bound him to the Matrix , I had had a very hard time . He had always helped me and I knew I could rely on him , no matter what . Ghost was my brother . We had many things in common , like the calmness and reserve towards others . I did not want to loose a brother again . But he was gone now , beyond my reach like Drive and everybody else on the Vigilant . Drive and I had not hit off well the first time we met , but our aversion had soon vanished as I had gotten to know Drive more closely . We were not the best friends , but friends at least .
Sometimes I wondered how my life would look if I had not chosen the path of a soldier for Zion . I would have been safe , leading a normal life - well , define normal , I told myself ironicaly - , I probably would have found somebody to love , started a family .. but I would never have visited the Matrix again . Inside it , I always was in danger , more then once close to death , but I felt right . Something made me crave for the hacks , the rush inside my head as I got connected , the superior and yet sorry feelings I had towards the captured humans . Every trip was contributing to these feelings and each time I returned to the Vigilant , I felt as if I had missed the chance of seing more , of learning about something I needed to know , of meeting someone I missed desperately . No one knew about these feelings , but it had become a common joke between the soldiers how I was something like a Matrix-junkie .
" Surrender , human ."
Why the hell was he repeating himself ? Did the System think that if it repeated one message over and over , people would be more willing to follow the orders ? I grinned wrily and moved my weight from one knee to the other . Ah , so thats where the whole advertiment idea comes from !
Another shot , this time even further away , rippled through the room . My back started aching . I was pressed against a half-high wall , which was serving as a counter . For all I knew , I could be here the whole night , the Agent going into repeat-mode and giving an occaisonal shot . Great . Just the thing to do on a Friday night in Hong Kong , the party metropole .
Suddenly I wondered why I was taking this so easy . If the situation staid like this , I would indeed be here all night and dead by the time the sun rose over the Harbour . My muscles tightened . Very very slowly , I got up from my crouching position , keeping my head just below the countertop . If I got close enough to have a good shot , I would have about two or three minutes before the system's replacement arrived , maybe a lot less . It takes me one minute to reach Princess Building , another 40 seconds to get to the phone booth at the west entrance , and perhaps ten seconds to get The Call . About two minutes . It was the best I could think of anyway .
" Surrender ."
" Oh , Fuck you ." I muttered and made a clear jump for a lucious silk frame opposite of me . The main thing I needed to do was pinpoint the Agents location . The shots had come from the far corner of the room , close to the door . Each time , they had been roughly aimed at the opposite corner , which meant the Agent was facing the room square . I was not sure how far he was away from the middle of the room , but he could not be very close . I cursed wordlessly at my missing ability to see properly in the dark . My eyes had adjusted to the shadows , but that was nothing compared to the night-sight of an Agent . I stood still , waiting for the uncurable Surrender-call , and tried to imagine how quickly I would have to sprint to get to the phone booth before mayhem erupted . The fact that Sill was watching every one of my moves felt reassuring. He was going to be ready to get me out . Niobe had trusted her life to Sill very often and he had never let her down , so .. Niobe .
I had totally forgotten about her . Getting her would add an extra ten seconds , plus she would slow me down . Niobe was very fast , but nobody caught up with me . Oh well , that would make two and a half minutes then . At least we could give each over cover-up-fire . I started to get impatient . It was time for another repeating of " Surrender." and I wanted to get going .
I did not hear the first bullet . It pierced through the soft silk , grazed my right shoulder silently and vanished into the emptyness of the room . A slight stinging raced down my right arm and I automatically rolled over . First rule of combat , Never stay put . The second one I heard coming and was able to avoid it . I recognized the dim outlines of the Agent behind the frame a second before he threw it across the room . I jumped up and began to move fast .
" Never stay put , never !" I heard Morpheus voice inside my head . Another bullet came speeding toward me and I felt the soft swish of air as it missed my neck only by a few milimeters . I gathered speed and kicked myself of the wall , hurtling myself towards him like a human canonball .
Slowly , I felt that my right arm was hurting , but I did not pay attention to it . We crashed and fell to the ground , tangeled in a flight of arms and kicking legs . He was stronger than me , but I had the moment of surprise
- although , Agents don't have emotions , so I guess it was more like a Server-error-moment - . I wanted to hit every spot of him I could reach , but I quickly dispelled that desire . Instead , I pulled the trigger of my gun , hoping I would cause some lethal injuries . But his grip did not loosen and I felt myself being pushed of . I crashed into one of the tables , my head hitting hard against one of the legs . For a second , my eyes blurred and something like a hot iron was pushed down my brain . At least , that was how it felt . My mind reeled over , but I could not pass out , no matter how welcome it would have been . I pushed myself of the ground and instantly felt a bit better . I was a Soldier , I would not give up in a fight . I had my pride and I would kill this bastard . Oh no , I couldn't kill him , my mind told me numbly , I'd just kill his body . Whatever .
A trickle of blood was dripping from my fingers . Virtual blood . My gun was heavy in my aching right hand , but I raised it . I was too late . Never stay put .
At first , I didn't feel anything and thought he had missed . Then suddenly , an enormous heat soared up my upper left leg into my back and with it came a biting pain . I gasped , strangely aware of the hot metal of the bullet burning into my flesh . A wave of nausea crashed down on me , knocking me down on my knees . It hurt . I felt my blood spilling from the wound down my legs onto the carpet floor . The defense wall has fallen . Zion is in danger . They needed me , they would die . A dizzy feeling filled me as I raised my head to stare at the Agent , slowly walking towards me . He pressed his gun against my forehead and I was surprised at how cool the metal was compared to the flaming bullet in my flesh .
I thought of Niobe , of Ghost , Drive and the others . I thought of Zion and the Vigilant , the Nebuchadnezzar and the other ships . I thought of Morpheus , of his determination . Don't give up . I could just hear him , his deep voice . Don't give up . That' s what he would say .
A sudden rush of anger erupted inside me . I was going to be killed . No , not like this . Not on my knees . I will not die here , I will die when the world ends . I will not give up .
With this thought , something changed inside me . It was as though all my pain had been taken and wrapped inside a blanket . It was there , but I could think clearly . All my anger , my remaining strength now aimed at one goal : Not to die .
A faint clicking sound told me the Agent was out of bullets . He threw his gun aside carelessly and reached for mine . My fingers were wrapped around the shaft thightly , slippery from all the blood , but I refused to let go . He squeezed my hand so hard I nearly screamed , but I held on . And then I felt my fingertips softly brush against the trigger . I pulled it instinctively . I heard the sickening sound of a bullet hitting its target and shot again and again until I had no more .
Seconds passed . My muscles started shaking because of their rigidness . I breathed shallowly , my vision obscured by a strange dark cloud . Don't give up now , I heard again , but it took a while for those words to make sense . I won . The empty body of the Agent was half lying on me , heavy upon my hurting legs . I pushed him off of me , commanding my muscles to obey me . I won . Absentmindedly I shook my head to clear it .
Gingerly I rose and stood up , biting my lips as not to scream out with pain . A few deep breaths later , I felt able to walk again . This is virtual , I told myself over and over , dragging myself towards the entrance . I could already see the harbor lights and a phone booth . It was too open to use it in normal situations , but I didn't have a choice . I would never make it to Princess Building , no matter how well hidden the booth there was .
A noise behind me made me whirl around as quickly as I could . It had come from the kitchen . My heart missed a beat as a horrible picture of Niobe struggling with an Agent rose to my eyes . Outside the stars disappeared to nothing ...
