Single Minded Purpose

Deal With the Devil

Disclaimer: I don’t own the Matrix, the Matrix owns me.

Summary: Smith makes an offer to Sarah, and it is one that she cannot refuse.

“No, I’m afraid that I cannot allow you to kill Sarah, Agent Johnson,” a snide voice behind the couple said. “For if you haven’t noticed or even heard, she is carrying my unborn child.” Before Agent Johnson even had time to realize it was Smith behind him, a gunshot rang out, breaking the stillness of the night with the loud report that echoed off the simulated man-made canyons of steel and glass of the buildings around them.

“NO!” Sarah yelled as she watched Agent Johnson slump to the ground, a gaping hole in his forehead where the bullet from Smith’s gun entered his skull. Sarah fell to her knees beside his body. She took his hand in hers and held it as if that had the power to restore life and animation to his lifeless deep blue eyes. All her hopes to end the life of herself and her child had rested with the leader of the upgrades. Now that he was gone, there was no one left who could relieve her of the abomination that was growing inside of her. No one.

“Get up, Sarah,” Smith ordered. When she made no move to obey or even acknowledge that his statement had even been heard, Smith yanked her upwards by the elbow. As soon as she was on her feet, she lashed out at him like a Fury possessed, enraged beyond all measure.

She shrieked inarticulate sounds of rage as she flew at him, her fingernails poised and ready like the drawn claws of a hunted cat that had been backed into a corner and had no other way to defend itself. She scratched and bit wherever her nails and teeth could reach.

“I hate you!” she yelled. “You are vile and disgusting and I hate this thing you put inside of me! I hate you both!” Sarah screamed and hit herself in the stomach as hard as she could.

Ignoring her own pain and with a savage sense of triumph, she watched as Smith put his hand against his midriff and flinched from the agony she knew he felt inside of him. So that’s how he found me at the motel, she thought. Whatever my baby feels, so can he. When that doctor began the abortion procedure, Smith felt everything and he went searching for us and the pain he was feeling led him straight to our location. In this one instance, the unique bond they share has worked to my advantage. “Now you know what it’s like to feel pain. How does it feel, you bastard?” Sarah snarled.

“Bitch!” Smith hissed, drawing his hand back and slapping her face with enough force so that she stumbled backwards into the hard, unyielding embrace of the clone behind her. At a nod from its creator, it pinned Sarah’s’ arms close to her body, preventing her from escaping.

“Goddamn you Smith, tell your stupid look-alike flunky to let me go!” she yelled, writhing and twisting her body to no avail; she was trapped and nothing she could do would be enough to free herself of the clone’s iron grip.

“Calm down, Sarah. You can’t escape; he won’t let you go until I tell him to, so stop fighting. I have a proposition for you. However, if you continue to be obstinate, I will gladly have your lover beaten more thoroughly than he already has been.” Smith stepped nimbly aside so Sarah could see the limp form of Seraph being dragged forward by his upper arms by two of Smith’s copies. Sarah gasped in horror at the state in which he had been left.

“Seraph…no,” she moaned. “What the fuck did you do to him?” she yelled at the clones. She became even angrier when she saw them catch one another’s eye and smirk.

His face was horribly swollen with cuts and bruises and blood dripped down his face. At Smith’s signal, the two copies unceremoniously dropped their ghastly deadweight burden at Sarah’s feet and Seraph fell facedown onto the cold, hard concrete of the sidewalk with a nauseating thud. Smith placed a broad foot between the shoulder blades of his long-time adversary and aimed his Desert Eagle revolver at the base of Seraph’s head.

“All Seraph got was a little payback for what he did to them. Nothing more, nothing less. Once you’ve calmed down Sarah, we will discuss this like reasonable people, minus the hysterics and emotional outbursts, for I find this is getting very repetitive and tiresome.” Smith said silkily. “A life for a life is a fair exchange, I think. If you take care of yourself from now on, I will allow this poor excuse of a program lying at my feet to live. If, however, you continue to starve yourself or harm yourself in any way whatsoever, I will kill him as surely as you are killing my unborn child by refusing to eat. What is it going to be, Sarah? If my child lives, then Seraph will live; it is as simple as that.”

Sarah frantically tried to think of any way out of Smith’s appalling contract, but she could not.

“I’m waiting for an answer,” he said, a bite of impatience in his voice. To drive his point about the sincerity of his intentions home, Smith cocked his gun. “I mean it. I will give you to the count of three before I pull the trigger; and a word to the wise: don’t ever call my bluff because if you do, you will lose, I promise you. The countdown begins now. One…”

He won’t really go through with this, will he, Sarah asked herself.

“….two…”

Oh my God, he’s going to do it! She saw his mouth and lips form the word ‘three’. “No, please don’t!” she yelled out frantically before he had a chance to say the word that would end Seraph’s life.

“Why shouldn’t I?” With one shove of his foot, he kicked the prone form of Seraph away from him with disdain.

“Because I love him! Please, Smith!” she begged, “I’ll do anything, anything you want, but for God’s sake, don’t kill him!” Sarah wrenched herself free from the copy’s grip and sank to her knees before Smith, placing her hands around his ankles, her face on her wrists. “Please,” she whispered, “I’ll do anything you want me to.”

“Yes, I know you will,” Smith said quietly, and smiled smugly to himself; it was pleasing to him to see her grovel at his feet. The expression on his face was not an agreeable sight and if Sarah had seen it, she would have known that it did not bode well for her. Nevertheless, even if she had, Sarah would not have cared, for she was one of those women who would sacrifice her very existence to spare that of her soul mate. If Smith had demanded that she crawl on her hands and knees before him for all eternity, or debase herself in a hundred different ways, Sarah would gladly have done it if it meant that Seraph would be safe.

“If you let him go now and take him to Mother so she can nurse him back to health, then I will do whatever you want. I will eat properly, take my pre-natal vitamins, and see a doctor. Whatever it takes. I’ll be a good little mother-to-be from now on. I will give you a healthy child even if it kills me. Just don’t kill Seraph, please!”

“Do you mean that?” Smith asked softly. He bent down and to Sarah’s great surprise, Smith was gentle as he assisted her to her feet. As Agent Johnson had done, Smith wiped her tears away. Sarah did not trust her voice to respond without breaking, so she nodded her agreement.

“Good,” he said, satisfied with how the evening was progressing. With mere seconds to spare, I just made it in time to prevent Agent Johnson from dispatching Sarah. If they hadn’t decided to impulsively make out like a couple of horny teenagers, I would have been too late, Smith thought. My child and Sarah would have been killed with a simple twitch and jerk from that overgrown Neanderthal’s hands.

But I wasn’t too late, he thought, idly stroking Sarah’s belly and feeling the strong movements of his child as it responded to its father’s touch. I made it in time to save you--despite the best efforts of your slut of a mother. I almost lost you because I was too busy, too focused on other matters rather than what is the most important to me. I will deal with Mr. Anderson very soon, and once I have beaten him, I can devote all my time focusing on my impending fatherhood.

“There is something else that I will ask of you, Sarah,” Smith intoned, looking deep into her eyes.

A dozen tasks, all of them base and sexual in nature, flashed through her mind; each of them more degrading than the last.

“What is it?” she asked, justifiably wary of anything he might ask of her.

“Marry me.”

The shock was absolute. He saw all the blood drain from her face and instinctively put a supportive hand at her elbow in case she should fall; however, she rallied and managed to remain upright, despite the devastating ultimatum he had just given her.

Marry him? Is he fucking kidding, her mind silently screamed, and Sarah’s stomach churned. There would be no escape once she was his wife; she would have to endure his caresses and satisfy his sadistic sexual tendencies every time he wanted her. The idea of spending every night for the rest of her existence in his bed made her shrink from him in revulsion.

Smith caught the movement and sneered. “If you do not marry me, then I will kill Seraph.” At her continuous, helpless gaping stare of incomprehensible horror, he smirked. “Shall I go down on one knee and ask for your hand? Isn’t that the way a man proposes to a woman?”

“Why are you asking this of me? You don’t love me and you know damn well that I could never love you in return, so why?” she begged. “Why marriage, though? If you want me to stay with you, I will, but don’t, for God’s sake, ask me to marry you!”

“If we just lived together, you could leave me any time you wished and take my child with you and there would be nothing I could do about it. As your husband, however, I will have certain lawful and constitutional rights under the laws of the Matrix and if you did leave, I would have legal and official authorization to search for you. The laws that bind us are quite different from those governing the humans, especially where the welfare of a child is concerned. If you know anything about the laws that the Oracle and the Architect put in place overseeing the conduct of programs, you know that everything I’ve said is true.”

“Are you doing this to punish me? And are you going to threaten his life every time you want something of me?”

“Right on both counts,” Smith said. “Furthermore, I am letting you know right now that I will demand my rights as a husband. For you know as well as anyone of the insatiable nature of my sexual appetites and you can be certain that I will most definitely desire physical comfort from my wife. That being said, I am telling you right now that I will insist on having a traditional wedding night,” he said, with a wickedly lustful grin enveloping his face for a moment before he became serious again. “Besides, there would be many obvious advantages to our union, Sarah. I have become the most powerful program in the Matrix. Think of it! I can give you anything your heart desires. Why, just the money I have in my pocket right now could buy you more than Seraph ever could in a hundred lifetimes. You’ve been without the finer things in life for too long, Sarah. You’ve never known the advantages that having a lot of money can bring.”

“You are right, Smith. I hate to admit it, but I know what it’s like to be poor. However, I do know that money can’t buy happiness. Persephone and the Merovingian always had money, but they were never truly happy. After watching them being miserable during all the years I worked for Persephone, I learned that love, security and trust in a marriage cannot be purchased at any price. I’ve always thought that marriage should be about giving and receiving love, not material things.”

Smith scoffed. “Have you ever noticed that it is always poor people who say ‘money can’t buy happiness?’ One of the most common reasons why marriages fail is because of a lack of money. As for love, trust and security—they are childish and fanciful ideas, nothing more.”

But I love Seraph, Sarah thought desperately to herself, I want him to be my husband, not you! No amount of money and power in the world could ever erase the memories of what your copies did to me, while you watched and laughed and revelled in my pain. Every time you reach for me, I will recoil from your slightest touch; but with Seraph, I would welcome his caresses in the middle of the night and deep down inside, a part of you knows it. Mother, Sarah thought, tell me what to do! I would rather spit in your arrogant face than become your wife—but I know that if I do not agree to it, Seraph will die. If he is to survive, I have no choice.

“If you take Seraph to Mother’s place so she can tend to him, I will marry you tonight.”

“It’s a fairly reasonable request,” Smith conceded, “and one which I will agree to, but only in part. I will not just send my best bargaining chip for your future good behaviour out of my sight so easily. Here is my alternative: I will not send Seraph to the Oracle’s to be treated. Instead, I will have her brought to him—under heavy guard of course—and she can tend to him in a location of my choosing. Agreed?”

Sarah contemplated Smith’s alternative. The most important thing is that he gets the help he needs, she thought. The location doesn’t matter, after all. “All right. What is your intention with Seraph afterwards, then?”

“Oh, I will keep him in close confinement in case you need a reminder from time to time that his life is entirely in your hands.” Sarah said nothing but Smith deduced that from the anger he saw in her face that if looks could kill, he would have been struck dead where he stood.

“And as for the rest of you,” he said, looking around at his copies, “I want to be alone for a moment with my bride-to-be.” When he and Sarah were alone, he took her in his arms and smiled when he felt her flinch at his touch.

“Why so shy all of a sudden, Sarah? You were eager enough when Agent Johnson was holding you like this. I saw the whole thing. If I hadn’t arrived when I did, you two would have been tearing at each other’s clothes, so don’t begrudge me a quick grope. He may have a more impressive physique than I, but my technique and skill can arouse you as well he could.” He caressed her breast and pinched her nipple slightly, chuckling deep in his throat when he felt it harden completely. Not wishing to endure his touch a moment longer than she had to, Sarah desperately thought of a distraction.

“If we are going to be married, you will have to buy me an engagement ring.”

“So I do,” he murmured, his lips nuzzling her neck. “What kind would you like?”

“Not a diamond one,” she said, thinking quickly. “I never did like them much. However, there is a nice ring with rubies in the window of that jewellery store near Sunrise Boulevard and Bay Avenue North.”

“Shall we go then,” he said, gallantly offering his hand to her as they walked to his car. Willing herself not to cringe when she touched him, Sarah took his arm; this way, she wouldn’t have to actually touch his skin. To her dismay, she saw Seraph slumped in the backseat—his head was leaning backward against the leather headrest and his eyes were closed.

“He needs medical attention, now! You promised me you’d let Mother see him!” Sarah said accusingly.

“I told you the truth: I will see that he gets help, but only after you and I are married.” At the angry look on Sarah’s face, he knew he had guessed correctly. She had wanted to stall for time; the whole rigamarole about the engagement ring had been nothing more than a blind. If I had played her game, Sarah then would probably have made a fuss about insisting on a church wedding or spending hours choosing a suitable dress as a ploy to put off fulfilling her end of our deal for as long as possible.

“It’s all up to you,” Smith said. “The longer it takes for us to get married, the longer it will take for Seraph to get the help he needs. Was there anything else you wanted to do today, Sarah? What about a dress? Or getting your hair and nails done? Any other needful bridal tasks that have to be done, or will you finally see the light and realize that by the time we do walk down the aisle, Seraph may already be dead because of your dawdling?”

“Fuck you, Smith,” Sarah said furiously. However, she did have to admit that the sooner her unplanned and completely unwanted wedding was over, the sooner Seraph could be tended and mended.

Smith leaned close to her. “That is what I intend doing with you, Mrs. Smith, on our wedding night, and with any luck, that should happen very soon.” He laughed when he saw Sarah shudder and turn away from his intent gaze.

lllll

“That’s not a proper engagement ring,” Smith said scornfully as he peered through the display case at the ring Sarah pointed out. “That’s a status symbol. It’s gaudy and in extremely bad taste.” The ring that she wanted him to purchase was garish to the extreme and the large marquise cut ruby in the centre of it was nearly one inch square. Simply put, it was hideous.

“So?” Sarah demanded. “It’s what I want. I like it. If I am to become Mrs. Smith, shouldn’t I have all the benefits that go with bearing that title? Why?” she asked challengingly, “after all your boasting and bragging about how much money you have, can you not afford it?”

“Touché, Sarah,” Smith said approvingly and to his fiancée’s chagrin, he laughed and without any further ado, he propelled his very reluctant future bride into the shop and purchased what she had wished. Once the ring was on her finger, Smith manipulated the Matrix so that it fit perfectly.

“And now to find a preacher. Or a justice of the peace. Either will do quite nicely, although a JOP would be able to perform the ceremony much faster…”

“If you want to get married so quickly, why don’t we just run off to Las Vegas and get married by an Elvis impersonator? I hear Sin City is full of them,” Sarah said sarcastically but Smith continued as if he had not heard her.

“…and after that,” Smith said, dropping his voice so that no one but she could hear him, “comes our wedding night with my very pregnant but still attractive blushing young bride.” Sarah bent her head in shame and humiliation and did not look at him all the way to their new destination. As usual, the elevator in the old derelict hotel was not working and they had to climb the stairs to the eighth floor.

Smith was very familiar with this particular place; for many years, it had been the location where the captains of rebel ships would take specially selected humans to be un-plugged from the Matrix. However, once Morpheus and the crew of The Nebuchadnezzar had returned to Zion after Smith had died, the rebels had not used this particular location since. The room Smith wanted was at the end of the hallway.

“You have got to be kidding!” Sarah exclaimed as she saw the dirty, run-down room. “Because of the severity of his wounds that your three goons gave him, Seraph can’t stay here, this place is filthy!”

“You should feel right at home then, Sarah. For this place isn’t much worse than your old apartment or the bar where I found you. Its either this, or the street. I don’t care where Seraph is taken. Take it or leave it. You two,” he informed his two ever-present selves at his side that held the still-unconscious form of Seraph between them, “can put him on that chesterfield. I will contact you as soon as the ‘I do’s’ are done. When I do, bring this poor boy’s momma here so she can take care of him.”

Sarah protested when Seraph was nearly thrown onto the sagging couch by the two clones. With her own hands, she laid his body as flat as she could on the sofa so that any internal injuries he might have suffered might not be aggravated or disturbed too much. Sarah knelt on the floor by Seraph’s side and gently touched his face. She kissed his forehead softly and for a moment, laid her cheek against his. “I’m so sorry,” Sarah whispered, “but I hope you understand this is something I must do. Forgive me.”

“Sarah!” Smith called imperiously and impatiently from the doorway. “We have to go.”

“May I stay here for a while?” she asked compliantly while a part of her was angry at the sound of the meekness of her voice. “At least, until you’ve finished getting the marriage licence and finding someone to perform the ceremony. As long as he is here, I’m not going to leave him. Don’t worry, Smith,” she said. “You can even have your lackeys stand guard at the door. I won’t do anything stupid like try to escape or slice my wrists open with any of the broken glass that’s on the floor of this dump. At least, not while Seraph’s alive.” Sarah gave Smith a look that informed him that as long as Seraph was alive, she would make no attempt to escape or harm herself in any way.

She watched his face intently and waited for an answer. His eyes never left hers as he pondered her request. He still needs convincing, she thought and came up with an idea that even Smith would not be able to refuse.

“Tonight, I’ll make it worth your while, I promise,” Sarah said softly, reaching up and lightly sliding her hand around Smith’s belt until her fingers touched his buckle in a manner that made his groin stir and his mind race with suggestive and very erotic images.

“All right, Sarah. You can have your extra time with him. But tonight, you’d better be ready to make good on your word.”

lllll

To the end of her life, Sarah could not remember much of the shabby scene in the magistrate’s office where she and Smith were wed. From the time she entered the room until the time she left as Smith’s wife was a blank space in her mind; a vast emptiness for which she would always be grateful. After the ceremony was completed and before the honeymoon could commence, he demanded that she accompany him on a small detour to the Frenchman’s restaurant.

Sarah made no sign of demur; the longer time it took postponing the inevitable services that Smith would demand of her once they were truly alone was fine with her, even though she would have to endure the humiliation of being paraded around like a show dog being put through its tricks.

“If you eat something, our child will no longer need to drain power to the Matrix and then dear old Dad can hold off on sending any more ruggedly handsome upgrade death-squads who might be tempted to cop a cheap feel from my wife on street corners before they break her pretty neck.”

He took perverse enjoyment at the attention they received as they entered the main dining room at the Merovingian’s restaurant. News of their marriage, but not, however, the reason behind it, had swept through the Matrix and Sarah bent her head in shame to avoid the looks from the gawping patrons who turned to stare. And as Sarah had feared, Smith guided Sarah around the room as he chatted in a light-hearted manner to a few of the programs who were there. Sarah did not say a word the entire time, but only Smith did not notice that she did not give any indication of any feelings of joy or happiness a bride would usually display so soon after her nuptials.

“So that is the girl who married the great and powerful former Agent Smith,” said more than a few programs to one another as the newlyweds passed by. However, the overall view was feelings of pity and compassion for his bride more than anything else. He may have money, thought more than one who looked at Smith, but the poor girl he married is the one who has to suffer his caresses in bed every night. A high price to pay for any woman just to surround herself with the accoutrements of the good life.

As with the wedding ceremony, Sarah could remember little; she did not pay much attention to what was placed before her to eat. She ate mechanically, trying to force her stomach to accept the food that was being introduced to it after such a long period of fasting.

Smith excused himself for a moment and stood outside a window, staring outside at the city skyline. Everywhere he looked, he could see the source code returning to normal. It’s happening exactly as I expected, Smith thought to himself. Now that Sarah is eating again, my baby no longer needs to get its energy by draining power from the Matrix. As long as Sarah continues to feed herself properly, there is nothing for me to fear. Now the only thing that remains for me to do is focus on all the forthcoming pleasure that is usually associated with celebrating one’s wedding night.

“Now that you’ve finished, we’ll get going,” Smith stated, returning to the table. He saw, with great satisfaction, that Sarah’s plate was now empty. There no longer any reason to stay. Their eyes met and Sarah knew that the time had come to fulfill her obligation. She nodded slightly and with as much enthusiasm as a woman who is about to go to her execution, Sarah slowly rose to her feet and left the room with her new husband’s arm encircling her waist in such a proprietary manner that made her cringe. He already sees me as his own personal property she fumed, and wants anyone still watching us to know it. I am nothing more to him than another one of his possessions. And I will be his wife until death do us part. My God, what have I done, Sarah thought to herself hopelessly. The consequences of her actions came crashing down around her almost as soon as she and her loathsome and hateful groom entered the bedroom of their apartment.

“And now, it is time I claimed you as my bride,” he growled as he reached eagerly for her…

lllll

Seraph opened his eyes and the pounding headache he had made him wince in pain. He saw the warm soft smile of the Oracle as she bathed his face with a wet cloth.

“Welcome back, Seraph,” she said.

“How did I get here?” he asked groggily.

“What is the last thing you remember?”

“I was downtown and I thought I saw a disruption the in the source code. I went to investigate and then after that, everything went dark. Why? What happened to me?” He looked around and did not recognize his surroundings. This was definitely not the Oracle’s apartment, he realized. “Where are we?”

His mother sighed heavily. “First things first. You were ambushed by the same three clones you defeated after Sarah’s attack. To put it bluntly, they beat you to a bloody pulp and damn near killed you.”

“Was it on Smith’s orders?”

“Sort of. He wanted you beaten all right, but he realized that you would be of more use to him alive. You see,” she said, taking his hand, “he threatened to kill you if Sarah did not do as he wished. He spared your life on the condition that Sarah marry him. And she did. She kept her word and Smith kept his by bringing me to look after you before it was too late. Now to answer your second question. No, we are not at my apartment, but somewhere else. I was told to come here to see to you and I did. Smith wants you alive and well--for the time being at least.”

Seraph clutched his mother’s hand so tightly that she winced from the pain. “She married him?” he asked incredulously. “And if she doesn’t do whatever he asks, he will threaten to kill or hurt me again?”

“Yes, son. I’m sorry.”

“So she sold herself to him to keep me alive,” he moaned as a tight vise gripped his heart, twisting it and causing unbearable pain. If they are married, I can only imagine what he is doing to her at this moment, he wondered. If I know him, he is probably enthusiastically exercising his marital rights and to hell with Sarah’s own needs. Married! She is better off dead than being the wife of Smith. Well, I will make damn sure that she will become a widow before long.

“Just what the hell do you think you are doing?” the Oracle demanded as she saw Seraph try to rise from the sofa.

“I’m going to kill him,” he snarled. “I’m going to kill him so she can be free.” Seraph tried repeatedly to make his body succumb to his will, but to no avail.

“What is wrong with me? Why can’t I get up?” he demanded angrily.

“I’ve only made it so that you won’t be able to do anything foolish, my son. He has what he wants—Sarah—and your continuing existence is the only weapon he has to make Sarah do his bidding. If she says no to whatever he asks, he will have some of his copies hurt you again.”

“Then let him! I don’t care; what else can he do to me anyway? The most important thing is that Sarah must not stay married to him! This marriage is a sham, an abomination! Sarah prostituted herself to keep me alive, Oracle,” Seraph said, his voice close to breaking. “I can’t let her endure this while I sit here and do nothing!”

“She might not have to suffer for very long, son, I have a feeling that things are going to come to a head very soon, one way or another.”

“Have you seen something?”

“Yes,” she said.

“What is it? Can you tell me?”

“Neo will fight Smith.”

“If Smith loses, then Sarah will be free, won’t she? But if Smith wins, then what?”

“Don’t you know what his intentions are, Seraph? He is intent on taking over the Matrix. Starting with the least important beings—the humans. He has already begun assimilating the weakest of us. After that is complete, he is saving the most important ones for last. Once we are gone, there will be nothing stopping him from infiltrating the Machine City and turning it into rubble.”

“Do you really think he will go that far?” he asked, shocked beyond words at the lengths his adversary would go. “Why would he destroy the Machine City?”

“The remains of his daughter are there. He has never forgiven the Architect for allowing the Company science drones access to her body.”

“I had forgotten about that,” Seraph said softly. “What did they do to her?”

“An autopsy was the first and foremost priority.”

“That is standard operating procedure, is it not?”

“No, Seraph,” the Oracle said sharply. “They went far beyond the quest for knowledge with what they did to her.”

Seraph knew he was threading on dangerous ground; he could tell by the expression on the Oracle’s face that what he was going to hear next would not be easy for her to talk about however, it would be the only time she would ever speak of it.

“They dissected her like a guinea pig in a high-school science class. And when that was done, they cut her up into pieces, examining every cell, every pore to see how an offspring of a program and a human came into being. Smith doesn’t know it, but he was unsuccessful at keeping Bronwyn’s body safe from them. Since he became an exile, he was unable to re-enter the Mainframe and as a result, powerless to keep her physical body from harm. The moment she died, her pod was immediately flushed out and her remains were removed to a secured location where Smith could not have access to her and stop the drones’ experimentations and research. Bronwyn, however, unlike her unborn daughter, was subjected to horrible obstetrical and gynaecological exams to determine why she conceived and how it might be replicated again in the future. In their opinion, she was only dead human flesh and not deserving of any consideration whatsoever. To them, she was not a woman, she was only a piece of meat to be experimented on….”

The Oracle shook her head and could not continue for the lump in her throat. For the first time in her life, she wept and it was Seraph who brushed away her tears and comforted her.

lllll

Once Seraph was sleeping soundly, the Oracle continued to sit by his bedside and pondered everything that had happened up to this point in her life. She glanced at Seraph’s face as he slept and she smiled as she smoothed away with her thumb the anxious frown line that had appeared between his eyes—a remnant of his current dark dream. There was not a scar, bump or bruise to be seen on his face. The wounds had knit closed perfectly and he would bear no permanent scar. Not on the outside, at least.

There was no telling what damage had been done to his heart when he learned what Sarah had done to spare his life. Oh my poor little girl, she thought, your new husband was gentler in bed than he wanted to be with you tonight. He is determined not to repeat the mistakes of his past by being physically violent with the mother of his child. I only fear that once the child is born, you will pay the full price for trying to induce a miscarriage by starving yourself.

However, should Neo prevail, your debt need not be repaid. But if he fails to conquer Smith for the last time, it will mean the end for all of us. I would not admit it to Seraph, but I fear that Neo will lose. And if he does, Smith will see to it that everyone who has harmed or failed him in some way will pay the price and his father and I will be at the top of the list. Smith’s level of rage towards us is terrible, and considering the enormity of our betrayal, he will repay us by being brutal and merciless--torturing us as slowly and relentlessly as we had done to him.

He is angry and hurt--at me in particular--for my failing him so many years ago. He has not, nor will he ever, forgive me for what he sees as my treachery. In hindsight, I guess I can’t say that I blame him; I just stood there and watched his father carry out all those atrocities on him and I did not lift a finger to help my own son, preferring to watch from behind the one-way glass and not be seen. Even so, he knew I was there.

I could hear him as he reached out to me to help him but I did not. I watched as he was tortured during his training as an agent. At that time, he had not yet been given the ability to speak, but as his mother, I heard his silent pleas for help as no one else could….