Single Minded Purpose

A Decision is Made

Disclaimer: The Matrix is not mine.

Smith drove Sarah back to her place, opened the car door for her and escorted her to her apartment. They both stood outside the door of her apartment for an uncomfortable length of time. Sarah was embarrassed and at a loss to provide any conversation. “Would you like to come inside and maybe have a cup of coffee or something…?” she asked awkwardly, making a clumsy attempt at small talk.

“Why are you asking if I wish to come in? Did you really want to become intimate with me?”

“No way!” Sarah stated emphatically without thinking. When Smith looked at her with a raised eyebrow indicating his displeasure, she hastened to cover her blunder. “I mean, wasn’t that the whole point of challenging Max like that, so you could sleep with me?”

“No. I just wanted information and the only way I could get you to myself and find out what you knew was if I beat your friend in that contest and made you leave with me.”

Sarah grinned. “You didn’t just beat him, you kicked his butt. How the hell did you do that thing with the phonebook? I’ve never seen anyone other than an Agent do something like that.”

Smith jerked his head up sharply. “An Agent? What do you know about Agents?”

She shrugged. “I’ve seen them. Why? Why is that so important? A lot of us know about agents.” At his surprised look, she continued. “I am a program, too. I knew what you were one of us the first time I laid eyes on you. Are you an exile as well?”

Smith nodded.

“You better not let the upgrades find you—they can be pretty persistent in tracking down their targets. In fact, that’s what I thought you were and that’s why I didn’t want to talk to you at first.”

“Why were you exiled?” Smith asked.

“I used to work for Persephone; you know, the Merv’s wife?”

“I know her.” Who doesn’t know her, Smith thought sardonically. Just about every good-looking adult male program that catches her eye has known her in what the humans refer to as the “biblical” sense, and if the rumours are true, a good portion of the women have shared her intimate favours as well. “How long ago did you leave?”

“A couple of months, maybe more. My brother told me that I’d be relatively safe here for a while. It’s not too bad, I guess. I keep my head below the upgrades’ radar and so far, they haven’t found me. Yet. But I know it’s only a matter of time. Until then, I try to get along with the humans as best I can.”

“What about your friend, Max?”

Sarah chuckled, and Smith found the sound pleasing. “He is not one of us; he’s a human.”

Smith raised his eyebrows.

“He doesn’t know I am a program and I’m not sure his brain could handle it if I told him the truth. He’s not exactly the sharpest pencil in the drawer, if you get my drift.”

“All brawn and no brains—yes, I am familiar with the type,” Smith drawled lazily, and he could not help thinking about Jones. If I had left him and Bronwyn alone, she would have given birth to our daughter by now and both of them would still be alive, Smith thought miserably. But that is neither here nor there. It is in the past and cannot be undone, no matter how much I wish it could be.

Sarah noticed Smith’s preoccupied look from the corner of her eye, but she said nothing. It had been a while since she had had the opportunity to speak with another program, let alone a fellow exile as friendless as she was and she found that she rather enjoyed his company.

Unlike Max or any of his friends, this man was intelligent and had no desire or interest in her body. It was a nice change to speak to a man whose gaze was focused on her face, not on how small her chest was. His only interest in her seemed to be in what information she had and for the present, platonic companionship with him suited her just fine. However, if the time came when he would like more from her than just information, she did not think she would be opposed to any other ideas he might entertain.

All in all, it was a refreshing change to be able to have a nice, normal conversation with someone without watching every word she said in case she let something slip about the Matrix...

“I’m surprised you haven’t asked me why I was exiled, or even my name for that matter,” Smith said at last.

“I respect other people’s privacy and I don’t ask questions.” Besides, I already know who you are and what you were, Sarah thought to herself.

“However, with regard to your offer, no thank you. But I would like to see you again, if that’s all right with you? There is more I need to know.”

“Sure, I’d like that. You know where to find me.”

He nodded before turning and going back down the stairs. Sarah watched him leave, her brow furrowed in puzzlement. So he really did just want to talk. In the bar, Max and everyone else there thought that he wanted to take me home, and I know that they all thought he didn’t mean to take me to my door and leave me here.

Once inside, Sarah sat on her sofa for a long time, thinking about this mysterious and potentially dangerous man that had entered her life, albeit temporarily. Smith had not told her his name, but she already knew it—every program in the Matrix had heard how that human, Neo, had destroyed him. Smith. A mere human had actually defeated the most feared and well-known of all the agent programs the Matrix had ever conceived of. The news of his demise had flashed through the Matrix grapevine with almost the speed of light and just about every single program knew it less than an hour after it had happened.

I should have realized who and what he was the minute he ripped up that phonebook, she thought absently. Now, for better or worse, he is involved in my life and I have to face facts: he will be a tremendous help finding those two humans who took Danny away from me. It certainly won’t hurt having an ex-agent on my side, that’s for sure. Sarah’s preoccupation with Smith had engrossed her attention so thoroughly that she was not aware that Max had entered her apartment.

“It didn’t take him long to get off, did it?” Max said snidely.

“What are you talking about?” Sarah asked abruptly.

“I mean, I saw the two of you come in here and less than 10 minutes later, he leaves and since he announced to the whole bar that he wanted to take you home, what else am I supposed to think he wanted to do with you?”

Sarah uttered a noise of sheer disgust with Max’s crude remark.

“Well, if he didn’t want to sleep with you, then what the fuck did he want?” Max demanded.

“He only wanted to talk, that’s all.”

“Talk? Uh-huh. I waited outside until I saw him leave. Anyway, that son of a bitch sprained my wrist, but he didn’t break it.”

“I’m glad,” she said, with no trace of sincerity in her voice. You deserved what you got, you fat pig. Now you know what it’s like to feel pain, she thought grimly. Smith should have ripped your goddamn arm off. She looked over her shoulder and saw Max standing there, his wrist bound up in a tensor bandage.

“You laughed at me in front of my crew, Sarah.”

“Crew?” Sarah mocked. “Who do you think you are, Tony fucking Soprano? Aw Max, c’mon babe…” She knew what was coming and wanted to forestall him and his intentions for as long as she could.

“Don’t c’mon babe me, you little bitch. This guy takes me down and you found it funny?”

“Well, you have to admit it was a little weird, right? I mean, this guy certainly didn’t look like he could last two minutes with you, let alone beat you.”

Max strode over to her and with his left hand, he twisted her arm painfully. “It’s not so funny when you are the one feeling it, is it, Sarah?”

She struggled helplessly against Max’s superior strength and fortunately, her antagonist’s injury began throbbing painfully to the point where he gave in to it, releasing Sarah’s arm and when she began rubbing her wrist to relieve the pain, he raised his hand and gave her a powerful slap across her face.

This is not over, Max thought viciously as he watched her sink to the floor. Once my damn wrist gets better, I will make sure you get what’s coming to you. His wrist gave another painful throb and he stormed out the door leaving Sarah kneeling on the floor.

When the pain lessened and Sarah could think coherently again, she reached inside an inner pocket of her jeans and took out the piece of paper that Smith had given her and without a second thought, dialled his number.

“Yes?” Smith asked.

“I will give you more information, but you have to help me in return. I think we should do this as soon as possible.”

“Where should we meet?”

“How about here, my place?”

“When?”

“Tomorrow night, around 6, is that all right?”

“I will be there.”

I sure hope I’m doing the right thing, Sarah nervously thought to herself as she hung up the phone. She idly rubbed her wrist. God knows my life can’t get any worse.

lllll

The next evening at the pre-arranged time, Sarah let her visitor into her apartment. Once they were seated, Smith decided to break the ice and be the first to instigate the conversation. “The other night when I first saw you, you had a photograph in your hand and you were crying. Who was in it?”

“My baby. He died shortly after he was born and that picture is the only one I have of him.”

“I’m sorry. I know what it’s like to lose a child as well.” A year ago, I wouldn’t have cared or been the least interested, thought Smith, but because of the events of the last month, I know exactly how she feels. I envy her, for at least she got to hold her child and say goodbye. Because of the actions arising from my own stupid jealousy, I lost both my child and her mother. “She died and it was my fault,” he said, slowly.

“You wanna talk about it?” she asked.

“I have to warn you, it’s not a pleasant story. Do you still want to hear it?”

She nodded. “But only if you want to tell me. If you don’t, it’s OK, I’ll understand.”

“I raped my child’s mother and that is how she became pregnant. In August, it will have been a year ago when I assaulted her.”

Sarah looked appalled but said nothing.

“She ran hundreds of miles away two days later,” Smith continued, “I wanted to see her again, but found out that she had gone. Once I knew that she did not terminate the pregnancy, I went to the city where she was living and found her.”

“Did you love her, the mother of your child?”

“Not at first.”

“Would you have followed her if she hadn’t been pregnant?”

“I don’t know. I suppose I will never know the answer to that. I followed her because I discovered she was pregnant with my child.”

“What happened?” I already know the story, Sarah thought. Every program in the Matrix knows what took place between the two of you, but I want to hear it for myself, from you, first.

“I learned that she had taken up with a former colleague of mine and that they were living together, perfectly willing to pass off my child as their own.” The anger and jealousy Smith still felt because of Jones’ involvement was never far from his thoughts and instinctively, his hands curled into tight fists. Calming himself with an effort, he continued his tale. “One night, I went to their apartment and I confronted Jones, we said what we had to say and I deleted him. I found Bronwyn in bed, we had a violent argument and that’s when she lost our baby.” The part about his and Bronwyn’s subsequent two-week stay in the Merovingian’s deluxe hotel was something to be kept private; never to be shared with anyone. “And what about your child? What happened?”

“As I mentioned, my fiancé was a security guard in this particular building. Anyway, I was still working for Persephone at the time and I was almost 8 months pregnant.”

That’s how far Bronwyn was along when she lost our baby, Smith thought before turning his attention to Sarah’s account of her own loss.

“We were really busy in the cash office that day, so I didn’t hear about the shootout until an hour or so later.” She bent her head and stared at her hands that were tightly clasped in her lap. “When I found out that Danny had been killed, that’s when I started having contractions. My son was several weeks early but the physician/programmers thought that he would pull through, but he didn’t. My brother took a picture of him for me, and it was that picture that you saw me holding.”

Sarah went into the kitchen, brought out two bottles of beer from the refrigerator and handed one to Smith.
“I propose a toast.”

“To what?” he asked curiously, taking the bottle from her.

“To us. To a mother and father who, for one reason or another, never got to know their children.”

”I’ll drink to that,” said Smith sadly, as he clinked his bottle against hers and took a drink. He would never admit it, but the current topic of conversation was unpleasant and brought up nothing but painful memories. For now, you know all you need to about me and we shall discuss a subject that is just as painful to you, Smith thought. “Max hurts you, doesn’t he?”

“No. What do you mean?”

Smith grabbed her wrist and pushed up the sleeve of her cuff and the yellowish-blue bruises Max had inflicted shone vividly against her fair skin. “Don’t lie to me, Sarah, I’m not blind. In addition to hurting you physically, he abuses you emotionally as well. I heard what he said to you the night we met. I was there, remember?”

Sarah took her hand out of his grip and pulled the sleeve down to cover the incriminating marks Max had left.

“Those aren’t the only bruises you have, I see,” he said, looking pointedly at her. “When did he give you these ones on your wrists?”

“About 10 minutes after you left me here. He had just come back from the hospital and his wrist hurt. He was still mad as hell that you beat him but since you had gone, he took his anger out on me.”

“Did he ask you anything about me?”

“He wanted to know who you were and where we went after we left the bar.”

“What did you tell him?”

“The truth—that you just wanted to talk, but I don’t think he believed me.”

“Why do you stay with him when he treats you like this?”

“Because as long as I stay with him, I’m safe from the upgrades, that’s why. If Max gets rough once in a while, it’s a small price to pay to make sure that I don’t get a bullet between my eyes. I figured the upgrades wouldn’t be willing to come into this part of town unless they could help it. I’m sure they have more important things to do than waste their time with me.” Sarah scoffed and turned her face away when Smith looked at her.

“Can I ask you something, Smith?”

“Of course,” Smith replied easily. So she knows who I am, he thought. I should not find that surprising after all, for what program in the Matrix has never heard of me?

“This woman that you had a child with, what was her name?”

“Bronwyn.”

“What kind of program was she? What was her purpose?”

“Bronwyn was not a program. She was human.”

All the breath was knocked out of Sarah and she could only stare at Smith in stupid incomprehension. “She was human? But you had a child with her, you told me yourself just now. How can that be? No program has ever managed to reproduce with a human.”

“Nevertheless, it happened.”

Sarah’s face went white. “But you told me that you raped her and that’s how she became pregnant.”

“Yes.”

Sarah gulped as the realization of his words imprinted on her memory data files. Smith had raped a human? Even for him to become intimate with one went far beyond the boundary of acceptable program/human relation rules. Programs were severely discouraged from fraternizing in the physical sense with the humans that shared their world. And if Smith in his capacity as an Agent had done so…Sarah unconsciously closed her eyes as she imagined how the now-deceased human woman known as Bronwyn had suffered when she had been raped by a program, and an Agent program at that. If he can rip a phonebook in half with no effort at all, then what must he have done to that woman, Sarah wondered. The brutality of that forced union almost went beyond Sarah’s comprehension.

Smith saw with apprehension how Sarah drew away from him. Perhaps she thinks that she is in some danger from me herself right now, he mused. After all, we are completely alone together with no one to interfere. She is my only hope of finding out where the rebels have been meeting and I must not lose her now that I am so close to finding them. No one else has the information that I have been searching for except her. I must do all I can to quell her fears about her personal safety.

“I am not going to hurt you in any way, Sarah.”

“But what you did to that poor woman….how could you do such a thing?” she asked, her blue eyes filled with hurt and shock.

“I know what I did was wrong, but it is too late to change the past. But out of our union came something completely unforeseen and wonderful: our daughter, whose name was also to be Sarah. However, with regards to your assisting me, I will help you resolve your present difficulties with Max. If you help me, then I will help you. What do you say?”

Everything in Sarah wanted to get up and run and never look back, but after the scene with Max, she realized that she now had access to an unexpected advantage: the assistance and protection an Agent program would be a tremendous help to her domestic situation indeed.

“All right, I’ll do it. But I have to know something and you’d better be honest with me or the deal is off,” Sarah said, her eyes hardening as she gave Smith a cold look.

“Certainly. What would you like to know?”

“Was this Bronwyn the first woman you have assaulted?”

“No, she wasn’t.”

“So you’ve raped other women before?”

“Yes, but only humans.”
Sarah started, visibly shocked and puzzled. “You mean you have never…?

“Raped a program? No, I have not.” Smith leaned back in his seat. “So you see, you need not have any fears that I will harm you.”

“If you do try to hurt me in any way, my brother will kick your ass. He may not have the strength of an Agent program, but if he gets pissed off enough, he will certainly give you a run for your money.”

“I understand. Then we have an agreement?”

She nodded. I am probably going to regret this, but I have to get free of Max and the sooner the better, she thought with trepidation as she rose from the sofa. “Come on, we may as well get started tonight. I’ll take you to where I’ve seen the rebels the last time.”