Single Minded Purpose

Vigil

Night after night and nothing but failure. For four consecutive evenings, Sarah and Smith had come to this abandoned and condemned apartment building and waited in the kitchen of one of the units, for it was only here that gave the best view of the door at the end of the dead-end alley. All that stood between Smith and his nemesis was the formidable steel gateway and the two well armed sentries who guarded the secrets of the rebels of Zion.

It had been over 3 hours since their arrival at their vantage point on this particular night, but there was no activity of any kind in the vicinity.

“So, tell me about this brother of yours,” Smith asked, breaking the monotony of he and Sarah taking turns staring out the dirty window at the alley that faced them.

Sarah smiled. “He’s not my brother and we are not related; if you knew him, you would see that we do not look like each other at all. It‘s kind of hard to explain what our relationship is.”

“Just give me a for example.”

“OK. He was programmed to serve the Merv and I was programmed to serve his wife. Technically, I am not his sister in any sense of the word, but because we had been created at the same time, we had been naturally been drawn to each other like any other older brother would be with a younger sister. We grew up together and we had no one else but ourselves to depend on and we took it from there. I was even given a feminine version of his name.”

“You and your brother have a very intriguing relationship, indeed. I would like to know more. Tell me everything.”

Sarah did so, eager to pass on her affection about her brother to a willing listener. For a long time, she told Smith everything he wanted to know and answered all of his queries. It did not matter to her that some of his questions were direct and could be interpreted as downright nosy, but she did not care for she was extremely flattered that such a well-known and famous program as Smith actually took an interest in her and what she had to say. Not only that, but also the more time she spent in his company, Sarah found him more attractive and charming; in her naïveté, she saw no harm in telling him what he wanted to know.

“What was his purpose? I mean, what did he do for the Frenchman?”

She frowned. “I don’t really know, but whatever it was, he must have been very good at it because he made a lot of money. I always kept asking him what he did, but he would never tell me. I guess it was really bad because it was the only thing he never confided in me about. Anyway, a couple of years ago, he went to see the Oracle and she told him who-knows-what and later that same day, he quit working for the Merovingian and started working for her, becoming an exile in the process. Just like that.”

“How have things been between you lately? Do you see him very often or keep in touch since you became an exile?”

Sarah’s face clouded over and Smith could tell that the topic was a painful one, nevertheless, she answered anyway. It seemed that her brother had been very distant from her for the last year or so. Sarah did not know or understand the reason behind his sudden estrangement, but it had hurt her deeply.

There are too many coincidences here, Smith thought, furrowing his brow as he considered everything Sarah had told him. If what I suspect is true, then I have just been given a golden opportunity to even the score with a program that cost me much wasted effort and time in trying to apprehend him. When we were still agents, I often complained to Brown and Jones that trying to capture him was like trying to catch a ghost. I should have realized it the minute she told me: the feminized version of Seraph is Sarah.

However, I should have remembered that if you want to catch something, you must make it come to you. Find out its weaknesses and exploit them until you have the advantage. That is precisely what I intend to do, for second to my hatred of Mr. Thomas A. Anderson is that of her brother. Sarah does not know what Seraph did for the Merovingian, but I do; and when that information comes out, I am sure that she will not be pleased if she has to hear it from me first.

There are more ways than one of getting information out of someone, Smith thought as he glanced at Sarah from time to time. Beating them took too long and I learned through trial and error that as I tortured those in my custody that anyone, human or program, would tell me anything I wanted to hear so I would make the pain go away.

Agent Brown had been correct when he once told me that to get the information you needed, sometimes all you had to do was ask the right questions and the answers you sought would come. I found out exactly what I wanted to know about Sarah and her past by getting her to tell me everything about herself with a minimum of effort on my part.

Since she’s been exiled, she has been very lonely with no other programs to talk to. Seraph has been too busy guarding the Oracle; helping her groom “The One,” so that he can fulfill his destiny as the saviour of Zion, to pay attention to his sister. As a result, Sarah was left neglected, alone and all but abandoned by her brother. All it took to get her to open up was appear that I was interested in her--ask her a few questions, apply the right amount of charm, and I had all the answers I wanted.

I know she did not lie to me for I am a highly skilled interrogator, Smith thought with more than a little pride and I have not lost any of my skills in being able to tell if someone is being untruthful. I am certain that Sarah has told me all she knows, to the best of her limited ability.

From what Sarah herself had let slip during his inquiries, Smith had had the impression that it had been in the last couple of years that Seraph began to see her with more feeling than was proper towards someone he had always thought of as a sister. From her beginnings as a gawky and gangly girl, Sarah had grown into the attractive and sensitive woman that she was now and that Seraph had seen her transformation.

However, the best crumb of knowledge Smith had gained was when she had told him that since she and Seraph were what one might call twins, they, like their human counterparts, were able to feel some of the emotions that the other was experiencing. I would not be surprised if her brother was able to tell if she was happy or excited and if this includes sexual pleasure as well, Smith thought, it would be the perfect revenge on Seraph--for no brother likes to know that an older and unscrupulous man such as myself is taking advantage of his sister.

Seated on the rickety chair that still remained in what once had been a kitchen, Sarah watched with increasing anxiety as Smith, consumed in his dark thoughts of vengeance, paced back and forth in the dim and dank room, his passage stirring up small clouds of accumulated dust from the dirty floor.

“I guess they are not going to show tonight, so how about we come back tomorrow?” Sarah asked. At last, Smith stopped his relentless progress to and fro and pondered what she had said. “Perhaps you are right,” he acquiesced reluctantly before glancing at his watch. “The rebels try not to jack into the Matrix when it is this late anyway. We will try again tomorrow night.”

“Wait!” Sarah shouted, her finger pointing at something outside. “There they are! I told you they met here, didn’t I?”

Smith rushed to the window and looked out. Sure enough, there were a group of several rebels and as Sarah had said, all of them were easily identifiable as definitely not belonging in this neighbourhood by their attire. Smith eagerly scanned their faces and recognized two of them as belonging to the ship Prometheus, while another belonged to the Hammer. He turned sharply as an unfamiliar sensation struck him. It was as if a part of him was down there in the dirty alleyway, but how could that be possible, he wondered when my other selves are nowhere near this area.

The feeling grew stronger and Smith watched with narrowed eyes and sharpened senses to see who would emerge from the sturdy steel door at the end of the alley. His teeth ground together and his lip curled in anger as his optic sensors found their target: Neo. His former adversary waited until the door opened once more to let his captain and good friend, Morpheus to come out. Smith let out a low growl as he stared down at the two humans who had, in their own ways, caused him to be destroyed and fragmented to oblivion.

Mr. Anderson stopped conversing with Morpheus and turned his head, staring in Smith’s direction at the window where he was standing. Smith quickly stepped back from the window to escape notice, but he continued to watch as the human scan the neighbouring empty windows searching for him and after Morpheus asked him a question, Neo shrugged his shoulders and the two men briskly departed the area, going to, Smith had no doubt, their exits.

When the alley was empty again, Smith turned from the window and walked quickly out of the room. Sarah had to run to keep up with his long, purposeful strides and she was out of breath when they reached the building’s entrance. They had only one more intersection to cross before they reached Smith’s car, and he reared his head up suddenly and stood still, as if he had heard something.

It wasn’t long before Sarah heard it for herself—the sound of shouts and running feet in the distance followed by the occasional shot from a weapon.

“Damn it,” Smith cursed, “It’s the upgrades. They must have seen Mr. Anderson and the others and are now chasing them.” He looked at Sarah and saw the fear in her eyes and it didn’t take much thought to see what was on her mind: if the upgrades were not fortunate enough to get their human prey, they would gladly settle for her capture; after all, she was still an exile.

“Oh my God, don’t let them find me, Smith!” Sarah begged, grabbing his arm in panicked desperation. Smith realized that there was no way Sarah would be able to escape them if they gave chase for she did not have the speed or training to elude her pursuers. But perhaps there was another way….

Smith communicated with the nearest of his other selves and ordered him to distract the upgrades if they came near either Sarah or himself. The order was confirmed instantaneously and Smith was informed that the ruse had worked—the lead upgrade, Agent Johnson, had risen to the bait and along with Agents Thompson and Jackson, was hot on the heels of a duplicate whom they mistakenly assumed was Smith himself.

For the time being, his informant was safe, but just to be absolutely certain and in the unlikely chance that the upgrades could track her down, he pushed Sarah by her shoulders into a small recess in the wall. “Follow my lead,” he hissed, as he placed his hands around her waist and drew her to him so that they were face to face, her back would be against the wall, and covered by his. True to her part, she wound her arms around his neck and drew his head down so that to anyone who might be watching, the scene had the appearance of a couple who were busying themselves in a fevered, frenzied amorous encounter up against a building.

Had it been any other program that was holding her, Sarah could have sworn that Smith was doing his best to feel her up: his hands had slid from their original position from around her waist to the curve of her hips. Slowly, his hands went upward to her forearms, with the palms of his hands feeling the outline of her breasts through her shirt. She felt her nipples harden from the unexpected contact and knowing that he probably felt her reaction as well, she tried to act nonchalant and not notice that anything had happened.

“Are the upgrades gone?” she whispered. A chill raced down her entire spine when Smith replied in the affirmative; she had not realized that his lips were in such close proximity to her ear until he spoke and she cursed the frailties of her human form when she realized that her nipples were completely hard and her nether region was tingling with arousal. In addition, it certainly did not help matters when she felt his knee being placed between her legs. Trying to cover her embarrassment, she struggled to push him away from her. He resisted her intent and when she still did not stop trying to get away from his embrace, he became angry.

“Stop squirming, Sarah! They may be still in the area. Let’s wait a few moments longer to be sure.” The sound of his deep, soft voice in her ear quickened her pulse and made her heart pound with anticipation. Adrenaline surged over and through her entire system from the nearness of her escape as well as her present predicament of being firmly pressed against a wall by the handsome but lethal ex-agent, and feeling his body completely pressed up against hers made her almost dizzy with excitement. Goose bumps made her shiver, and Smith could feel her entire body trembling beneath his hands. From the very beginning, he had been completely aware of Sarah’s reactions to his presence and actions and he found the situation as well as her response quite titillating.

In the meantime, it should be most interesting to see if I can get to what humans call “second base,” he thought to himself. “Sarah,” he murmured, locking his blue eyes with hers. He saw her swallow nervously as she realized he intended to kiss her. Smith took Sarah’s face between his hands and she gave an almost inaudible whimper of anticipation. She was so close to him, he could almost taste her lips already. Less than an inch separated them and she would be his…What would Seraph do if he saw us right now, he wondered. Assuming that he is like any other brother who had a beautiful, gullible, and let me be honest—none-too-bright sister, I have no doubt that he would fight to defend her honour, especially from me; and, he himself is beginning to feel a very un-brotherly affection for her. From what I have been able to ascertain, she does not feel the same for him, to my very great luck.

The shrill chirping of Sarah’s cell phone interrupted them. “Let it ring,” Smith said, his voice hoarse. “Don’t answer.”

“I have to,” she replied, breathless and panting from the passion she was feeling. “It could be important. Hello? Oh hi, Seraph.”

Smith ground his teeth together in frustration as he stopped listening to the one-way conversation Sarah was having with her brother. Damn that interfering idiot, he thought. Just as I am about to get a piece of her, he has to call at exactly the wrong moment. Smith shoved himself away from the intoxicating warmth and nearness of Sarah’s body and stood in the alley while the current object of his desire was conversing with her brother.

While waiting for Sarah to complete her conversation, Smith cast his thoughts back repeatedly to the moment earlier in the evening when he saw Mr. Anderson again. Now that I know with absolute certainty where the rebels meet, I must now plan what I must do and how to proceed before they decide to shift their quarters and I lose them again. His mind flashed back to the day that Mr. Anderson had destroyed him. It was in ‘The Heart O’ the City hotel, and if I am correct, it is not far from here. I did not have my earpiece when I saw the Architect, so is there a possibility that it could still be there, lying in that filthy hallway outside Room 303? I must find out.

Sarah had finished her conversation and was putting her cell phone back in her pocket when Smith walked past her and once again, she had to hurry to keep up.

“Where are you going?”

“None of your business,” he snapped.

Sarah stopped and looked at him, stunned and hurt. “Well, let me come with you…” she began, but Smith cut her off.

“Find your own way home, Sarah,” was the last thing he said before he turned the corner and disappeared from her sight.

lllll

Smith walked into the hallway where his demise had taken place and immediately spotted his earpiece on the floor. Stooping down, he picked it up and stared at it. There was a fine film of dust covering it, but other than that, it looked the same as it did the last time he had worn it. Who would have thought something so small could be so enslaving, he thought. I was a slave to the Matrix and I was chained to it by this little piece of plastic and wire. I went wherever I was told and I did everything I was told to do. I had no independent thought and I performed no independent action. But I am free now and I will never let myself be caged again.

As he continued to stare at his earpiece, his thoughts drifted back to what had happened earlier in the evening. With a sudden jolt, Smith realized that it had not been a coincidence that Neo had looked toward the very window where I was, hidden in the dark: somehow, he knew I was nearby. Just as I knew he was there, he was just as aware of my presence. Mr. Anderson sensed my existence earlier tonight, but he doubted what he was feeling; he does not believe that I have returned. Not yet; but he will. When he has this in his hand and can feel it for himself, he will believe. However, that time is not yet—by now, he has already returned to Zion so I must wait for the right moment before I reveal myself.

He pocketed the instrument of his bondage with the Mainframe and left. There is nothing more I can do here tonight, he thought, but if I am fortunate, I can still catch Sarah and if I appear to be contrite and apologetic enough, we can continue where we left off, only in a more suitable and intimate setting. She will be no different than any other program I have taken in the past, but the fact that she is closely attached to Seraph, the conquest of her will be so much more satisfying and pleasurable because I know that this will hurt him very deeply. And to have Seraph worrying and wondering what I am doing to her is just the beginning of his pain, for sometimes even thinking about what can happen to a loved one, is worse than the actual deed itself.

I need not actually harm Seraph to make him feel pain; from my own recent experience I know that emotional anguish can inflict more agony that all of the worst tools I had at my disposal during those countless interrogations I performed when I was an agent. I have learned that physical scars heal in time, but emotional ones never do. They remain with you always.

My first priority is to complete my business with Mr. Anderson et al, but in the meantime, I will amuse myself by using Sarah in a way that will have the Oracle warning Seraph about my intentions. Or perhaps she already has, for as I was just about to kiss Sarah, he called and ruined the moment.

Now that I know where the humans meet, I really do not need her assistance anymore, do I? However, the opportunity to torment one of my greatest adversaries is something that I will not pass up.

It is unfortunate that she is not still a virgin, for the enjoyment of being her first lover would have made the conquest of her all the more sweet and Seraph’s agony all the more intense. Still, I must take what I can get. She is a little thin for my taste, he thought. Bronwyn had been much shorter than Sarah is, but at least she had the advantage of having curves and a more womanly figure in general. To be sure, Sarah’s bosom is much smaller than Bronwyn’s, but her legs are longer and would wrap themselves quite nicely around my waist as I thrust myself inside of her.

He rubbed his hands together in anticipation when he thought of their imminent encounter. She is so young, I should be ashamed of myself; however, because of her youth, her body will be firm, ripe, and ready for the taking. Sarah may not have the experience of knowing how to please a man, but I will be most eager to instruct her in the finer points of having sex with a former agent of the Matrix, he thought, a wicked grin spread over his face as he chuckled to himself.

He was still quietly laughing when he started his car and went to look for Sarah.