Another dark night in the city, the grey sky strewn across it like a transparent shroud, the wind was calm but loud echoing through it but stirring nothing from it's place. The shrill cry of the siren filled the alleyways around it as two men lifted a stretcher into the back of the van and secured it in place. One of them climbed into the back and closed the doors, the other moved back around to the front. The red and blue lights danced along the brick walls as the vehicle pulled out of the alleyway. As the light moving lights crept along the walls for a moment a level of fire-escape was illuminated in the red light and a figure in black stood with his hands on the railing, a white stick with a crimson tip stuck in his lips.

The ambulance's cries fill the city streets as it tears it's way toward the general hospital. Back on the fire escape a ground up cigarette butt rests on the rail. The driver's eyes are glued to the road as he inclines his head and shouts to his partner.

"How's he doing?"

"Not good, he's lost a lot of blood, I've barely got a pulse."

"*poop*."

"Yeah, I'm watching the clock."

The driver lets out a sort of grunt and shifts his hands on the wheel, the sweat's built up on it, last run of the evening and he was hoping it wouldn't end on a sour note. Can't win them all he thinks to himself. He closes his eyes for what seems a second and opens in time to swerve to avoid a near head on collision with a car that hadn't moved far enough to the side.

In the back of the ambulance his partner leans over the man on the stretcher, speaking in a hushed tone.

"Don't worry, I'm getting you a second chance." His attention seems to drift as he places a hand on the man's shoulder.

"We all deserve a second chance in this place." He reaches down to a small pouch beneath the bench he sits on, unzipping it, his hands slowly remove the cap on hypodermic needle with a strange sort of silver liquid within it.

===

The ambulance screeches to a halt, and the wail of the siren falls to a whispered echo, the driver bolts out of the front seat and rips open the Back doors for his gaze to be met by a look of disappointment from his partner.

"*poop*."

"I'm calling it. Time of death 3:15." He sighs as he picks himself up off the bench and helps the driver lift the stretcher out of the ambulance and begin to cover its load with the bag. After the bodies been dropped off the two of them are sitting on the cement edge of the floral arrangement outside of the hospital. One of their hands still stained with dry blood as he lights a smoke. The driver pats him on the back and gets to his feet - he shrugs and begins to walk away, he tosses a sideways glance and the words "Just another day in mega city Al." To his partner and continues to walk on.

Al lets out a sigh and stares down at his blood stained hands, shaking his head he gets to his feet and stops dead in his tracks, his eyes falling on the swoop sneakers worn beneath the misene pinstriped pants. Sneakers and dress pants, he should figure it out but doesn't. His eyes move up across the suit enclosed by a leather trench and finally rest on the bizarre green armless shades that tightly hug the nose of the man before him. The spiked hair helps him put it together.

"Crap." He says as the cigarette falls from his lips.

"Got a light Al?" Darminian asks him.

Thanks tranque, more to come eventually.

~Darminian

Al jumped to his feet and made a movement as if he were about to run, but Darminian simply pushed him back down onto the cement wall he'd been sitting on. Darminian adjusted his trench and sat down next to him, a bizzarre sort of smirk on his face as he picked up the cigarette Al had dropped and handed it to him. Al took it and merely held it in his hand as he stared at the strange man in the suit and trench sitting next to him.

What do you want?

Just a little chat.

Mm, this isn't going to be a lecture about me choosing to abstain is it?

Darminian chuckled as he leaned back on the concrete looking over the street in front of him, the ocasional car would pass regardless of the time, even a few pedestrians, but there was an abundance of ambulances - it made sense, but the sheer amount of them was unsettling.

No, though one might argue your hardly abstaining.

I choose not to take part in squabbles of man and machine, my only concern is the preservation of life.

My you had that prepared quickly.

It's why i'm a paramedic man - i don't care about robots and sewer cities.

We both know you're a little more then a paramedic Al.

His eyes widened slightly and his tongue was caught in his throat - his mind racing.

I... i don't know what you're talking about.

I bet.

Darminian replied as he reached into his coat and pulled out the envelope and passed it to him. Al opened it slowly and removed several photos with doccuments attached. Differentent notices about newly awakened redpills who had wound up in zion after being freed from the matrix. All sorts of different doccumentation concerning mental evaluations and vital signs.  

What's all this then?

Doccumentation on the bluepills you've awakened.

He paused for a moment before sighing and staring down at his feet.

I ... wondered how long it would be till someone figured me out.

Yeah well - that's why i'm here.

Is it so bad? - I saved their lives man, it has to be worth something. I mean what's so wrong about that?

You want me to take the zionist, machinist or exile mentality here Al?

You're not taking me back there for some rediculous trial from a bunch of rodents hiding out in caves - people who've never even been into this place.

I don't plan on taking you back. I'm here to warn you.

Warn me? So what zion is threatening me now - are you another one of those bloody hitmen - figures that's their solution, i save lives, they send someone who takes them.

Al, not that i want to detract from my focal point - but if i were here to kill you i would have just shot you. And if i wanted to threaten you, i wouldn't be sitting down and talking, i'd be handing you a picture of your family. I'm here because if i know what your up to, which means someone else already does, or will soon enough. You aren't flying under the radar anymore - too many of them have shown up with the same story. Pretty soon they'll piece it together and come council or sentinel they'll try to stop you.

I'm not going to stop.

I'm not here to stop you.

A week later.

========= 

I heard they were sharing the same room. The man in the suit with the spiky hair asked the receptionist.

Yes....Are you a member of the immediate family sir?

Yes.

Both of them?

Sure, why not.

The receptionist looked at him strangely for a moment before asking.

Are you a cop or something? 

The man in the suit glanced left and right before leaning on the desk and speaking in a lower tone.

Federal agent, it's a matter of national security, but it needs to remain quiet.

The receptionist seemed to smile, this taste of excitement amidst her normal job, she grinned and replied.

Room 207, east wing.

Cheers.

He replied as he headed off in the direction of the room.

===

He opened the door to room 207 and entered, inside there were two hospital beds almost side by side, sitting up in the left bed with a food tray in front of him was the man he recognized as the ambulance driver. On the right bed lay a man covered in bandages and connected to several tubes and machines, a heart monitor chiming out a slow steady pase in the room. The light of the room was a cross between a bleak grey and sterile white that was a hospital constant. He approached the left bed and snuck a glance at the clip-board attached at the base before standing over the man trying to eat.

Leroy Wilson?

Yes...... Can i help you?

I hope so - i'm officer Tiedec with the MCPD - i wanted to ask you some questions about what happened last night.

He looked over the man in the suit before casually glancing over to his friend Al, connected to all the machines, his chest rising and falling slowly, as the monitor jumped periodically in the background. He let out a sort of sigh and began to recount the events of the night before...

Routine call, just another night in this city Al thought to himself as the cries of the siren filled the streets again. It was right outside a large government building where they'd been called in to check up on a homeless man who'd apparently collapsed near the door. He tore out the back doors and was met by his partner as they moved to the huddled mass on the ground before them.

Al reached down and checked for the vitals, breathing circulation and a pulse, moments passed as they checked over the situation - neither of them seemed to notice how empty the area was considering it was a government building and fairly large block.

He's alive and breathing - we've got circulation - but he's not responsing - almost like a coma - it's weird. Al said as he attempted to shake the man beneath him awake.

Leroy moved to the back of the ambulance and began to pull out the stretcher when he heard Al call out - beneath him was the homeless man - eyes wide open now shaking wildy, writing in pain and screaming aloud - Al tried to restrain him and hold him down but it was as if his hands were passing through him.

Interesting how the corruption or forced control of an agent over a bluepill can bear semblance to a seizure in the eyes of some. They never had the slightest idea of what they were about to encounter.

====

...... but the guy must have pulled a gun or something.

Leroy was almost shaking as he spoke, the color had drained from his face completely and he was blankly staring into the wall.

He shot Al.... he just shot him so many times - it was like.... things just stopped i mean i heard the gun and felt something - when Al hit the ground i realized one of the shots must have hit me or something i dunno - i remember all the blood but it was so bizzare... i mean my blood..... Theres some sort of irony in that man.

Glad to see some humor there Leroy.

Yeah well, it would be better if Al wasn't like that man - **** it aint right man, were the freakin' good guys.

Yeah well - when this city gets hungry people get chewed up.

The doc said.... he said Al probably won't make it.

The man in the suit with the spiky hair looked over at Al and sighed lightly, i suppose there no justice, balance maybe...

What?

Nothing, just thinking out loud sorry.

Yeah ... no problem - here comes the nurse.

The nurse came into the room and approached Leroy, the man in the suit moved over towards Al and just looked him over head to toe, the broken body clinging to a scrap of life before him. Amidst his observations Leroy was wheeled out of the room and off towards another area of the hospital. He looked over at a nearby chair and noticed the jacket hanging over the edge of it - Al's paramedic jacket. He walked over to it and picked it up - he hadn't noticed at first but the zippered pouch had fallen out of it and into the chair. He tossed the coat back over the back of the chair and picked up the pouch, his mind ticking as he unzipped it to reveal the syringes filled with the familliar silver liquid.

He picked up one of them and held it up to the light of the room, he watched the liquid dancing and bending the light and reflections around it and the background behind the syringe blurred as he watched it's contents. Then in a moment the syringe had blurred and what came into focus was Al - connected to all the machines, body broken - dieing.

---end.

~Darminian