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Message no. 1
From: Avenger <Avenger@*******.DEMON.CO.UK>
Subject: And now what?
Date: Wed, 10 Jun 1998 13:03:36 +0100
*****INTERNAL: Marathon's Cyberdeck; Journal
>>>>>[And finally it has come to this. Now I have to find someone to
pay the cost, someway to rebuild this mess.


+++++Include: Audio/visual


The young form of Cath sits cross-legged on a wide bed in a a
comfortably furnished room. A dismantled machine pistol lays on an oily
rag in front of her. New cartridges gleam from an open box. She is
slowly and carefully reassembling the weapon, cleaning rods and
materials packed neatly into a small box close by. The dwarf, Ringpiece
lays snoring gently on a sofa at the end of the bed.


Monolith sits in a wing chair near a streaked and dirty window, the
lights of the city blurred through the glass behind him in the night,
legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles. His hands are held
together in front of his face, a face in deep shadow under the brim of
his fedora. "Are you coming with us Cath? Marathon has found work in
Detroit, it should pay well, and doesn't offer the dangers of this
city."


"You've already got my answer." The sulky pout reduces her pretty face
to something more closely resembling the pucker of a cat's arse.


"Why? What will it achieve?" Monolith's voice is tired, the sound
depressed and miserable.


"Because it's time to draw the line. All through the last few months
people have ridiculed Ralph, they crack jokes at the expense of a dead
man who can't defend himself, now some slot, Mitchell, decides it would
be amusing to start fucking him over again. I'm going to put a stop to
it. No more jokes, no more wisecracks. No FUCKING MORE!"


"It won't achieve anything." Monolith's voice, though weary, is calm and
level. "Suppose for one moment that you kill Mitchell. What does it
achieve? Kill one Fed and a hundred jump into the gap. You know only
too well the attention a cop killer gets. So what is this going to do
for anyone? You kill him, who knows? Nobody, unless you intend to
leave a calling card. If you do that, you're as dead anyway. You can't
afford to say anything, to claim the kill. So nobody will know."


"Yes they will. They'll know. They'll know because I'll sign his dead
fucking body."


"FOOLISHNESS! You can't be that insane. Why? Do you think it will
make Ralph feel better because you committed suicide to return honour to
his name? Do you seriously think he gives a fuck about what these
people say? So they use him as a butt of their jokes when posting in
some foreign language? So what? He only started what he did because he
/wanted/ to die. He wanted to die honourably, not wasting away from the
disease that was killing him. He wanted a way out where someone else
pulled the trigger. For God's sake girl, let it rest. Ralph got what
he wanted, and the thought that the joke is carried on would please him
no end. You know damn well what a sense of humour he had. He wouldn't
be insulted to be remembered like this. Damn, his death achieved
something, nobody abuses their knowledge anymore without allowing for
those who are less fortunate. None of it was pointless nor was it
wasted. Let it go!"


"FUCK YOU MONO! Ralph died because some fuckin' bitch didn't have the
decency to understand that some weren't as educated as she was. He died
standing up for people like that, believing in something. It isn't
right that some no-name dirtbag can speak like that, and expect to be
accepted with that feeble effort for an apology." She angrily slams the
bolt home and locks it. Waving towards the room's door with the weapon,
"And he had no right accepting that apology. It weren't meant, he was
ordered to do it, you can tell that just from the damn words. Fucking
Mitchell was just following orders. Well, I'm going to show him what
it's like to be on the shit end of a stick, I'm going to shove that
stick so far down his throat he'll need a chiropodist to get it out."
Cath thumps back down onto the bed, ramming rounds into the mp's clip.


"Cathy..."


"No more Monolith. I mean it. Mitchell's going to pay for his words,
and he's going to pay in the only way he knows how. And if that bitch
Lillith gets in the way, I'll kill her too."


"Cathy..."


The young girl rams a clip home into the weapon and cocks it. "One more
word Mono and I'll start with you."


The mage looks up at the ceiling briefly, taking a deep breath. Tears
fill his eyes, and dampen his cheeks. An agony rooted deep within him
is written plain as day across his face. "You will be killing a man for
nothing." The catch in Monolith's throat breaks the words as he
struggles to keep his voice level. "Ralph didn't die in an accident
before he could defend his honour."


The room is silent for several minutes.


"What do you mean?" The machine pistol is held in a rock steady hand,
still cocked, neither it, nor Cath has moved during the period of
silence.


"I had hoped it wouldn't come to this. But if it will stop you running
to your death, then it is time you knew the truth. Ralph apologised to
Lillith. He apologised as a gentleman, and as the educated man he was.
The dawn duel he was to attend would never have happened. His final
joke at the expense of Quinn was cancelled. There was another involved
as you may remember. A man who tried very hard to prevent Ralph's
death, he offered a great deal to Paraquat to keep him alive. Do you
know why Ralph died Cathy? To save you. You and Marathon, and Hungry.
He believed that you were crippling yourselves in a futile attempt to
help him. He was looking for an easy way out, Quinn and Lillith offered
that way out, and in their stupidity and arrogance they fell for it. So
confident in their unity and perfection, they missed the clues that
would have warned them something was wrong. I couldn't intervene,
though I would have died myself to prevent the duel Quinn was so
determined to have. Why she had to be so archaic is beyond me, Ralph
had never seen a black powder weapon, let alone fired one. It was then
that he realised that there was something seriously wrong with those
people, something that set them apart from humanity, something alien
that couldn't ever be explained, and something that would reduce his
jest to a futile effort. The Lynch's and their ilk are not a part of
this society, they are beyond it, locked in some weird sick little
fantasy only they understand. Ralph backed out, he did it to save you,
and to prevent the humiliation that would have resulted."


"But..." the confusion on Cath's face is almost childlike, the machine
pistol forgotten for the moment, lies abandoned on the rag.


"Let me finish. There is more. Much more." For a short while Monolith
looks out of the window, gazing into the rain and the night. "Ralph had
made a decision, you know what he was like once his mind was made up, it
would take the devil himself to shift it. Michael tried. Oh god how he
tried. He offered Ralph everything except his soul, to just wait and
think about what he was doing. It wasn't enough. The night before
Paraquat was due to meet Quinn, he phoned me, and asked if I'd do him a
favour. I had no choice but to agree. It was that, or watch him
destroy himself in some lunatic scheme. Ralph didn't die in an
accident. His truck didn't explode." Monolith turns away from the
window and faces Cath, his arms hanging limply by his sides, his face a
tapestry in torment. "I killed him."


Again a heavy silence hangs thickly in the air. Total disbelief and
horror on Cath's face, only the slight snoring of the dwarf any
indication that life exists in the frozen tableaux.


"What?"


"I, killed him Cath. It was the only way to be certain he got his wish
and didn't suffer."


"You... You...." The scream when it finally drives itself out of Caths
open mouth is incoherent and animal in it's agony. A long, drawn wail
that shatters the dwarf out of his sleep and brings Marathon rushing
into the room, sliding to a halt, he stares at the others in confusion.
The young girl bunches into a fetal position, head buried in the cover
of the bed, hands clamped tight into balls, blood trickling from between
her fingers where the razors were cutting into her palms the tormented
ululation continues. Hungry enters through another door, breaking it
from the frame. Cath's head raises, pure hatred burning in her eyes as
she looks towards the slumped form of the mage. "You, fuck..." Tendons
stand out on her arms and neck, her muscles bunching in utter fury.
"YOU... FUCK!" She launches at Monolith, hands held like talons, the
steel razors glinting as she slashes down at the motionless mage. A
spur slides from her forearm aiming for Monolith's throat.


A moment before the girl connects, the massive shape of Hungry blurs
across the room, slamming into her, huge arms wrap around the slim girl,
trapping her in a wall of iron. Her incoherent screams rattle the
windows as she futilely struggles against the enormous strength of the
young troll.


"What wrong with Cath?" Fear an open and fluid emotion on Hungry's face
as he looks from one to another, confused and scared. "WHAT WRONG!"
His deep voice shakes the others into a semblance of life, Monolith
staggers back in delayed reaction, Marathon stands lost, unaware of the
events that have transpired, and Ringpiece stares around at everyone as
if they had lost their minds. "Mono? Why Cath attack? What you do?
You hurt Cath?"


"In a manner of speaking Hungry. In a manner of speaking. I hurt her
trying to save her." The defeat in Monolith's voice is the sound of a
condemned man facing the chair.


"Mono go, not hurt Cath no more. Hungry smash."


"Yes. Yes, Hungry smash. Mono go." The dejected and broken mage
stumbles out of the ruins of Hungry's entrance, his footsteps fading
down the corridor. Cath's desperate sobbing muffled against the broad
expanse of Hungry's chest. The slim samurai frail against the enormity
of the troll.


"What the fuck happened in here?" Marathon looks at Ringpiece, hoping
for some explanation.


The dwarf shakes his head and looks around, hoping for inspiration from
the room's furnishings. "No idea, I was asleep. First thing I know is
when she started screaming."


"Oh jesus fucking christ, what the hell is going on here? Why is it all
going to shit?" Flustered and panicked, Marathon attempts to get closer
to Cath, but is blocked by the broad back of Hungry, protectively
covering Cath with his body, not allowing anyone near the distressed
woman.


Huge tears of fear roll down the Troll's face, confusion on his face,
his huge arms wrapped around the girl as if to protect her from the
wrath of god itself. "Hungry not understand. Why Mono hurt Cath? Why?
Why...?" The troll collapses onto his knees cradling the girl, his face
twisted in confusion, looking to the others for guidance, but not
allowing them near his charge.


Cath bucks in Hungry's arms, huge wracking sobs breaking through her
body, a bitter howl ripping through her raw throat. "He... did... it."
The words are almost unintelligible, broken amidst the pain and tears.
"Mono... He killed Ralph." Suddenly she relaxes, collapsing against
Hungry's powerful chest, her heart broken, and all the pain of the world
streaming out against the solid wall of muscle next to her head.


"Whatthefuck?" Marathon sits down hard, hitting the edge of the coffee
table, disbelief on his face. "How..."


Ringpiece continues his lighthouse impression, head rotating between the
strange people occupying this alternate reality he has awoken into.
"Who?"


+++++32.7 minutes edited


Sitting on the bed, her weapon lays on the floor, Cath sips from a hot
mug. Her eyes are swollen, red and bloodshot, a pile of tissues lay on
the floor next the discarded machine pistol. Her nose is raw where
she's been wiping it, occasional sobs still shake her slim body. Hungry
sits on the floor in front of her, completely absorbed by the girl,
every ounce of his being trying to offer her the strength that comes so
easily to him. One massive hand rests on her knee, almost completely
concealing her upper leg. Confusion still evident on his face, and
something else, something indecipherable, awe almost, or reverence,
blood spots his shirt, damage from the girls razors while he held her,
he seems oblivious to the injuries.


"Let me get this straight." Marathon sounds tired. His hands scrub at
his face, trying to physically clear his mind and grasp the information
that has clogged his mind. "Monolith told you he killed Paraquat?"


"Yes." Cath is quiet, subdued, her voice almost a whisper.


"Because Ralph asked him to?"


"That's what he said."


"So why didn't Lone Star figure it out? Why did they report it as an
accident?"


"I don't know, your the Matrix specialist, your the god who finds
things, you look into it." Cath lays down on the bed, staring at
nothing, her eyes glazed.


Hungry looks over at Marathon, seeking reassurance that things are all
right, and this is just an episode that will pass, all Marathon can do
is smile uncertainly and shrug his shoulders. Grabbing his deck from a
pack, he walks over to the access terminal in the room and, removing the
computer from it's connection, plugs the deck into the jackpoint.
"Hungry. Watch for me. Anyone comes in who we don't know, anyone. Turn
them into a smear."


"OK, Marathon, Hungry smash strangers." With something constructive to
do at last, Hungry's face changes, a purpose fills him again, he has a
task, to protect his family. It is enough for him. He stands in the
centre of the room, an immovable object looking for a reason to prove
it, staring at the broken door leading to the corridor. Ringpiece
simply looks from one to another, an unreadable expression on his face.


+++++End include


]<<<<<
-- Marathon <05:12:32/06-10-59>
Message no. 2
From: Avenger <Avenger@*******.DEMON.CO.UK>
Subject: Re: And now what?
Date: Fri, 12 Jun 1998 00:37:49 +0100
*****INTERNAL: Marathon's Cyberdeck; Journal
>>>>>[I have got to be the most stupid fucking idiot on the face of this
planet. No doubt about it. The signs were all there, but did I see
them? No. Blind and stupid. I suppose the big question now is what
the hell do I do? What the hell /do/ I do? Everything has gone to
shit, Monolith has disappeared, Hungry's arrested, Cath is dead. I
escaped by jumping out of the window. Thank Christ there was a ledge
underneath that broke my fall, before I hit the awnings and the street.
My arm's busted, three ribs cracked, but I'm alive. Is that worth
anything? I don't think so, not now, there's nothing left. Why did she
do it? Depression? Anger? There was no note nothing, just Hungry
yanking the jack out of my head, shit that hurt, I've told him not to do
it, but I suppose he panicked. I just didn't think she'd do something
so stupid. Ringpiece had gone out to get some dressings for Cath's
hands, the razors had cut her pretty deep and Hungry was hurt too,
though he'd never admit it. I was searching reports in Seattle, when he
left. He'd made Cath another drink, she seemed OK, at least Hungry said
she seemed OK, I have no reason not to believe him, out of all of us he
was most sensitive to her moods. She even cracked a joke at him. Less
than a minute later she's blown the back of her head out with the
machine pistol...


+++++Signal break


The gunshots brought the Police, the temporary repairs to the door
weren't enough to hold them, and Hungry wasn't going to leave Cath's
body, so he fought them. I don't even know if he's still alive. Christ
he's a dangerous fucker when he's riled, I hope he's OK, but right now I
don't even know where to look to find out. Ringpiece has disappeared,
and I can't blame him for that. Christ alone knows what he thinks of
us, Monolith is somewhere in this city, and I don't think even God knows
where or whether he's still alive. I've never seen him so broken, so
down. If I knew where to start looking I'd try to find him, I need to
know why he killed Ralph, and let him know what has happened as a result
of his confession. Then I can kill him.


She's dead. How do I feel about that? I don't know. The anaesthetic
that fucking butcher used on me has numbed everything, I can't feel
anything, not anger, not sorrow. Nothing. I can't even hate Mitchell
for starting it. Everything I look at is blurred. Is that a side
effect of the anaesthetic? Or did I hit my head when I hit the
sidewalk? My eyes hurt, they're sore, like I've poured sand into them.
Must be the rain, I didn't have time to grab my gear, only the deck.
Heh, like that was the most important part of my life huh? Well, I
suppose in many ways it is. Tools of the trade so to speak. I wonder
how Hungry is, whether he even lives. I can't seen him giving up, or
surrendering Cath's body - jeez, her whole face was gone...


+++++Signal break


What next? What to do? Where to go? If I return to Seattle, I'll end
up hunting Mitchell, burning him out of the matrix and then trying to
kill him. Though I'd enjoy every fucking minute it won't bring her
back, it won't make things better, it won't turn the clock back.
Detroit? That's a team's work, I can't do it alone, and I no longer
have a team. One dead, one missing, one probably dead, one gone. And
me, wonderful, oh so clever me. The one who was going to fix everything
so we could live out our lives in peace and luxury. Well, that
certainly worked out well. Pheonix then.


Look at me Ma. King of the world!]<<<<<
-- Marathon <00:30:01/06-12-59>

Further Reading

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