13: THE RESTAURANT

They are brought together again.

Falcon led the human confidently through château to the entrance room. Behind him, he could sense her amazement at the décor, and smiled softly to himself. Abruptly, the smile vanished – he was getting too attached to her. Much more of this and they really would Merge, and Falcon wanted to stay Falcon, thank you very much.

He unlocked the door and took her directly to the restaurant via the kitchens. As they followed the aisle towards the dais, his twin looked behind them suddenly. He glanced back as well, and his stomach jumped. The Rebels were seated at one of the tables – the commanding woman, and two other males he hadn't come across. The younger man started up, but the elder clamped him back down with a dark-skinned hand on his shoulder.

The Merovingian had arranged for more chairs at his long table, and he and Persephone occupied the central two on the window side. Three more chairs sat opposite, one occupied by a young man in his twenties. He had his head in his hands and was staring blankly at the tablecloth.

'Tiresias!'

Relieved she had found her tongue at last, he stepped aside to allow Aerial to leap up the steps. Tiresias lifted his head, 'Aerial? Oh God, they got you too?'

'Yes, I'm afraid. Just as we left the Oracle's.' Aerial cast a nervous glance at the Merovingian, then sat beside Tiresias, touching his arm reassuringly. The tension left his shoulders.

Falcon took a seat beside Aerial, and they looked expectantly at him. The Frenchman sat back and studied them. 'Fascinating... Of course, you two are not z' first examples of zis phenomenon I 'ave come across, but it is intriguing nonez'less.'

Falcon was struck by a chilling possibility.

He forced Tiger to Merge... An experiment.

He realised Persephone was staring at him, and shot her a glance. She smiled. He swallowed uncomfortably. 'What did you want to see us about?' he asked.

The Merovingian assumed a neutral expression. 'I merely wished to get to know you all. We 'ave no reason to be enemies, as long as certain rules are observed.'

'How do you know my crew aren't planning another rescue mission right now?' snapped Aerial.

'Believe me, little human, you will be remaining 'ere for quite a while. I hold all z' keys in zis game, and I will decide who leaves and when.' The Merovingian stared at her for some seconds until she looked away.

'What do you want with me?' asked Tiresias quietly.

Both the Frenchman and Persephone looked at him. 'You will remain 'ere indefinitely,' answered the Frenchman, a different tone to his voice.

The blind man noticed and shifted uneasily. 'What do you want with me?' he repeated, quite rightly sensing the Merovingian hadn't answered his question.

'You will see.'

Falcon didn't like this at all. The Merovingian had survived plenty of Matrixes without knowing the future; why should he want Tiresias now? He wouldn't admit to himself the twin-brother nature he was developing around Aerial. A glance to the left revealed the Twins glaring at the two of them. Tiger was nowhere to be seen.

The Merovingian straightened suddenly and looked past Falcon down the aisle. 'Mon deiu... Qu'est-ce que c'est maintanant

Falcon swivelled and saw a very disconcerting sight. Striding purposefully down the aisle towards the dais came a strikingly pretty young woman. Falcon discovered suddenly that he couldn't take his eyes from her.

She was Asian; slimly built like a dancer. Her dark dress shifted shades as she approached, and her black eyes were confident. 'I wish to speak with you, Monseiur.' She reached the table, standing to Falcon's left, and bowed. He was surprised to note that she was in fact shorter than him.

The Merovingian barely concealed his displeasure at her ill-timed arrival. 'Later, Tinnun. I am busy, and you are late as it is.'

'I'm sorry.' She bowed again, and leaned across. 'It concerns my twin. I've uncovered something I think you should know.'

Falcon tensed, his wings beneath the trench flaring slightly. Persephone shot him a warning glance.

The Merovingian delayed his response, then nodded briefly. 'All right. Falcon, take Tinnun through to z' reception. I will be wiz you shortly.'

Falcon had to work hard not to tremble as he nodded and stood. Tinnun regarded him critically; now he looked he noticed her eyes were yellow-rimmed, like a bird's.

Like a bird's...

He stood up, letting his hand touch Aerial's sleeve in farewell, and led the way towards the kitchens.

The Merovingian turned abruptly back to the two humans. 'Zis is unexpected, and I must attend to zis straight away. I will require you in z' restaurant tomorrow, my little fortune teller. Your twin is free to do as she pleases. Wiz'in reason,' he added.

Tiresias touched Aerial's shaking hand.

Falcon couldn't stop glancing behind him to see her. He had never seen another like her. He was in awe of her delicacy, her silent feet, her grace...

'Hadn't you better watch where you're walking?'

Her cold comment took him by surprise, and he faltered. 'What?'

She smiled, somewhat sarcastically. 'You're a bird, aren't you? Which one?'

'Peregrine falcon.' He turned and faced her properly. 'You were too, weren't you?' he guessed.

She smiled again. 'Yep. Kestrel. I must admit, it's nice to hear a familiar accent. This version is very American.'

'You can say that again,' concurred Falcon. 'It was just me and the Ghost Twins until you came.'

'Aha, the Twins... Yes, we've met.'

'You have?'

'Yep. They actually saved my skin, so I suppose I owe them.'

Falcon suddenly decided not to tell her about the Merovingian's little experiment. 'Agents?'

She nodded, and closed her eyes for a moment, quelling memories, he supposed. She opened them again and looked directly at him. 'So, where's this reception room?'

'Show me your wings first,' he challenged. Wings were well valued amongst the bird programs, especially since the unfortunate incident several Matrixes back involving the Merovingian's then-favourite program.

She complied with a slight laugh, and both spread their wings in the same instant. Hers were red-brown and of the same petit nature as Falcon's slate grey version. They stood for several seconds. Falcon nearly made his cry, but thought better of it. The high-pitched whickering wouldn't go down well with so much glass around.

'You're firing up my instinct,' she commented, folding her wings flush against her spine with a slight flutter. Falcon followed suit, and neither said anything for several seconds. The instinctive nature to bond with your own kind was accelerating Falcon's attachment to her. He gathered his courage and took her hand, nearly losing his breath over its fragility.

'This way.'

Aerial stood up, fury making her eyes shine oddly. The female program on the Frenchman's left was looking at her with such a penetrating gaze that she couldn't bring herself to meet it. The Merovingian however, was holding a murmured conversation with the albinos who had murdered Vriha.

Tiresias held onto her arm. 'Sit down, Aerial, please...'

Aerial did so, feeling her anger drain away suddenly and a bone-achingly tired sensation replace it. She felt empty and cold, although Tiresias beside her had taken his jacket off. He looked worn out; his hair dishevelled, his unfocused brown eyes narrowed, the fingers of his free hand restlessly moving on the tablecloth.

'Oracle.'

Persephone's voice took them both by surprise, and there was a pause before Tiresias spoke. 'I'm not worthy of that title yet.'

Persephone acknowledged this with a slight movement of her head, and then continued. 'How much do you see?'

Aerial sensed the dimensions of the question and listened, her own curiosity flaring.

Tiresias touched his eyelids. 'With these eyes, only void. I've... I've yet to see more than that.' He dropped his head, ashamed.

Persephone seemed disappointed, and abruptly rose from her seat. Aerial watched her strut calmly away towards the conventional exit of the restaurant. Tiresias sighed heavily. 'We're not needed here anymore, Aerial. Let's go. I'm boiling...'

Aerial brought her head close and whispered, 'The others are here. We could talk to them?'

'Good idea.' He stood up and flexed his fingers, finding his coat and slipping into it. Aerial took his hand and led him towards Mimic's table, casting a nervous glance behind her. Fortunately, the table had cleared, although in some ways she preferred knowing where everyone was. Especially those albinos.

She sat down opposite Genius as nonchalantly as possible, although he did nudge her feet under the table. Spess leaned in eagerly, 'Are you two okay?'

'We're fine,' she muttered back. 'It's going to take longer than we though to get out of here, though. The Frenchman's insisting on keeping Tiresias.'

Mimic swore quietly. 'What about your twin? And who was that other program that came in just now?'

'Her name's Tinnun, I think. Falcon's smitten with her; it was written all over him. She looked like another bird to me, but I'm not sure.'

'The only way out of this is to play the Frenchman at his own game. We'll have to bargain somehow.'

'What with?' asked Aerial meekly.

Tiresias put his head in his hands, 'Us, I reckon. We need time to think. Nothing's going to happen to either me or Aerial while we're here, I trust the Merovingian on that if nothing else. If we can get Falcon with us we might have something. I'll be back here tomorrow night; see if you can get in then.'

Mimic nodded, 'You guys haven't eaten real food in at least twenty-four hours. I'll get Phoenix to fill you up.'

'Thanks,' said Tiresias gratefully. 'No wonder I'm tired.'

'We'd better get going. No need to attract attention.' Mimic stood up and signalled to the two men. 'See you tomorrow,' she murmured, before leading her crewmates towards the doors. Genius glanced back, a strange look in his eyes.

Aerial stared after him.

What's going on with him..?