The Mysterious Caller

"Mister Blanco, I know you're there."

I didn't know what to say. Hell, I didn't know what to think. A mysterious voice on the phone who knows who I am... said phone wasn't even mine to begin with... a twisted ankle that had no known cause... this was both mystifying and perplexing. Whatever the case, it was shudder-inducing.

The voice on the phone spoke up. "You do realize you're going to have to talk sooner or later, Mister Blanco."

A moment passed before I let off a sigh. The voice let off what I assumed to be an amused chuckle. "I'll take that for now. Anyway, you must have some questions going through your mind right about now, such as 'Who is this person?' or 'What is going on?'."

I flatly responded with: "Yeah. Though to be honest, I'm more confused about the phone."

"I had it installed last night while you were sleeping."

That... seemed highly unlikely. "You broke in to my place to set up a land line to call me?" I made sure that my question was dripping with disbelief.

If he had any reaction to my sarcasm, he didn't show it. "Yes. After all, you have a habit of ignoring your cell phone if it's a number you don't recognize." The voice was right. But then again, I know lots of people do that when they don't know who's calling. He went on: "I needed to make sure you would talk to me in the event that I needed to reach you."

"And if I had simply ignored the phone or disconnected it?" I queried.

"I gambled on the odds that your curiosity would get the better of you. Since we're speaking, I guess I played my cards right."

...clever bastard. He was right.

The voice continued: "But enough of that. I'm sure you're wondering who I am."

"The thought did pass through my mind once or twice."

A bemused chortle. Then the voice responded: "As much as I'd like to clear the air of mystery surrounding myself, I'm afraid I can't divulge my identity at this time. For now, you may call me 'John.'"

I scoffed. "Really? From the sound of it you work for some elite government agency, filled with a myriad of personnel with fancy code names... and 'John' is the best alias you can come up with?"

Silence. Then, the voice inquired, "Well, what would you prefer to call me?"

I wanted to respond with "Douchecake McGee," but I had a feeling that would cost me any nonexisting brownie points I had with "John." After some careful thinking, I gave an answer.

"Morpheus."

There was a brief moment of silence from the other end. My guess was that he was a tad surprised by my choice, and he confirmed my suspicions when he spoke up again.

"Interesting choice, Mister Blanco. Why that name?"

"Your deep voice reminds me of Laurence Fishburne. That, and this whole conversation reminds me of The Matrix."

"I see. Unfortunately, you're not playing the role of 'The One,' so please don't think of yourself as Keanu Reeves."

I chuckled. At least this Morpheus guy had a sense of humor. "Don't worry about that. I know I can't dodge bullets."

For a while, Morpheus stayed silent. Then he spoke up. A hint of worry dotted his voice. "Unfortunately, you might have to soon. I need you to pay attention, Mister Blanco, because if you don't, your life will be at greater risk than it already is."

...

"...what!?"