Disclaimer: "The Pretender" and all it’s characters don’t belong to me, but to some wonderful people at NBC, who deserve promotions. Please don’t sue me, I am making no money from this. I just really enjoy the show. Also, the songs are owned by their respective artists, I don’t take credit for them.



To Honor
By: Dede





Two people stepped onto the elevator and hit two different buttons, then winked at each other. It was so early; they hadn’t seen the sun when they walked from their cars into the Centre but then that’s why they met. Both were creatures of the night and enjoyed the hours of morning some people never experienced. As they rode up on the elevator, Lyle watched her breathe and remembered the first time he had ever seen her.

----------------

He was walking down the corridor on SL 17 at 5:23AM. Lyle liked the silence in the morning; it made him feel as if he owned the whole building. Power was his vice, of course. It gave him a rush to have control over everything he saw. Just as he turned the corner though, he ran into the back of a longhaired blonde, nearly knocking her down.

Without warning, she whipped around and hit him in the chest with her gun.

"Wow! Don’t shoot!" Lyle said half-alarmed, and half-amused, after all he was used to a gun being pointed at him. She sighed and upon searching his face, lowered her weapon.

"Sorry, I get edgy in the morning," she proclaimed and looking into his eyes, added, "Lyle."

Lyle was not too surprised she knew his name, most everyone in the Centre did, although, the sweet tone of voice she used to say it was different from the usual way people pronounced his name. Looking at her, now, Lyle found himself pleased. She had long, straight blonde hair that was tied back in a loose ponytail; her skin was tan and smooth. Then for eyes, she had warm, sharp dark blue pools that captured him for a wonderfully quiet moment.

"N..nice weapon," he finally stammered after a brief eye inspection of the 9mm. She smiled, perhaps amused at her effect on him. God, the way her lips turned up caused him to almost fall down, but then she stepped toward him.

"I use it fairly well," she informed him as she pulled back her black leather jacket and revealed the holster before placing the gun in it. Lyle watched her movements; he was trying to figure out what she did here at the Centre. The jacket had a blue v-necked blouse under it, which led to a short, very short, leather skirt. From there, her bare legs were hidden thinly by tan pantyhose that matched her skin tone perfectly. As for her shoes, they were black heeled sandals, but looked comfortable enough for her.

"You’re a new sweeper," Lyle surmised, but she shook her head.

"Computer analyst. I was a sweeper though," she replied casually and bent at the knees to get her briefcase which had been lost in the confusion. "I worked out of Africa until a month ago." Lyle was impressed.

"Our main facility?" he questioned as he enjoyed watching her hourglass figure stand up.

"Yeah," she replied, but appeared to be losing interest in him.

"How did you go from being a major sweeper to an analyst?" Her loss seemed to be Lyle’s gain.

"I got shot in the back," she disclosed the truth to him uncomfortably, "I was in the hospital for a while and since then running with a gun in my hand, freaks me out. I asked for a less stressful job and they like me, so here I am." With that she stepped softly past him and started to walk away. Lyle felt panicked and turned not at all sure what he was going to say.
"Uh, um, I didn’t catch your name," he heard flow out from between his lips. She stopped and turned her head to the side.

"I didn’t throw it," was her reaction to his plea. Lyle sighed and looked at the cold metal floor for comfort. He was never any good with women, especially when he wasn’t trying to intimidate them. After an eternity of rejection, it seemed, she walked back and offered him her hand.

"I’m Emma."

------------

She sighed heavily as the elevator stopped. Lyle squeezed her hand, gave her a quick kiss, and got off. The doors closed before Emma could see him enter his second floor office, but she didn’t care. She just leaned back against the wall as the gears sent her into the earth toward her own destination on SL 15.

Emma jetted to her office and barely gave the door time to close before starting up her computer. Her "office" was a closet with room for a metal desk, a black chair with wheels on it, and a small table with drawers for storage. She didn’t care though, as long as it was connected to the Centre Mainframe and could get her on-line, she would smile and work hard. Working for Mr. Raines was easy and had only three rules: shut up, sit down, and do everything you are told!

Unfortunately, Emma could enter all the data she had to and not only analyze but correct all the glitches that were called to her attention before lunch, so she got bored fast. She was no idiot though, she didn’t want more work, so she paced herself and wandered the mainframe for things of interest. Emma was always able to cover her tracks; in fact, it was a bit of a game to her.

"Will they catch me?" she would sometimes ask her computer.

Today, her thoughts were mostly of Lyle and her daydreams often drifted to him, but she was curious, as most cats are, about Mr. Raines new project that seemed to consume him lately. When he saw her last, he didn’t even glance at her revealing clothing, which he had been quite fond of when she first arrived. She searched a little and finally came to it.

SL 26: Project Roadrunner: ACCESS DENIED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Oh no you aren’t locking me out," she whispered to the screen. Emma didn’t rip her eyes from the blinking message for a second. Reaching into the top drawer of the table, she pulled out a disk and loaded it. The screen flashed and a vision of a she-devil in stiletto heels smiled at her. Then with her torch, the creature burned the word DENIED. Within a minute, Emma was in.

SL26: Room 11 / Lab 5
Code name: Project Roadrunner
Objective: Re-educate and test Pretender Jarod

The file listed a series of tests and offered links to the results. Then it had video feed for the last two weeks, including a live feed option for Room 11. She lowered the volume, secured the door, and clicked the icon….

The room had three angles: one showed the door with the guard looming outside it, two showed the over view from the ceiling which revealed a table with a computer on it, a few chairs and the bed, three gave a close-up of the bed and it’s occupant. He was lying down, but his eyes were open, starring into space, lost. He was dressed in Centre attire with a white shirt and white pants, but his tennis shoes rested near the bedside.

Finding this worrisome, Emma clicked on the previous day’s scheduled and chose "Reeducation Session." The screen took her to Lab 5 and despite the lowered volume her ears exploded with Jarod’s yell. She pushed the volume to level one and watched.

Mr. Raines stood in front of Jarod who was chained to the wall. Willie stood ready at the side of the "good" doctor with his baseball bat in hand.

"Jarod,… you aren’t listening!… I am your… only way out…. If you work for me… I can make all the pain…. stop," he wheezed in Jarod’s face. Jarod glared at him viciously.

"I wouldn’t work for you, if it meant my death," Jarod said but his voice was weak and tired.

"It may just… mean that," Raines barked and nodded to Willie who hit Jarod in the chest. Jarod’s head fell at the pain but didn’t release a yell this time.

"You mean like it did for Miss Parker and Sydney?" Jarod toyed with the word mean and tried to make it clear to Raines he wouldn’t give in.

"Miss Parker was… an accident and Sydney was… weak… He killed himself because…. you were the greatest mistake… of his life and he knew you had been… the catalyst that got Parker… killed!" Raines feed his captive audience his lies with a sharp tongue and then walked right up to Jarod.

"I am your protector now… Jarod. I don’t think you… were a mistake. Others… didn’t use your talents correctly…. Help me and I will make you a king… here." When he finished, Raines walked away and Willie followed him. A moment later, two guards came in, unlocked Jarod from his chains and lead him out the door.

Session complete, the screen read over the final shot.

Emma was in shock while she slipped out of the Mainframe. ‘Raines, how could you!’ she thought as she fell back into her chair, suddenly overwhelmed.

-----------

She stepped into the glass doors with nervous knots in her stomach. It had been two weeks and her physical wounds had healed enough to allow the visit, but her emotional scars were still threatening to bleed. Walking silently down the halls and riding alone on the elevator, she felt like it was a dream… or maybe a nightmare.

"Angel!" Mr. Parker called as she moved off the elevator toward her office. He quickly came from Lyle’s side to hug her. "I wasn’t sure you would come in today."

"Today is as good as any day." She shivered at his touch and he backed off assuming her body was still tender due to the bullet wounds.

"Glad to see you back, Parker," Lyle greeted her. Miss Parker turned to her brother and found his handshake warm and kind. ‘He seems happier than normal or maybe he just enjoys that Jarod is in the Centre,’ she thought. Looking past her "loving" family to her office door, she smiled.

"I would like to stay and chat but I really want back in my office," she conveyed as sweetly as possible and slid passed them.

"Of course, but we should have dinner. How about it Lyle?" Mr. Parker boomed, so happy to have his little girl home.

"I’d love to but I have special plans and they can’t be canceled," Lyle took a step away from his father and felt ill. Mr. Parker wasn’t even phased.

"Just the two of us then?" he asked demandingly.

"Sure," Miss Parker tossed him and she tried desperately to get to her sanctuary, before Brigitte came by wanting to talk.

Miss Parker entered her office, not even caring that it was dark.

"I was waiting for you," Sydney spoke from the darkest corner.

"Don’t do that to me, Sydney!" she nearly screamed, gun already in hand.

"I needed to talk to you," he said softly and came to stand close to her.

"Nice welcome back, you’re lucky I didn’t shoot you," she replied flatly. Miss Parker took a moment to put her gun on her desk and sit down.

"I’m sorry. I am very happy you are back, but I have other things worrying me these days," he remarked as he took his seat across from her.

Looking at him she saw the circles under his eyes and the weariness about him.

"What’s up?" speaking as if she didn’t know.

"They won’t let me see Jarod. I haven’t seen him since he was taken down to Raines’ facility," Sydney confessed painfully.

"So, I’m sure my father will…" she started but he cut her off sharply, almost angrily.

"He is trying to get Raines kicked out and therefore has lost control over him. Raines knows where he is standing and he is going to use Jarod as his Trump card." Miss Parker closed her eyes but found her mind’s images of that rudely disturbing. The eyes of that boy, Jarod’s clone, found themselves into her conscious and she sighed with a pain in her heart.

"Well, I bet I can get down to see him. Where is Raines keeping Jarod?" was the response Miss Parker gave.

"I don’t know, that’s what worries me the most."

------------

Lyle glided into his living room with wine in hand when he stopped. It was now 9 o’clock and they had been talking for three hours. Emma was sitting on the couch in a sleek black dress with her hair loose about her face, but her hands were wrapped around each other in a position that made his missing thumb throb.

"What are you doing?" he asked setting down the glasses and bottle.

"Oh, it’s my wishing pose," she replied, but was a bit annoyed when her words were met with a chuckle. Lyle snuggled up to her on the couch despite his laughter and gazed questioningly into her eyes.

"See you cross your index and middle fingers on both hands, cross your other two fingers, lock your thumbs with each other…" she demonstrated, but then hesitated. When he displayed no discomfort, she continued, "Then you inter lace your crossed pairs with each other." Finished she looked hopefully at him.

"And what are you wishing for?" he inquired as he studied those wondrous fingers of hers.

"That you would make me breakfast." She winked at him. Lyle smiled and then took her in his arms. He kissed her giggling face until she didn’t laugh but smiled her soft smile instead.

-----------

That morning, Lyle woke to a comfortable bed and Emma’s perfume dancing in the air he breathed. He got up and slid his black velvet robe over his pajamas. Then walked to the linen chest at the end of his bed where she was calmly humming and brushing her golden strands of hair. Her necklace now caught his attention. It was a thin silver chain with a gray octagon charm attached to it. He stared at the two Japanese symbols on the charm, but his mind was rusty, not to mention, distracted by the neck that the charm laid against.

"What does it mean?" Lyle asked coming up to her and pulling it slightly into his fingers. She looked up at him with a hint of fear in her eyes. Emma didn’t like him standing over her while she sat in his bedroom with only a silk slip on.

"Honor," she answered regaining her sensuality. He lowered himself before her and stared lovingly into her face.

"And what do you honor?" Lyle’s gaze was strong and unrelenting.

"Family," she met his challenge with her own while running her left hand through his unkempt hair.

"Really," he smirked and sat down next to her on the wooden chest, "So do I." He could see she was unimpressed and had a disappointed note in her breath.

"Would you like to meet mine?" Lyle asked hoping to appease his beauty. She smiled and hugged him tightly.

"What fun that would be!" she announced and fell back into his arms, completely content.

---------

"Daddy, why can’t I just appease these feelings I have. Jarod saved my life in the first crucial moments after I was shot," Miss Parker pleaded with her hands digging divots into her father’s desk. "All my doctors said so, of course they didn’t know it was Jarod, but it was." She really hated begging but the more she thought about Jarod in Raines’ care, the more she felt like it was her fault. If she hadn’t been at the airstrip that day, if she had done it just like Jarod said, like she told Raines to do… but then she would be talking to her father’s grave instead of his face.

"No," Mr. Parker remarked simply but firmly.

"Daddy, I NEED to see him… only once," she exclaimed. She just needed to make one visit see that it was over and then armed with closure maybe she could leave, start living again. A part of her wished for Thomas, so they could start over together, but if she had to do it alone, she would.

"There is no discussion here. I must concentrate on these reports to the Tower. If… when Mr. Raines is out of our lives, Sydney will get Jarod back," he replied and tried to hide his annoyance behind his computer screen, which had nothing, but a memo he was sending to Lyle on it.

"What’s left of him," she whispered bitterly and sighed. Fighting with a brick wall took a lot out of a girl and she needed a cigarette but her pain meds wouldn’t allow it.

"I’m late," Mr. Parker stated as he stood and rounded the desk, "Good-bye Angel. Try not to think about it." With that he was gone and she had nothing left to do, but deliver the bad news to a frantic Sydney.

"Hh, oh," Miss Parker breathed out and followed her father’s path out of his office toward the elevator.

"Parker come here…" Lyle shouted as she pressed the button on the wall, "Come on in, please?" He gestured from his office door, which was only open enough to expose his head. Miss Parker looked skyward for guidance and receiving no signs, walked to him.

"What is it, Lyle?" she growled, "Can’t find Brigitte?" That stopped Lyle and alarm flicked in his features but not long enough to embarrass him.

"Ahem no," he said and moved aside to invite her in, "I wanted you to meet someone important to me." Parker was clearly suspicious and irritated with his lack of conciseness.

"Miss Parker, this is my close friend, Emma Road," he introduced her to the thin girl in his office.

"Hello," Miss Parker said lukewarmly. The girl was in her late twenties, early thirties with looks that most women would pay major bucks for. She was wearing a pair of dark blue jeans that got tight around the ankles and a silk black top that dipped low enough in the front to expose a tiny bow from another piece of silk black clothing. Her shoes were black flats that looked like they could be run in safely.

"Oh, Miss P. I have heard so much about you, I feel like we’re sisters already," Emma exploded and embraced her tightly. ‘She better have shoes she can run in,’ Miss Parker thought.

"Really?" she responded while ever so delicately pushing the girl from her. Emma wasn’t concerned in the least.

"Yes, your brother tells the best stories," she reflected warmly, "I can just listen to his deep voice all day." Emma intertwined her arm with Lyle’s, still beaming.

‘Don’t you mean all night?’ Miss Parker tried to hold her tongue.

"Anyway, we were wondering if you could come to dinner," Lyle said sensing his sister’s extreme anger was about to go into orbit.

"There’s this amazing restaurant with a dance floor," Emma explained, "You must join us." Parker sighed and nodded.

"This will be interesting; I don’t think I’ve ever seen you dance, Lyle," Miss Parker spoke over her shoulder as she exited. Quickly gliding into Sydney’s office where Broots was working speedily on the computer. Parker almost screamed behind him as she slammed the door,

"Broots! I have someone I want you to find out about for me!"

"Ahh, Miss Parker!" Broots almost fell out of his chair with surprise. "Glad to see you haven’t lost your warm people skills," he said sarcastically, thinking that he could feel a few more hairs falling from his head.

"If you would like to keep those last few hairs on your balding head Broots you’ll drop what you’re doing right now!" she screeched as if she knew what he was thinking. Sydney entered the room more demurely and secured the door.

"Sorry, Parker, but Broots is working to find out about someone for me, at the moment," he commented and assessed that her moodiness had returned healthily.

"Back in the Centre and Jarod is still causing my ulcer to act up," she complained as she sat down in a chair near Broots’ computer. He was typing even faster now and his face was changing as fast as the screen.

"I think I found it!" he announced triumphantly.

"What Broots?" Sydney came close with excitement in his voice.

"Jarod, he has been code named Roadrunner and he is in…." Broots related and then searched for details. "Darn, it doesn’t say. Someone has tapered with these files. I can only get the video feed." He rapped on his keyboard but not fast enough for Parker.

"Don’t keep us waiting, Computer Chip, click on it!"

------------

Miss Parker stepped out of her car in front of "The Dream" and tried to shake the sounds of Jarod’s painful cries from her brain. She needed a miracle to get through the evening and something more powerful than a miracle to help Jarod. Walking in the rain down the lonely sidewalk toward the "restaurant," if you could call it, left nothing to distract her from her thoughts but the umbrella. Inside, however, was amazingly worse. The music was loud and the smell, a confusion between alcohol, smoke, sweat, and bad perfume. Miss Parker knew it was going to be a long night. She couldn’t have alcohol and the smoke was bad for her.

"What party are you with?" asked the maitre d'. Parker stared at him in disbelief.

"A maitre d' at a swanky place like this, how surprising," she commented.

"Even executives like to party, now your reservation…" he retorted with a shrug.

"Parker, Lyle," she replied hoping that she won’t have to say Mr. Lyle Parker.

"Oh, yes, he told me to expect you, Miss Parker," he said with a hint of amusement, "Please follow me."

She would have liked to shot him for that, but was struck by the place. The dining tables were in a U-shape around a grand dance floor, which was lit dimly to please the after 8 o’clock crowd which were either ordering or dancing. The dance floor was only cut away from the dining area by the change from dark wood to elegant carpet with an Asian pattern. The tables had electric blue table clothes and simple vases in their centers with a few white lilies in them. The stage, which was opposite the front door, was empty, but it had room for an orchestra. At the moment, the music was blaring from four speakers in the ceiling at the corners of the dance floor.

Walking down the steps from the coat-check, she followed her guide to a table at the edge of the dancing area but in perfect position to watch the stage. Lyle, Emma, Mr. Parker, and Brigitte stood to greet her.

"I didn’t know you had invited the whole family, Lyle," Miss Parker purposely screamed in his ear over the music. She sat down smoothly and looked expectantly at the waiter, who went to get her a menu.

"Great place, isn’t it?" Emma said enthusiastically. Miss Parker sized up the table’s occupants and realized Emma was too spunky for Brigitte’s taste, or maybe she didn’t like the competition, especially when she was losing. Mr. Parker seemed just thankful Lyle had found himself a girl, maybe he knew about Brigitte and was sick of competition too. Either way, it was quite a funny little gathering. Lyle was reluctant to make eye contact with anyone, but Emma, who he was staring at intensely. Emma seemed generally concerned with making friends.

"Well, it is quite a statement. I mean beautiful decor and loud, modern music, how delightful," Brigitte commented barely escaping the rude category.

"Well, it ain’t nothin’ like Britain, but I find a good mix fun." Emma didn’t miss a beat or a jab. She knew whom she was dealing with and had every intention of clawing at any exposed flesh. "We are all kids at heart and after a day of death and deception, listening to angry or loud music lets me unwind. Besides, you might find it gets rid of any left over energy or tension, Miss Parker." Parker froze momentarily and seeing that she had been tagged went bravely into the ring.

"Why would I need to release energy?" she asked half-lost in her menu, which had finally come.

"Jarod can take a lot out of you and now you have nowhere for the adrenaline to go," Emma responded. She was well informed and war ready.

"I’ll pick up Smash Face on the way home," Miss Parker breathed out like Arctic air and searched for the grilled chicken on the pages of her menu.

"That’s Smash Mouth," Emma happily corrected her. She liked to play and was just getting warmed up with this small talk.

"Whatever," Miss Parker stated. Brigitte got up and slid to where Miss Parker was seated.

"I’m going to the powder room. Want to join me?" Brigitte whispered to her. Clearly, Brigitte knew there was strength in numbers and wanted to build her force even if that meant Miss Parker.

"I’ll come." Emma jumped up from her chair and grabbed Brigitte’s hand. "Excuse us, honey." Suddenly, Brigitte’s plan to arm herself had turned into a one-woman-fight against this cobra. The Parker clan could only watch: one worried, one confused, and one wondering who would come out of the bathroom.

As they entered the empty ladies’ room, Brigitte stepped into a stall. Emma looked in the mirror and checked a cut located just under her dress collar on her left shoulder.

"What happened?" Brigitte asked after she came to the sink to wash her hands.

"Lyle and I crashed his car into a tree, this afternoon," Emma explained casually as if she was saying she had bought bread today.

"How?" Brigitte gawked at her, completely unaware of what to say.

"We were… well, let’s just say, he shouldn’t have been driving…" she said the cat showing in her eyes again, "We weren’t hurt bad, but the car is toast. Third car’s the charm, I suppose. I’m going to help him pick out a new one tomorrow. I guess it will be okay, though. The Centre will have his new plates and everything ready automatically. Benefits of the work.." She finished telling the tale as she finished washing up and went to dry her hands when Brigitte caught her arm.

"Stay away from him," she stated dangerously. Emma shrugged her off like a person shakes away an ant on their arm.

"No. Why should I?" she demanded, now facing her potential step-mom.

"Because he’s mine," Brigitte seethed.

"Not unless, he gave you that ring on your finger," Emma shot back and pointed to the wedding ring, "I believe, you have the wrong Parker." With that she dried her hands and tried to leave, but Brigitte blocked the door.

"I don’t think so," she hissed.

"Go ask him then," Emma whispered and pushed Brigitte aside. They went back to the table scowling at each other. Lyle needed to see no more and was already up before they got to their seats.

"Lyle, can I have a word," Brigitte asked sweetly enough to have rotted teeth. Lyle came close as if to help her into her chair like he had just done for Emma.

"What is going on?" she barked in his ear.

"It’s over. Go back to your husband, Brigitte. It was getting too risky anyway. I think Miss Parker might know," Lyle said practically falling over his words. His strength was looking into his eyes from across the table with approval.

"Fine!" she spit in his ear and seated herself firmly.

"Oh, I love this song. Don’t you Brigitte?" Emma sang softly as if waiting for an apology.

(Garbage - "Only Happy When It Rains" is playing from the Album - Garbage)

I'm only happy when it rains
I'm only happy when it's complicated
And though I know you can't appreciate it
I'm only happy when it rains
You know I love it when the news is bad
Why it feels so good to feel so sad
I'm only happy when it rains

Pour your misery down
Pour your misery down on me
Pour your misery down
Pour your misery down on me

"It does have a charm about it," Brigitte agreed to the relief of all involved.

I'm only happy when it rains
I feel good when things are going wrong
I only listen to the sad, sad songs
I'm only happy when it rains

I only smile in the dark
My only comfort is the night gone black
I didn't accidentally tell you that
I'm only happy when it rains
You'll get the message by the time I'm through
When I complain about me and you
I'm only happy when it rains

Emma nudged Lyle and whispered something heavenly into his ear. He blushed visibly even in the dim light. Miss Parker studied her. The girl was amazing, she had fought off the troll and had psycho boy around her little pinkie or was it her neck.

Pour your misery down
Pour your misery down on me
Pour your misery down
Pour your misery down on me
Pour your misery down
You can keep me company
As long as you don't care

I'm only happy when it rains
You wanna hear about my new obsession?
I'm riding high upon a deep depression
I'm only happy when it rains

Depression, yeah, Miss Parker could relate to that, certainly more than the people at this table. The song had a hold on her as she found it reminding her of all the misery in her life and she wondered what Emma’s story was. How could she have been a sweeper and a computer analyst for the Centre and stay so… well high. Was she in love with pain, a. k. a. Lyle?

Pour some misery down on me
I'm only happy when it rains...

"Next up Livin' La Vida Loca by Ricky Martin!" the announcer called out.

"Come on Lyle, I love this song," Emma shouted and dragged him out on the floor as the song started. The rest of the table watched with interest despite the warm food that was finally delivered. Emma slid her arms around Lyle’s neck and with the rest of the crowd began to dance.

She's into superstitions
Black cats and voodoo dolls
I feel a premonition
That girl's gonna make me fall
She's into new sensations
New kicks in the candlelight
She's got a new addiction
For every day and night
She'll make you take your
Clothes off and go dancing in the rain

Emma pulled Lyle suit jacket off and threw it low causing it to land next to his chair under the table. ‘Nice shot,’ Miss Parker thought.

She'll make you live her crazy life
But she'll take away your pain
Like a bullet to your brain

Emma put a hand to Lyle’s head, positioned like a gun and pretended to shoot him. Lyle just laughed and continued to move, but Parker and Brigitte caught each other’s eye. Emma’s expression for a split second had been dead serious. This girl was crazy or dangerous, maybe both.

CHORUS:
Upside Inside Out
She's livin' la vida loca
She'll push and pull you down

And Emma did, pull and push Lyle by his tie to the beat.

Livin' la vida loca
Her lips are devil red
And her skin's the color of mocha
She will wear you out
Livin' la vida loca
She's livin' la vida loca

Woke up in New York City
In a funky cheap hotel
She took my heart
And she took my money
She must've slipped me a sleepin' pill

Miss Parker could only think of Jarod’s first escape at these lyrics. She missed the chase… heck she missed him.

She never drinks the water
And makes you order
French champagne
Once you've had a taste of her
You'll never be the same
Yeah, she'll make you go insane

‘Well, crazier for Lyle,’ Miss Parker told herself grimly.

Upside Inside Out
She's livin' la vida loca
She'll push and pull you down
Livin' la vida loca
Her lips are devil red
And her skin's the color of mocha
She will wear you out
Livin' la vida loca
She's livin' la vida loca

She'll make you take your
Clothes off and go dancing in the rain
She'll make you live her crazy life
Until you go insane
No, you'll never be the same…

As the dance ended, the two ‘crazy’ kids came back exhausted, but giggling. And all Miss Parker could think was how right she had been in assuming the night was going to be long and strange.

-----------

Back at the Centre the next morning, Miss Parker had plenty to tell Sydney.

"She is a snake, Syd. Maybe even slimier than Lyle," she told him while Broots worked to break the codes to Raines’ files.

"I would think that would create the perfect couple," Sydney said with the hint of a smirk on his lips.

"Did you just make a crack, Sydney?" Miss Parker asked flabbergasted, "Boy, Raines baby-sitting Jarod must really be eating into you for you to be sarcastic."

"I have my days." He nodded. Just then the vent grate rattled and into Sydney’s office came Angelo. He was mumbling something over and over again.

"Angelo, do you need something?" Sydney asked as he struggled to understand his patient.

"Jarod has pain." The statement was spoken clearly and carried enough weight with it to stop Broots from typing.

"What?" Miss Parker exclaimed and walked up to Angelo with kind concern etched in her features.

"Jarod needs Miss Parker but Miss Parker is dead," he said simply, looking straight at her and upon glancing at Sydney, "Jarod needs Sydney but Sydney’s head hurts."

"Angelo, you have been to see Jarod?" Sydney pleaded the answer was yes, but Angelo lost himself in the name.

"Jarod has great pain," he emphasized.

"Can you show us Jarod, Angelo?" Miss Parker was scared, because she was confused by the statements he had made. Angelo nodded toward the vent he came out of.

"Broots can you mess with the cameras in Jarod’s room if you knew which one it was?" Her voice hopeful, Miss Parker studied Broots’ reaction.

"I guess, but I might get caught," he replied, the wrinkles already beginning to form in his brow.

"If you do, I’ll take care of it. Bring up a 3-D blue print of the sub-levels including the air vents," she commanded. Broots typed obediently and turned when he had it.

"Angelo, where’s Jarod?" Angelo looked at the screen blankly. "We’re here, find Jarod in the computer," Miss Parker asked showing him patiently.

"Jarod hurts…" he said and looked back at the vent a moment. Then he traced his path, getting lost a few times and glancing at the duct, to room 11 on SL26. "Here," he finally pronounced.

------------

The vent to Room 11 was fifteen feet up the wall, so Miss Parker had suggested getting some rope and Sydney had a lab on SL24, so in the interest of time and work they took Angelo and started from there.

Miss Parker was the first out of the duct after carefully removing the cover and securing the rope to pimping inside the vent. When she reached the floor, her heels clicked on the metal and she cursed herself for wearing a black dress/suit that only went with those particularly loud shoes. Her thoughts were interrupted by a sight she never wanted to see… ever.

Jarod was lying in the bed, his eyes shut, his hands cuffed, and his breathing painful.

Sydney soon came to stand next to her, and Broots after a frightful look at Jarod, turned on the computer to figure out what Raines was doing.

"Jarod?" she asked the shivering creature. Slowly, Miss Parker sat down on the bed and touched his shoulder with delicate fingers. He winced and tried to sink into the mattress beneath him.

"It’s okay, Jarod, I didn’t come here to hurt you," she frantically explained. Her heart ached to see him this way. Miss Parker placed her hand on his arm and ran her fingers up and down softly. Jarod refused to open his eyes, but stopped shaking.

Sydney walked over then and bent down to his knees.

"Jarod, it’s Sydney. I know you have been through a great deal because of Raines' control over the project, but I came here to help you," Sydney soothed with his calming voice and grabbed a chair. Jarod flinched visibly at the mention of Raines but otherwise remained still. Sydney’s soft eyes looked up at Miss Parker with worry. She had to snap Jarod out this; it made her angry at Raines for hurting him and even angrier at Jarod for becoming a cowering rabbit. She bent down to his ear and said,

"Jarod, we came to speak with you, so open your eyes and say something. I’m talking to you, Boy Genius." Then she pulled back, crossed her arms and waited for a response. Her warm breath had tickled the hairs on the back of his neck and he shook once more as she sat up.

After a moment that was an eternity for all involved, Jarod blinked; his gentle brown eyes fluttered and finally opened. He tilted his head to stare at her and fluidly drifted his attention to Sydney.

"Are you feeling all right?" Sydney asked, resting his hand on Jarod’s arm. He flinched again and Sydney realized he was injured. He removed his hand and studied Jarod’s face.

Sighing, Jarod slowly opened his mouth.

"I… I seem to be having trouble with reality," he whispered; his voice was hoarse and his tone laced with fear.

"Reality?" Miss Parker questioned in surprise. Those kind eyes were begging her to hold him and she wanted to. Jarod’s handcuffs rattled as he pointed to the table; near the computer sat two manila files. Sydney looked over and back to Jarod, who was reluctant to say anymore. Seeing the nervous expression on Jarod’s face caused Sydney not to question his instructions.

He stood and walked to the table. Picking up the first one, he opened it and read. Miss Parker meanwhile reached carefully over and put her hand in Jarod’s. He stared down in disbelief and wondered what he should do.

"I wanted to thank you for what you did at the flight school and…" she was speaking when Sydney practically whacked her in the stomach with the first folder. She let go of Jarod’s hand and clutched the file.

"What Syd?" she asked absentmindedly opening it.

"Read," he commanded and returned to the other one. She could have bashed his head in for the impertinence of the gesture, but looking down she found her own personnel file. Glancing at Jarod, who was studying her reaction, she began to scan it for inconsistencies.
Name:
Age:
Rank:
Eye Color:
Hair:
Born:
Died: 5/22/99!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Death by: Artery failure due to applied pressure after gun shot to the chest.

Jarod saw her eyes widen and wondered once she knew she was dead, whether she would disappear or not. Flipping through the folder, she found medical documents, a death certificate, and pictures! Two of the wake, three of the funeral, which Sydney and Broots had apparently attended, and a shot of the tombstone.

"You don’t look dead," Jarod spoke barely audibly above the silence hanging like fog in the room. Miss Parker looked up at him. She realized that for the past two weeks to Jarod, she had been dead and based on the cause he probably thought it was his fault. Angelo’s words made sense now… but nothing else did. Setting the file in her lap, she exposed her wrist before him.

"See for yourself," she instructed. His index and middle fingers touched her veins and felt a warm, tempoed pulsing of the blood that flowed in her body. He sighed and almost smiled. She combed through his hair with her fingers and let her hand come to rest on the left side of his jaw.

"You saved my life, Jarod. I got out of the hospital four days ago and since then I have been trying to find you," she explained. Jarod placed his hand against hers and brought it around to his lips. She watched perplexed as he kissed her palm.

Sydney looked on adoring the moment. What was that tenderness in Parker’s eyes when she looked at Jarod? Catherine. ‘Oh sweet Catherine, I hope you can see your daughter now,’ he thought. Then Sydney glanced back down at the picture in his file and gloominess clouded his face, again. Miss Parker must have sensed Sydney because she broke her gaze with Jarod, to look over and ask,

"What’s in the other folder?"

"Sydney’s suicide," Jarod answered for him. The second part of Angelo’s words seem to have come true. Sydney walked over and handed it to her. The file was open to the picture of Sydney dead in his office, gun still in hand, and hole fresh in his head.

"How?" Miss Parker opened her mouth and closed it. Broots chose that moment to give in to his curiosity and came to see the photos as well.

"According to the file in Sydney’s hands, the night after Miss Parker’s funeral, Sydney was found in his office, dead due to a self-inflicted 9mm gun shot wound to the head. Medically, it was the least painful place to fire the bullet… Raines also has a report filed in there, where he recounts an argument that afternoon, the two had about how I was the reason Sydney’s life had turned out the way it did and that he wanted me destroyed before I could do anymore damage," Jarod related all this to them with detachment and clear sorrow in his voice or perhaps it was a waking happiness as if he had just opened his eyes from a horrible nightmare. Sydney sighed.

"Jarod you must have realized…" he was silenced by his own voice playing on a tape recorder, Jarod retrieved from under his pillow.

"You don’t get it, Raines you’ve won. I want Jarod terminated."
"Now… that he is back… we can reeducate… him."
"No, he is a danger to all of us. After all that’s happened because of him, your daughter, Anne, for one, it isn’t worth the risk. Especially, now because he will be determined to escape or harm us."
"Sydney… I am in charge… still and I am… ordering reeducation… End of discussion."
A door slammed on the tape.

Jarod clicked the machine off and stared up at his company. The looks on their faces said everything but Jarod leaned back against the wall and with a curious look, spoke his thoughts.

"My three hunters, didn’t you know, when you were chasing the lion, they would mount his head on the wall? Make necklaces of his claws? And wear his skin so they could pretend they were king?" Jarod seemed not to really be asking the questions, but rather suggesting them for consideration. Three stomachs turned at once and Broots was nearly sick, being the weakest of them.

Miss Parker instinctively ran her hands around Jarod’s shoulders and began to release tears in silence. Sydney and Broots, noticing they were no longer needed returned to the computer and discovered the personnel files out of that terminal were the same. ‘An instant window,’ Broots thought.

Jarod pulled Miss Parker back to face him after only a few moments.

"Miss Parker, who are you crying for?" he asked examining her eyes and wrapping his hands around her sides. "Not the man you see before you? Nor the creature you chased for so long? Maybe the young boy you used to bring candy to and go on adventures with? Is that who you cry for?" His questions made her want to cry more, but she had to get it together. She was Miss Parker after all.

"I cry for you, Jarod," she whispered. Miss Parker’s fingers glided into his hair and she leaned in slowly. To Jarod her hands were like fire and he closed his eyes to take in the pleasurable pain.

The kiss was gentle and passionate. Unfortunately, just as their lips parted company, Jarod saw the blue light above the door come on. He gave her a soft push.

"You have to go. The three of you, now, you only have a minute."

----------

Emma and Lyle came through the first door and stopped in front of the guard, Kevin, who was a friend of Emma’s.

"You should see the car Lyle bought today. It’s in the garage getting the plates put on it," Emma boasted. Lyle just smiled as he unlocked the door.

"We’ll have to show you sometime," he managed to be sociable at the last second.

----------

They had just barely put the grate back in place when Lyle stepped in with Emma contentedly behind him. He eyed Jarod who was smiling at him. Jarod was now confidant that he would be out of this dungeon soon, although he might just be in the cell Sydney kept him in, it would be better… better.

Lyle wasted no time before he began to gloat.

"Sorry to interrupt your education, Jarod but my girl here heard about you in Africa and wanted to see our favorite experiment gone bad," Lyle proclaimed and walked right up to Jarod. "So tell me, do you think Raines would let me help him again, if I told him it was to impress Emma and Brigitte, who is on her way right now?" Jarod was dangerously still. Like a cat waiting for a moment of weakness in it’s prey, he was quiet. Lyle grew frustrated with this and bent at his knees to get in Jarod’s face. Sadly for Lyle, that’s all Jarod needed.

"Ahh!" Lyle shrieked but soon was held silent. When Lyle had dared glance back at Emma after he sank down to get her reaction, Jarod had flung his arm over Lyle’s head and brought his chains around Lyle’s throat. He then pulled his wrists together and down to his knee. Lyle was now struggling to get the chain off his neck and at the same time trying to get footing.

"Jarod!" Brigitte screamed as she came in her gun drawn. The four people hiding in the vent could only listen and occasionally catch a glimpse of what was happening.

"I wouldn’t unless you think I can’t break his neck before you kill me," Jarod growled at Brigitte and tightened down on Lyle. She opted to lower her gun, slightly, but didn’t back up. Emma was frozen with fear of what would transpire.

"You know what I wonder, Lyle?" Jarod began as he leaned down to the fighting man’s ear, "How did you end up with such a nice looking girl?" Lyle flapped about as Jarod mocked him. "Does she like it painful?" he asked. Then his eyes flashed to the girl. "He will hit you, you know? He did it to his first wife. Beat her to death."

"Play times over, Jarod," Brigitte warned.

"Get out all of you!" he hissed but no one moved a muscle, "Now! You think I’m kidding!" Jarod kicked Lyle in the back to prove his point.

"Jarod I will shoot." Brigitte tightened on the trigger.

"I’m bored," he sounded like a spoiled child, "I believe it was Sydney who told me: a mind left idle is a dangerous weapon." Sydney smiled in the grate. Jarod then let Lyle up with a quick motion. Brigitte and Emma came to his aid but looked up at Jarod as his voice echoed in the room.

"Don’t ever come back, Lyle," Jarod growled. Then showing his handcuffs, shouted, "Because even in chains, I can still kill you. Next time I won’t hesitate!" The two pairs of three left the scene as Jarod fell back on his bed, exhausted.

"Shall I go teach him to be more polite to visitors?" Brigitte suggested to Lyle out in the hall. He considered it, but seeing the look in Emma’s eyes he worried that sort of violence might lead her to believe Jarod’s accusation. True though it may be, he didn’t want Emma to think it of him.

"No, let him have his victory. He’ll be dead soon enough, if Raines has his way," Lyle explained to Brigitte who shrugged and walked to the elevator.

"That was very kind of you," Emma complimented him. Lyle walked along beside her in complete surprise. Kind, KIND! She thought he was kind. To Lyle the generosity of this woman astounded him. She had such unbending faith in him and such unshakable happiness when she was with him. He watched her move with him in silent awe for so long she asked if he was sure he was all right.

------------

Lyle waited impatiently on his bed. The blue comforter felt hard to him and the gray walls indifferent. It was a nice place as bachelor pads go. The walls had silver light fixers and mood lighting. His windows covered with white translucent curtains. The clothes’ bureau was a dark wooden stain color like the bed mantle. The room did need a woman’s touch, he was sure of that and her touch was the only one he wanted, but this was life changing and complicating. He swallowed hard.

Emma entered the room and looked lovingly at him. She was dressed in a soft blue dress he had bought her and had blue puffy slipper pumps on her feet.

"Wow. You… you look gorgeous."

"You think? I didn’t know about it in the store, but… gorgeous? Really?" she teased as she came to sit beside him.

"Oh, yes, you’re an angel." He sighed and tucked some stray hairs behind her ear. Was this worth it… yes it was.

"I have something to ask you," he explained, avoiding her gaze.

"What is it, honey? You know you can tell me anything," she voiced with concern, "You remember when we went for that walk on the beach and you told me how you lost your thumb?"

"Yes, I remember." He was lost in the memory a moment.

"You were so comforting and understanding, that’s one reason of many why…" Lyle bent down on one knee before her.

"Why I want to ask you to be my… wife?" he proposed and retrieved a ring from his pocket. She almost looked like she would cry but kissed him anyway as she slipped off the bed and into his arms.

"Oh, Lyle, it’s the perfect ring, for the perfect moment and I hope I can be your perfect wife."

-----------

"Come on, it will be okay," he whispered encouraging her. His hot breath on her neck was encouragement enough, but then his voice warmed her heart. She knew he loved her… more than he wanted to admit even to himself. It was that love which would protect her now and as long as she was by his side.

They entered the now crowded office. Mr. Parker sat at his desk with Brigitte sitting on it. Miss Parker was standing with her back stiff against the wall; Sydney was in one of the armchairs that faced the desk, and Broots sat in the other. Mr. Raines was settled on the couch, his oxygen tank resting on the floor by his feet. Everyone but Raines stood when they walked in. Lyle was smart to close the doors after he and his lady came through them.

"What’s going on Lyle? We do have much more important things to do than wait for you and your friend," Mr. Parker spoke with a bit of irritation.

"Emma isn’t my friend, father," he remarked with cold honesty, "She is, as of, last night, my fiancée!" Lyle had blurted it out so fast he barely had time to wrap his arms around her waist. ‘Good, honey, shield yourself with your bride to be, thanks so much,’ Emma thought as she gripped his hands.

"What?" Miss Parker’s jaw seemed to dislocate.

"It’s true! Isn’t this exciting?" Emma shouted trying not to let her growing terror show.

"You’re getting married?" Mr. and Mrs. Parker exclaimed at once.

"I was hoping, we would have your blessing," Lyle asked Mr. Parker with both spoken and unspoken pleas.

"Of course, what a happy occasion," Mr. Parker answered and came to hug Emma, who received and returned the gesture strongly.

"Thank you so much." Emma smiled and then turned to Brigitte and Miss Parker. "I can’t wait for us three girls to get into the details!" she exclaimed beaming. Parker and Brigitte looked at each other like Emma had just shot at them.

------------

"Hey, Lyle… nah, no, forget it…" Emma said while she closed the door to Lyle’s… to their bedroom. It was late and the day had been full of decision making and remaking.

"What?" he asked playfully, enjoying her presence.

"Well, I just wondered if you wanted to play a little game, to show how much you trusted me, but it’s silly," she explained, taking her slippers off, and placing them in her over-night bag.

"I trust you completely. What’s the game?" Lyle defended as he sat down on the bed.

"Since you twisted my arm.." she seduced, "It has to do with these." Emma held up handcuffs she had produced from the bag.

"Let’s play," he said despite the still prevalent pain in his neck.

Emma attached Lyle to the bed. He tested the chains and noticed they were solid, but in his pajamas he felt fairly safe. Then he noticed Emma was changing her clothes. She pulled on tight, black jeans under her skirt and took it off. Then she tucked in her black top and slipped on a black leather jacket over it.

"Emma?" Lyle whimpered as he watched her get black sneakers out of her bag and put everything she had out into the satchel.

"Emma!" he shouted. Emma looked over at him with fire in her dark eyes. She swayed over to him and settled down on the bed.

"Add a "LY" to that…" she said softly.

"Emma..ly? Emily?" he repeated as confusion filled his brain.

"What’s a matter, lover? Haven’t figured it out yet?" she mocked him, "Well, let me help you… I’m Jarod’s sister." The words created an almost audible thud in Lyle’s head.

"Jarod’s sister! But how…?" he fumbled over the syllables. She pulled her robe tie from her bag that now rested at her feet and began to twist it around in her hands.

"Sorry, honey, but I told you family is the most important thing to me. That includes Jarod," Emily responded to his forming question.

"But…" he struggled for speech, however, she was on a role again and enjoying every minute of it.

"Oh, you mean this?" She waved the engagement ring in his face.

"You killed my brother, Kyle, and have destroyed Jarod! I can’t marry you, that would be… well tacky. And you know, if nothing else, I am never tacky," she mocked in a very familiar game fashion. He tried to scream as she put the tie around his mouth.

"Shhh,shhh! It really IS for the best. But I’m sorry, because I think that if I didn’t know all the things you have done, we would have been very happy together," she confessed and smoothed the hair from his eyes. Then she picked up her bag and went to his pants that were neatly folded on his armchair.

"I need to borrow your new car, Lyle. I hope you wouldn’t mind," she told him while retrieving the keys. She then went to the CD player and programmed it. The room filled with soft, happy music.

("Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" by Neil Sedaka & Howard Greenfield from the The Carpenters’ 1977 Album "A Kind of Hush" begins to play.)

Don't take your love away from me.
Don't you leave my heart in misery.
If you go, then I'll be blue
`cause breakin' up is hard to do.

Remember when you held me tight,
and you kissed me all through the night.
Think of all that we been through,
`cause breakin' up is hard to do.

Emma opened the bedroom door, blew him a kiss and waved as she left.

They say that breain' up is hard to do;
now I know, I know that it's true.
Don't say that this is the end.
Instead of breakin' up
I wish that we were makin' up again.

I beg of you don't say good-bye;
can't we give an other try?
Come on baby, let's start anew,
breakin' up is hard to do.

I beg of you don't say good-bye;
can't we give an other try?
Come on baby, let's start anew,
breakin' up is hard to do.
Yeah, breakin' up is hard to do.

----------

Emma entered the Centre and moved calmly to her office. She had parked Lyle’s car on the side of the building and now it was a matter of finishing what she had started two months ago when Jarod had dropped out of sight, apparently to look for his father. Taking all the information she could in the form of disks that fit in her backpack, shoving a program into the computer and loading it into the mainframe, she set a bomb for twenty minutes. ‘Hope that’s enough,’ passed through her mind as she left her office to find Angelo.

Jarod heard Angelo in the vents and wondered if he had brought Miss Parker back. He hoped so; he needed her. Maybe she would help him like she had wanted to, maybe she wouldn’t even have to leave the Centre if she could get Broots to shut off the cameras again. Jarod was lost in this thought when the three camera eyes closed and their red lights ceased to blink. He didn’t move, but continued to listen to the rustle in the air-duct.

Emily swung her legs around in the vent and pushed it out. From fifteen feet up the wall, the cover came crashing down onto the metal floor. Jarod watched it fall mesmerized, but flinched when the noise of it’s landing echoed in his ears. Then she slid her legs out to dangle, flattened her body, and pushed off with her hands. She was the next thing to go crashing onto the floor, but she bent her knees in time and landed on her feet. Jarod studied her with confusion.

She stayed low with her knees bent until she was sure that the room was really sound proof and the guard wasn’t disturbed. The lighting was dim to allow Jarod sleep, but he was now sitting up on his bed. The whites of his eyes glowed in the dark room. Emily unbuckled the backpack from around her front and set it on the floor.

"What do you want?" Jarod growled, startling her. Emily knew better than to waste time explaining, so she used Lyle’s keys and unlocked Jarod’s chains.

"Come on, big brother, time to go home, you are very late for dinner," she whispered smiling up at him. Jarod was almost as shocked as Lyle was, but his intellect fit the pieces together much faster.

"Emily?" he questioned. They both stood quickly.

"Hi, honey!" she mocked, but then turned serious, "Are you hurt?" Jarod hugged her a moment and finally pulled back to answer.

"Not badly enough, to stop me from clawing my way out of here," he assured her. Emily nodded and returned to her bag to fish for something.

"Ready to go on the run again?" she asked over her shoulder.

"Story of my life," he answered looking up at the vent and then back at his sister. She pulled out a small box with wires attached. He could see she was setting a bomb and wondered how much time it gave them.

"It will take us five minutes to get to where they sealed off the vents after I escaped last," he mentioned to her.

"I’ve got that covered, but it will take two minutes to get up the rope and another three to get the duct unsealed," she explained and set the clock for eleven minutes.

"Angelo," she called. He immediately dropped down a length of rope from the air vent. Emily put the backpack on and handed Jarod a gun.

"Thought you might want this back," she remarked as she began to climb. He looked down at his father’s gun and wondered when she had taken it from Mr. Parker’s office. He would asked his little sister later.

"Thank you," Jarod whispered and started after her up toward the vent.

"Angelo, go back to Sydney’s office and wait okay, there’s going to be a big blast, but we will be fine, okay?" Emily instructed him as they pulled the rope up.

"Little sister is going running. Jarod safe," Angelo asked.

"Yes, we’re leaving in a few minutes," she said and gave him a kiss on the cheek, "Go on." Jarod smiled as he watched Angelo move away and turn the corner in the system. The two siblings pushed and climbed their way in a maze toward the outside vent on the side of the building. When they reached it, Emily unzipped her bag and pulled out a blowtorch.

"Shouldn’t you be wearing a mask?" Jarod asked.

"No time," she replied as she finished cutting a square figure out of the metal seal. Emily and Jarod laid with their backs against each other and kicked in unison at the square. It moved about an inch and Emily checked her watch.

"We’re running out of time, brother," she warned Jarod. They kicked it again and this time it fell to the ground, only a few feet below. Emily threw herself out of the opening and was quickly followed by Jarod, who could hear the explosion as it echoed through the vent system.

------------

Jarod came out of the bathroom with his hair still damp from the warm shower and collapsed on the closest twin bed. The motel was nice as motels are, not that he cared. Jarod was tired and had a happily weariness engraved in his features. Emily was sitting opposite him on her bed, studying him, when he finally spoke.

"What are you think?" She smiled while she picked up a shopping bag.

"Just how amazing you are," Emily answered and fished through the bag.

"You saved my life and I’m the amazing one?" he reacted with a soft laugh. Emily pulled a Pez dispenser out and tossed it to him.

"Give me a break, I never met my brother, the hero, before." She also laughed and remembered when he had first gotten away from the Centre. One day, they had heard a story about him being in this little town and the people who recognized him suddenly embraced his mother and sister with open arms. A story for the road though, she was too tired now.

"So…" he began uncomfortably.

"Yes," Emily waited while getting herself a Jolly Rancher from the bag.

"Well, you don’t look much like you did two years ago," Jarod finished, he had chickened out and cursed himself for it. Emily was elated that he had said so, however, and stood to better explain.

"Contracts, hair dye, skin toner, and an attitude adjustment. Does wonders, no?" She finished pointing out her "improvements and modeling for him. He chuckled but then looked down with depression.

"What?" she rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Lyle?" Jarod questioned her as he peered up.

"Oh, that’s what’s with the Mr. Detached look. Listen to me, two months ago, you disappear from the radar, no more hero stories, anywhere, so I thought if I got inside I could find out what happened. Then I hear the names Major Charles and Jarod bouncing around. I would have come to help you that day at the flight school, but when I heard you walked right into the Centre’s front doors and made a deal, I figured rather than blow my cover, I would just meet up with you guys, later. I was sure you had everything in hand and you did, until Raines got trigger-happy. After you came back, I knew I had to get the Parkers distracted and make my move," Emily illustrated.

"You’re a wonderful actress, you certainly had me fooled," Jarod commented as Emily walked to the night table.

"Emma loved him, Jarod. Lyle treated her well and he really loved her. But Emily, me… I wanted vengeance and so I ripped his heart out like he unknowingly tore mine out so many times. I played the cruelest game, I made him love me and than I took myself from him." Emily sensed his feeling was part of a big brother complex. She tried her best to explain without making his thought of Lyle and her worse.

"I think we are destine to be in love with twins, my brother," she asserted thoughtfully. Surprised that she knew how he felt about Miss Parker for only a moment, Jarod had to agree,

"Sadly it is so…" Emily picked up her cell-phone.

"I have to call Sydney, he’ll be worried," Jarod thought and said at the same time, when he saw her turn the phone on.

"Tomorrow when we’re safely on the road," she suggested. "Right now, I have to call Mom. She’ll be expecting me today and we won’t be to the house until… what?" Jarod’s expression had grown both horrified and excited again.

"Mom’s okay?" he choked and stared hard at her.

"Oh, Jarod, I’m sorry… you remember Mom?" She had no idea he would remember anything, besides she had nearly forgot whom she was talking to, partly because it was so comfortable talking with him.

"She’s the one I remember clearest," Jarod whispered as his mind flashed back to his childhood.

"Just a minute, all right, just…" Emily fumbled with the phone, trying to dial faster. "Hi, Mom… yeah it’s me. Listen, I will be back tomorrow and we will have to leave soon after that… I have someone sitting here next to me that wants to say hi," she finished and handed Jarod the phone. His hands were sweating and he was sure he was shaking when he put the phone up to his ear.

"Mom? It’s Jarod," he managed to say, through the storm that was whirling inside of him.

"Jarod? Oh, my God, she found you?" Her voice was as kind and loving as he remembered. She sounded as though she might cry or laugh from the shock.

"Yeah, Emily, helped me escape," he replied with a tremor in his tone, "How are you, Mom?"

"It’s so good to hear your voice, honey. Did they hurt you?" Just like a mom, always concerned, but never about themselves.

"A little, but none of that matters now, I’m just glad to be coming home," he answered so full of joy, he was floating.

"I missed you, son," she whispered, but he heard it loud and clear. Jarod felt the tears overwhelm this dream-like situation. She missed him, like he missed her.

"I love you, Mom," was all he could say, so lost in emotion.

"Love you, too. I can’t wait to see you, again."

---------------

The next day at the Centre, Miss Parker paced in Sydney’s office.

"Let’s me see, if I understand, okay? Jarod’s room with him in it is destroyed in a blast, Emma’s office is blown by a similar bomb, and now Lyle is missing? Find Emma, find her now." Her hands tightened around Broots’ collar and then released him, causing him to spin in his computer chair. The telephone rang just then.

"What!?" Miss Parker hissed into Sydney’s phone as she picked it up off the receiver on his desk.

"How are things at the Fortress of Despair?" Emily laughed with the wind wiping through her black hair. She was making Jarod nervous, because Emily kept pulling her legs onto the passenger seat and sitting on the top of it. As the sun rose on the horizon before them, she couldn’t help enjoying the top being down.

"Where’s Lyle, Emma?" Miss Parker demanded and alerted Sydney at the same time.

"Put us on speaker will you, I trust it’s just the three musketeers?" Emily requested, as she slid back into the seat.

"Yes, Broots and Sydney are the only ones here." Miss Parker hit the speaker button. "Now, what do you mean, "us"?"

"Well I’ll let my brother explain," Emily giggled and handed her driver the phone.

"America is much more beautiful from behind the wheel of Lyle’s car, Sydney. Even more spectacular than I remember it!" Jarod boomed with his usual demeanor almost fully recovered.

"You’re alive?" Miss Parker came down onto the desk and dangerously close to the speakerphone; her hands clenched tight.

"Two words: Here’s Jarod!" he replied enjoying her sweetly frustrated tone. Broots nudged Sydney and they exchanged big smiles.

"How… what did she mean…?" The truth crystallized in Miss Parker’s brain. "Don’t tell me…"

"Oh, come on, it was so obvious," he gloated a bit at the irony, "Seriously, Emma? Emily? Getting shot, seems to have dulled your edge." Miss Parker almost ripped the phone off the desk in anger over her own ignorance. ‘This FAMILY! God…’ she thought.

"And the blast?" Sydney inquired calmly.

"Part of her plan, along with…" Jarod couldn’t help laughing, "with what happened to Lyle."

"And what happened to Lyle, Jarod?" Miss Parker asked, wanting all of this craziness explained.

"Let’s just say, he was so torn up over losing my sister and his new convertible "Lyle 3" that he had to be physically restrained," Jarod related with a mocking voice and a wonderful smile that she could see over the phone.

"Good one, Jarod!" Emily laughed and stole the phone, "He is in his apartment… tied to the bed. Guess it will teach him not to play trust games!"

"Y..you… you tied him to…" Miss Parker broke into laugher. Emily responded with the details.

"I tied him up, turned on "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" on the CD player and set it to play, rewind and play again… 50 times. Took his keys, blew him a kiss, and walked out the door. The song lies, that was the easiest break up I ever had!" Sydney, Miss Parker, and Broots couldn’t help the grins that came from that picture.

"We’ll get him later," Miss Parker assured while trying to compose herself.

"Thanks!" Emily said and then looking at Jarod with devilish eyes, added, "Oh, Miss Parker, Jarod was talking to me last night and he said you looked really hot in that black outfit you had on when you visited him!" Jarod’s face became as red as her lipstick and he turned to his sister with shock.

"Emily! Give me that phone!" he yelled and tried to grab it. Meanwhile, Miss Parker who had blushed at the comment to and her two cohorts listened with amusement in their faces.

"No! Both hands on the wheel! Driving safety first!" Emily screeched, "AHH! No fair tickling!" She pushed at his arm as he tickled her neck.

"Give me my cell-phone!" he demanded and imagined Miss Parker’s reaction on the other end.

"No way, Jarod let go!" she fought between giggles, now into a tug-of-war with him.

"Give it here!" he ordered while trying to stay on the road.

"Why?" she asked, as if confused.

"I’m older, now give it to me!" he replied with a chuckle growing in his throat.

"I’m smarter, who got you out of there, now say pretty please!" Emily countered and pulled harder.

"Do you want me to stop this car?" Jarod threatened.

"Now I’m sure you spent time with Dad!… Hey!" was heard over the speakerphone as Jarod regained control.

"Thank you!" he remarked partly annoyed and partly pleased. "I’m sorry Miss Parker. Emily has this compulsion to make up for all our lost family time, including the annoying little sister routine," he clarified.

"It’s okay." Miss Parker fought to keep a straight face.

"What will you two do now, Jarod?" Sydney asked trying to hide his amusement unsuccessfully.

"We’re going to Mom’s for dinner tonight and from there… wherever the wind will blow, which I hope is toward Dad," Jarod told them proudly. He was going home… Home to his family. "Anyway, check your computer, Emily and I left you a good-bye gift…" he said and turned the phone off.

Broots clicked on e-mail marked "See ya in the funny papers" and opened the sound file:

"Somebody once told me the world is gonna roll me I ain't the sharpest tool in the shed
She was looking kind of dumb with her finger and her thumb
In the shape of an "L" on her forehead
Well the years start coming and they don't stop coming
Fed to the rules and I hit the ground running

Didn't make sense not to live for fun
Your brain gets smart but your head gets dumb
So much to do so much to see
So what's wrong with taking the back streets
You'll never know if you don't go
You'll never shine if you don't glow
Hey now you're an All Star get your game on, go play
Hey now you're a Rock Star get the show on get paid
And all that glitters is gold
Only shooting stars break the mold

It's a cool place and they say it gets colder
You’re bundled up now but wait 'til you get older
But the meteor men beg to differ
Judging by the hole in the satellite picture
The ice we skate is getting pretty thin
The waters getting warm so you might as well swim
My world's on fire how about yours
That's the way I like it and I never get bored

Hey now you're an All Star get your game on, go play
Hey now you're a Rock Star get the show on get paid
And all that glitters is gold
Only shooting stars break the mold

Hey now you're an All Star get your game on, go play
Hey now you're a Rock Star get the show on get paid
And all that glitters is gold
Only shooting stars…

Somebody once asked could you spare some change for gas
I need to get myself away from this place
I said yep what a concept
I could use a little fuel myself
And we could all use a little change
Well the years start coming and they don't stop coming
Fed to the rules and I hit the ground running
Didn't make sense not to live for fun
Your brain gets smart but your head gets dumb
So much to do so much to see
So what's wrong with taking the back streets
You'll never know if you don't go, GO!
You'll never shine if you don't glow

Hey now you're an All Star get your game on, go play
Hey now you're a Rock Star get the show on get paid
And all that glitters is gold
Only shooting stars break the mold

And all that glitters is gold
Only shooting stars break the mold"

"---Smash Mouth’s "All Star" by Greg Camp" was the only thing written in the message box.
------------
"Lyle?" Miss Parker called to him as she entered his office. It had been a week and he was sitting at his desk going through reports of the escape.

"Come to take your hunk of skin, Parker?" Lyle replied from behind his swamp of papers.

"No, this came for you," she said holding up an envelope. When he didn’t look up, "It’s from Emily." He snatched it and opened it. Inside was a letter and a picture of Jarod and her. They were sitting on a porch over looking the ocean, smiling. Lyle looked closer to see the necklaces around Emily’s neck. One was the Japanese one she had worn before but the other was a thin gold chain and his ring. If she had buttoned her shirt up all the way, you couldn’t have seen it, but with the top two buttons undone it sparkled in the sunset. He handed it to Parker with a sigh and started to read the letter.

Lyle,
9:01PM: 98.5FM, turn it up. See you, the next time.
Emily.

"They look happy," Miss Parker observed as she studied the picture. She ran her fingers over Jarod and then set it down in front of Lyle.

"Happier than you were when you found out about me," Lyle grumbled as he stared at it.

"Maybe that’s her point," Miss Parker wondered as she leaned against his desk.

"What time is it?" he asked rereading the note.

"8:59," she said checking her watch. Then looking at the tension in his face, "You miss her, don’t you?" She regretted the question the moment it passed through her lips and was caught by the air.

"That’s what she wanted, isn’t it?" Lyle asked and stated at the same time. He had a headache and wanted to erase the last two months, four years, hell his whole life.

"Yeah." Miss Parker glanced out the windows and hesitated a moment. She was lost in a million thoughts, but never intended to tell Lyle about them. "Goodnight, Lyle," she whispered, patted him on the shoulder and headed for the door.

"Hey, Parker?" he said standing up.

"Hmm?" She looked back as she opened the door.

"You think you and I should…" Lyle decided against his thought, "Goodnight, Parker."

"Bye." She almost smiled and left. Lyle watched her close the door, and then found his radio. He tuned it in and turned it up as she had instructed.

"While folks we have a very special request tonight from Emma to L. Catch me if you can," the DJ boomed.

"Strange message, huh John, but hey good luck to those two crazy souls, now to the music," his friend said.

As the instrumental kicked up, Lyle sighed. ‘Crazy, yes you could say that…’ Lyle thought.
("Everyday" Phil Collins plays)

I got lost, couldn't find my way
and I guess there's nothing more to say
love can make you blind, make you act so strange
but I'm here and here I will stay

So everyday I cry
yes everyday I fall
do you ever wonder why,
why I love everything about you

But everyday I say I'll try
to make my heart be still
'til then every way there is to cry
ourselves to sleep, we will

It picked me up, knocked me off my feet
I've got no way to explain
still I love you, love you, love you
but this fire inside
will never see the light of day

So everyday goes by
and everyday I fall
it makes me wonder why
my life's worth nothing without you

But everyday I say I'll try
to make my heart be still
'cause every way there is to cry
ourselves to sleep, we will

You'll never know, no, no, no
you'll never know just how close we were
you'll never know, no, no, no, no
you'll never know
no you'll never see

The book closes and we try to forget
but I know that things won't change
how we feel, how life goes on
and that seems so strange

And so the light fades away
try, try, try as I may
I can't stop thinking about you
it seems my life's worth nothing without you

But everyday I say I'll try
to make my heart be still
'til then every way there is to cry
ourselves to sleep, we will

Everyday, everyday you know I try so hard
everyday, everyday it gets a little harder



The End

E-mail: Please send me feedback, good or bad; just write a little note if you don’t want to write a lot.

Disclaimer: „The Pretender" and all it’s characters don’t belong to me, but to some wonderful people at NBC, who deserve promotions. Please don’t sue me, I am making no money from this. I just really enjoy the show. Also, the song is owned by its respective artist, I don’t take credit for it.

Note: This is the continuation of „To Honor" (you should start with part one). I have chosen to turn it into a series, so look for more stories soon.



To Honor
part 2
„To Love: Double Trouble"
By Dede





On the walk up to the sixth floor, every step seemed to take forever and the two weary travelers thought they might never get to the top, but at last, down the hall and to the door. Stopping at the threshold, suddenly it seemed impossible they had climbed the stairs so fast. After a quick knocking, time simply stopped and like a pause button had been hit, nothing moved with the anticipation of an answer. Then a lock was clicked and a beautiful elderly woman cautiously opened the door to see her visitors.

„Mom!" Emily embraced her mother as soon as the door swung open. Jarod was a step or two behind her and stood gazing at his mother, remembering her face and her voice as she spoke,

„Emily! I’m so glad you made it here safely." Margaret hugged her daughter tight. As they released each other, Jarod slid into the doorway.

„Mom…" he whispered, feeling his emotions about to overload. She looked at him with watery eyes, and wrapped her arms around his sides to make sure he was real.

„Jarod… Jarod, oh son." She wept as he buried his face into her shoulder. For a long moment no one said anything. The emotion, the lose and the pain, the happiness and the shock, all coming to this. Finally, she pulled back and touched his face with her fingertips removing the tears that still fell from his eyes.

„After we spoke on the phone, I kept thinking I had imagined it. I was so worried I’d finally gone crazy. But look at you… so handsome with that smile which I remember very well after all these years," she whispered to him. His expression immediately became undefinable.

„I remember your smile too…" Jarod replied while bringing his hands to hers. The older woman’s eyes sparkled and she held his hands, leading her son finally into the apartment… home.
-------------
Miss Parker gripped both handles and flung open the doors to Lyle’s office. She couldn’t believe his gall calling her to his office. When did he get power over her? He was the one who messed up.

„Parker, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" Lyle shouted after landing for his leap. He hated being surprised…. hated it.

„Well, then I’ll come in again," Parker answered wickedly. ‘That’ll teach you to tell me what to do.’ She came to stand beside her brother, who was organizing files on his desk.

„Have you located any places where Jarod and Emma…" Lyle said without thought and then paused with some pain, „…Emily might be?" He was hoping for a ‘yes’. He wasn’t at all prepared to see her again, but she wouldn’t get out of his head. Lyle heard her voice in his ears, saw her figure in his mind, and felt her presence in his lonely apartment.

„No," Parker reported, now slightly remorseful of her actions. Lyle looked up at her, as if to be positive she had really spoken, then opened his file drawer to put some papers on the ordeal away.

„In that case, perhaps you should look for anywhere Jarod could have stashed the DSAs. Our father didn’t see them on the plane and it is presumed Jarod was hedging his bet." He handed her the remaining files, including Mr. Parker’s recollection of his kidnapping. Miss Parker sighed.

„Always was a planner," she muttered and secured the paperwork in her left hand.

„Yeah well, we’re hoping he hasn’t retrieved them yet," Lyle remarked. Suddenly, they both felt like they were in the same lousy, leaky boat.

„And who is we?" she asked withholding the venom. Just then, Brigitte was entering the room.

„Why all of us, Miss Parker," she greeted them. Lately, if and when, Brigitte daned to speak a word to Lyle, it was because it would inconvenience her not to.

„Brigitte. Shouldn’t you be off eating odd combinations of food or something?" Parker offered a diseased olive branch. Brigitte leaned against one of the doors, not wanting to venture into the mud pit this particular afternoon. She drummed her fingers playfully on the door handle. Then she addressed Lyle.

„Actually, I just dropped in to tell you that the Tower wants Emily as well. She could be a perfect pretender, maybe better than Jarod…. After all, she pretended to love you." She giggled that little evil laugh which raised the hair on the back of Miss Parker’s neck.

„Good luck." Brigitte smirked. Lyle glared at her, but stayed silent as she slithered out of the office. The commotion in Lyle’s brain caused an involuntary throwing of his hands to the sky. His voice brewing with conflicting emotions was loud enough for Brigitte to hear as she stepped onto the elevator.

„Great, that give us twice the problem!" Parker knew this was a cue to get to work or get shot again. She had a bit of an argument in her own mind anyway; secretly she hoped they NEVER found Emily.
-----------
The night was beginning to cloak the streets in darkness, as a family rested in the livingroom of a mid-size apartment drinking hot chocolate. Margaret seated herself on the couch, Jarod stayed comfortably in an armchair, and Emily stood against a wall. After hearing about her children’s daring escape and the house they had stopped at to throw off the Centre, Margaret grew quiet for a moment.

„Mom, are you okay?" Jarod sensed the change in her demeanor almost immediately. Her eyes connected with her son’s.

„Just thinking… how is your father, really?" Margaret asked whimsically.

„He misses you both…" Jarod replied looking up at his sister as she moved behind his chair, „and Kyle." Margaret sighed as the memory of her lost son cut through her joy.

„You’re a good brother," Emily proclaimed and squeezed his shoulder gently. He gave her a weak, but grateful smile.

„I made my peace with it, but I don’t know what I’d do if I ever saw Lyle again." A dark cloud passed over Jarod’s features.

„You’d probably tear his head off," Margaret replied a bit in jest. Emily put a hand on her hip.

„Mother?" she scolded. Jarod mused over how they complimented each other’s moods. It was probably a result of running together so long. They certainly were a few strides ahead of most mothers and daughters. There would have been little time for fights and rebellion between them, Jarod reasoned.

„Give it up, dear. I may be old, but I learned long ago being Donna Reed doesn’t pay in this world," she defended with a playful tone in her voice.

„Mom….?" Jarod began but almost lost his nerve.

„Yes, Jarod?" she prompted him to continue.

„Where does our family come from?" he asked so timidly, it seemed like he feared getting hit.

„Germany, originally…" Margaret replied off-handedly and took a sip of her hot chocolate, before the meaning behind the question sunk in, „My, Jarod, you must have a million questions."

„And she will sit here all night and answer them," Emily kissed her brother on the top of the head and walked into the kitchen for more cocoa. Jarod was right; it was better with two of the mix pouches instead of one.

„Let’s see, what would you like to know?" Margaret became very attentive. She was determined to give him the answers he had been looking for all his life. ‘You’re not lost anymore, Jarod.’ Unfortunately, he had never been offered such complete knowledge and almost all the time in the world to learn before.

„My name?" he finally decided to question. It was such a simple thing with an easy explanation but Jarod considered it the best place to start. Margaret understood the weight of his request.

„Well, your full name is Jarod Jeffrey Riter. I chose Jarod because it’s Hebrew for… ‘one who rules’ and I was sure my son would become a great leader one day, as you have." She toasted him with her cup.

„Jeffrey means ‘gift of peace’ and I considered you a true gift after all your father and I went through," Margaret continued, „Hmm… You were born in Albany General Hospital on July 16, 1961."

„That’s my birthday?" Jarod leaned forward in his chair. The whole situation was too good to be true.

„Yes. At the time, we had just moved, because your father had been transferred to the base up there," Margaret told the story and soon became immersed in its memory, „We had a two story in the suburbs with a nice backyard and a stockade fence that I had Charles paint white that August…."

„I always did like New York," he commented.

„May I ask you something Jarod?" She looked at him as if she saw right through him to the answer she wanted.

„You’re my mother, of course you can." Just then, Emily walked back in and paused near the couch to listen to her mother’s question.

„Did you know Catherine Parker? I understand you’re close to her daughter, but did you ever meet her?" Margaret asked softly.

„Yeah, she… she came to see me a few times. She was everything I thought a mother was supposed to be… kind, gentle… she had a way of making you smile," Jarod remembered.

„A very special woman….. she contacted your father and they planned to rescue you. Emily and I were in the get-away car waiting on the side of the building. Your father entered through the shipping dock, then suddenly I heard the alarms and I knew…. Catherine talked to me once or twice and she was just as you described, but the second the sound pierced the air, I knew she was dead," she explained. Jarod shook as he replayed the murder in his mind’s eye, but someone else was more affected.

„Good night, Mother. Jarod," Emily proclaimed and fled into one of the bedrooms. She shut the door so hard the walls quaked. Margaret took a long drink of her cocoa and met Jarod’s worried eyes.

„I’ll go speak with her," she offered, but her son rose and set his cup down on the coffee table.

„That’s okay. Let me." Within a few seconds he had knocked and receiving no answer, entered the room. Once inside, Jarod pressed his back against the closed door, sighing. He could feel the pain and anger radiating from her through his body, but wasn’t sure how to cure it.

„Did I do something? Say something to upset you?" Jarod opened himself up for attack. He preferred his sister’s wrath to her silence.

„No," Emily muttered. She was flopped width ways on the bed and seemed tired.

„Then what’s wrong?" He came next to the bed and she rolled over to face him.

„Look, Jarod, I was born into this life. My whole existence has been about survival and finding two brothers I never met," she said with regret in her voice.

„I’m sorry," Jarod apologized dropping his eyes.

„Don’t say that…" Her voice quivered.

„I don’t know what else to say," he admitted. She sat up and felt her own pain hiding in his face. Jarod really could get inside a person’s head. Since Emily was his sister it was even easier to understand her.

„This isn’t your fault….." She stood and began making the bed. Only glancing at him occasionally as she spoke. „I admit when I was younger I hated you. I thought you were the reason I lost my father and we had to move all the time. But Jarod, I grew up and I know now that you didn’t have any control over what happened. It’s just hard to listen to."

„I never seem to cause anything but pain to those closest to me." He was numb and depressed. Jarod’s dream of reuniting with his family was beginning to crumble. Emily wouldn’t let him do that to himself. She put her hands on his arms.

„I’m your sister and I love you, Jarod. Not because I have to, but because I met so many of the people you’ve helped. You are a wonderful person and you have absolutely no reason to be that way. With how you grew up, you had every right to become a killer or a head case or worse…" She tilted his head up with her hands, so his eyes met hers. „But you didn’t. You are Jarod… hero and defender, avenger and savior, but most importantly you’re Jarod, my brother." They exchanged the animated expressions of siblings at those rare moments when a secret is shared or an adventure has begun.

„I love you, too, Emily. I wish I could give it all back to you. There were nights, I wondered what it would be like to have a sister. I’m just grateful we’re together now."

„So am I…" she said with a heavy sigh, „Hey, enough of this serious stuff, let’s go see which
X-Files it is." Jarod’s features filled with confusion.

„X files?" he echoed. She pulled at his hand on her way to the door.

„Oh, Jarod," Emily giggled, „I have so much to tell you."
-----------
Miss Parker sat at her desk, pressing key after key on her computer in determination and frustration. She had looked through all the information and put together what she could about where Jarod might be. Anywhere. She was hitting dead ends, however, what was really annoying was Parker knew a good clue might be in that picture Emily sent Lyle. Mysteriously, it had been omitted from the files… oversight, no doubt.

„Miss Parker, I found it!" Broots rushed in, followed by the always-demure Sydney. Miss Parker’s thoughts were shattered by the interruption.

„Lewis, Clark, what have you discovered?" She folded her arms and watched them as Sydney closed the door.

„It took a little digging and a bunch of MCI minutes, but I located the warehouse that a certain Jarod Major has what could be the DSAs stored," Broots stated. Miss Parker slid back in her chair and stood.

„Thanks Broots, I knew you’d be good for something one day." She patted his back and grabbed the print out from his hands.

„Thanks, Miss Parker," he replied a bit sarcastically.

„Well, time to go get your research back, Syd," she commented on her way toward the hall. She didn’t really notice he remained where he was, until he spoke.

„Parker, maybe we should slow down." Sydney’s voice was low and thoughtful.

„Why?" She flustered back to face him. Broots placed himself against a wall and tried to become part of the decor.

„It’s likely Jarod will be nearby and unlikely that he would want to give up such a large part of his life," Sydney seemed to be considering it in his head and much as he was saying it out loud.

„He has a new life, Sydney and we have yet to be in it." Sydney tried to hide the hurt, Parker had zeroed in on. Miss Parker knew the truth was painful, but she was dealing with it too. Maybe once she proclaimed it out loud, it wouldn’t suffocate her so much.

„Jarod’s found his REAL family," she said softly and rested her hand on his shoulder, „What would he want with Centre recorded nightmares?"
-----------
Jarod began to murmur and thrash about the covers in his sleep. The bed was comfortable and for once someone else watched over his safety, but his mind remained consumed with the pain of the past and worry of the future. Finally he yelled out as his dream came to its horrid climax. Fortunately, hands came onto his shoulders and shock him from the depths of sleep.

„Jarod! Jarod…" she called. Waking with a panicked start, he sat up in bed, shaking slightly. Jarod realized almost immediately that his mother was sitting next to him. She searched in his sweet brown eyes and stroked his hair with the gentle touch of a concerned mother.

„It was just a nightmare," he informed her and himself. Margaret somberly marveled at his self-consoling abilities and decided he didn’t have to deal with it alone anymore.

„Tell me what happened… If you talk about the dream, it’ll make you feel better." He smiled and she kissed his forehead before pulling him into a comforting hug. Jarod didn’t want to speak of the demons in his mind; he just wanted to rest his aching head against his mother’s shoulder.

Emily stood in the doorway, her soft pink robe half on and brown hair a bit eschew. She folded her arms across her chest and watched her mother’s healing powers work their magic. Brushing a stray lock from her forehead, she entered the scene. Emily chose the foot of the bed to rest on, so when Jarod opened his eyes he saw her studying him.

As he relaxed back against his pillow, Jarod reached for Emily’s hand. She quickly accepted the thought and held his fingers in her palm.

„I’ll be okay. I’m just sorry to have woken you both."

„Oh, Jarod… do you have those dreams every night?" Emily asked. His only answer was a slow nod.

„Well, you know what mom does when I have a nightmare?" This caused Jarod to give her an unsure look of interest.

„She feeds me ice cream," she exclaimed. At this news, Jarod sat up and the three chuckled lightly at his enthusiasm. Suddenly, all the fear, all the pain seemed to float away with a gentle laugh.
-----------
Miss Parker was on her way home. She needed some rest, especially since she just found out the Tower had schedule her to testify about Raines’ activities in three days. She would have preferred to shot a bullet into that bald head of his, but no such luck. Parker could still hope, though, the Tower was never known for its forgiveness. Suddenly, Lyle grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into his office before she could get out an argument.

„We’ve got him," Lyle stated. Shrugging him off, she growled,

„Gee, Lyle I’m not doing anything. What’s with you?" Lyle smiled smugly and opened the file in hand.

„Come now, Cruella, I know where the 101st puppy’s going to be in the next day or two." Parker sighed at the comparison and then got an image that just plain bothered her.

„Where?" she sleepily asked.

„A warehouse in our own state of Delaware," he replied, obviously proud of himself.

„How do you know it’s Jarod?" Miss Parker decided fighting him would delay her exit and subsequent arrival at home.

„The storage space was rented by a Jarod Major and the item is listed as a small suitcase. Besides the dates match. He was clever though, this place doesn’t have an online service, so I had to call to find out," he informed her. Ignoring the fact that Broots found the place three hours ago, she turned to leave.

„Well, I’ll see you in a few days," Parker tossed him, but Lyle was not letting her get away.

„No, you’re coming with me," he ordered. Parker looked back at him and decided next time she was taking the back way out of the Centre.

„And why would that be, precisely?" He acted as if it was clear to any simpleton.

„Because we have to deal with double trouble and I would like at least fair odds."
-----------
Jarod set the last bag (his) in the trunk of the Ford Spirit and slammed the lid. He glanced at Emily and his mother as they stood on the steps of the apartment building.

„I guess that’s everything," he informed them and brushed his gloves together before opening the driver’s side door for his mother.

„I don’t like this Jarod," Margaret protested as Emily all but threw her in the car. Jarod shut the door for her and kiss his mother through the open window.

„I know, but I need those DSAs," he persisted.

„Besides, Mom, I’ll be there to protect him," Emily teased. Jarod was quickly figuring out why so many people complained about their siblings, however, he still wouldn’t trade this family for the world.

„I’ll call as soon as we’re on the road. We should be to the house by seven," he assured.

„Okay," Margaret replied and kissed her daughter, „Bye, darling."

„Bye, Mom," Emily returned and stepped away from the car. Margaret started up the motor, then looked back at her children.

„I love you, both. Stay safe." She waved and began to pull out.

„We will," Jarod promised.
----------
Miss Parker and Lyle stayed observant of their surrounding even as they listened to the guy, who ran the warehouse.

„They walked down there to get his suitcase." The man pointed toward a particular aisle of the crisscrossed rows. The place was full of shelves wherever they could be put and on them was whatever people needed stored, most in boxes with numbers on them in bright red paint.

„Thanks," Parker replied coldly. Aside to Lyle, „I can’t believe this is the place." They started down one of the halls, guns in hand.

„Jarod has always been a friend of the ‘less fortunate’ remember?" Lyle commented on the overhaul wearing, high school drop out they had just talked to. Suddenly, Parker stopped and listened a moment.

„Shh! I think I hear them," she whispered.
---------
Jarod watched his sister, fearlessly perched at the top of one of the shelves full of crates, searching for his suitcase. Emily was allowing her left leg to dangle over the side as she crouched down trying to read numbers on the side of the boxes.

„Which crate is it?" she shouted down.

„E3152." Emily maneuvered it out and retrieved the suitcase. She was just about to throw it down to Jarod when she glanced over to see Parker walking down an aisle about three rows to the right. Jarod saw her expression change and felt his nerves go into alarm mode.

„What’s wrong?" he called up to her, which only alerted the party crashers in what direction they were. It was because of this, Emily decided the heck with it.

„Hey, Jarod! We got company!" she screamed and jumped like a cat, suitcase in hand.

„Damn it! We’ve been made," Parker cursed and began to run. Lyle decided to turn around and try to trap them.

„Stop!" Miss Parker screamed as she caught sight of Jarod through the crates.

„Funny, Parker!" Jarod scaled the shelves in seconds. Emily took off around into another row and figured Jarod had both pursuers’ attention. They were rats in a maze of hid and seek.

„Jarod! Where are you? You’re not getting out of here!" Parker continued to bait him. She thought his voice would lead the way; however, he understood exactly what she was doing.

„Oh, I beg to differ," he throw his voice across the room, causing her to spin and become confused.

„I’d love to hear you beg. Just show yourself," Miss Parker growled. Lyle hunted Emily a bit half-heartedly… actually even that was a conflict. He ached to see her again and yet knew if he caught her, Emily would become Triumvirate property. Lyle wanted her to be his property.

„Lyle? Aren’t you a little over your head?" mocked Emily as she threw a crate that barely missed him.

„Emily." He sighed and framed his mind into indifference, even cruelty. „Did you know the Tower’s very impressed with you?" Emily leaped across the rows and slipped, but managed to climb up and throw her voice behind Lyle before he could find her.

„Really? Remind me to send them a ‘Thank You’ card." Lyle whipped his body around so fast he stunned himself.

„Oh, yes, in fact they want you to come play games too, now," he spit out. Emily stopped at this, had Lyle just warned her. He didn’t need to tell her the Tower was after her. Her heart burned and Emily had to shack her head clear to keep evading him.

„Sorry, Lyle but neither of us are going back…. EVER!" Jarod yelled as he moved closer to his target.

„Can’t run forever, Boy Genius!" Parker called to him. She was wandering now aimlessly, pointing her gun at any sound near her.

„And here I was thinking I could…" he mocked his favorite playmate.

„God, shut up! Just shut up!" Emily screeched. This whole situation felt so dumb and Lyle was throwing her off guard. She was sick of this mess and it was time to get a few things straight!

„Don’t bet on it, Emily! No one tells me what to do," Parker hissed. She never really liked this girl and no future lab rat was instructing her.

„Except the Tower! Come on, Parker, the Centre ruined your life, just like it destroyed Jarod’s. They killed your mother and turned you into a hired gun. Then they tried to take away your father." Emily’s words came from a pitying heart, which struck a cord so loud all three listeners stood still.

„That was Raines!" Parker responded weakly. She knew this wasn’t a great argument.

„What does it matter?" Emily defended her opinion.

„Don’t listen to her, Parker," Lyle yelled across the rows to his sister. ‘Please stop, Emily,’ he thought.

„Oh and you’re indebted to the place how? Lyle, just like me, you were cursed at birth. Raines took you away from a mother who loved you, didn’t he? Didn’t he leave you with a father who beat and tortured you? Then you grew up and came to work for the same people that wrecked your childhood. At least, Jarod and Parker have the sense to hate it. He runs and she complains. Okay, so he has more guts… but Jarod had a great deal more to be angry over." The silence was deafening. They became lost in their pasts; the maze was now composed of painful memories in their minds.

„Then there’s me. I was born into this stupid game of survival. Taught since I was old enough to speak to running from Centre sweepers. It’s in my blood. I had no choice," she spoke as if in a trance, that only one voice could break.

„Your point?" Lyle timidly asked.

„Why are we running around in circles after each other, when they did this to us… all of us?" The question was similar to a punch in the stomach or a shot through the back (in Parker’s mind anyway). At that moment each realized how the Centre had ruined them. And suddenly they didn’t blame each other as much. The purpose of everything came up for conjecture.

„Okay, that’s enough speeches for now." Parker spotted Emily’s movements and began to pursue. Then she was able to tackle Emily as she jumped down at the wrong instance.

„Parker, what an interesting situation, wouldn’t you agree?" she inquired casually as Parker tried desperately to hold her to the metal floor.

„Your kitty-cat moves won’t save you," Miss Parker hissed in Emily’s face.

„I don’t know about that." Emily remained calm long enough to find a push off point on a couch that hadn’t been boxed yet and kicked herself out from under Parker’s grip.

Meanwhile, Jarod had been hunting a predator and almost laughed, watching Lyle hitting a dead end, but decided to make his move instead. The sneaker’s impact was just below Lyle’s shoulders, while the hands came around his raised arms, stealing the gun. Lyle hit the floor and lost his breath in a forced yelp.

Emily and Miss Parker stopped struggling at the cry.

„Lyle?" Emily called out. The room was silent except for the faint sound of a safety being clicked off.

„Jarod?" Miss Parker hoped he would answer her. Had Lyle knocked him out? What if Lyle was planning to execute Jarod right now? No response came, so forgetting their feline fight, the ladies hurried to the last place either had seen Lyle.

The scene they found stole the air from their lungs. Jarod stood in the middle of an aisle with his arms rigid and his fingers wrapped around Lyle’s gun. He stared down the barrel at Lyle’s head, which was leaning against the shelves. Lyle sat on the floor looking into Jarod’s eyes like he was gazing into a mirror. His hands were tight on a box behind him as if he was searching for a hold on reality. Neither moved nor recognized that the girls existed.

„Oh…. Jarod, Jarod give me the gun," Emily edged carefully toward him. Nothing seemed to penetrate his concentration.

„Jarod?" Parker asked. He glanced at them briefly.

„Shot him, Parker," Lyle finally spoke, however, his eyes were still locked on the face beyond the gun. Miss Parker lifted her weapon, even aimed a bit. Then Jarod looked over just enough for her to see his expression. Lyle was staring into a mirror of himself… Jarod was pretending to be him.

„No," she whispered, trying to fight back tears. She wouldn’t shot Jarod, so Lyle could haul him back. It was this realization that almost put her on the floor. Emily felt the emotions in her tone and scared Parker by intertwining her fingers with Parker’s.

„Jarod, please. We can leave… walk out of here." Emily picked up the suitcase and showed her brother, „See, I’ve got the DSAs." Jarod flinched, but refused to let Lyle out of this place. If that meant he wasn’t going home either, maybe it was worth it. ‘Kyle… Kyle…’ he continued to think about his brother, then suddenly, ‘Emily…Emily… Kyle... Emily…"

„You can walk, Jarod," Parker promised, putting her gun in its holster.

„I don’t want to leave, Parker. I want to kill him. I want to fire a bullet into his brain and watch him bleed," Jarod growled low and gritted his teeth. He had a taste for Lyle’s mind now, he understood… oh, did he ever understand.

„No, Jarod! You can’t do this. Not because he doesn’t deserve it, but because you’re not like him," Emily pleaded as she inched closer. She had to talk to the pretender in him; his skills and training had control now. Parker worked on his humanity, hoping to get through to the Jarod she knew.

„Jarod, he shot your bother, please don’t shot mine," she beseeched him.

„Is that you begging, Parker?" Jarod asked with a laugh that caught in his throat. No warning was issued, before Jarod squeezed the trigger. Emily leapt with shock. Miss Parker shut her eyes and leaned back toward Emily.

When the frightful sound was lost on the wind, Lyle lay quivering slightly on the floor. Jarod aimed just above Lyle’s head. He wanted to kill and the feeling was intoxicating. There was so much power, so much control in it. Yes, he now saw Lyle for all he was, however, he wasn’t Lyle and never wanted to become him. Jarod slowly walked toward Parker as if to slide right passed her; instead he stopped next to her.

„Don’t follow us," Jarod warned as he handed Miss Parker the gun. She nodded and quickly came to Lyle’s side. Lyle considered trying to convince her otherwise, but didn’t have it in him. He just watched dumbly as Emily’s silhouette disappeared around a corner of crates. Miss Parker looked up in time to see Jarod glance back at her as he escorted his sister out.
-------------
The road was dark and the sky black. Their ride back to the Centre was quiet, so somber in fact that finally Miss Parker couldn’t take it. She turned the car stereo on and put in the first CD she found.

(„Fly Away" by Poe)

„It makes sense that it should happen this way
That the sky should break
And the earth should shake
As if to say:
Sure it all matters but in such an unimportant way
As if to say, hey
Fly away
Sweet bird of prey
Fly, fly away
Nothing can stand in your way
Sweet bird
If you knew the words
I know that you'd say fly
Fly away

It makes sense that it should hurt in this way
That my heart should break
And my hands should shake
As if to say:
Sure it don't matter except in the most important way
As if to say:
Hey, fly away
Sweet bird of prey
Fly, fly away
I won't stand in your way
Sweet bird
If you knew the words I know that you'd say
Fly, fly away

It makes sense that it should feel this way
That you slowly fade
And yet still remain
As if to say:
Everything matters in such an invisible way
As if to say:
It's ok
Fly Away…."


The End


E-mail: Please send me feedback, good or bad; just write a little note if you don’t want to write a lot.

Disclaimer: "The Pretender" and all it’s characters don’t belong to me, but to some wonderful people at NBC, who deserve promotions. Please don’t sue me, I am making no money from this. I just really enjoy the show. Also, the songs are owned by their respective artist, I don’t take credit for them..


Note: This is the continuation of "To Honor" (you should start with part one). I have chosen to turn it into a six part series, so look for more stories. THANK YOU to all the people who encouraged me to turn my original story into a series and thanks again for all the positive feedback.



To Honor
part 3
"To Cherish: The Perfect Combination"
By Dede






Jarod rubbed his eyes. He spent wait too many hours at this monitor, but no rest for the Insomniac. Besides, he was making headway on this project. It had been two months since he had found his family and the excitement had relaxed enough to allow his mind to wander to his work, but the feeling had not diminished. ‘I just need a minute,’ he thought and stood to stretch. He roamed down the corridor past his mother’s room. She was out working as a nurse tonight and wouldn’t be back until late. He sighed at his own happiness in those facts. Continuing on, Jarod was just about to Emily’s bedroom when he heard a sob from inside.

The sound was so desperate and disturbing, he became concerned. Was she watching another one of her sad romance movies, or perhaps having a nightmare?

"Emily?" he spoke through the closed door while knocking calmly.

"Emily Derora Faith Riter… you all right?" Despite his slight distress, Jarod did enjoy saying her full name. Like his own, their parents had chosen hers with careful purpose. Emily was of course decided on because it was Margaret’s middle name, however, she seemed to live up to its meanings of industrious and flatterer. Derora had a bit of a sixties influence in that it was Hebrew for running streams, but the only name more appropriate was her second middle name: Faith. He found fulfillment in every one of his parents’ predictions for their children.

Again silence came from the room, which worried Jarod enough to open the door cautiously. There she was collapsed on the floor, hugging her knees. He dashed to her side and took her into his arms as gently as possible.

"Emily? What’s wrong?" he whispered into her ear. She was in a trance like state with a psychotic presence in her eyes.

"Jarod, I…. I… Oh, God, I’m just so stupid… I thought… Oh, what am I going to do?" she talked first to him, then seemed to lose memory of his existence and began speaking out loud to herself.

"About what?" Jarod asked. He stared into her face, but confusion draped its curtain over her eyes.

"I just don’t know…I… Oh, what will I say?" Emily appeared to direct the question toward Jarod. She finally relaxed against him and let the tears fall wet upon his shirt.

"Emily?" he whispered sweetly, not sure he wanted a response now, "Shh… It’ll be okay." He held her as only a big brother can, comforting her and trying to make all the pain go away.

---------

As night began slowly to creep about lengthening shadows and shading in colors, he walked several feet beneath the earth’s surface, where the sun had never been. Lyle was developing a custom of this recently. He would search for nothing a few hours each day.

Suddenly, while starting down a hall on SL3, one of the infirmary level, Lyle heard someone yell from behind him.

"Emily!" He involuntarily whipped around just in time to see a mass of hair brush past him before stopping.

"Emily, come back here!" a nurse called after the five year old. The child stood near him, but when he gazed at her, she dropped her head in fear. Lyle felt something that almost crushed him inside. He had never bothered to worry if anyone liked him, unless he could use them, yet seeing this girl reject his very presence hurt him.

"Sweety, you shouldn’t run like that. I know you’re bored, but we have to go back to your room now," the nurse instructed as she caught up. Tending to her ward, she didn’t look up at him. The little girl nodded apologetically and began to march back. Lyle stopped the nurse from following her with a rough tap on the shoulder.

"Excuse me?" he began.

"Yes." The woman inspected him carefully.

"What is she here for?" Lyle gestured toward the child walking down the hall.

"She has a rare form of cancer. Her parents brought her to the Centre for treatment. They are very important clients, so we’re doing everything we can," she explained. With all her activity, he never would have guessed she was dying. The woman seemed to sense his thoughts and added,

"Sometimes even when the body is dying, a person’s spirit stays very much alive." He turned to her with a bitter expression in his features.

"Yes. Some spirits are impossible to extinguish despite adversity," he replied. Finally, the nurse felt comfortable with him, however, her ward had reached the room.

"Good day, sir," she said warmly. Lyle was amazed by her reaction, but couldn’t shake his mind from the short brown curls that had disappeared into a doorway.

"Good day, indeed." His heart ached and he had to force himself to find the way up to his office.

---------

She had stopped crying now and sat on the bed with her hands rubbing together. He was across from her on the desk chair. He watched as she leaned her forehead against her hands.

"Are you sure?" Jarod asked half-lost in his own mind still.

"No…. I’m basically sure. The first month I figured I was just paranoid. Kidding myself, you know, but now… I’m know something’s wrong. I haven’t been to a doctor, yet." Emily wanted to let him down gently. This wasn’t going to be easy; it was going to be painful and not just the birth.

"Would you like me to run some tests?" he inquired slowly. Jarod didn’t want to annoy her, but he wouldn’t believe it until his tests came back.

"If you want to. I’m seeing my doctor in the morning." She looked down at the floor. It wasn’t supposed to happen this way. She had a simple plan, a plan to save him and because of that plan she had a baby from Lyle. Jarod knew it wasn’t his fault, but Emily knew he felt guilty and angry. Cruel irony and cursed luck! The gods were against him along with his kin and he didn’t understand why.

"What now?" he whispered. Emily peered at him through her fingers and grabbed one of the pillows from the headboard to hug.

"Well, I know what I have to do. I have to call him," she answered tossing the pillow back in place. Jarod wasn’t sure he had heard her right.

"What?" he particularly yelled. Coming to sit with her on the bed, he started to elaborate, but she hushed him before a single word was coherent.

"I know, I know…." she assured Jarod, while taking his hands in hers tight.

"But…" Jarod pleaded for her to listen.

"I know," she responded loudly. Emily looked him straight in the eye, their faces inches apart.

"I’m still calling him," she said defiantly.

"At least wait until mom gets home," he begged her. Maybe, she could talk some sense into her daughter.

"No. I’d rather do this when I’m only fighting one of you," Emily informed him of his defeat. She felt a heavy weight tug on her heart.

"You said you weren’t sure," Jarod remembered. He was trying everything he could think of, though, the situation was making it hard to think clearly.

"I’m sure. And I’m calling. I’ll go to the doctor tomorrow and run all the tests you like, but I’m calling him." It was stressful fighting Jarod, but she had to win his support.

"Why does he even need to know?"

"It wouldn’t make a difference. If he ever catch sight of me in a few months, he’d know. At least this way, the news might slow him down," she explained. He knew she was right. It just didn’t seem fair.

"Emily…" he began.

"Jarod…" Emily squeezed his hands.

"What do you need?" he gave in. Jarod trusted her. Emily’s face brightened with a bittersweet smile.

"Could you get me some tea?" she asked softly.

"Sure," he said.

"Okay." Jarod stood to leave, but had only reached the door, when he looked back at her. She was searching for her cell-phone.

"Emily?" he called to her.

"Yeah?" Emily turned away from her quest to face him.

"I love you," he stated strongly. She nodded.

"I know."

---------

Why… why, why me? He fidgeted with the papers on his desk, shuffling and re-shuffling them. Then he stood and came to the window. He didn’t want to feel like this. He never wanted to care about anything or anyone, yet he cared about her. And worse he never wanted to hear that name echoing down the halls. It seemed wrong, but Lyle couldn’t figure out why. She had lied to him, hurt him, manipulated him and through it all, mixed in with all the anger and pain was an incredible respect stemming from unwavering affection. What was wrong with him? It had been two months for heaven’s sake.

His phone enticed him after the first two rings enough to cause him to hit the speaker button. The sweet voice on the other end nearly made him fall out of his chair as he tried to sit down.

"The weather’s nice in Florida. I wish I was there," Emily played nervously. She was close to being ill.

"Emily, how good to hear from you. Mind telling me what the weather’s like where you are. I’ll turn on the Weather Channel and take a guess," he offered, thinking he understood Parker’s games with Jarod much better now.

"It’s dark and cloudy. I want to meet with you." Her response confused him enough to generate a moment or so of pause.

"Really?! Well, let me call a sweeper team and we can have a regular reunion," he regained his sarcasm.

"Lyle, this isn’t about the Centre, this is about the ring you gave me," Emily fingered the ring on her gold chain as she spoke.

"And you want to meet with me?" he asked. Lyle couldn’t figure out what she was doing, however, the idea of seeing Emily kept him on the line.

"Yes, alone…" she answered with command in her voice, "Alone, Lyle, should I explain the word?" Emily was suspicious and Lyle knew it, but he also heard a fear in her that stopped him from taunting her.

"I agree. No sweepers…. Where?" he said while pulling out a pen and opening a notepad.

"There’s an abandon apartment building six blocks from your place. Loft on the third floor, ten o’clock tomorrow night," she instructed.

"Ten o’clock. I’ll be there." Lyle wondered what she had planned. Did she miss him?

"Don’t double cross me," Emily warned. In her room, she sipped her tea and tried to relax against the wall.

"Don’t bring Jarod," Lyle demanded.

"Deal…" she ended the call. Lyle rubbed his forehead and sighed. Calmly, he then hit a speed dial button on his phone.

"Parker…"

---------

Margaret walked through her front door around eleven. She had no sooner set her purse on the counter, than Jarod appeared on the top steps of the stairs. He gazed down at her with panic in his every motion and she knew something had happened to Emily.

---------

"And you’re going?" Parker accused. She was flabbergasted by the news that Miss Emily wanted to speak with Lyle. Didn’t she know what she was walking into and where was Jarod? He certainly would never approve of her intentions.

"Yes. She wouldn’t risk this sort of stunt unless something important was going on," Lyle explained. Standing in her office, he rested his back against the filing cabinet.

"So, you’re telling me… why?" Parker asked sarcastically.

"I want you listening, Agent 99," Lyle told her.

"What?" Parker put a hand up to her ear as if she couldn’t understand him.

"Please?" he said as pathetically as possible.

"Sorry, I think you’re in ‘the cone of silence’," Parker retorted and started to move around the desk toward her door.

"She could try to kill me," Lyle remarked. Parker still opened the door wide to suggest he should leave.

"Tragedy." Her response freezing ice icicles to his ears.

"Okay, but let it be in your nightmares, if I die," he stated while walking past her.

"I’m a pretty sound sleeper," she commented and held the door with her right hand.

"Maybe I’ll just go ask Sydney if he can…" Lyle replied. Miss Parker’s eyes grew two fold and she shut the door, nearly hitting him and stood in front of it.

"Sydney has enough on his mind, Mad Max. I’ll go, but only if Sam comes too," she declared. Sydney was testifying about Raines for the third time in a month and it was beginning to wear on him. Besides, Jarod hadn’t called and Sydney missed him.

"Thanks," Lyle said, even bowing to her slightly as he left.

--------

He stared up at the building to the third floor, where a single light hid behind the beat up blinds that whatever office used to be there had left behind. He glanced back at the van across the street where Sam and Parker were staying. Adjusting his cufflink, Lyle entered the main door.

As he proceeded up the stairs, he could hear the rain beginning to fall on the streets. Coming to the loft that he saw from the sidewalk, the door stood open. The interior of the room wasn’t much: a table with a radio, a couch, and a mattress with a blanket on the floor.

"You came…" Emily moved from her seat on the forgotten sofa to greet him.

"I promised," he replied coldly. He eyed the chain around her neck, but didn’t speak of it. She was dressed casually with jeans and a satin blouse that buttoned up.

"Where’s the cavalry?" she asked timidly. The more she had waited the more she had begun to believe the meeting was a mistake.

"I’m alone," he lied, "You?" Looking at him, she found him curious. He was wearing a tailored black suit with the designer tie she had bought him on their one-month anniversary.

"Just you and me," Emily confessed. "How’ve you been?"

"You mean after you humiliated me or after Jarod nearly blew my head off?" Icy words... yes that always worked, just cool down with icy words.

"Look, I’m sorry, Lyle, but you had it coming and as for Jarod, don’t…" she told him honestly. Emily didn’t want to discuss her brother, who at this very moment was probably halfway up the wall and still climbing. Lyle could sort of understand her hesitation. He hadn’t really wanted to talk about Jarod either.

"What was so important you couldn’t tell me over the phone?" he resorted to asking.

"You remember that night on the bench about three months ago?" Emily tried to lead him to the truth.

"Yeah… it was perfect." He nearly forgot himself with the thought.

"Well, so do I…" Emily took a deep breath before speaking, "Okay." Studying his face another minute, she paused, then almost choked on the words. "Lyle, you’re going to be a father." Shocked to his very core, Lyle’s conscious mind was at first confused by the meaning of her declaration.

"A father?" he chuckled strangely, "Why? Who’s…? No!" When the whole idea sunk into his brain, his legs buckled. Lyle had to grab hold of the wall to keep from falling down.

"Yes…" Emily confirmed, "Lyle, I’m pregnant." She touched her stomach with the palm of her hand while awaiting the full impact of his reaction.

"Oh, oh.. Are you positive?" Lyle inquired hopefully. He was still trying to process the discovery and couldn’t quite tell if he wasn’t dreaming. A chilly sweat made his skin clammy.

"I had a local doctor run some tests today… Jarod ran tests as well," she explained patiently, all the time watching for the first sign of strong emotion through the haze of his trauma.

"Jarod…?" he weakly questioned.

"He’s at home trying to live with this," Emily said as delicately as she could.

Searching for reality, Lyle remembered vaguely something about people listening to the conversation by way of one of his cufflinks. Noticing the radio, he slipped the bug off and found his out.

"Does that thing work?" He tried to sound casual, but failed.

"Yeah, I was listening to it before you came," Emily said helpfully. Lyle set the bug behind it as he turned the dial from station to station. Finding one he liked, he let it play.

("I Love You" sung by Celine Dion)
"I must be crazy now
Maybe I dream too much
But when I think of you
I long to feel your touch
To whisper in your ear
Words that are old as time
Words only you would hear
If only you were mine

I wish I could go back to the very first day I saw you
Should've made my move when you looked in my eyes
'Cause by now I know that you'd feel the way that I do
And I'd whisper these words as you'd lie here by my side
I love you, please say
You love me too, these three words
They could change our lives forever
And I promise you that we will always be together
Till the end of time…"

-----------

"What do we do, Miss Parker?" Sam asked, turning off the recorder. Parker sighed and glanced out at the building across the street.

"I think we go home."

-----------

(song continued)
"…So today, I finally find the courage deep inside
Just to walk right up to your door
But my body can't move when I finally get to it
Just like a thousand times before
Then without a word he handed me this letter
Read I hope this finds the way into your heart, it said
I love you, please say
You love me too, these three words
They could change our lives forever
And I promise you that we will always be together
Till the end of time…"

"I can’t believe this! How could you… ahhh!" Lyle slammed his fist into the closest wall.

"You gonna hit me now? Huh, Lyle?" Emily had seen that look in his eyes only once when they were dating. It was on their fourth date, when she said something about the Centre that offended him or hurt his pride anyway. She knew he thought about striking her then, but didn’t… he just yelled a bit and she had to play up how sorry she was the rest of the evening.

"No." He quietly sighed. "I can’t." The answer didn’t satisfy Emily though, in fact, without comprehending why, she was angry.

"Oh, come on! I’ve heard the stories… the truth about what you did. Or is it possible you care about the baby?" she growled, making him face her.

"I hit those girls… tortured them, because they reminded me of my late wife," Lyle whispered.

"So, you beat her to death!" Emily exclaimed.

"No! I didn’t!" Lyle was tired of this lie.

"Then who did?" she asked, walking dangerously close to him.

"Mr. Parker!" he yelled in her face.

"You’re father?" She was shocked. He was reliving it with all those women… recreating her death. God, the crazy mixed-up kid had never been taught any better.

"Then why haven’t you ever knocked me around?" Emily’s tone was soft now and warm.

"I can’t hit you," he explained. Lyle’s voice was raw.

"Why?" she implored him to make her understand. He gazed in those elegant eyes.

"Because I loved you!" he managed to say.

"Lyle…" She wanted to say more, but couldn’t.

"I loved you from the moment I saw you… so strong, so powerful. Not even Parker amazed me like that. Besides you were kind. You cared about my suffering, my… nightmares, or at least you pretended to. Everyone around me, they think I’m the devil because of all I’ve done and maybe they’re right, but you didn’t care about any of it. And God help me, after I found out who you were, I loved you more. You’re always so in control and ready to do anything for your cause." He let all the words he had kept inside for months pour out of his heart.

"And you do anything for yours. What is your purpose Lyle?" Emily asked coming closer to him.

"Survival. Ever since my less than fairytale childhood, I survive. No matter what," he clarified.

"And no more who. So you’re saying you’ve changed… because of me?" She was confused, upset, and worried all in the same instant. He shook his head.

"No, I’m saying, I will to do what I can for a family I wish… I could have." Lyle used two fingers to lift her face to his.

"Is this the part where I fall into your arms and say I love you too?" Emily asked, a bit more harshly than she had wanted to. Lyle sighed.

"Would Emma?"

(song continued)
"…Well maybe I, I need a little love yeah
And maybe I, I need a little care
And maybe I, maybe you, maybe you, maybe you
Oh you need somebody just to hold you
If you do, just reach out and I'll be there

I love you, please say
You love me too
Please say you love me too
Till the end of time
These three words
They could change our lives forever
And I promise you that we will always be together
Oh, I love you
Please say you love me too
Please please
Say you love me…."

--------

Margaret was on the couch reading a novel to take her mind away from the situation, when Jarod paced passed her for the fifth time.

"I can’t stand this! Why is she meeting with him?" He was talking to himself, which he had been doing since she left. Margaret set her book down and addressed him.

"It’s something she has to do, that’s all."

"It could get her killed or captured or worse," Jarod expounded on his worries.

"Don’t do this, Jarod. Emily’s a clever girl. She’ll be fine." She came to rest a hand on his arm.

"I didn’t want to say anything, but I’m so angry," he confessed.

"And you won’t say anything," his mother said with authority.

"Maybe you could talk to her," he suggested.

"No, I most certainly will not. She is being pulled in too many directions as it is. I won’t add to it," Margaret explained.

"Mom…" Jarod didn’t want to be logical.

"This is her child. What decisions she makes you may never understand, but you must be supportive," she patiently told him.

"I intend to take care of her no matter what. I guess, I just needed to say something to someone," he whispered.

"How did you talk out your problems before you found us?" Margaret wondered aloud.

"I called… Sydney," Jarod remembered, but then something else entered his mind, that hadn’t occurred to him (or perhaps he wouldn’t let it occur to him) in the last few months.

---------

Looking at his clock, Sydney realized it was close to one in the morning. Who on earth would be calling him now? He sat up in bed, brushed a hand through his hair and took the phone off the receiver.

"This is Sydney," he answered in his usually way.

"Did I wake you?" Jarod’s voice timidly sounded across the line. Sydney suddenly was completely awake and alert.

"Yes, however, I’m glad. Is something wrong?" He was concerned that perhaps Jarod was calling because he was in trouble and needed his old teacher’s assistance.

"Yeah. I didn’t call to discuss it, though," he replied.

"Then why did you call, Jarod?" Sydney inquired in his professional manner.

"To ask how you were?" Jarod spoke truthfully. Sydney smiled at such a kind gesture and relaxed against the pillows piled in front of his headboard. This was going to be one of their philosophical conversations that would last long into the night.

---------

Emily woke to her cell-phone ringing. Lyle’s jacket was wrapped around her.

"Hello….I’m fine……No, the meeting just ran late………Yes, go ahead…..I know where it is……Okay, I’ll call you when I leave… In a few minutes……I love you too, bye."

Lyle stretched; that was the last time he was sleeping in a suit on a mattress meant for one. However, the nap had been wonderful, especially being so close to her again.

"Jarod’s worried about me," Emily said aloud while reminding herself never to sleep in blue jeans.

"He’s worried about me," Lyle corrected her and rubbed his hand across her stomach.

"I’m getting fat," she whined and stood up.

"You’re beautiful." Emily turned back in surprise and saw his statement was genuine. Lyle’s face was full of passion. She walked over him to the window, kicking slightly on the way.

"You’re lying…" She stared out the window not wanting to see him.

"Most of the time," he chuckled as he got to his feet.

"Are you lying about this?" Emily asked. She faced him and rested her hands behind her back on the night-chilled windowsill. He never ceded to marvel at her willingness to appear vulnerable, when he couldn’t show weakness. ‘I must really love her to tell her what I have,’ Lyle thought.

"No… I care about you both…" He offered his hand, which she took, fearlessly. "Besides I was taken from my mother when I was born. I don’t want my own child to have to go through that."

"I don’t know why, but I believe you, Robert," she told him. The incredible thing was how she cut through his layers. She wasn’t talking to Mr. Lyle, or Bobby Bowman, she was talking to Robert. To the man he would have been if he hadn’t been tortured as a child and hadn’t become a killer.

The bodies so close to each other started a flow of energy twisting between them like a hurricane ready to engulf both creatures with its power.

"I have to leave before anyone notices I’m gone…" Lyle reluctantly explained.

"And to pay off Parker and Sam," she added at his shocked expression, "Yes, I had a feeling we weren’t alone. Worry not, I don’t think less of you." Lyle couldn’t have received a more comforting response.

"Good-bye, Emily," he whispered, though his hand remained in hers.

"I’ll call you at home, when I can," she promised. He was ready to walk out the door; however, he wanted to seal their pact. Placing a hand on her hip and gazing into her eyes, she knew immediately what he needed. She brushed the hair away from her face and caressed his right cheek with the back of her hand before allowing the hands to intertwine behind his neck. Emily wanted nothing more than to have him hold her with his muscular arms enveloping her body and his hands resting on the small of her back. Closing their eyes, Lyle and Emily both lost themselves in the contact as if they weren’t in the loft anymore, but rather floating on some distant universal plane. The touch of lips against lips was truly secondary to the warm safety and comfort they felt.

-----------

Miss Parker found herself once again on the way to Lyle’s office, however, this time she was smug. He had fallen for a pretender.. Jarod’s sister even.. oh, it was time to watch the little snake squirm. Of course, she’d never tell; her feelings for Jarod had halted any thoughts of that. Parker could play, though and she intended to.

Just as she turned the corner, Miss Parker ran right into Sam.

"Sorry, Miss Parker," he apologized. When both had steadied themselves, she noticed his strange expression.

"That’s okay," she replied.

"He’s waiting for you," Sam added as he continued toward his post.

"Lyle?" she asked bewildered by his comment.

"Yes," he answered over his shoulder.

Parker peered in the office slowly, even reached inside her jacket to unbutton her gun’s holster. Unexpectedly, Lyle called to her in an excited tone, maybe a bit too excited…. maybe frightened.

"Come on in, Parker."

"Sam said you were waiting," she asked as much as stated.

"Yes, he’s a very fair man," Lyle said, "How much?" He rested his hands on the front of his desk.

"How much what?" Parker moved further into the room and shut the door.

"Money, Parker. How much to keep quiet about Emily?" He didn’t want to listen to her tease him longer than necessary.

"I don’t want any money Lyle, just answer me a few things," Parker changed tracks.

"What do you want to know?" he opened himself up for her attack.

"Do you intend to take care of her and the baby? Keep them safe?" Sadly it was no fun to tear at him with her barbs when he was like this.

"Yes."

"Would you stop the Centre from kidnapping them?" she questioned him carefully, watching for signs of deception.

"I would die before I’d let Raines near my family." Well, at least they both agreed Raines was dangerous.

"Your family? Where will they live?" Miss Parker could hardly believe him. Was this really the fearsome killer Mr. Lyle?

"I don’t know. Emily will call and tell me how everything is. Her mother…. and Jarod will be there to help tend to them," he explained and lowered his eyes. Parker walked up to Lyle and whispered,

"That’s not a very fatherly role on your part."

"Well, what choice do I have?" he asked with the remnant of anger rising in his voice. He rubbed his eyes in weariness and looked attentively up at her.

"The right one," she proclaimed. Parker walked out, leaving Lyle with his thoughts.

------------

The house was barely recognized to be in a town, it was so far out of the way on a quiet dirt road. This was good though, because the argument that was ablaze inside the home continued to be quite loud.

"You told him to come here!?" Jarod yelled at Emily, his rage building. Last time, she told him about any of her relationships.

"Yes… I can trust him," she remarked. When she had called him, Lyle sounded so irresistible. She couldn’t help thinking about how close he had held her and how long they had spent talking. All her self-training about how manipulative and deadly Centre operatives were had gone by the wayside.

"You’re playing Russian Roulette with him," Jarod scoffed.

"That’s my business," Emily informed him curtly, "However, Mother, I don’t want you to be here." Margaret nodded. Jarod was doing enough worrying for all three of them and should something go awry, she would have to be ready to save them.

"Finally you make some sense," Jarod responded to the comment with exhaustion.

"I don’t want you here either," Emily told him matter-of-factly. This nearly sent Jarod into a tornado of emotion, but he managed to avoid the storm.

"No, I’m not going anywhere…Not without you," he declared.

"Stay then, but not in the room," she ordered, collapsing on the couch.

"I’ll leave, after I answer the door," Jarod agreed and entered the kitchen. Margaret and Emily exchanged glances of understanding.

-------------

Lyle stopped the car at the edge of the trees that cleared to show the lawn. He decided to walk the rest of the way. The night was warm and the breeze whispered its gentle song into his ears. The house was a modest two-story, but it was better than the places Jarod and his kin normally stayed in. Opening the rickety unlocked gate, Lyle entered the unkempt lawn.

Climbing the wooden porch steps badly in need of a fresh coat of paint, he stood a moment before the door. The soft shine of lamps peeked out from between its bed of curtains. Raising his hand and choosing his mark, Lyle knocked twice.

There was the muffled sound of floorboards creaking and then the slow unlatching of the lock. As the door was pulled inward, it exposed its occupant. Jarod scrutinized Lyle for a few agonizing moments and then rested his gaze on his face. Lyle reached carefully under his jacket and took out his gun in silence. The shock of seeing Jarod had altered his tact. Jarod didn’t step away when Lyle retrieved his weapon, but he tensed. Lyle took care not to lose Jarod’s eyes as he held the barrel and offered it to him.

"Let me see her," Lyle more asked than demanded. Jarod was a statue momentarily, considering all things equally. He reached cautiously out and took the gun strongly into his hand. With his other hand he pushed the door open wide and, without a word to Lyle, stepped aside. Once the man was in, Jarod shut the door and locked it. Standing in the hall, Lyle wasn’t sure if Jarod intended to execute him right there or not. It was made clear a minute later when Jarod walked down to the first doorway and regarded someone in the room.

"He’s here… and alone. I’ll be upstairs when you need me." With that Jarod turned to give a hard last look at Lyle, then continued down to the end of the hall and up the stairs.

Lyle moved quickly to the specified doorway, eager to catch sight of her. She relaxed on the couch in a long navy blue skirt with slits up both sides and a short sleeved blouse to match.

"Nice place," he began with small talk, while sitting next to her. Emily looked about the scarcely decorated room a moment.

"When you’re traveling with family it better to have more stable, spacious places then motels or abandon lofts," she said. Emily wasn’t concerned with time right now, so if he wanted to chat for a while then…

"Oh… Listen, I think we came find a solution to this problem, if you work with me…" Lyle spoke directly.

"I’m not giving up the baby, Lyle," she remarked sharply.

"No… no I don’t mean that," he recoiled and inched closer to her.

"Then what?" Emily struggled to understand.

"I want to be part of his life. I want my child…." Lyle urgently explained.

"Which you assume is a boy…" she joked to break the tension that had started to grip her throat, tightening slowly.

"To know its father." Lyle was amazed he had been able to say it, yet with her, he could do anything.

"That’s going to be hard," she said. Her heart was relieved though, even happy. He wanted to be with her. He loved her. However this turned out, Emily was ready to take it to the end now. She just hoped he was ready.

Lyle couldn’t imagine anything being more difficult. With all the moving and the secrets, not to mention Jarod… there was an in-law, he could have done without, but most of all he had to open up and trust her… trust Parker too. Lyle had to trust someone and that was what he wasn’t sure he could do.

"I know," Lyle whispered. Truthfully, however, neither knew the chain of events that soon would test their commitment.

("I Don’t Know" sung by Celine Dion)
"A mountain of stone, a door of steel
Can't stand in my way, I'd go on
Brutal machines, unbending laws
Can't slow me down, I'd go on
I've learned how to deal and when to fight
I know what's real, I know what's right
I'm not afraid, a wounded dove
I can be tender in a world so tough

I'm sure I could face the bitter cold
But life without you, I don't know

The winds of the heart can blow me down
But I get right up and I stand my ground
I've tasted fear, my share of pain
The wasted tears of love in vain
I've held you tight, pushed you away
Now with all my might I beg you to stay

I'm sure I could face the bitter cold
But life without you, I don't know

I know what I want, I know what I need
But there's just one thing I must believe
Deep in the night by a dying flame
You will be there when I call your name

I'm sure I could face the bitter cold
But life without you, I don't know
I don't know…."





E-mail: Please send me feedback, good or bad; just write a little note if you don’t want to write a

Disclaimer: "The Pretender" and all it’s characters don’t belong to me, but to some wonderful people at NBC, who deserve promotions. Please don’t sue me, I am making no money from this. I just really enjoy the show. Also, the song is owned by its respective artist, I don’t take credit for it.

Note: This is the continuation of "To Honor" (you should start with part one). I have chosen to turn it into a six part series, so look for more stories soon.



To Honor
part 4
"To Comfort: Two Miracles"
By Dede






He was shifting in his chair for the third time since the meeting had started over four hours ago. He disliked the Tower enough as it was, but the discussion had become repetitive and trying. Mr. Parker kept growling about how he never should have been allowed to see it coming. The Director’s file of loyal employees who had worked for Raines too long to be less than under his control was extensive. And the general census was worried frustration. Sydney was the only one there Lyle could identify with. He had concern for Raines’ intentions toward the Parkers, Jarod, and probably himself; however, he left his name out as an obvious addition to the target list.

"Raines must be found. We can’t have him out there, especially with Jarod still on the loose. If he should find him first, the scales would be tipped greatly in his favor," Sydney insisted. Lyle gazed hard at him. ‘No mention of Emily… thanks, Syd.’

"The matter should be considered carefully. Thank you for your input gentlemen," was the Director’s less than subtle dismissal of Sydney, Lyle, Mr. Parker and all except her two top advisors. Lyle stood without a word, straightened his suit, and was halfway to the elevator when his cell-phone rang.

"Yes," he managed, as he stepped in next to Mr. Parker.

"Are you alone?" a sweet Russian accent craved a response. Lyle tensed.

"Something wrong?" Mr. Parker inquired suspiciously. Sydney glanced at Lyle, confirming a thought.

"No." Lyle answered both parties.

"Mr. Parker about Donoterase, is it still operational?" Sydney stole the attention from Lyle. Mr. Parker sighed slightly.

"I don’t believe so. The Tower didn’t want Raines to gain access to the information, so they shut the place down. The cloning data has disappeared and we’re sure the bastard took everything when he heard his case wasn’t going well." Mr. Parker was annoyed with this development; however, Sydney was pleased. Now, if they could just kill Raines the possibility of cloning Jarod again would be lost forever. The problem being if Raines decided to continue with his experiments, well….

Lyle didn’t hear another word on the phone, until he had slipped out of the elevator on SL 7 and into an empty office.

"I’m alone," he whispered and flopped into the abandoned chair he found.

"Lyle, I went to see the doctor today…" Emily started slowly in her own voice. Panic boiled in Lyle’s chest.

"What’s wrong?"

"Nothing’s wrong… per se…" she squirmed in the conversation, not really wanting to give him such a shock over the phone, still… "Is there a history of twins in your family?"

"Yes," he sounded like an electronic answering service. Then silence whipped through like a deafening wind.

"Are you there, Lyle?" Emily nervously prompted a reply. Her fingers twisted the phone cord in her new bedroom.

"Yes."

"Do you understand?" She hoped he did. Lyle always seemed to know what she was thinking; yet his grasp of concepts was slightly slower than hers.

"Yes." Again the word had a dull edge on it.

"Lyle?" Emily pleaded. Lyle sighed heavily, feeling the air move in and out of his lungs. Rubbing his eyes a moment, he put the phone back up to his ear.

"I’ll come see you."
-----------
Emily had just hung up the phone with Lyle, when Jarod looked in. He had with him a notebook from his computer project. He examined her appearance. She was only three and half months and hadn’t really put on any weight, nor was she experiencing more than the occasional headache and morning sickness.

"How are you feeling, Sis?" Jarod greeted her warmly.

"Still normal, despite today’s surprise." Emily avoided his eyes.

"You spoke with him," Jarod scolded as he sat down on her bed.

"Yes. He’s coming here," she admitted.

"Then I’m leaving." Jarod stood to exit.

"Why?" Emily asked gently. In every person there exists a few key triggers and once hit the reaction is not only explosive but can be completely out of personality for the individual. This seemingly innocence yet loaded question was one of those triggers.

"Why? Why? You invite the murderer of my bother to this house and have the nerve to ask me why," Jarod seethed. He couldn’t believe this insanity and didn’t want to deal with it.

"Our brother and yes, I do," she corrected him boldly.

"You didn’t even know him. You weren’t there. You weren’t the one aimed at, only to have Kyle take the bullet for you. He gave his life for mine… and now you expect me to walk around with his killer like nothing happened?" he growled in her face as she rose to challenge him. The pain was similar to raw slits across his heart and she was causing them to bleed.

"You don’t have to act like nothing happened, but you could at least tolerate…" she tried to pacify her brother.

"No!" he shouted, then calming down the best he could, Jarod resumed speaking, "No. I was holding my brother’s hands when he died. I watched the life drain out of him and I won’t do this for you." Jarod couldn’t handle all this. He had always done things his way, and never had to alter that for others. Now, he had a family with their own demands. Jarod was exact in pleasing them, because he was so glad to have a mother and a sister, however, this problem drove deep into his core. He couldn’t bring himself to let go of the anger or the guilt, not yet anyway.

"Jarod, I don’t kid myself. Lyle is a killer, but he’s trying to change. That should be worth something, shouldn’t it?" Emily placed a hand on his shoulder, rubbing the tension out.

"Do you love him?" he asked, looking at her firmly.

"I don’t know." Her words sounded true, but she dropped her eyes to say them.

"Don’t lie to me, ever," he begged her. If they lost trust, they would lose everything.

"Yes, Jarod, on some small levels, but I love you so much more," she attempted to reassure. Jarod thought a minute, wrestling with whether or not to test her.

"Then don’t see him." The tone was defeated and hurt, as if it needed no answer to understand the situation.

"You can’t ask that," she said in disbelief. Emily turned and paced, stopping when she heard his voice again.

"I just did."

"Jarod why don’t you understand, if I can get through to Lyle, think of all the people I’ll have saved… starting with him. Besides, honestly Kyle and Lyle aren’t that different. They both just needed someone to give them…" Jarod threw his notebook in frustration and it hit hard against the wall.

"… a chance," Emily finished. She had touched on a sore subject. Jarod knew all too well that Kyle was raised by Raines with complete negative reinforcement, had become a serial killer, and needed Jarod to open his eyes. The thought that Lyle could be anything like his brother was a bit much, though. Jarod was carrying around this hatred, and unfortunately Emily had voiced it.

"I’ll be home in the morning. Call me… if you need anything," were his only words to her. Emily shuddered as he left and walked over to pick up the papers from his notebook that had scattered.
---------
"Broots?" Sydney called as he entered his office. The afternoon had dragged on since the meeting. Lyle had ‘unexpectedly’ disappeared and Miss Parker was even considering going home early tonight. Meanwhile, Sydney found one person still working vigorously.

"Yeah, Syd…" Broots answered, spinning his chair to see if anyone else was with his friend.

"How’s the project coming?" Sydney inquired. He walked to the stereo on the desk and placed a CD in to play.

"No luck so far… what’s that?" Broots replied.

"Classical… ‘Notturno’ from Midsummernight’s Dream by Mendelssohn," he explained patiently.

"Oh." Broots tried to sound knowledgeable, but Sydney noticed his confusion.

"I find it much more enchanting than what today’s youth listens to," he commented.

"It’s nice."

"No sign of the Major?" Sydney returned to Broots’ computer.

"None of J. C. either," he reported grimly. Broots wanted to help Jarod find the rest of his family. Over the last year, he had really gained a respect and admiration for the pretender. Besides, everything was different now and things had changed so rapidly, he could only imagine how Jarod was dealing with all of it. Sydney said Jarod was well, but that only meant Jarod cared enough about his mentor to appear fine.

"J. C.?" Sydney asked.

"You know, Jarod’s Clone. I couldn’t imagine a kid going through life without a name, so I just thought it up. I guess it’s kinda stupid," he clarified.

"Don’t be so hard on yourself, Broots. I think it shows how compassionate you are, however, perhaps we should change the meaning. Instead of J. C. standing for Jarod’s Clone, what if it stands for Jarod Charles after his ‘brother’ and the good Major." Sydney always knew how to make something perfect.

"I like it." Broots smiled. He then turned back to his search only to have the Mainframe fold up on him.

"Oh, great! Not again," Broots growled in frustration.

"What is it?" Sydney examined the screen.

"Someone has been hacking into the database and copying files, especially on the Parkers," he said between the clicking of his keyboard.

"I’ve heard. It isn’t only files on the Parkers though, almost all the major research subjects’ files, classified or not, have been compromised," Sydney explicated with a note of anxiety.

"Well, whoever’s doing this is good. He’s broken into areas, I can’t access!" Broots glanced back, "Syd, what if this guy’s after Miss Parker?"

"I wouldn’t worry, Broots. These days, I would be more concerned with Lyle and his situation," he assured. Although, inside Sydney was concerned that it was Raines and his associates hiding out wherever they were, planning revenge.

"That is one arrangement, I will never understand," Broots remarked, when he thought of Lyle and Jarod’s sister Emily together.

"I don’t know. Maybe there’s hope for all of us," Sydney mused.
--------
Lyle knocked more boldly than usual. He was actually eager to see Emily and he didn’t care what anyone thought. It was a happiness like this which made him forget his own name.

Margaret answered the door in a long dark dress and her coat already on. Lyle wasted no time following her in.

"Good evening, Ms. Riter," he started, trying to impress upon her what good manners he had.

"Well, it’s a bit chilly," she observed and tightened her coat tie. "She’s waiting for you upstairs."

"Thanks," Lyle responded on his way toward the stairs.

"Mr. Lyle… a moment?" Margaret requested hesitantly. Lyle stopped mid-stride and came quickly back to her.

"Of course," he replied obediently. She was never one to shrink away from a difficult topic, so looking him in the eye, she said,

"I will never forgive you for killing my son. I loved him very much and you ended his life before I ever saw him." Lyle stood frozen for a time, trying to find the words. Nothing came to him. He hadn’t realized she would confront him so plainly about what happened.

"I’m sorry." He must have sounded like a child, who had broken a priceless family heirloom.

"Your apology, I don’t care about. I care about my little girl, soon to be a big girl. I also am concerned with you and my first-born who still has hatred in his eyes," Margaret again surprised him with her bluntness.

"Both of you have a right to that hate. As for your daughter, I swear to you…"

"Not to me, to her and him," she corrected.

"I won’t allow anything to harm Emily," Lyle vowed to her. The elderly woman searched in his eyes for several seconds.

"Thank you." She smiled faintly and turned to pick up her night bag. He didn’t know what she had seen, but was grateful for her approval. The comfort from this, however, left him wondering over his own motives.

"No, thank you," Lyle managed to say before Margaret reached the front door.
--------------
Sitting alone with the moonlight mere wisps about the room, Emily heard the front door open. He was here. The man who was soon to be a father, the one who was a lover, a killer, and a very frightened little boy inside. She hadn’t done much since Jarod left but think about the next few minutes. She didn’t blame Jarod’s outrage or her mother’s more subtle disapproval. They were within their rights. Still she desired this happy ending with Lyle. Emily scolded herself for the indulgence. Honestly, hadn’t life taught her not to trust… to look out for family? She didn’t love him after all.

Oh, Lyle was infatuated with her and the idea of her having his children. Emily didn’t question his obsessive love. She questioned her own emotions. What did she feel deep in her core? It was then that she decided she wasn’t in love. No, love wasn’t the word. She had been impressed by the man she discovered, when she had gone searching for a demon. Emily had been struck by his strength and empathized with his pain, even that could had been caused by her undercover persona. Once released from the shackles of Emma, she had surely just been surprised by his intensity and kindness. When a man as complex, distant, and normally cold as Lyle serves you his heart and soul on a silver platter, refusing the offering can result in a violent shattering of the fragile gift and utter destruction of future ventures. Lyle might have been scarred so traumatically that he would have never opened up. Besides, it seemed the more candid with her he became, the less cruel and angry he was. She had comforted herself in the knowledge that she was taming the fires of his rage.

Now, everything was all eschew. Emily had no doubt Jarod was headed over to Parker’s, the very woman he used to run from and Lyle, the killer of her brother, was downstairs having a conversation with her mother. The world is upside down where enemies are friends. She could feel the changes coming under her skin. Yes, changes were going to be made and it was her choice alone. As the stairs creaked of his entry, Emily finally decided to do what she hadn’t wanted to, what she needed to, if she was going to protect those she cared about.

"Hi," he greeted her coming through her door. She was wearing loose cargo jeans, and a man’s dress shirt with her hair falling in locks about her face. Emily was motionless at first trapped with her mind.

"Lyle. Is my mother gone yet?" Emily finally acknowledged his presence while he removed his coat, setting it on the end of the bed.

"Yeah, I think she just left." Lyle slid over to her and, with a gentle pull on her hands, helped her stand.

"Good." Emily felt like being sick. She didn’t know how to tell him, but she had to end this. Jarod was too important and maybe he was right. She was certainly too close to see clearly.

"Aishiteru," he whispered romantically in her ear.

"I see you studied up, since we were together," she remarked lightly.

"That’s not the proper reply." Lyle gazed devilishly at her, running a hand through her silk hair.

"What do you want me to say?" She was staling. Why was she staling? Emily wasn’t afraid of him, besides she was her mother’s daughter.

"Translate it," he urged.

"Lyle…" she began to protest, then caught his eye, " ‘I love you.’" The contentment in his features was nearly comical.

"We can make this work."

"No, Lyle, we can’t," she declared, walking away from his embrace so not to have to look at him.

"Emily, I want to be with you and my children." He followed and reached for her arm.

"It’s impossible," she hissed and pulled away in frustration. Emily wasn’t angry with him, of course, she just didn’t have anyone else to take it out on.

"No if we…" he started, upset as well.

"Lyle… Lyle, I… we have to leave the area soon." There she said it. The truth in this statement was small, but Jarod and her mother would understand, if she wanted to move.

"Where?"

"I can’t tell you," she whispered. The words hit Lyle like a bullet. The fear was crippling to him.

"Why?" He begged for logic, reason, anything that he could argue with.

"I can’t do this anymore. I’m going to have two little babies soon. It’s too dangerous." Emily tried to explain in such a way, that he wouldn’t think it was this love she was convinced she didn’t feel.

"Not with Parker and me heading the search," he assured her.

"Eventually the Triumvirate will get tired of waiting and they’ll fire you. At the Centre, they don’t call it termination for nothing." Lyle heard her fear, fear for the children, fear for him, but no fear for herself.

"I would rather die than leave you." He was being possessive again, but part of her wanted to be possessed. He was a constant, something in her life that didn’t move and wasn’t going to abandon or forget her.

"What about the twins? What about Jarod?" she attempted to remain strong.

"You would give up everything for family…" Lyle marveled and began to understand what she was really doing.

"I fight for them. This is what’s needed.." Emily’s voice was lost and sad, yet loyal and obedient.

"But not all you want or deserve…" He came toward her, angry at the injustice.

"I want a normal life!" she screamed in his face and walked over to stand in front of the window.

"And I can’t give it to you." Now, Lyle was lost.

"No, you can’t." Her voice was quiet and defeated.

"So round and round we go…" Lyle sighed painfully.

"And where it stops, nobody knows," she whispered looking over at him, loss in her eyes.

"You’re wrong. It stops here. It stops right here." Lyle pulled her against him and kissed Emily with all the urgency of his words. She pushed back and stared but only a moment. Emily took sides of his face in her hands and pressed a heated kiss into his lips.

Somewhere a song played.
("Do I Have To Say The Words?" by Bryan Adams)


"Rescue me from the mire
Whisper words of desire
Rescue me - darling rescue me
With your arms open wide
Want you here by my side
Come to me - darling rescue me
When this world's closing in
There's no need to pretend
Set me free - darling rescue me


I don't wanna let you go
So I'm standing in your way
I never needed anyone like I'm needin' you today


Do I have to say the words?
Do I have to tell the truth?
Do I have to shout it out?
Do I have to say a prayer?
Must I prove to you how good we are together?
Do I have to say the words…"
-----------------
Jarod was cruising down a dusty road for the millionth time in the last few years, but everything in his life had once again changed. His eyes were trained on the endlessness of the highway, but his mind was lost elsewhere. Lyle? What was it about the man that made him act so crazy? It wasn’t like Miss Parker or Sydney had done much less to him. In fact, when one thought about it, Lyle temporarily stopped his heart, kidnapped him, and killed his brother. That was it. The total sum of hatred in Jarod was over these three major events. The other murders that Lyle had committed and what he had done to Miss Parker were important, however, they simply added to his fury.

Since these atrocities had been committed, Lyle had romanced his sister. This had understandably annoyed Jarod. Now, Lyle was trying to…. well, what the hell was he trying to do!? He had been civil with Jarod, even pleasant. He had helped them hid from the Centre and seemed to care about this… these children Emily was having. He loved Emily. So could that make up for all the hurt he had caused?

No. Not in Jarod’s opinion, it couldn’t. Then the more he thought about it, he became concerned that some small part of this, the most angry, violent part, was jealousy. Was he jealous because (just as when he found his brother) now that he had found his sister, Lyle was trying to take her from him? She was in love with Lyle; he knew that, even if she didn’t. But she loved Jarod too. He was deathly afraid that Lyle would take his family from him, again. Jarod couldn’t breathe when he imagined living without them.

That’s why he needed to leave. He didn’t want to lose Emily and standing there arguing wasn’t going to help anything. Jarod had to go to someone who understood, who knew the same confusion, and had the same view of this strange relationship… someone who could tell him what to do.

---------------
About the time Lyle arrived at Emily’s, Miss Parker was relaxing in her livingroom. She was contemplating how fast things were changing for Lyle, she hoped he could handle this. Then gradually as most of her thought had drifted lately, she began imagining Jarod. Two sides of the same coin or, as he once let roll off his tongue, two pieces of the same puzzle, Jarod and her were definitely and irreconcilably together for life. Parker wasn’t sure she minded that. He had saved her in so many ways and she just didn’t have hate in her heart for him, but she had her pride to think about, right? She was stronger than Lyle. He was ready to change who he was for Emily. Since when was Lyle noble?

The phone next to her rang, causing Parker to fall back to reality.

"What?" she answered lazily.

"Open your back door," were the simple words spoken before the dial tone sounded.

"WH…?" Miss Parker stayed on her couch, staring at the phone for what seemed like a long time; then finally she pushed herself off the cushions and straightened her black suit. After walking through the darkened kitchen, she pulled the shade up on the back door. There he stood, staring at her with pleading eyes. His hands idle at his sides, his emotion indiscernible, and his stance straight. At least he had been polite enough not to break in this time. She sighed and unlocked the latch. Hesitating to check his expression again, she opened the door.

"Jarod?" She responded to his entrance.

"Miss Parker, how has your evening been?" He tried to sound nonchalant as he looked around the kitchen and back at her.

"Quiet," she shut the door behind him and locked it, "What are you doing here?" she asked, after all he was violating the rules, wasn’t he? She had her gun, but suddenly she realized he didn’t appear the least concerned with the Centre.

"Lyle’s probably with her by now. Emily called and he said he would come, so I left." His explanation was reasonable to her.

"Where are they?" Parker inquired.

"Five hours away."

"You drove five hours to get here? What’s wrong?" Parker was surprised although she blushed when she recognized how much flattery hid in that journey.

"You haven’t heard then?" he asked casually.

"Heard what?" Parker followed him as he explored the hall moving toward her livingroom.

"Emily’s having twins." He collapsed down into the couch.

"Twins!" Her expression was a little of everything including exhaustion and annoyance.

"Don’t look at me, they don’t run in my family… at least not to my knowledge," Jarod defended.

"It’s just…. He didn’t say…"

"Now, try imagine they’re coming over right now," he added.

"Want a drink?" Parker asked, still somewhat in shock. An amused smirk played on Jarod’s lips and he nodded.

"For once, very much." Miss Parker couldn’t resist a response like that particularly coming from Jarod.

"Thank you. To one relationship, I don’t comprehend," he toasted. After clinking glasses, Parker watched him throw the wine down his throat and waited for the inexperienced reaction, but to her disappointment it never came. Jarod knew how alcohol burns and he prepared for it mentally before she finished pouring.

"Oh, who the hell knows why they love each other. Love’s an enigma." Parker sighed.

"It’s just they have so much conspiracy and past and pain swirling around them, but do they care? Not a bit. They only see each other and nothing else," Jarod complained openly.

"Well, you know in Shakespeare’s plays, he never gave a reason for love." She set her glass on the coffee table and came to rest next to him on the cushions.

"Except the stars," he observed and placed his glass along side hers.

"Yeah." They both leaned back and caught each other’s gaze. Romeo and Juliet, forbidden love and passion, Lyle and Emily? Maybe not, however perhaps…

"Do you remember me telling you ‘Love can change people?’" Jarod asked.

"Yes." Miss Parker remembered nearly everything he said to her.

"Was I right?" he pleaded for an easy answer with his abyss-like eyes.

"I don’t know." She placed her hand in his and gently squeezed. The reaction she got was a mix of surprise and wonder.

"What?" she asked, but not in the rude, demanding tone she normally formed the word. Her voice was soft, intimate yet unsure maybe even nervous. His brown eyes grew soft, but intense as he leaned closer to her. She thought about backing away when his lips grazed hers, but the moment they had shared in his cell all those months ago left a hunger in her, a desire.

(song continues)
"Rescue me from despair
Tell me you will be there
Help me please - darlin' rescue me


Every dream that we share
Every cross that we bear
Come to me - darlin' rescue me


I don't wanna let you go
So I'm standing in your way
I never needed anyone like I'm needin' you today


Do I have to say the words?
Do I have to tell the truth?
Do I have to shout it out?
Do I have to say a prayer?
Must I prove to you how good we are together?
Do I have to say the words?"

The End



E-mail: Please send me feedback, good or bad; just write a little note if you don’t want to write alot.

Disclaimer: "The Pretender" and all it’s characters don’t belong to me, but to some wonderful people at NBC, who deserve promotions. Please don’t sue me, I am making no money from this. I just really enjoy the show. Also, the songs are owned by their respective artists, I don’t take credit for them.


Note: This is the continuation of "To Honor" (you should start with part one). I have chosen to turn it into a six part series, so look for the final story soon.



To Honor
part 5
"To Tolerate: Oh, Brother"
By Dede





The moon was already a few hours into its dance across a tinkling sky of snugly blue and comforting dark, when she came down the hall to the doorway. He was inside, staring down at the beautiful little babies fast asleep in their cribs. She moved silently into the room and smiled at the heart-warming sight. He was entranced by these two darling miracles barely two months old. She walked up behind him and slid her hands around his waist. He sighed, but didn’t turn from the visions in their beds to greet her.

"How are my sweet angels?" Emily whispered as she moved to his side and felt the safety of his arm around her.

"Just fine," Jarod whispered back. This is what he loved. The family he had longed for, even if it was at the expanse of an occasional unwelcome houseguest. Emily could sense his contentment and wished they could stay there, happy and peaceful. Her whole life she had needed a more stable family, but she had never imagined fate would turn the end of her quest to save her brother into a life of love and fulfillment with a family of her own.
-----------
He fumbled around for the light switch, but found it didn’t work. In the shadows of the streetlight pooling on the floor, he set his keys and briefcase down on the kitchen counter and moved into the livingroom of his apartment.

The sudden force on his shoulder blade was first. Then came the muffled whispers and the fear swelling up inside. Lyle dug his fingers into the floor, trying to push himself from the rug. He didn’t feel the second blow, but rather heard the sickening crack on the back of his head.
-----------
The metal and glass shined of money in Mr. Parker’s office, yet as his daughter entered she noticed his disturbed expression, while his poisonous wife wore her anger as if it were an amulet.

"You called us, Daddy?" Parker greeted her father and the troll. Sydney was close behind her; however, he remained silent.

"We have a problem, Angel. Lyle was taken from his apartment last night," Mr. Parker grimly reported.

"What!?"

"Are you sure he hasn’t just taken a few days to himself somewhere and forgotten to call in?" Sydney suggested. If Lyle had gone to see Emily and not set up an alibi, he was asking to get caught.

"Brigitte thought it was strange when he didn’t show up for the meeting this morning so she sent Sam over to find out what the problem was. He found the apartment in disarray," Mr. Parker explained. Miss Parker was on the same wavelength, she figured Emily had done this, but why the mess? It was an amateur move.

"Any suspects?" Miss Parker questioned as she sank into the cushions of a chair.

"Two. Jarod and Mr. Raines," Brigitte said walking around the desk and leaning against it. She was searching for any excuse to get Lyle out of the Centre; however, the kidnapping of an operative didn’t look good in the Towers’ eyes.

"Jarod wouldn’t have bothered Lyle," Miss Parker declared, forgetting momentarily whom she was speaking to.

"Why not?" Brigitte zeroed in on the statement. Sydney tightened his grip on the back of Miss Parker’s chair.

"Because.." Miss Parker stumbled, but Sydney caught her,

"Because it isn’t like him to make waves unless provoked. If Lyle wasn’t doing anything to anger Jarod, he had no motive to kidnap him." Good old Syd, always watching out for her. Parker made a mental note to thank him graciously later.

"Hate and Emily are good motives," Brigitte argued, crossing her arms.

"Not for Jarod," Sydney countered.

"Okay, so Raines. Do we have a clue where our wheezing friend is?" Miss Parker closed the Jarod matter.

"No." Mr. Parker sighed.

"Syd, looks like your pet will have to wait. I’m going after baby brother," Miss Parker announced as she stood to leave.
-----------
The phone ringing woke Emily from her unscheduled nap. Her body covered by a white button-up shirt and tan cargo pants rolled lazily, but steadily over toward the night stand. The slight adrenaline kick had her hand clicking the cell-phone open before she managed to blink her eyes.

"Yeah." Emily yawned and looked at her watch, the whole time silently thanking her mother for taking care of the twins.

"Emily, it’s Parker. Is Lyle with you?" Parker’s tone was troubled as if a stone was thrown into the calm waters of her voice. Emily jerked up from the bed.

"What happened?"

"We don’t exactly know, but Lyle… he’s been taken from his apartment and…" Parker tried to explain.

"Any ransom? Clues? Suspicions?" Emily’s mind raced as she pushed the hair back from her face.

"Not really… clues are few. A messed up apartment, a small amount of Lyle’s blood on the carpet, but other than that. We…" Parker was cut-off.

"I’ll take care of it. Come to the house when you can." Emily hung up and sat very still for a moment. The fear crashing down on her in hot foamy waves. What if she lost him?

She may have floated down the stairs and into the livingroom, because the memory of the movements that brought her to Jarod was gone before she arrived. He was typing at his computer on the couch with a distracted look in his features.

"Who was that on the phone?" Jarod inquired casually, despite the nauseated feeling he had immediately after she walked in.

"Parker," Emily whispered.

"You should have told me. What did she want?" Jarod had now taken a hesitant glance at her expression.

"Jarod, Lyle’s in trouble. He’s been kidnapped. Raines probably has him stashed somewhere. Maybe if we found his group we could…" Emily tried to talk fast, knowing the gravity of what she was asking. Jarod sighed in relief.

"Lyle’s a slippery snake. He’s probably on his way home now and didn’t get a chance to call you yet." He began working again.

"You have to help me find him," Emily demanded. His lack of concern had shaken the shock out of her, now she was annoyed.

"No," Jarod said, however, he avoided her eyes. Emily removed the laptop by setting it on one end of the couch and grabbed her brother’s hands.

"He’s the father of your niece and nephew! So get off this couch…" She pulled with all her strength but only succeeded in bring him to the floor. Jarod held back laughter at her extraordinary effort and stood.

"I’m sorry, Emily, but I can’t," he declared.

"Why not?" she fumed.

"I have my reasons." Part of Jarod’s motive was to purposely make her angry, so Emily would focus instead of falling apart. The other part was a still strong sense of honor for his brother’s memory.

"Well, that isn’t good enough. Jarod, you ARE helping Lyle and I’m not taking no for an answer," Emily growled. Jarod studied her for a moment, then picked up his laptop and walked to the closet.

"Jarod, where are you going?" She followed and watched him rummage through it.

"Out," he answered over his shoulder.

"Where?" she asked in confusion. He turned and slid his leather jacket on.

"I can’t deal with this now."

"But…" she started. Jarod rubbed her arm down to the fingers and squeezed her hand.

"Don’t worry. He’s a Parker; he’ll be fine."

"Jarod!" He heard her yell as he closed the front door behind him.
-----------
The sunburnt roadway rested with only the sound of his truck wheels and the memories of each tormented traveler to prove its existence. Time didn’t seem to be able to keep up with Jarod’s emotional speed, however, that never stopped Miss Parker.

"Pizza Hut," he answered his cell-phone.

"Jarod, this is no time for games," Parker’s voice scolded.

"Parker… first of all, there’s always time for games. Second, why are you calling?" ‘Same old Jarod, even after all the events of the past year,’ Parker shook her head.

"You know why." Her tone was firm and commanding… he interpreted worry.

"Lyle will be fine. Besides, despite his relationship with my sister, he’s still a Centre employee. Why don’t your people find him?" he asked.

"Please just see if you can give us a lead, Jarod," Parker begged him. Jarod began to feel the guilt of making her plead. She hated being in that position and he knew it.

"I already heard this from my dear sister, Parker."

He hung up and threw the cell-phone onto the passenger’s seat. Moving down the back road, he drove faster and faster as his thoughts festered. Jarod was angry and confused and worried and annoyed and frustrated and…

"Oh, God damn it!" he yelled to no one. Spinning the stirring-wheel, he nearly lost control of the truck as it did a U-turn in the middle of the road. Sighing harshly, Jarod considered where to start looking.
-----------
"This is Sydney."

"Hello, Sydney, have you heard from Jarod?" Sydney was surprised but not shocked to hear from Margaret. They had spoken little, still she understood him and appeared wise in her observations.

"Not since Parker talked to him, which was a few hours ago." Sydney found his words brought on a pause in the conversation, which allowed him to hear what he presumed was Emily soothing one of the children in the background.

"I’m worried about him," Margaret confessed.

"I’ve never known Jarod to be so irrational, but I’m confident he’ll make the right decision," Sydney tried to assuage her concern.

"I know. I’m just trying to keep Emily glued together and watch the twins." Sydney could only imagine her distress, but she was a strong, capable woman with a mother’s heart and he thought of his own parents as he listened to her voice.

"Well, I believe Miss Parker will be on her way over soon. Would you like me to accompany her?"

"That would be a comfort," Margaret accepted his offer.
----------
Jarod approached a young man dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a gray flannel with his bandanna covering his red ponytail. He leaned against the corner of a building near the Rehoboth Bay of Delaware, looking around suspiciously.

"Hey, Jake," Jarod greeted his old friend, stopping in front of him.

"Jarod, my man. How’s the wild world of the fugitive?" Jake fired back. Jarod shrugged.

"No one shot me today." Jake nodded.

"Always good. Now what can I do for you?" he asked.

"Those heavies I asked about, where are they?"

"See that abandon building on the pier?" he gestured over his shoulder as he spoke, "Word is they’ve been setting up shop and your guy was brought in late last night."

"Thank you." Jarod took out his wallet and counted a few bills.

"Hey, what’s this guy to you, anyway?" Jake asked curiously while slipping the money into his pocket.

"He’s my sister’s favorite serial killer," Jarod grumbled. He was now focused on the building, seeing a few guards covering from the roof and one or two on the side exits.

"Boyfriend." Jarod glanced over at Jake benevolently.

"Something like that." Jake patted Jarod’s back and chuckled,

"I feel for you, man. I got three sisters." The comment brought a half-smile to Jarod’s features.

"Take care of yourself, Jake." They shook hands.

"You know me." Jake tipped his hat as he wandered toward his favorite bar down the street.
-----------
"Ahh! I’m not telling you anything, so you can forget it, Raines," Lyle hissed at the doctor, or at least he thought he was speaking in the general direction of the man. With the hood on his head, he wasn’t really sure. Lyle hadn’t been able to figure out much since he woke up chained to the metal chair.

"You are not in… a position to argue…. Now what has become of… my research from Donotrase?"

"We assumed you had it!" Raines, frustrated with the answer, was about to order another torture session, when the outside guards were heard yelling.

"What’s going on?" Raines barked.

"Thomson? Karter?" the guard spoke into his radio. A minute elapsed, but no one came back.

"Go see… I want no interruptions," he ordered, "You know what… to do."

"Yes, sir," his assistance obeyed. Raines must have left then because the squeaking of his oxygen tank became distant and finally disappeared.

Suddenly the activity outside came inside with guns blasting and the angry confusion of men yelling. Lyle wanted to move, but the chain attached to his cuffs prevented it.

"Who the hel…" he squawked when behind him, he heard the clicking of a key unlocking the chain.

"Move, now," a voice puffed in his ear. Lyle took no time in running with the help of this lunatic who had stormed the place. At one point during their exit, Lyle thought his companion yelled but couldn’t be sure of anything except the return of fire a second later. When they fell against the side of a building, Lyle used the opportunity to speak.

"Could you take these handcuffs and hood off?" Jarod considered gagging him, however, deciding he had slightly better odds with Lyle unrestricted…

"Jarod!!! You? But why on this earth…?" Lyle was shocked and he couldn’t form the right words fast enough.

"Shut up," Jarod yelled while motioning toward his awaiting truck in the alley. They ran to the vehicle and jumped in.

"But…" Lyle started as he slammed his passenger door.

"Shut up or I’ll knock you out, right now!" Jarod hissed. Lyle actually cringed and fell back into the seat.

"Okay." Lyle glanced around as Jarod turned the engine over. Raines’ men had a van and Jarod knew they would be after him soon.

"Where are we…?"

"Quiet." Sure enough, the guards were coming down the street just behind the truck.

Jarod twisted and jerked the wheel as he sped down another alley, betting that the other side would offer a way out. As they emerged, he saw through the buildings a water outlet he had noticed on his scooting of the area. Pulling a 450-degree turn, so he was sure they would follow him, Jarod drove down a side street.

"Jeez! What is it with your family and cars?" Lyle yelped as he hit the door for the third time. Jarod would have laughed, unfortunately he was too deep in concentration. If he stopped at the wrong moment, Raines’ men would have time to slow down, but he if waited too long… well he hoped for Parker’s sake, Lyle was in condition to swim.

"Wait a minute, Jarod, you’re not…. Jarod! We’re headed straight for…!" Lyle tried to warn the crazy man next to him; however, the determined look to Jarod’s eyes told him speech was futile. Hoping there was enough weight in the back of the pick-up and not enough in the pursuers’ van, he checked the mirror. They were gunning to about 80mph. Now how to deal with this? At the end of the street, Jarod removed his foot from the gas pedal and spun the truck around the corner. The shocked van driver swerved and, taking the turn too sharp, sailed over the guardrail...

"Yes!" Lyle exclaimed once he realized what had happened. He even went so far as to pat Jarod’s shoulder twice. Jarod was paying no attention, though. He was driving back to the outlet, trying to get a view of the wreck. It wasn’t until he saw the van had stayed right-side up and was resting half in the water at the bottom of the bank with angry men climbing out of it, that he glanced at Lyle; a smug smile across his face.
------------
Despite the brilliant escape, Jarod continued to be silent, checking the mirrors every so often to make sure there were no cars he recognized.

"They’re not following us. I think you dissuaded them," Lyle commented, careful not to make it sound too much like a complement.

"I don’t care. I don’t want to talk to you, Lyle. If it was up to me, there would have been a single gunshot through the window and that would have ended this conversation before it began."

"Why…?" Lyle started to ask, but lost the heart to do so. Maybe he didn’t want to know, especially if… if it was out of Jarod’s bottomless pit of kindness. How had he even known Lyle was in trouble? Parker? Emily?

Jarod concentrated on the road, he had successfully ignored his unwelcome companion so far. A few more hours to go and he could get, farther than the mere foot that separated them, away from Lyle.
-------------
Driving up to the house, they were strangely quiet. Sydney and Miss Parker had been discussing the possibilities Raines had outside the Centre, her conversation with Jarod earlier, and even the twins, but when the house came into view, neither really knew what to say. The home was a comfortable looking farmhouse with a mowed lawn and flowers snuggled in their beds. The fence was short stockade with a newly repaired gate.

Walking up the little path to the wrap-around porch, Parker hoped the stillness was a good sign. While Sydney brought their bags out of the trunk, she knocked with a quick punching motion, then listened to the soft steps approaching and the heavy door’s locks clicking.

"Hello dear," Margaret greeted Miss Parker, who was as usual very uncomfortable standing on this porch.

"Mrs. Riter." Parker didn’t know what was the matter with her, but every time she was around Jarod’s mother, she felt like some unworthy wreck he’d brought home. It made her frigate in her sleek designer clothes.

"I told you, Margaret will be fine." The familiar consolation wasn’t enough to balance Parker’s emotions, so she did the only thing she could think of,

"Is Emily here?" Margaret smiled sadly. She knew why the girl in front of her felt strange, even if Parker didn’t.

"Yes, she’s upstairs." Darting past Margaret, Parker flew up the stairs, leaving behind a faint "Thank you" in her dust. Just then, Sydney moved onto the porch, two small bags in hand.

"Dr. Green," Margaret addressed him and stepped aside to allow his passage.

"How are you?" he asked. Taking in her appearance, he had his answer. She was dressed in a simple pair of pants and a blouse. Locks of hair hung astray and weariness hid in the wrinkles of her shirt.

"On my last nerve. Yourself?"
-----------
Climbing the stairs, Parker heard the sound of a baby’s giggle. It was so innocent. All she could think was that she would one day explain to the child how through corruption and deception it came to be.

Approaching the door to their nursery, the smell of baby powder and the muse of a soft rhythmic song alerted Parker’s senses.

"You do have an obsession with music, don’t you?" Parker commented. Entering the room, she discovered Emily sitting on the couch rocking one of the twins. The baby girl had dark hair and bright blue eyes. ‘No wonder, he named her Catherine.’

"Wait. Let it play, takes my mind somewhere else," Emily stopped Parker from turning off the radio.

("Hello" by Poe plays in the background.)

Parker observed the case sitting next to Emily’s stereo.

"I have this CD."

("Hello, hello
Are you out there?
M. O. D. are you out there?
I can't see your face
But you left a trace on a data back-road
That I almost erased
Not even God takes this long to get back
So get back
'Cause I hit a fork in the road
I lost my way home
I'm cut off from our main line
Like a disconnected modem…")

"Suits Jarod more than Lyle, I suppose." Emily relaxed, laying the baby against her protectively.

"Do you think we’ll find him?" Parker asked trying not to lose herself in the lyrics.

"I know we will, but I worry about his condition." Miss Parker nodded and came to rest next to her.

(…Hello
Tap in the code
I'll reach you below
No one should brave the underworld alone
Hello, hello, hello
How do I reach you?…)

"My father is doing everything he can to locate him, we just can’t find any clues." Parker was frustrated and out of her element here.

"There wouldn’t be, I could smell the Centre on this from the start." Emily’s remark was sharp and bitter, which started little Catherine crying.

"Raines?" Parker rose along with Emily and watched the young mother pace while rocking the baby back to slumberland.

"Yeah…. shh…shh. There we go, time to get your afternoon nap." Placing the baby in her crib, Emily checked Catherine’s brother, Kyle, whom was comfortably asleep.

(…Word has it on the wire
That you don't know who you are
Well if you could jack into my brain
You'd know exactly what you mean here
Mothers are trails on stars in the night
Fathers are black holes that suck up the light
That's the memory I filed on the fringe
Along with the memory of the pain you lived in….)

"Did you hear Brigitte had her baby’s blood tested for ‘defects’?" she inquired quietly.

"Lyle has never been more relieved in his life, I swear." Emily turned to face Parker.

"I’ll bet." Both women cracked smiles. Then Emily motioned for Parker to leave the room ahead of her.

(…Hello
I don't have the password
But the path is chain linked
So if you've got the time
Set the tone to sync…)

"I can’t believe I’m here." Parker leaned uncomfortably against the wall outside the nursery.

"What do you mean?" Emily asked while propping the door halfway open, so she could hear the babies should they wake.

"I’m standing here with Jarod’s sister, who’s tending to Lyle’s twins." The statement embarrassed Emily, because she felt the slight disapproval in it. Instead of worrying, Emily choose to laugh it off,

"Oh, yeah. I see." She knew Parker’s relationship with Lyle was no better than Jarod’s, despite the improvement in his personality.

(…Tap in the code
I'll reach you below
Hello, hello
Are you out there?")

Emily’s cell-phone rang in her room. Parker was so used to reacting to the phone, she walked down the hall into the room and picked it up from among the Jolly Rancher wrappers, before Emily could get in the door.

"What?" Hearing her answer, Jarod thought of the old saying, ‘the more things change, the more they stay the same.’

"Is Emily there?"

"Yeah." Parker turned back around to look at Emily, who had questions in her eyes.

"Well, tell her I got off my duff and am at this moment bring her pet to the house." Jarod glanced toward Lyle, who glared at the comparison.

"Lyle? You found him?"

"Found, rescued, and close to gift wrapped." Jarod was enjoying his triumph.

"Give me that phone," Emily frantically seized it, "Jarod, is he all right?"

"I’m okay. A little banged up, nothing major," Lyle answered.

"So where are you?"

"In my truck on our way back… Oh, and thank you for your concern about my health," Jarod explained.

"I knew you’d be fine. You two are riding together?" It took Lyle a minute to catch why Jarod was smirking.

"We’ll be there around nine," he reassured.

"And we will be waiting," Emily hung up, "I would’ve never believed it." Shacking her head, she choose a strawberry candy and offered one to Parker.

"Jarod’s reliable. He just likes to do things his way," she commented.

"Yeah, I guess I just worried he’d get killed saving Lyle." The idea scared both women too much to contemplate.

"Emily, that brother of yours has more lives than a cat," she laughed.

"Which is the reason you’re interested, isn’t it?" Emily gossiped.

"Jarod and I…. well, he IS exciting," she mused with a cat look in her eyes, "Besides deep down, it was all a matter of time."

"That’s destiny for you." Parker decided not to challenge Emily’s observation, but to avoid further questioning.

"Meanwhile the thought of those two stuck together for hours…"

"Almost as good as ‘a priest and a rabbi go on vacation together,’" Emily laughed.
------------
"You ever hurt her and I’ll finish what I started back at that warehouse," Jarod threatened.

"You didn’t start it in the warehouse, you started it when I shot at you and accidentally killed your brother." Jarod looked at him sideways, but didn’t wish to continue talking about this particular topic.

"I really didn’t mean to shoot him, Jarod. It’s not that I think you shouldn’t blame me, but I would like it, if you would understand I had no real reason to harm him. I was after you." Lyle’s defense gave Jarod a headache.

"How precisely does that make either of us any better off?"

"Well, we both have a mutual loathing for each other and although there are times I enjoy your style and I think you can on some level appreciate mine, through that hate we should know our place. I personally understand my position, but you’re twisting yours around. You act like revenge is the only reason you want to kill me. I’ve been where you are though and I know better." The self-righteous tone Lyle used somehow translated into an increase of the truck’s speed.

"Where is that exactly?" his voice stayed even.

"On the brink of your first cold blooded murder, where it isn’t just you or him, but rather pure anger bordering on madness that drives you. I’ve felt that way. I know you much more completely than you think."

"I doubt that." Jarod didn’t want to allow Lyle to press any of his buttons.

"Really? How many times did you think about letting a bullet of yours loose and claiming one of the kidnappers shot me?" Lyle insisted on goading the subject. Jarod decided the hell with it. What did he care if Lyle understood what he was capable of?

"Four… or five times, but I wouldn’t have killed you, just caused some injury."

"Because you know that death is far less a punishment than life. See you just have to be honest with me and yourself, Jarod. Simply admit that you want to kill me and it has nothing to do with either of your siblings."

"Well, that’s not quite true. What you’ve done to them enhances the desire to slice your head off." Jarod gave him a menacing look, but Lyle seemed unruffled.

"Of course it does, just like your part in getting my thumb chopped off increases my hunger for your blood, however, that isn’t why I want to kill you." Oh, this was getting interesting.

"Why is that? Why do you hate me?"

"Because you’re pathetic. You could be the ruler of the world. You could do anything you want, but you don’t. The Centre couldn’t keep you in its walls, but make no mistake, it still has you by the leash." And now they were doing 78mph.

"What on earth are you talking about?"

"Miss Parker and Sydney to name a couple of obvious examples. If you would just let go of your obsession with my sister and your old teacher, who by the way did a hell of a lot more to you than I ever did, you could disappear without a trace. But oh no, you can’t even let go now that you found your real family."

"I’ll loyal, unlike you."

"Ha, yeah you’re loyal, like a dog. Besides, despite the fact that you couldn’t have controlled what they did with your work if you’d tried, you still blame yourself for every death that was caused by the research. Get over yourself, Jesus, none of that’s your fault."

"Sitting in the car letting the Devil tell me none of what came from my work is my fault. Where’s the National Inquirer when you need them?"

"That’s right, I’m the Devil. I had a worse childhood than you did, grew up to be a killer, because I was good at it and didn’t really have a choice as to which side of the railroad tracks I worked on. But oh, go right ahead and blame a man for being the only way he knows how to be." Jarod realized he should end the conversation before the thought of hitting the next available tree entered his mind again.

"I’m not getting into this with you. Bottom line: I help people because I like it and I feel I should fight to even the score with the Centre."

"Fine."
-----------
"Coffee?" Margaret offered Sydney, as she crossed the kitchen, pot in hand.

"I’d love some. Thank you." Sydney sat at the round table in the center of the room. Over the sink, looking out onto the front yard, were large windows with slightly chipped paint.

"Why do you think Jarod changed his mind?" Sydney casually asked.

"He knew he couldn’t come home without at least a lead and he likes to do things himself." Margaret’s smile reminded Sydney of a familiar all-knowing smirk.

"You understand him completely even though you’ve been reunited for less than a year." She slid into the chair next to him and added cream to her cup.

"It’ll be a year in three weeks. And I have always known him…" laying her hand across her heart, "here. Maybe you could tell me anything I’ve missed?"
----------
"Jarod, why didn’t you shot me?" Lyle inquired from some distant place. Ignoring the tone, Jarod retorted,

"Which time?" Lyle’s eyes shifted to Jarod and then back to the endless white line on the roadside.

"When Kyle died. You had opportunity, motive…"

"I don’t believe in killing people for their actions," he asserted as if it insulted him to have Lyle question his resolve.

"Why not?" Lyle’s words hung in the air suspended by the disbelief of their disregard.

"As you’ve pointed out, living is much worse," Jarod answered sharply. He twisted a bit to ease the tension in his shoulders and gasped quietly.

"What’s wrong?" Lyle observed the funny look on Jarod’s face.

"I was shot. It’s just a flesh wound." Jarod commented like he was explaining what television show he watched last night.

"God, how is it you’re still alive?" Lyle exclaimed.

"Excuse me?"

"In the last four years, you must have been shot, stabbed, and drugged, how many times?" Lyle proved his point. The idea in and of itself made Jarod smug. He sadly was a slave to his own superiority and mention of it, despite his humility, was comforting.

"I take care of myself," he said with a slyness about him.

"We should go to a hospital," Lyle tried not to sound concerned, but if Emily found out Jarod had been hurt, she’d kill them both.

"That would be good. We check in and you get me caught by the Centre."

"When are you going to stop suspecting me?" Lyle was tired of these constant accusations.

"When I identify the body." The malicious glint in Jarod’s eyes worried Lyle.

"Well, that was hostile. You used to be a better sport, what happened?"

"I grew up, that’s partly your fault," Jarod grumbled. He didn’t want to be here. Why didn’t he just knock Lyle out when he had the chance?

"Sorry, Peter Pan, but let’s face it, I’m an excellent murderer." ‘Once a serial killer, always a serial killer,’ crossed Jarod’s mind.

"So am I," Jarod looked venomously over at Lyle, "however I don’t act on it."

"You’ve killed. Tell me it didn’t give you a rush." Lyle was digging his claws in now. He was taking the conversation where he wanted it to go, or rather where he wanted Jarod to go.

"Of course it did, meanwhile I was sick for weeks afterward."

"That’s normal. The first time I killed, I stepped outside of the room and threw up until I was dry heaving."

"So you did have a conscience once," Jarod observed.

"I still do; I just refuse to let it control me."

"That’s what it’s supposed to do." The point was not arguable.

"Okay, okay. I give." Now, Lyle sounded exhausted.

"Do I have to talk to you?"

"No, but you should."

"Why?" Jarod asked with as edginess in him.

"We’re family now, we’re stuck together."

"You are NOT part of my family in the legal sense or any other." A strange thought entered Lyle’s mind.

"Are you upset because I haven’t married Emily?"

"NO! I’m thrilled you haven’t married my sister," Jarod’s sincerity bordered on insistence.

"I did try, you know, but she was focused on one thing: saving you."

"Your point?"

"Emily would kill me for you, but she would never kill you for me." Lyle’s voice grew quiet.

"Tried that, did we?" Jarod sarcastically replied.

"You know, I don’t think you hate me as much as you hate yourself."

"What? Have you been taking lessons from Sydney now? You want to be my shrink?" Jarod growled. ‘Somebody pull me outta this hell.’

"No, I just think you should stop feeling guilty. I don’t feel guilty for the past."

"Well, those of us who still have a SOUL have a tendency for such a human quality."

"It’s not a quality, it’s a weakness."

"In your opinion," Jarod responded curtly.

"Yes, in my opinion."

"It hasn’t occurred to you yet that I not only don’t value your opinion, I loathe it?"

"It has. I was rather hoping we could get beyond that," Lyle countered.

"Okay…… I’ll make you a deal, Lyle. We WILL start fresh, no grudges, no comments, no arguments. How long do you think we would last before we killed each other?" Lyle thought a moment.

"About 45 hours."

"You believe that much in my restraint?"

"Yes… and you’re right I would start it."

"So your solution…?"

"I was betting you’d come up with something. You’re the genius."

"Creative observation," Jarod considered the situation, "A way for the two of us to stand each other…"

"Yeah." Jarod took another turn down a country road.

"Do you like vanilla or chocolate ice cream?"

"What?" Suddenly Lyle was concerned Jarod had finally flipped out and he was driving.

"What flavor of ice cream do you like?" Jarod repeated impatiently.

"Vanilla."

"Our first agreement." Slowing as the house came into view, Jarod noted Sydney’s car in the driveway.

"Oh," Lyle commented as the truck stopped. Jarod stepped out of the driver’s side and watched Lyle move around the front. He looked tired, but no worse for wear.

"Finally, we’re home." Lyle smiled and walked up after Jarod. He only saw a glimpse of the fist as Jarod turned and lost his temper.

"This is my home, don’t forget it," Jarod growled, however, he felt better. He could deal with Lyle now that they had vented, yet he had really needed to bash Lyle for the last few hours. He started back to the house when Lyle tackled from behind, forcing him to the ground.

Hearing the yelling, Parker stood and looked out the window. She then motioned for Emily to see what was going on in the front lawn.

"Come on." The women thundered down the stairs and out the front door in a fury of high heel clicking.

"Stop them!" Parker uncharacteristically yelled. She stared in disbelief at the two grown men fighting with each other halfway up the path to the house.

"You gotta be kidding! This has been coming for a long time. We’ll play ref. when one of them gets knocked out," Emily laughed. She was calmly leaning against the railing of the porch steps. In honesty, she was right. Jarod and Lyle had been trying to think of an excuse for this battle since they met.

"You are a pathetic excuse for a human being!" Jarod shouted in Lyle’s face as he hit the man in his ribs.

"And you’re the left-overs of a bad experiment!" Lyle kicked Jarod over onto his back and tried to punch him in face. Jarod countered and twisted Lyle’s arm hard.

"Murderer!" He elbowed Lyle in the side. Lyle grabbed Jarod’s throat with his right hand.

"Thief!" Jarod managed to sidekick Lyle in the chest, successfully freeing himself from the chokehold.

"How dare you touch my sister!?" Lyle slid a fist around Jarod’s defense and caught him near the bullet wound. This only annoyed Jarod who was now headhunting. His uppercut came under Lyle’s jaw causing him to bit his tongue.

"How dare you even think about touching my sister!?"

In the house, Margaret had seen the girls rush past the kitchen doorway.

"What’s going on out there?" Sydney stood from the table. Margaret searched out the window over the sink and said,

"Looks like the boys are home and in the middle of a discussion."

"Are they arguing?" Sydney asked.

"Yeah… with their fists," Margaret commented nonchalantly. Sydney hurried onto the porch. Margaret, dishrag still in hand, followed him outside.

"Jarod! Lyle!" Sydney shouted, but the men ignored him.

"Calm down. Let me handle this," Margaret patted Sydney’s arm, "That’s quite enough. You both are going to get pneumonia! Come in and get cleaned up." They looked up in surprise and embarrassment, when the realization hit them that an audience had formed.

"Sorry, Mom!" Jarod called back as he removed his arm from around Lyle’s neck. Lyle took a moment to breathe after he was released from the hold, Jarod had him pinned in.

"Sorry," he finally choked out as he was getting up. Margaret simply turned and entered the house, considering what she should order for dinner. Sydney also walked in to find the medicine kit.

"How did she do that?" Parker wondered out loud.

"Have you met my mother?" Emily commented as moved down the porch stairs to speak with her ‘heroes.’ Miss Parker remained waiting near the front door.

"Care to explain?" Emily challenged Lyle, meeting up with them.

"Jarod started it." Lyle looked sternly over at him.

"You knew that comment of yours would set me off," Jarod argued.

"Yeah, but since when do you take bait?" Lyle asked. The men staggered up the steps, but Jarod nearly slipped on the top one. It was Lyle who caught him by the arm.

"Now, we’re even," Lyle proclaimed. Jarod gave him the strangest look and then suddenly began to laugh. Not an angry or mocking chuckle, but a hysterical, joyous laugh. Soon Emily began to giggle and even Miss Parker couldn’t manage to hide her smile. Lyle didn’t quite understand at first, however, slowly realizing the irony and absurdity of his statement, he too laughed.

(The radio in Emily’s bedroom played "In the House of Stone and Light" by Martin Page)

Oh my Goddess, uncover me;
Come my restoration, wash my body clean.
I've been walking along the crooked path
Where the walls have fallen and broken me in half.
I'm telling you,
I will not rest till I lay down my head.
I'm gonna go in the house of stone and light.
I shall not cry
For the blind man I leave behind
When I go in the house of stone and light,
In the house of stone and light.

Oh my Lady, show me my soul;
Tell me of that place where I must surely go.
Old man waiting at the gates for me,
Give me the wisdom, give me the key.
I'm telling you,
I will not rest till I lay down my head
In the house of stone and light.

I'll make my way,
O gonna be such a beautiful day
In the house of stone and light,
In the house of stone and light.
Let me in beneath my skin,
Yeah, yeah, oh, oh.
In the house of stone and light.

It's been too long, my spirit's been at war.
Come my restoration, let me be reborn.
And I will embrace the sun upon my face,
Come the day I await the child inside
In the house of stone and light.

And when I go,
I will open my eyes
In the house of stone and light.
I will see you in the house of stone and light.
I'm looking in beneath my skin.
Yeah, yeah, oh, oh.
In the house of stone and light.
In the house of stone and light.
The End



E-mail: Please send me feedback, good or bad; just write a little note if you don’t want to write alot.

Disclaimer: „The Pretender" and all it’s characters don’t belong to me, but to some wonderful people at NBC, who deserve promotions. Please don’t sue me, I am making no money from this. I just really enjoy the show. Also, the songs are owned by their respective artists, I don’t take credit for them.

Note: This is the continuation of „To Honor" (you should start with part one). This is the last story of this series, friends, thank you for all your support. Oh, and enjoy the epilogue…




To Honor
part 6
"To Protect"
By Dede



The phone was ringing otherwise she wouldn’t have moved from the comfortable position she was lying in.

„What?" Miss Parker answered her cell-phone while pushing herself up on a pillow.

„Yes… Lyle and I got a lead last night……. No, nothing…… Ok, I’ll tell him….. I’m not surprised he isn’t answering… He’s in the shower by the sounds of it….. Yeah, we’ll be there in five hours…. We’re on the edge of the state…… Fine!" she ended the call. Setting down the phone, she turned around to look at the other side of the bed.

„Get up. They want Lyle and I back to base," she instructed and shoved at Jarod’s shoulder. He understood perfectly, because the ringing had woken the light-sleeper, however he couldn’t resist wrapping his strong arms around her waist as she sat on the bed while telling her to forget the Centre and lie back down. Miss Parker seriously considered succumbing to his desire, but after rubbing his hands a moment, pulled them from her nightgown and stood up. He loved the way the fabric clung to her body and shook his head as he slid off the other side.

Lazily, she walked to the connecting door, which was so rare in those types of houses. Carefully cracking it, so her voice could be heard, but her eyes could not see within, she spoke,

„Lyle, the office called; they want us in by eleven. We have a meeting with Dad."

A female head raised from under the sheets for the sixth time that night and regarded the clock. It was 5: 37 AM.

„He’ll be up," Emily responded and then whispered in Lyle’s ear, „Baby, time for you to go back to battle." She nuzzled his neck and his eyes opened dreamily.

„I could stay," he whispered and reached around her to pull the warm body closer.

„No, you’ve been in the infirmary way too long. The war needs you," Emily scolded but didn’t move away.

„Ok, you win, Miss Nightingale," Lyle resigned himself and staggered out of his side of the bed.

----------

Margaret had been wake since the babies last feeding at about five, so she heard the rumbling of restless souls upstairs. She sat down in the kitchen with her toast and milk to watch the morning news, while listening to showers go on and floor boards creak.

A short while later, Parker and Jarod made their entrance into the room. He had thrown on a pair of black jeans and a blue button-up hung over his white undershirt. She wore a short evergreen skirt with a sleeveless turtleneck to match and knee-high boots.

„Morning, Mom," Jarod greeted and gave her a kiss on his way to the cupboard for Pop-Tarts.

„Good morning. Sleep well?" she asked Parker, who dropped into the chair next to her.

„As best as can be expected with twins down the hall," Parker answered; she was a bit groggy.

„Coffee’s on," Margaret announced as the timer rang.

„What’s the story?" Lyle asked, brushing his hand through his hair as he breezed in minutes later.

„First meeting with Dad about Raines," Parker explained while she sipped her coffee.

„These’ll go on all week." Lyle sighed.

„I know," Parker said with a sharp annoyance.

„Anybody for breakfast?" Margaret offered. Emily passed through the kitchen just then to get the twins’ bottles. She was still in her navy robe, but her hair was pulled back into a braid, Lyle’s work no doubt.

„Oh, that sounds great," she replied sleepily and left to attend to her children.

„Next time, I’m kidnapping you. That way I can have you as long as I want," Jarod whispered, gently squeezing his love’s shoulders.

„You just want to chain me up," Parker teased.

„Would be a switch," Lyle commented.

„Well, time to go back to the asylum. Thanks, Mrs. Riter, but we’ll grab something on the way." Miss Parker finished her coffee and put the cup in the sink. Jarod and Lyle both followed her into the livingroom.

„No problem, dear," Margaret responded as she started making the pancake batter for Emily’s breakfast.

When Lyle entered the livingroom, Emily was holding Kyle while Catherine sat in the green baby crib.

„There’s my girl." Lyle strolled over.

„Lyle, you don’t own me yet you know," Emily feigned offense.

„I believe that was a cue to either get down on one knee or run out the front door," Parker joked as she put her coat on.

„No way. I’m gun-shy, after last time."

„That’s a first," Jarod interrupted him.

„Besides, I was talking about this little one." Lyle picked Catherine up and kissed the top of her head.

„You sure you have to leave, you could stay and work on having a few of our own," Jarod seduced Parker as they watched ‘daddy and mommy’ tending to their babies.

„As good a father as you’d make, I held Emily’s hair when she was dealing with morning sickness…NO." Miss Parker stepped away from Jarod. Emily smirked.

„So did I," Jarod defended. Parker turned to gaze at him.

„You really want me moodier than I already am?" she challenged.

„I love your moods," Jarod insisted while trying not to appear panicked, „but I suppose you should leave."

„Kiss me, Kate," Lyle commanded Emily, who had just set Kyle back in the playpen.

„I must have really messed you up with that name thing. Now, you can’t remember it for the life of you," Emily laughed and obeyed, while taking Catherine into her arms.

„Bye, Sexy," Parker whispered in Jarod’s ear, then kissed him softly.

„Later." Jarod’s eyebrows rose and fell along with a content grin. Lyle grabbed his briefcase from off the couch.

„Good-bye, my darling take care of our angels," he said stealing another kiss to Emily’s delight.

„Bye. Try not to kill too many people today," Emily called after them as she sat down on the couch.

„Funny," both Parker and Lyle echoed, exiting the front door.

„I thought it was." Jarod smirked.

--------------

„I know we’ve had several of these meetings in the last few days, however, despite the capture of Raines’ group and the continuing reeducation of the man himself. We still have no idea where the missing data is," Mr. Parker stood behind his desk and addressed his operatives.

„Well, I don’t think Mr. Raines had it. I believe the leak at the Centre must have accelerated their plans," Brigitte explained while carefully observing the other people in the room for signs of agitation. Lyle and Parker glanced at each other and knew she was digging.

„What leak?" Mr. Parker asked. He sounded shocked. Sydney tried to stay still; he also sensed Brigitte meant to bury someone. She probably assumed if she cut down enough people, the Centre would be hers. It was times like this, Lyle wished Emily could be Emma again, so Parker would have better reinforcements.

„The one we can’t find," Miss Parker muttered coolly.

„Great… The Centre has been under computer siege for the last few months, and our best operatives don’t have a clue," Mr. Parker growled. Lyle eyed Sydney, but the older man had that passive, complacent look molded onto his face, hiding any emotions.

„We’ll see what we can find, Daddy," Miss Parker remarked as she stood, motioning to Sydney, who followed faithfully. Mr. Parker shook his head and dismissed the meeting. Lyle headed for his own office only to be chased down by Brigitte.

„I suspect Sydney," she stated when Lyle stopped short in front of his secretary’s desk, because the girl was missing from her chair.

„I don’t care, Brigitte. I have more important things to do, then search for your mysterious leak."

„There IS a leak and it is making us vulnerable." She leaned closer into him, but he backed away.

„Besides the one in your head?" he mocked. Just then, the phone rang to his secretary’s desk. Brigitte bit her tongue.

„Where’s my secretary?" Lyle looked around a bit jumpy. Brigitte shook her head as he huffed and answered the call.

„Hello……. Ummm… Yes, hold on." She turned to him. „Lyle, some woman says you left your belt at her place last night." Lyle’s eyes flicked of confusion a second too long.

„I’ll take it in my office." Walking in and shutting the door, he picked up the phone.

„Hey…I have it, Brigitte," Lyle said impatiently. Taking his annoyance as offensive, she pressed the cradle button and then continued to listen. Sure the troll had hung up, Emily began talking normally.

„I hate that accent," she grumbled.

„As long as it works, we have to be careful when you call me around here." Lyle was starting to feel anxious and warm, but he didn’t understand why.

„I know. I just wanted to tell you that we’re swinging by town, if you wanted to see me." She was being playful; however, Lyle ignored it as he loosened his tie and collar.

„How are the twins?" he asked, sitting down.

„Good as gold. Jarod and my mother have been a big help… Oh, the children started trying to speak this afternoon. Just gurgles and vowels, but mom says if Jarod and I are any indication, they’ll be saying their first words in a month or two… perfect sentences in a year," Emily relayed excitedly.

„Yeah, I remember reading the data on the clone," Lyle mused, shuffling papers on his desk.

„Any news about my Dad and J.C.?" Emily inquired.

„J.C.?" Lyle became lost a moment.

„You know, Jarod’s clone, Broots thought it was humanizing," Emily explained. She liked Broots for many reasons. He seemed the tag-along in this twisted little group and though accepted, she still felt like the new girl, so they clicked in that way. Not to mention, her love for computers matched his.

„Oh. No, nothing, but I’ve been keeping an eye out," Lyle reassured her.

„That helps." Emily sighed.

„Listen, why don’t you come over to my place, bring the twins. I really want to see them," Lyle suggested.

„All right, how’s seven tomorrow?" Emily brightened up.

„Good… and maybe Aunty Parker can come and take the kids for a few hours, so you and I can get reacquainted?" Anything to please his girl.

„Maybe…" Emily seductively answered, then someone, probably Jarod, called her in the background, „Whoops, gotta go. Bye, Lyle."

„Bye, love you."

„Love you too." Emily hung up. Lyle sat back and tried to relax, thinking about the evening they would have.

‘Don’t worry Emily, Aunty Parker will be there.’ Brigitte left the secretary’s desk to call a certain friend in Africa.

-------------

Lyle stood in the bathroom, putting cologne on, when the doorbell rang. He wiped his hands against a towel as he passed through the kitchen and checked his appearance one last time in the hall mirror before undoing the latches.

„Hi," Emily greeted him. She was carrying Catherine on her hip and Kyle slept in a hand-held baby seat.

„Hi," Lyle replied lifting Kyle out of his chair carefully. They moved into the apartment barely remembering to shut the door.

„How’s everything?" Lyle whispered while they entered the bedroom.

„Well, Catherine’s been out since we left the interstate and Kyle drifted off a few minutes ago," she explained. Setting Kyle down on the bed, Lyle rummaged around in the back of the walk-in closet.

„You mean we have time to ourselves?" he asked when he reappeared with two cribs. They were just like regular cribs, except without the height, so they could be easily stored and hidden.

„Yes and I have a surprise for you," Emily teased him, as they made the beds and placed the still sleeping children in them.

„What?" Lyle was enthralled; he had been convinced the honeymoon was over. Emily turned the baby monitor on and put it between the two cribs.

„Shh…shh…" she charmed, breathing in his ear, „Come in here." Lyle was on his feet and out the door after her, with one last look at the twins.

„Stand right there. I want to dance with you," Emily commanded and deposited a tape in his livingroom stereo.

„Dance? To what?" he asked suspiciously.

„That’s the surprise…" Emily turned to gaze at him and began to sing the song as she edged toward him,

„When people ask of me,
What would you like to be
Now that you’re not a kid anymore?

(You're not a kid anymore)

I know just what to say,
I answer right away,
There’s just one thing I've been wishing for…
I want to be Bobby's girl
I want to be Bobby's girl."

Lyle laughed and took her hands in his as they waltzed around the coffeetable.

„That's the most important thing to me...
And if I was Bobby's girl,
If I was Bobby's girl,
What a faithful thankful girl I'd be.

Each night I sit at home,
Hoping that he will phone,
But I know Bobby has someone else.

Still in my heart I pray
There soon will come the day
That I will have him all to myself...
I want to be Bobby's girl
I want to be Bobby's girl.

That's the most important thing to me...
And if I was Bobby's girl,
If I was Bobby's girl,
What a faithful thankful girl I'd be.
What a faithful thankful girl I'd be."
(BOBBY'S GIRL by Marcie Blane)

They danced close and as the song ended, Lyle lifted her up with his strong arms and spun her in a joyous hug. She giggled, clinging tightly to him.

„Thank you, darling," he said still chuckling. Emily pulled back to see his face. He had a boyish quality to his features that was irresistible to her.

„I thought you’d get a kick out of it." Lyle ran his fingers up and down her back, almost thinking about removing his glove.

„Where did you find the song?" he asked slightly absorbed in her touch.

„Jarod was listening to some old audio tapes while we were working and it happened to be on one," Emily replied as she walked to the stereo to change the music.

„Jarod… I should have known," Lyle said, but his tone was impish. The radio filled the room with a jazz instrumental.

„Are you two really okay with all this?" she inquired suspiciously.

„Jarod and I came to an understanding. We had two choices: kill each other or deal with it. Since although, we would like to take a shot at each other, we would lose our girls, we chose the dealing option," he explained simply. Emily came to embrace him again.

„Smart decision." Lyle leaned down to kiss her sweetly.

The door wrenched open at this untimely moment, as Brigitte and seven sweepers including Willie rushed through it. All, but two guards at the door, made it into the livingroom in less than a minute. Lyle froze, however, Emily’s reflexes were better than that and she jumped from his hold before Brigitte managed a step into the room. She hoped the children wouldn’t wake up, if Brigitte didn’t find them…

„Excellent job, Lyle. First, you breed us a couple of pretender-Parkers, then you plan the perfect sting. The Triumvirate is going to give you a raise for this," Brigitte congratulated Lyle who made no sudden moves. He just watched her and eyed Emily with brief glances.

„What!?" Emily yelled enraged as she struggled with the two sweepers at her sides.

„Oh, that’s right you already gave him one," Brigitte commented pointing her gun at Emily, while keeping herself aware of Lyle’s movements. The other two sweepers walked into the bedroom and carried the crying twins out of the apartment. Emily tried her best to stop them, but was restrained.

„Stay away from my babies, you filthy…" Brigitte smacked her across the face. Lyle came to Brigitte’s side but realized she was waiting for him to do something. This was her revenge, if he wanted to keep in control, he had to pretend this really was his plan. Pretend! Oh, well, where was Jarod when he needed him?

„Don’t worry, doll, we will take good care of these little experiments. Wouldn’t want them ending up like their uncle, would we Lyle?" Brigitte challenged him to end the charade.

„No," he whispered and straightened his jacket. He didn’t want to look at Emily, he didn’t want to hear her cries, but as Willie led her out, she cursed him until he glanced up.

Choking back the gasp, Lyle locked eyes only for a moment. All the hatred, the betrayal, the fear of all his victims over his entire life was summed up in those brown eyes.

---------

Lyle finally clawed his way into his office at the Centre. He locked the door with a bit of difficulty, because his hands were trembling. He felt like throwing up and crying, which he couldn’t understand. He usually did well in stressful situations, but this was different. He took out his cell-phone, not wanting the call tapped. For some reason, he hesitated then. Laying his head on the desk, closing his eyes and listening to the sound of his own breath. His blood pulsed through him causing his hands to ache with the vibration. After a short moment, he straightened up in the chair and shook his head. Dialing was hard and the wait for an answer was torture, but finally someone picked up.

„Yes." Lyle could hear the relaxation in Jarod’s mood and the shower water running in the background. He was resting against the pillows of Parker’s bed.

„It’s Lyle. Jarod, they took her! They took the twins!" Lyle blurted out. He couldn’t contain his emotions anymore.

„Who?" Jarod jerked up, nearly falling over.

„Brigitte! She made it look like I was in on it. Jarod, I had to play along. There were too many of them! I swear, I didn’t do this, Jarod!" Lyle fumbled through his explanation. Jarod could hear the fear in Lyle. It was a fear, a feeling, he hadn’t imagined the man possessed.

„Lyle calm down. When did they take them?" Jarod was now getting dressed with the phone catch between his cheek and shoulder.

„About two hours ago."

„Where are they being held?" he asked, while motioning to the figure standing in the doorway to come over and throw something on.

„They’re already on a jet to Africa. I tried to delay it, but…"

„Brigitte had this planned, so you were going to have to let it happened. She figured I wouldn’t believe you and she could have you on her leash again," Jarod simmed the situation in seconds. It had been awhile since he had done that, yet it was still easy.

„You believe me?" Lyle was genuinely stunned. Jarod ignored the question.

„Call Sydney and Broots. I’m going to need everyone’s help on this one. Tell them to pack an overnight bag with black clothes and quiet shoes. I’ll phone Sydney in an hour with a meeting place…." Jarod’s mind was off and running, „Oh and Lyle.."

„Yes?" Lyle waited impatiently to move.

„If you’re lying, I’m going to rip your heart out..." Jarod threatened.

„For her, nothing else would be fitting. Just save her, Jarod," Lyle begged him.

„I promise," he vowed. The call ended and Lyle took off down the halls to see if Sydney was in his office. He must have been a zombie striding toward his destination, because all the time he was remembering when the twins were born.

Only a few months ago, he had been in a hospital waiting room with Parker. Pacing back and forth, a picturesque cliché of the expectant father. Father… that had terrified him beyond words. Then finally Margaret had stepped in and said it was time. Lyle walked awkwardly into the delivery room. Jarod was there, telling Emily to start pushing. Lyle had moved to her side and held her hand through the rest of the contractions.

When the babies were handed to Emily and Lyle, he had been so afraid to drop his baby boy, he had gingerly sat down in a chair to hold him. Margaret, Parker, and Jarod stood around admiring them for a few minutes, then the question had come up. Names? What do you wish to name your twins?

Emily had left the issue of first names up to Lyle, because she already had middle names chosen. He had looked at Parker and Jarod, then back down at the child in his care.

„Let’s call our girl, Catherine. And the boy…. Kyle, if that’s all right with our doctor?" Lyle suggested. Jarod had flinched, yet his smile remained, so it was done. Lyle was a parent and in taking on that role, he became a certified lunatic when it came to anything about his children from safety to shopping. Now, the Triumvirate had his kids. This fact lit something inside Lyle, more intense than his other more psychopathic reactions.

Lyle found Sydney near his desk with Broots at the computer. They were working on, or supposedly working on, finding Jarod.

„Sydney," Lyle howled as he secured the door, „Brigitte…"

„We know. The aircraft took off less than an hour ago," Sydney informed the distraught intruder.

„I called Jarod, he’s… going to contact you…. I didn’t know… I lost … her." He began to hyperventilate. Sydney came to his side as he collapsed onto the couch.

„Calm down, Lyle. Jarod will take care of this," Sydney tried to reassure the young man before him.

„I can’t… calm down! They have her…. and my children! You don’t understand what it’s like there…The Centre is nothing compared to Africa!" he shouted.

„She’s tough, Lyle. She’ll be ok," Broots stepped away from the desk attempting to help.

„They’ll hurt her. And Kyle… Cathy…" Lyle ran his hand over his face.

„We’re going to save them," Sydney promised and Lyle saw some of Jarod in the old man.

---------

The group arrived at Parker’s house within four minutes of each other. First, Sydney with Lyle, then Broots, followed by Margaret, pulled into the driveway. Miss Parker came out the front door to greet them and ushered everyone into the dining room where Jarod had set up shop. He had blue prints and maps laying out on the table with guides to Africa. His bag was packed and sitting next to Parker’s on the floor of the livingroom.

„Jarod, what do we need to do?" Lyle asked barely getting to the pretender’s side.

„First thing, everyone needs immunization shots. Did you bring them Sydney?" he inquired as the doctor walked in.

„Right here." Sydney held up a medical bag. Broots and Margaret moved into the room right after him.

„Good. Then we need to get a plane rented. I have friends that can take care of that by the morning, early, which will put us at the complex during the evening tomorrow, probably five or six," Jarod estimated.

„What happens when we get there?" Margaret looked at the blue prints.

„This mission has four parts. Broots and I are going to sneak in first and go for the security systems. Then Sydney and Miss Parker go after the twins and Lyle finds Emily. Mom, I need you outside," he explained and pointed to where on the map, „Here in a van ready to get us to the airstrip where the plane will be waiting."

Margaret agreed reluctantly. She had played get-away before and was slightly weary of it.

„We’ll discuss it in more detail soon, but right now, the immunizations need to be done and I have to call those friends," Jarod instructed.

---------

It had been several agonizing hours of planning, however, as Jarod watched the bluish gray ocean so very far below pass underneath them, he was confident or maybe just determined.

„Are you all right?" Sydney’s concerned voice asked from behind Jarod. He turned to see his teacher step into the cockpit and sit in the copilot’s seat.

„Yeah. I’m just concerned for Emily and the twins," he lied. The dark areas under his eyes and the presence around him gave Jarod away.

„You’re tired," Sydney observed.

„That too," he admitted.

„I’m amazed how well you and Lyle are getting along," Sydney’s version of small talk.

„He and I have a good understanding now. Besides we’ve always managed civility," Jarod defended.

„You were wrestling each other," Sydney replied sarcastically.

„Sydney, if we’d had foam rubber bats in our hands, you would’ve called it anger management."

„Ha, ha… haven’t lost your sense of humor yet," Sydney commented. Jarod nodded with a sly smirk on his face.

„I’m afraid that’s a permanent condition."

„Mind if I keep you company?" Sydney inquired gently.

„I’ve never minded…" Jarod’s tone had a sentimental serious edge to it, that Sydney took to heart.

---------

„Don’t move," Broots said with a gun in his shaky hands as he burst through the security station entrance. Jarod was busy hiding the door’s guard, whom had just been knocked out. One of the men bolted past Broots and was a foot from the door when Jarod opened it. Jarod stared down at the unconscious man, then up at the other two men.

„He told you not to move." Brandishing his gun, Jarod directed the controllers.

„Drag him into the closet and leave your cell-phones here." The men glanced at each other and decided not to argue with this one, if he could get in their office, he was probably a professional.

„All right, let’s see how they fly this thing," Jarod suggested. Broots smiled and slid into the seat next to him. Switching on his headset, Jarod spoke to his operatives.

„You’re outside the north delivery entrance. There are two guards just inside the door, but no one else down that first hallway, so if you take them out, you’re good to move in," he relayed.

„Right, we know where the twins are, but Lyle needs to know where Emily is," she told him. Broots searched and came up with nothing.

„We don’t know. They must not have her in a viewed room or the cameras are off. My information from the computer records, place her on SL 4 in one of the cells. I’m not sure which one." This situation panicked Jarod and Lyle both.

„I’ll find her," Lyle ended the conversation.

„Good luck," Jarod whispered.

--------

Where was she? No one was suspicious of him yet, but what if that was to trap him. Lyle walked down the hallway past mostly empty rooms. Then he stopped at number 12. In the darkened cell, Lyle saw a glimmer, like something was reflecting the light from the hallway overheads.

„Anyone in there?" he whispered. A soft hysterical sigh was the only response. He came closer and recognized the shimmer of a diamond in the dim corner.

„Emily?" His eyes struggled to adjust to the absence of light.

„Em…" his voice broke off as he saw her. She was huddled in the corner, her back to the wall, her head down sobbing. The gloden chain holding his ring around her neck came in and out of view with each breath she took. He approached her cautiously, but he need not fear her. Emily was in so much pain and so confused, she found a familiar presence of slight comfort.. even his.

„Oh God, Emily. I’m so sorry…. I’m just so sorry." He carefully touched the side of her face as he felt the sting of her pain stab him in the heart.

„Lyle?" she questioned, now humble and defenseless before him.

„Yes, it’s me. Come on," Lyle whispered. He tried to help her up, but she couldn’t stand.

„Lyle, I can’t… I can’t walk," she cried. Lyle held her closer as a tremor attacked her body.

„It’s ok." He kissed her tear-stained face, „It’s ok, shh."

„Where are the twins? We have to…" Emily became at once hysterical.

„Parker and Sydney are getting them. Don’t worry." Lyle slid one arm under her knees and the other around her back. Slowly… gently he lifted her up and moved out of the cell, his love burying her head into his neck.

------------

Broots was ready to get out of there, so after setting up some cameras to shut down, he declared,

„I guess, it’s time to go back to the van."

„I have to take care of one last detail before we leave. I want you to find Sydney and make sure everyone get out safely. They’re on SL 2, use this elevator and act normal," Jarod instructed his friend.

„But, Jarod…" Broots started to protest.

„Go on, I have it under control here," Jarod commanded without turning around. The lights went out in the infirmary levels and alarms sounded in the five bottom sublevels. Chaos was necessary, if they were to exit as easily as they entered.

-----------

„Mrs. Parker, there a disturbance in Mutumbo’s office along with all the others on the lower levels. Would you like me to check it out?" Willie asked Brigitte over a walkie-talkie as she stepped out of the stairs onto SL 19. She found it difficult to hear him, because music was coming from everywhere.

„Hold my thoughts I'm at an impasse
Past the place I stopped before
The sweeper's sweeping fragments
Of my head out the door
And the ice it burns upon my forehead
The calmness starts to scream
Must I always hold the upright
When my soul longs to dream

Is it too much to find an answer
Is it too much to hold you close
Is it too much to find a reason
Is it too much to free my soul
From self control"

„No. He’s at a meeting in town, I’ll find out who’s in there. Just get down to SL 20 and see why the alarms are going off in an „Encounters of the Third Kind" pattern."

„I can't get it any better
I always end up killing time
Time for love and time for living
Time to find what's really mine…"

-----------

Lyle turned down a hallway on SL 2 and spotted Sydney and Miss Parker coming out of the nursery, his children safe in their hands. No sweepers were in sight, but he knew that was a momentary luxury.

„Parker, oh good you have them." Lyle sighed in relief. Parker saw him rushing toward them carrying Emily. Unfortunately, on the other end of the hall, Sydney heard voices of guards on their radios. They quickly hid in an empty office.

„Yeah, but this confusion won’t last long," Parker replied after the men had passed by.

„Is she all right?" Sydney asked, gazing at Emily. She seemed to be floating between conscious and unconscious.

„For now, but we need to get her to a doctor." Lyle glanced down at the welt on her cheek and tightened his grip. Suddenly a figure appeared in the doorway, frightening everyone… but only for a second.

„Guys this way," Broots said quietly.

„Broots, where’s Jarod?" Miss Parker realized the puppet master wasn’t on the other end of her headset anymore. As they exited the room and made their way down the corridor, Broots explained,

„Back in the security room still. He said he had something to do."

„The program…" Emily whispered, causing Lyle to be still.

„What?" Parker turned in surprise. Little Catherine wiggled in her arms almost crying.

„The program…."

„She’s not doing well. Sydney deliver her to Margaret. I’ll go see what’s taking Jarod so long." Sydney gave Kyle to a reluctant Broots and carefully removed Emily from Lyle’s hold.

„Don’t worry," Sydney said, looking down at her tenderly.

------------

Lyle used the elevator cables to reach the first floor without detection. Finding the security room was easy enough; he saw it just down three doors across the hall.

„Hey, who are you?" growled a sweeper from behind him.

„I… I happen to be a level four operative," Lyle said taking control with annoyance, „Have you found out what’s causing all these disturbances?" The sweeper took a step backwards.

„No, sir."

„Well, then don’t stand there! We have projects to protect and it would not be good if I had to report that some sweeper was busy accosting me while the jokester behind all this got away. What is your name anyway?" Lyle threatened.

„Robertson…" The man hesitated.

„I suggest you get down to SL 19, Robertson, and find out why the loud speakers are blaring „Fragments" by Vertical Horizon. I don’t care if you have to cut the wires, stop that racket," he ordered.

„Yes, sir." The sweeper nearly flew to the stairway with his new assignment in mind. Lyle shook his head, as he entered the room. Approaching the desk, Lyle watched the video feed change, while fizzing in and out.

„Damn. What are you up to now?" Lyle swore at the screen. Turning on his headset again, Lyle moved the dial to Parker’s frequency.

„Parker, get Sydney and get in here. Jarod’s doing his imitation of Indian Jones."

„Where is he?" She breathed out an exasperated sigh, climbing out of the van.

„Mutumbo’s office."

-------------

Sydney, Lyle and Miss Parker were now forced to use the air vents for transportation or risk getting caught in the sweepers’ lockdown. Jarod meanwhile was sitting comfortably at Mutumbo’s computer. He was working through all the access codes with a modified version of what Emily used to hack into the Centre’s secret files. Jarod had just gotten through when his comrades burst in.

„Jarod, what the hell are you doing?" Parker growled. Jarod didn’t even glance up at his rescue party; he was deeply engrossed in his work. The typing was loud and almost frantic.

„Jarod?" Sydney came closer to his student. Jarod sighed.

„I’m finishing this once and for all. In another minute, I’ll have the virus loaded, that will bring the whole God forsaken corporation to its knees," he explained.

„You what?" Lyle rushed to see the computer. Jarod pushed a wondrously small silver disk into the computer’s CD port.

„What did you think I was doing for the past year? I have my family or most of it. Now, this place and all its outposts are going down. I just have to type in this code," he defended, while continuing to click the keys. Sydney almost smiled at such an amazing possibility. No more Centre? Lyle and Parker were stunned; it had been Jarod stealing information all this time. What annoyed Parker was he hadn’t mentioned it to her. They concentrated so much on the pretender that they didn’t notice Brigitte unlock the door and slip in.

„Traitors!" she roared and fired expertly at Jarod knocking him out of the desk chair. He fell with a grazed left temple. Sydney reacted by shooting his own weapon. Brigitte shrieked and jumped back as the bullet nearly took her hand with her gun. When it landed, Brigitte thought about going after her 9mm, but Sydney fired another warning shot.

„Well, well, well, so twins actually DO things alike," she observed Parker trying to wake Jarod.

„Let’s end the game, Lyle. Stop them now and you get to live," Brigitte offered. Lyle glanced down at the computer. It had a blue box in the center of the screen that read:

VIRUS LOADED AND READY FOR DELIVERY.PRESS ENTER TO BEGIN INTERFACE

The „OK" button blinked in and out of bold font.

„Sorry, Brigitte, but somethings have to end." Lyle’s tone was somewhere between serious and surreal.

He closed his eyes. Remembering all the hatred in Emily’s face, Lyle hit enter. All the Centre and Triumvirate computers went black at once and began to play „It's the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine)" by REM, finally every system, except the outside data record which Jarod had warehoused somewhere safe, crashed.

------------

Mr. Parker stepped outside of his office and watched the confusion build in the darkened hallways of the Centre.

------------

„What’s happening?" Brigitte yelled. The entire station was pitch black and no generators showed signs of starting up. Lyle advanced on her in the dim window light.

„If you weren’t a mother…" he murmured, considering taking her hostage.

„You son of a b…" she cut him off and was in turn cut off by him.

„Ever finish that statement and I’ll pull you apart," Lyle growled. Brigitte realized she was out numbered, so stepping back to the door, she hissed,

„When we get this taken care of, you’re all dead." He turned to Sydney and Parker.

„We have to leave before she finds enough sweepers."

„Air vents again," Sydney suggested. No one answered him, though; it was a silent agreement.

„How is he?" Lyle asked. His attention flowing to the fallen pretender lying on the Asian white carpet, converting it to a bloody red.

„Out cold, but otherwise all right," Parker replied and willed it to be true.

-----------

Jarod slowly became aware of a soft thumping sound beneath him and his senses told him, he was in a vehicle. This idea made him jump,

„What? Where are we?" Jarod tried to get up, but sunk down with a major migraine.

„On our way to the airport." He recognized that voice. Looking up to see Lyle staring down at him, Jarod groaned.

„Oh perfect… all that work to end up in Lyle’s arms." Sydney smirked at Emily who weakly smiled. Parker leaned back her seat, rocking her niece.

„How are we supposed to fly ‘Out of Africa’ in a plane that Jarod was supposed to pilot?" she asked.

„I think the answer to that just drove past us and nearly had a stroke," Margaret calmly observed a vehicle’s occupants. She pulled over to the side of the road, stopped the van and stepped out. Charles almost flipped the truck turning around.

„Always did like to make an entrance!" Margaret yelled at him. Major Charles came to meet her halfway across the street. He couldn’t believe his luck. J.C. had found the information on Emily’s capture and transfer not more than a few hours after it had happened. The Major, refusing to allow the Triumvirate to have his daughter, flew straight to Africa. Then less than an hour ago, he had been in the Mainframe, trying to figure out a strategy, when reports had shot up about malfunctions and possible escape attempts, so he decided to go find out if it was Emily, who had ran away. Now, here he was and there was his wife.

„Yeah, but I was usually following you!"

„Charlie…" Margaret was interrupted by a kiss. Wrapping his arms tightly around her, Charles whispered into his wife’s ear,

„I missed you." She wanted to melt against him and weep, but now wasn’t the time.

„Well, you’ll miss me more if we get caught. Get in and I’ll block the road with your truck."

„Who’s in the van?" he asked, grabbing his bags from the back.

„Your children and grandchildren!" she called as he hurried toward the vehicle.

„Hello, you must be J.C." Margaret greeted the child when she opened the driver’s door. The boy shrugged with a flash of confusion giving way to understanding.

„I guess. Are you Mrs. Riter?" the boy asked.

„You can call me Mom," she offered, climbing in and slamming the door.

„What does J.C. stand for?" The child was so cautious.

„Jarod Charles," she replied as if the other interpretation never existed in her mind.

„I like that," he smiled, „Dad’s just been calling me, Jarod." Margaret nodded.

„Go get in the van, Jarod and Emily need some help."

„Ok!" J.C. moved out of the passenger side and ran toward the van. Margaret turned her attention to parking the truck in the middle of the road.

-----------

„Emily…" Charles caught sight of his daughter, when he opened the sliding van door.

„Daddy!" she greeted him. Getting in, Charles noticed Lyle holding a sweet baby.

„Oh, my! Is this my granddaughter?" he asked. Sydney and Broots shared a thought, translated into their identical smiles.

„Yes, sir. Her name’s Catherine," Lyle explained. Charles held the darling baby like a professional.

„I suppose I should thank you for guarding my little girl?" he said, glancing up at Lyle.

„I love her." It was the only thing, Lyle could think to say. It was the only thing to say.

„You’d better, young man, or I’ll get rid of you military style." Charles’ tone was gruff, but humorous.

„Dad, don’t pick on Lyle, he’s had a tough time lately," Emily scolded. Charles winked at his daughter and handed his grandchild back to her father. Moving toward the couch in the rear of the van, the Major found Jarod resting. He was aware his father was there, but too tired to call his attention.

„Jarod, my God…" The young man’s head tilted up.

„Hi, Dad," he whispered.

„You look like hell," Charles observed. He helped Jarod slowly sit up.

„Rough day at the office," his son grumbled. The van door opened for the second time to reveal J.C.

„Miss Parker!" he exclaimed, happy to find his friend relatively well.

„Hey!" she said, reaching out her hand to pull him in.

„How are you?" Sydney inquired. J.C. realized who Sydney was immediately.

„I’m all right."

„Jarod, what happened?" J.C. asked moving to sit with Major Charles. He was still weary of the others in such close quarters with him.

„What else? I was shot," Jarod replied. J.C. had apparently developed a sense of humor, because his smile mirrored Jarod’s.

„Ha,ha…" Emily chuckled, shaking her head.

„Why are you laughing?" Jarod questioned playfully.

„Because twenty years later, you still have the same boyish grin!" she observed. Miss Parker cracked up at that point.

„You must be Emily," J.C. stated matter-of-factly.

„Should I take that as a compliment or a criticism?" Emily inquired, eyeing her father.

-------------

Margaret made her way into the cockpit of the plane, where Charles was flying. She had forgotten how much she enjoyed being his copilot.

„Well, everyone is finally comfortable. I think our children are going to make it just fine," she announced. Charles looked up, thoughtfully.

„And us? It has been a lot of years, Maggie." She nodded.

„I know and I’d be lying, if I said it wasn’t going to be hard. I’ve changed a great deal, so have you," she agreed. Their eyes met for a nervous moment, but each found the same sanctuary they had lost so many years ago.

„So what do we do about it?" he asked. Charles was never a quitter when he saw something he wanted.

„I don’t know. I guess we take a little vacation from everything, once the kids are settled and figure out who each other is again," Margaret suggested.

„That’s funny, because I already know who you are," he replied coyly.

„Who’s that?" She was intrigued. Charles took her hand in his.

„You’re my strong, sweet wife and I love you." He ended his words by kissing her fingers.

„I love you too, fly boy."

----------

J.C. sat opposite Emily watching her intensely. She opened her eyes sensing his stare and reached out her hand, motioning for him to come closer.

„So what do you think of your big sister and brother, hmm?" she asked, examining the young face. Innocence still hid in his features. Yet one glimpse at his eyes and she could feel his pain threaten to drop her heart out of her chest, the curse of a pretender.

„I don’t know. I love you both, because you’re my family." His response was honest and timid. Lyle walked in from the kitchen area with a cup of water for Emily. He patted the boy’s shoulder comfortingly.

„Spend some time with them and you’ll find more important reasons to care." The statement was simple; still it hid some great concessions behind it.

„I hope I will."

-----------

Beyond a curtain, in the back of the plane, Jarod stretched out in his reclined chair. Parker remained at his side, holding his hand. He was better now and concerned with her worries.

„I don’t know what to tell my father," Parker admitted. She loved Jarod and she loved his family, but her father… her blood. She couldn’t just leave him, could she? Parker thought of her mother and the attempted rescue, maybe she was completing a journey, the journey Catherine had started long ago.

„I think Emily and Lyle are deciding on a date for the wedding," Jarod mused.

„Yeah.." Parker acknowledged, not really sure where he was going, or maybe she simply didn’t accept it was possible.

„So let’s invite him to a double ceremony?" Jarod suggested. Parker was flabbergasted; he had managed to propose without a direct question or ring… and… and she couldn’t believe she was so ready to say yes.

„You are unbelievably confident, outrageously smug, and obscenely clever, aren’t you?" she teased.

„And?" Jarod knew better than to let the knots in his chest affect his speech.

„And I want you healthy for the wedding…" She matched his quiet question with an equally obscure answer.

„Ok," he promised with a soft kiss.

„No adventures until after the Honeymoon," Parker warned. Jarod placed his other hand over his heart.

„No adventures, cross my heart and hope to…"

„…Survive," she finished for him. His mind flickered with the great meaning in her choice.

„Survive," he agreed. Parker brushed her fingers through his hair, down to the sides of his jaw and drew her love into another passionate embrace.

A few pleasurable minutes later, Parker appeared from the curtain to let Jarod rest.

„Miss Parker, how’s my son?" Margaret asked, while washing her hands at the ‘kitchen’ sink. Parker reached into the refrigerator for some wine, but stopped. She decided to pour herself a glass of grape juice.

„He’s… he’ll recover," she said, choosing not to mention her engagement until they landed.

„She would have been proud of you, today," Margaret proclaimed in her ever calm way. Parker nearly dropped the cup.

„What?" She turned to face the comment and its owner.

„Your mother. Catherine and I were friends for a short time. She would be proud of you standing up to the Centre and this whole terrible organization," Margaret restated. Parker leaned against the cold metal counter for support.

„I guess so," she thought and whispered, „Meanwhile, Daddy will be less pleased." Parker had this scary little pain in her that wished to be released in tears or screams. She felt like a child, who had ruined her father’s favorite suit.

„Your father has been poisoned by his own power so long it may be too late, but don’t give up until you’ve tried." Margaret squeezed the young woman’s arm.

„I won’t, Mrs. Riter." She could barely look up at Margaret.

„Mom. Unless you mind?" Parker smiled. She wondered how the older woman knew so much; she would be a clever teacher.

------------

„Hey," Lyle greeted Jarod, as he slid through the curtain. Jarod lifted his eyelids and noting who it was, pulled himself up in the chair.

„Hi."

„Feeling better?" Lyle asked, moving into the seat next to him.

„Yeah, although, now I’m exhausted. How’s Emily?" Jarod shifted in his chair.

„She’s been through a lot, but I think she’ll be fine."

„I’m glad….. for both of you," Jarod said, forcing the last part to sound sincere. Strangely it wasn’t hard, in fact, Jarod began to believe he really meant it.

„Tell me something. This helping people game… you do it in part to make up for what you did at the Centre?" Lyle inquired after a silent moment. Ignoring the choice of the word ‘game,’ Jarod nodded.

„Yes."

„Does it work?" he asked. True fear and hope melded into the words, touching Jarod’s emotions.

„I think so. If nothing else it quiets the demons in my head," Jarod replied. Lyle met his eyes and he sighed.

„Well, that’s a start."
The End

Epilogue:

Jarod had failed to tell his family and friends that in addition to rendering the systems of the Triumvirate useless and placing all computer records in safe accessible areas, he had emptied the bank accounts. Routing them through 3,062 bogus accounts, he was able, by way of acquaintances, to withdraw and replant the money in small banks across the country. This successfully crushed the Centre down to a disorganized, financially bankrupt failure. After finding Angelo, who escaped in the blackout, Sydney, Parker, Lyle, and Broots cleared out their homes. Debbie was picked up from her friend’s house and the caravan headed out of Blue Cove.

Miss Parker called her father a week later to reason with him, but when she declared her love for Jarod, Mr. Parker violently disowned her. His threats were of little concern, because others were threatening him with deadly intensity and he was forced to disappear with Brigitte and their baby.

The wedding was on a glorious summer evening in lovely Cocoa Bench, Florida. The ceremony took place on an intimate edge of the bench covered by rose and tulip petals. The guests were limited to trusted friends.

Jarod and Lyle stood side by side as destiny walked up to each of them, smiling. Their tuxes were traditional black with decidedly English ties. Emily chose a black glove with a white rim around the wrist for Lyle’s hand. Broots was best man for both Jarod and Lyle. Debbie was flower girl with a basket of different colored rose tops, which she expertly tossed about the ground. J.C. held a white silk pillow displaying the four golden rings, shining in the fading sun.

Sydney walked Miss Parker down the aisle followed by Charles who brought Emily to stand beside her. They chose identical A-frame gowns, strapless at the top, dripping in a heart shape, then wrapping around to the back down to the waist. The bottom half was ankle length satin, while their veils hung just below their waists in the back and just above their shoulders in the front.

Not long after the vows, the reception was moved into a little hall. Pulling Parker aside on their way to the main table, Jarod asked,

„ ‘Do you, Jarod Riter, take Angelica Parker to be your lawfully wedded wife?’ Couldn’t use your real name, could you?" She smirked, completely satisfied.

„Not in this lifetime," she whispered.

„Come on, you have a beautiful name," he defended. Parker shook her head.

„Don’t push it, Boy Genius, or you can spend your wedding night alone." With that unnecessary threat, she tugged at him to follow her to their seats. Lyle and Emily didn’t notice their game. They were too busy with each other.

„Happy?" he inquired. Emily tilted her head against his shoulder.

„I have to say this is closer to normal. However, that term is pretty bland. I would like some excitement," she explained. Lyle glanced down at the engagement ring that still dangled around her neck.

„Oh, I don’t believe life with you could ever be dull."

-----------

Just before the first dance, Sydney nudged Jarod, who occupied the seat next to him.

„What is it, Sydney?" he asked.

„Take a look at yourself." Jarod looked over to see J.C. and Debbie talking vigorously and smiling in a corner of the room. He sighed and placed a hand on Parker’s arm. She gazed over at them and then in the direction Jarod nodded his head.

„I have just one question," Parker said obviously amused. Jarod glanced back at her.

„Yeah?"

„Who’s going to tell Broots?" Parker asked. Lyle and Emily, of course, postponed the discussion by getting up to dance. Jarod took his cue, stood and offered his hand to Parker, who accepted. Meeting in the center of the floor, both couples waited for their song to begin…

(„Stand By Me" by Ben E. King)

„When the night has come, and the land is dark
And the moon is the only light we’ll see
No, I won't be afraid, oh, I won't be afraid
Just as long as you stand, stand by me
So darlin', darlin' stand by me
Oh stand by me
Oh stand, stand by me, stand by me

If the sky that we look upon should tumble and fall
Or the mountains should crumble to the sea
I won't cry, I won't cry, no, I won't shed a tear
Just as long as you stand, stand by me
And darlin', darlin' stand by me
Oh stand by me
Whoa stand now, stand by me, stand by me

And darlin', darlin' stand by me
Oh stand by me
Oh stand, stand by me, stand by me

If the sky that we look upon should tumble and fall
Or the mountains should crumble to the sea
I won't cry, I won't cry, no, I won't shed a tear
Just as long as you stand, stand by me
And darlin', darlin' stand by me
Oh stand by me
Whoa stand now, stand by me, stand by me
So darlin', darlin' stand by me
Oh stand by me
Oh stand now, stand by me, stand by me
Whenever you're in trouble just stand by me
Oh stand by me
Whoa stand now, oh stand, stand by me…"

The Lovely End




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