Disclaimer: The characters Miss Parker, Sydney, Jarod, Broots etc. and the fictional Centre, are all property of MTM, TNT and NBC Productions and used without permission. I'm not making any money out of this and no infringement is intended.



The Tender Side of The Heart
part 1
By Sarah Elizabeth






The man in the leather duster stood silently behind a tree staring at the young woman with the dark brown hair and green eyes. She was tall and slim and wore black jeans and a sweater.

He had seen her twice before. Once working as an administrative assistant at an office where he had worked five months ago, and a year and a half before that working as a flight attendant. Now here she was again working as a preschool teacher.

The second time he had seen her, he had thought that it was coincidence: two women who looked like each other, but now he was certain that it had been the same woman both times. The woman he was looking at now had the same look and the same mannerisms.

He had to meet her, but he must be cautious in his approach. What if she wasn’t a pretender and just had a lot of interests. She could be a twin or even part of a set of triplets. Even if she were a pretender that didn’t mean that she had had any dealings with The Centre. Hell, she might even be a Centre trap. Make friends with him and earn his trust and then turn him in.

The man looked up and realized that the woman was gone. He turned around to find himself face to face with her. She did not look happy.

"It’s illegal to loiter at a school you know," She said. "I should call the police, but for you I’ll make an exception. It’s nice to finally meet you Jarod."

"You know my name?" Jarod asked in surprise.

"Sure I do," the woman answered. "Once Sydney realized that I knew about you, you’re all he ever talked about. Especially after you escaped."

"Sydney," Jarod said. "Then you have been to The Centre."

"Born and raised," she said. "By the way my name is Sarah."

"Nice to meet you," Jarod said. "How long since you escaped?"

"Two and a half years." Sarah answered.

"How did you escape?" Jarod asked.

"We just met," Sarah answered. "I don’t think I’m going to share that much yet. Listen, there’s a great pizza place two blocks away. I get off at five. Meet me there at 5:30 and we can talk. It’s Jessi’s Pizza."

"Okay," Jarod said. "I’ll see you there."

"I have to get back to work, but I’ll see you in a few hours," Sarah said.

**************************************

It was 5:45 and Jarod stood across the street from Jessi’s Pizza looking for any signs of sweepers. Having seen nothing out of the ordinary, he made his way across the street and towards the restaurant praying that he would not be bombarded in the middle of dinner.

When he entered the restaurant, he easily spotted Sarah and was surprised to see a young child about two years old sitting next to her in the booth. They were apparently sharing some private joke as Sarah’s hand moved towards the child’s belly and the boy started laughing hysterically.

"Sarah," Jarod said. "You didn’t mention that you were baby sitting tonight."

"I’m not," Sarah answered. "This is my son Paul. Paul this is my friend Jarod."

"Hi Jarod," Paul said shyly as he buried his face in Sarah’s sleeve.

"Hello Paul," Jarod said. "It’s nice to meet you."

Jarod turned to give Sarah a confused look. "You were pregnant before you left The Centre?" He asked.

"It’s a long story Jarod," Sarah said glancing at her son. "Let’s leave it for later. What do you like on your pizza?"

"The works," Jarod answered.

"You don’t know what you’re saying Jarod." Sarah teased. "This place offers spinach and bean sprouts on the works pizza. How about a basic combo."

"Whatever you say," Jarod said. "As long as you don’t order the bean sprouts."

Sarah started to laugh and her son joined in not understanding the joke. That set Jarod off and they were all laughing loudly when the waiter came to take their order. Jarod was the first to compose him self and ordered a combo pizza and three colas. The waiter shook his head at Sarah’s red face and walked away to give the kitchen their order.

"So," Sarah said. "How long are you in town for?"

"I don’t know," Jarod said. "It depends on how long I wait to reveal myself. How bout you?"

"We’ve been here three months," Sarah said. "I’m planning to leave a day or two before you."

"Three months!" Jarod said. "How do you manage that? I rarely stay anywhere for more than a week."

"I’m not on the run from The Centre," Sarah said. "Only from my ghosts."

"They released you?" Jarod asked looking at Paul.

"I released myself and my son," Sarah said. "With the help of some people on the inside."

"I’m not sure I understand." Jarod said.

"They think I’m dead," Sarah said. "And they never knew that I was pregnant."

"Sydney was in charge of your program?" Jarod asked with hope in his voice.

"Raines was," Sarah said. "I was turned over to Sydney when I was twelve. Raines couldn’t handle me anymore, and he was never able to control me, but then again neither was Sydney."

"What do you mean handle you?" Jarod asked.

"When I was seven," Sarah started. "Raines put a gun in my hand and told me to shoot at pictures of children. I pointed the gun at him. When I was nine he got his first oxygen tube and I pulled it out and threw it across the room. And when I was ten I found some books on the martial arts in an old library Angelo led me to. The next time Raines tried to hit me I put him in the Infirmary. Get the picture."

"Yes, I do," Jarod said. "Remind me to stay on your good side. What exactly led him to turn you over to Sydney?"

"There were five of us in the program," Sarah said. "All born within the same few weeks. We were siblings born from surrogates over a three week period."

"You knew each other?" Jarod asked.

"Yes," Sarah answered. "They played us off each other. We’d all get into trouble and Mr. Raines would punish one of us while he made the others watch. They would put us together and then plant seeds of suspicion among us trying to convince us that one of us was betraying the trust of the others."

"What happened to them?" Jarod asked. "Do you know?"

"The first to go," Sarah began. "Was Paul. I was born with a congenital heart disorder. I needed a transplant and Paul was not a pretender, so Mr. Raines played God and my brother’s heart now beats in my chest. Alyssa’s fate is the only one of which I am unsure. She was an autistic but with major pretender potential. One morning when we were ten we woke up and she was gone."

"And the others?" Jarod asked with a caring voice.

"Let’s leave that for another day," Sarah said. "It’s too hard to talk about all at once."

"All right," Jarod said understandingly. "Why did you want to meet me here."

"Jarod," Sarah said. "I think you have the right to know something about me."

"What is it?" Jarod asked.

"It’s about my parents."

"What about them?"

"Well," Sarah began. "About a year ago, I found out that the five of us were more than mere pretender slaves, we were hostages."

"Hostages?" Jarod asked. "Why would the Centre use five children that no one knows about as hostages?"

"The people they were going to use us against were within the Centre. Our parents."

"Who are they?" Jarod asked.

"Well," Sarah answered. "Miss Parker is our mother. Her father had Mr. Raines steal some of her eggs before he sent her away. We were supposed to insure her loyalty to the Centre forever."

"And your father?" Jarod asked.

"I think you’d better order a drink first," Sarah said.

"I’m fine," Jarod said. "Just tell me.

"You, are my father," Sarah answered.


******************************************************************



Feedback please

Disclaimer: The characters Miss Parker, Sydney, Jarod, Broots etc. and the fictional Centre, are all property of MTM, TNT and NBC Productions and used without permission. I'm not making any money out of this and no infringement is intended.



The Tender Side of The Heart
part 2
By Sarah Elizabeth






Jarod watched as Sarah put his newly discovered grandson to bed, and thought once again about how grateful he was that Paul was not at The Centre. Sarah looked up at Jarod as Paul settled into his pillow.

"I should go," Jarod said. "I’m putting you both in danger. If a sweeper team were to come looking for me…"

"No," Sarah said. "If I didn’t want you here, I wouldn’t have approached you this afternoon. I’ve been hoping to meet you ever since I escaped. Stay, I can take care of myself and my son, I always have."

Sarah led Jarod into the living room and left him sitting on the sofa to make coffee. Jarod started looking through Paul’s baby album, which lay on a table next to him. He was just looking at a first birthday picture when he felt something move in the back cover. He flipped the album onto its back and discovered a secret compartment containing a single photograph. Jarod was repulsed by the face in the picture and wondered why his daughter kept it at all not to mention protecting it. Suddenly he heard Sarah coming into the room and he quickly put the picture back and set the album on the table.

"Dad?" Sarah asked entering the room. "Is something wrong?"

"No," Jarod lied. "I’m just still in shock."

"It’s amazing." Sarah said

"What is?" Jarod asked

"That we could be shocked by anything after growing up at the Centre."

"Well," Jarod replied. "Sydney always says…"

"This is the Centre. Anything is possible." They said together.

"So," Jarod said. "You and Sydney were close.

"We were forced into intimacy by our circumstances," Sarah responded. "But we never got along very well, at least until my last few months at The Centre. Might’ve had something to do with the rats."

"Rats?" Jarod asked raising an eyebrow.

"There were three of us left when we were turned over to Sydney; Christina, Jordan, and me," Sarah began. "We had learned to work together against our captors. Although we often doubted each other’s loyalty our bond of trust was stronger with each other than with anyone else.

Anyway, Christina wasn’t a pretender and was pretty much left to her self and one day when Jordan and I were doing a sim together with Mr. Raines, she over heard Sydney tell one of his sweepers that he was afraid of rats. Christina of course came and told Jordan and me.

The two of them had a good laugh, but I was not satisfied with making fun of him. That night I snuck out of my room and went through the air shafts to one of the laboratories. I stole about thirty rats and went to Sydney’s office. I filled his largest desk drawer with the rats.

The next morning when Sydney came into his office, the first drawer he opened was the one with the rats. I had gotten up early and was watching from the airshaft. You should have seen him. He started screaming his lungs out and jumped up on the desk. When the sweeper who heard him came in, he couldn’t even speak so he just pointed. I couldn’t help it, I laughed out loud and the sweeper pulled me out from the air shaft, and called Mr. Parker."

"What did Mr. Parker do?" Jarod asked.

"He had the sweepers kill the rats and take them out of the office." Sarah answered. "Then Sydney got off the desk and made me scrub the sim lab and his office from top to bottom."

"You deserved that," Jarod said trying to keep a straight face. "That was almost sadistic."

"Maybe," Sarah responded. "But that was no where near the worst thing I ever did while in Sydney’s care. I’ve never exactly been submissive, not even to save my own life."

"How much worse can you get at eleven?" Jarod asked.

"Does setting fire to the sim lab computer count?" Sarah asked in response.

"You’re just like your mother," Jarod responded.

***************************************************************

"What do you have for me Broots?" Miss Parker demanded as she stormed into the tech room."

"Nothing," Broots answered nervously. "It’s like he’s just disappeared."

"It’s been ten days since we had a lead," Miss Parker fumed. "And he hasn’t even woken me up with his late night calls."

Sydney entered the tech room to check on Broots progress and Miss Parker turned around.

"Syd," she said urgently. "When was the last time Jarod contacted you?"

"Over two weeks ago Parker," Sydney answered. "I’m starting to worry about him."

"Don’t worry Syd," Parker responded. "He’s a big boy. He can take care of himself."

"Any leads on Jarod’s whereabouts?" a raspy voice asked.

None of them had heard the squeak of the cart, which held Raines oxygen tank as he entered. All three looked up now.

"Mr., Mr. Raines, sir," Broots stuttered.

"Don’t have a heart attack Broots," Miss Parker cut in. "Nothing yet, but when we get something we’ll let my father know. Now get out."

"Be careful Miss Parker," Raines said moving to the door. "Or you could end up like your mother."

"Is that a threat?" Miss Parker asked.

"A warning," Mr. Raines answered her as he walked out of the tech room.

"The man doesn’t have a compassionate bone in his body," Broots muttered to himself. "If he ever goes near Debbie, I’ll kill him."

"Broots!" Miss Parker yelled as she snapped her fingers in his face. "I want something on Jarod’s location within the hour understood?"

"Y-yes Ma’am," Broots stuttered as he watched Miss Parker leave the room.

Sydney patted Mr. Broots on the shoulder. "Good Luck," he said smiling. "I don’t believe Jarod wishes to be found right now or we would have heard from him."

The older man left Broots to himself and switched his train of thought to the child sitting in the sim lab. Just brought in the day before. Three years old named Thomas by Mr. Raines, and a Pretender with good potential. That was all the file said; just like the files on all the children. All information on a need to know basis, and always impersonal.

Sydney had lied to Jarod and said that there were no more children, but there were and always would be. It was just another fact of life at The Centre. No values or moral implications. Just do what you’re told or die.

***************************************************************************

Two Weeks Later…

Paul ran gleefully across the grass of Central Park, unaware that his life had changed drastically in just two weeks. Jarod’s worst fear since meeting his daughter had been fulfilled. The Centre Tower knew that she was alive and that she had a son. Jarod’s instincts had told him to leave after the first night, but his heart had led him to stay. If only he hadn’t stopped at the preschool that day or met Sarah for pizza that night. Things might have turned out differently for Paul and Sarah.

"Dad," Sarah said shaking his shoulder. "What’s wrong?"

"Nothing," he answered. "At least nothing we can do anything about now."

"Let’s go," Sarah said. "It’s getting late and we need to figure out where to sleep while we’re in town. Paul! Let’s go sweetie."

Sarah put Paul in his newly purchased stroller and the three of them went towards the SUV Jarod had rented at the airport.

While Jarod drove Sarah pulled out her laptop and made a reservation at a local motel. Not exactly the environment she wanted her son to stay in, but neither of them had had the chance in the last couple of weeks to access their hidden accounts, and they were low on cash. Had it only been two weeks ago that they had been settled in an apartment? While they had moved often they’d always stayed several months and even then it had only been a precaution. Now they were moving every few days and were being endlessly pursued by Centre operatives. How could they possibly survive on the run with a two-year-old child?

Jarod pulled up to the motel and parked. When they got into the lobby, they were greeted by the manager.

"I’m sorry sir," the manager said addressing Jarod. "But, there’s been a mistake. We only have one room available. It has two beds and we’d be happy to give you a 50% discount for the inconvenience."

"Thanks," Jarod said. "We’ll take it."

Sarah gave him a questioning look. Up till then they had always gotten two rooms even if it meant going elsewhere.

"It’s late," Jarod said glancing at Paul. "And we may not find another room."

The three of them got their key and found their room. Jarod took one bed and Sarah lay down with Paul in the other. When Paul was asleep Jarod and Sarah got up and went into the bathroom and turned on the light.

"We’ve got to disappear Dad," Sarah said. "I can’t drag Paul around the country being chased by sweepers. It’s not right."

"If we go into hiding," Jarod said. "We’ll relax and if we relax we’ll get caught. I’m sorry I dragged you into this, but we can’t just buy a house and settle down."

"It’s not right," Sarah said as tears began to escape. "A child should not have to go through his childhood on the run. I want him to go to school and make friends and…and…"

Sarah unable to continue collapsed against her father’s chest as the tears poured from her eyes.

"I know, I know," Jarod whispered softly rubbing her back, and hating the Centre for causing his children so much pain.

Sarah sat up suddenly and Jarod saw panic in her eyes.

"What’s wrong?" Jarod asked.

Sarah didn’t answer, but instead ran into the bedroom. "Paul?" she called. "Dad! He’s gone! They took Paul!"

"Don’t panic," Jarod said trying to stay calm. "Maybe he just wandered off."

"No," Sarah responded. "He wouldn’t. He never has. He knows better. They took him."

Disclaimer: The characters Miss Parker, Sydney, Jarod, Broots etc. and the fictional Centre, are all property of MTM, TNT and NBC Productions and used without permission. I'm not making any money out of this and no infringement is intended.



The Tender Side of The Heart
part 3
By Sarah Elizabeth




Sydney picked up the green file from his desk and headed toward the sim lab. He’d received his orders that morning. He was once again doing what he had sworn never to do again. Training a Pretender to be used however The Centre saw fit. He had sworn to Jarod that he wasn’t doing it anymore, but his need for self-preservation was winning out over his guilt. But then it always had. Jacob had known, had in fact died trying to convince him to walk away.

The little boy sat on a chair in the sim lab swinging his legs back and forth and laying his head on his arm, which sat on the table before him. It reminded Sydney of the past and that he was once again repeating his past mistakes. Might as well get on with it he thought to himself as he walked through the door to the sim lab.

“Hello Thomas,” Sydney said. “I’m Sydney and I’ll be taking care of you for a while.”

“Okay,” Thomas replied as if used to changing caregivers.

“Let’s get started Thomas,” Sydney suggested.

“I’m hungry,” Thomas said. “And my name is Anthony.”

“I’m sorry,” Sydney said. “Your file says Thomas.”

“Mr. Raines said I have to change my name,” Anthony replied. “But I won’t. My name is Anthony not Thomas!”

“Well,” Sydney said signaling to one of the sweepers to get the boy some food. “We’ll have to talk to Mr. Raines about that won’t we.”

******************************************************************

“It’s been three hours,” Sarah said to Jarod as they sat in their hotel room anticipating a call from The Centre.

“They’ll call Sarah,” Jarod reassured her. “He’s not a Pretender. The only use they could have for him is as a hostage to get one or both of us back. They may wait until he’s secure, but they will call.”

“Do you have Sydney’s number?” Sarah asked Jarod.

“Yes, why?” Jarod asked.

“I want someone on the inside looking for him and I don’t know who else to trust.” Sarah said.

“Good idea,” Jarod said. “But make sure he doesn’t know where you are.”

“No problem,” Sarah said pulling out a CD and putting it into her computer.

Sarah turned the volume down on the computer so that the sounds of San Francisco’s Pier 39 could barely be heard, but was still loud enough to cover up local noises. She took Jarod’s phone and waited for Sydney to pick up.

“This is Sydney,” the voice on the other end said.

“Sydney, it’s Sarah,” Jarod’s daughter said a hint of panic in her voice.

“Sarah,” Sydney said. “This is dangerous, if the triumvirate finds out you’re alive…”

“They’ve known for weeks,” Sarah replied. “They took Paul six hours ago. Please Sydney try to find out where he is.”

“Where are you?” Sydney asked.

“I can’t tell you,” Sarah said. “Jarod thinks it’s a bad idea for you to know our location and I would tend to agree.”

“Jarod is with you?” Sydney asked.

“Yes,” Sarah replied. “But I thought you would already know that. Didn’t you get the packages we sent you?”

“What packages?” Sydney asked. “We haven’t received any leads on or communication from Jarod in nearly four weeks.”

“Sydney!” Sarah said. “Get out of there right now! Go find the nearest bus and take it. Don’t get in your car!”

“Sarah,” Sydney asked “What are you thinking?”

“It’s one of the sims I did,” Sarah answered. “It’s a trap. Get you to confess that you helped me escape and then kill you as you try to escape. Then they’ll use my son to get Jarod and me back. Go Sydney! Go!”

Sarah hung up and handed her father the phone. She collapsed on the bed in tears. “How many more lives will they ruin Dad,” she said. “Why do they get away with tearing people apart?”

“I don’t know,” Jarod said as he took his daughter in his arms. “I don’t know.”

Sarah’s cell rang and she picked it up. “This is Sarah,” she said as calmly as she could.”

“You and Jarod have twenty four hours to return to the Centre,” said Mr. Raines raspy voice. “Or your son dies. I’ll call again with the conditions of your surrender”

Sarah heard Raines hang up and once again was in her father’s arms.

“We can’t go back,” Sarah said. “We can’t give in.”

Jarod looked at his daughter with surprise in his face. “You’re not willing to go back to save your son?”

“Would I be saving him?” Sarah asked. “Or would I just be condemning him to a childhood like mine and yours?”

“Make freeing him a condition of your surrender,” Jarod said.

“Why?” Sarah asked. “They wouldn’t free him and I would have no way of knowing if they ever did. We’ve got to rescue Paul, not give in.”

“Sarah,” Jarod said. “Let me turn myself in. I’ll create a distraction and then you can save Paul.”

“And lose you both?” Sarah said. “No way. It’s time I told you about your other son and daughter.

Jeremy was a pretender with weak skills, but his only loyalty was to himself; and when we were ten Mr. Raines figured out a way to brain wash him. He went from just avoiding pain through obedience to a robot. He never questioned or thought for himself after that he just acted.

Christina was not a pretender, but she was Mr. Raines favorite or so we all thought. One day when we were about twelve, I refused to do a sim. Mr. Raines brought in Christina and Jeremy. Jeremy had a gun to Christina’s head. Mr. Raines told me he would order Jeremy to shoot if I didn’t cooperate, so I did the Sim. When I was done… and when I was done Mr. Raines ordered Jeremy to shoot and he did. Jeremy put that gun into his own mouth three hours later and I was alone. I never did a sim for The Centre again. If I go back, they’ll use him against me. I’ll have to choose between harming those I don’t know and watching my son be tortured or possibly even killed.”

Sarah lay her head on Jarod’s shoulder once again, but no tears came. Together they sat grieving. Sarah for the brothers and sisters she lost, and Jarod for the children he would never know. How long they held each other that day neither of them could recall later, but it ended when Sarah’s phone rang.

It was Raines. “Go to the Dragon house and lay face down in the yard ten feet from the front door. Jarod knows where it is. I’ll call back in three hours and allow you to speak with your son. No tricks or he will die painfully. You have twenty two hours left.”

“He said we’re supposed to go to the Dragon House,” Sarah said hanging up the phone.

“We have to act fast,” Jarod said. “Let’s get to work.”

******************************************************************

Sydney made his way quickly to SL-15. Fear or not, he was not going to leave Anthony alone in this place. Upon entering the boys’ room, he signaled for the boy to be quiet and told him that they were going on a trip. Suddenly there was a quiet knocking on the cover of the airshaft. Angelo pushed open the grate and took the boy in his arms. Sydney followed them in and closed the cover behind himself before following Angelo through the air vents.

Angelo led them around corners and up ladders until Sydney would have had no way to get back without leaving the vents, but Angelo kept going without a pause. No one, not even The Centre’s designer could possibly know those air vents as well as Angelo.

Finally Angelo opened a last door and signaled for Sydney and the boy to exit. Quickly they went through the doorway and left Angelo alone. Though they were a good distance from the building as they climbed a ladder to their safety, Sydney could hear the alarms going off.

Thinking quickly Sydney picked up the child and headed towards Broots’ house. That would be one of the last places anyone would look and Broots would be sure to help especially where a child was involved. As scared as the man might be of those who ran The Centre, he would never deny a friend in need especially where children were involved.

Disclaimer: The characters Miss Parker, Sydney, Jarod, Broots etc. and the fictional Centre, are all property of MTM, TNT and NBC Productions and used without permission. I'm not making any money out of this and no infringement is intended.



The Tender Side of The Heart
part 4
By Sarah Elizabeth



Debbie and Broots were in the kitchen when they heard Sydney’s knock on the door. Debbie ran to get it hoping it was one of her friends to rescue her from her dad’s attempt at teaching her to cook; something that he was not very good at himself.

“Dad,” Debbie called. “It’s Sydney and some kid.”

Broots ran from the kitchen and quickly ushered the two visitors in. The look on Sydney’s face told Broots that this was not a social call.

“Debbie,” Broots suggested. “Why don’t you take the boy into the playroom.”

“Dad,” Debbie sighed. “I don’t have any baby toys.”

“Just take him,” Broots said. “Read him a story.”

“I can read to myself,” Anthony informed Broots.

Debbie took Anthony’s hand and led him down the hall, but they stopped just far enough in to be hidden from the view of those in the living room.

“What’s going on Syd?” Broots asked nervously. “Who’s the boy?”

“The triumverate has put out a termination order on me,” Sydney explained. “The boy’s name is Anthony. He’s a new Centre project assigned to me recently.”

“Why would they put out a death order on you?” Broots asked. “I thought you were what was keeping Jarod from disappearing forever.”

“I helped one of their pretenders escape nearly three years ago,” Sydney said. “We set it up to make it look like she was dead, but apparently several weeks ago they discovered that she was alive.”

“But how do they know that you helped her?” Broots asked.

“She called me earlier today,” Sydney said. “I was talking about it over the phone.”

“Oh God Syd,” Broots said. “What are you going to do?”

“Find Jarod,” Sydney said. “But I need some help first.”

“Anything,” Broots said.

“Some cash,” Sydney began. “I can’t go home and they can track everything else. I’ll pay you back as soon as I can.”

“No problem,” Broots said. “I’ve been saving cash since Debbie was born in case we ever had to run.”

“One more thing,” Sydney said. “The pretender I helped to rescue, her name is Sarah, and she has a 2 ½ year old son. They’ve kidnapped him and are holding him hostage to get Sarah and Jarod to return to The Centre. Find out where they’re keeping him.”

“I’ll do my best,” Broots said as he pulled out some cash from under the carpet.

“Thank you Broots,” Sydney said. “Anthony, It’s time to go so you two can come out of hiding.”

Debbie and Anthony quickly returned to the living room. Broots and Sydney noted the look on Debbie’s face; a mix of terror and anger.

******************************************************************

Sarah had found an excuse to be alone for a few minutes and was now sitting in the abandoned pool area, while Jarod hid nearby just inside the entrance to the showers. Pulling her phone from her jacket pocket, she quickly dialed a number and waited for someone to pick up on the other end.

“Jason,” Sarah said. “This is Sarah. You heard?.. Of course. I’m not letting him go… I’ll keep you up to date. Bye.”

Sarah put her phone away and headed to the hotel’s restaurant to get their breakfast as that had been her excuse for leaving.

After ordering she sat on a padded bench to wait. She saw a mother sitting at a table with a small boy. The boy was eating pancakes and had syrup all over his face. The mother was dipping his napkin in water and was trying to wipe it off. Sarah’s mind went over all of the times she had done the same thing in the last few years and how she had always been slightly embarrased at the mess her son had made. She’d leave an extra large tip to make up for the extra work the employees had to do because of him. Now she wanted to do nothing more.

Unable to stand it any longer, Sarah got up and started to head for the door. The cashier stopped her and handed her a bag of food. Sarah grabbed the bag and went through the door without a word. She ran back up to her room and fell onto the bed. The bag slipped to the floor and she lay crying for her son and for herself.

******************************************************************

Miss Parker stormed into the tech room. “Broots!” she said fiercely. “What’ve you got?”

“Nnn no sign of him Miss Parker,” Broots said. “It’s like he’s just vanished.”

“Well find him!” Miss Parker said. “Where’s Sydney? I need to talk to him.”

“I’m not sure,” Broots answered nervously. “He hasn’t come in today.”

“What aren’t you telling me?” Miss Parker asked in a demanding tone.

“Wha… What do you mean Miss Parker?” Broots asked.

“About Sydney,” she answered him.

“Miss Parker I promised him I wouldn’t…” Broots began.

“Tell me,” Miss Parker threatened him. “Or you’ll be eating through a straw!”

“The tower put out an SOS on him for helping a pretender escape,” Broots said.

“Jarod?” Miss Parker asked.

“No,” he answered. “A woman named Sarah. I’ve been doing some research. She was part of a project called prodigy 2. She was born in 1974 and raised in SL 27 until the fire in 1982. Mr. Raines was in charge of the project, but that’s about all there is on her.”

“That’s it?” Miss Parker said raising an eyebrow. “Broots, I want you to keep digging and report back to me as soon as you find anything.” Miss Parker swept toward the exit and then stopped. “And Broots, don’t tell anyone about this.”

“Yes Ma’am,” Broots replied as Miss Parker left the room.

Broots returned to the computer in front of him. He’d been working for two hours, but so far there had been no sign of Paul. He hoped that Sydney and Anthony were okay. At least he’d been able to give them enough cash for a room and food for a few days.

******************************************************************

It was after about five minutes of lying on the bed and feeling sorry for herself that Sarah realized that her father was no longer in the room. She had just decided to go look for him when her phone began to ring.

“This is Sarah,” she answered.

“Your surrender will be unconditional,” said Mr. Raines from the other end. “Both you and Jarod are to turn yourselves in. You are not to bring anyone else with you and you are to come empty handed. If you do not comply you will never see your son alive again.”

“Please,” Sarah begged. “Let me talk to my son. Let me hear his voice.”

“No,” Raines said. “When you and Jarod are secured at The Centre we will place your son in a foster home. Put Jarod on the line.”

“Jarod isn’t with me,” Sarah informed him as she realized where Jarod might be.

“Find him, and have him call me,” Raines responded. “Or your son will pay the price.”

Sarah heard the beep as Raines hung up on the other end and dialed Sydney’s number.

“This is Sydney,” the man said from the other end.

“Sydney,” Sarah said. “Have you heard anything yet about Paul?”

“Nothing yet,” Sydney answered. “But I have a friend working on it.”

“Thank you Sydney,” Sarah said. “How are you doing?”

“We made it out of The Centre all right,” Sydney answered.

“We?” Sarah asked surprised. “Who’s with you?”

“The Centre’s latest project,” Sydney said. “They decided a few years ago to renew Prodigy 2.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Sarah said. “If I had known when I escaped I would have done something to stop them.”

“I’ve only known for a couple of days myself,” Sydney answered. “I just met the boy yesterday.”

“Sydney,” Sarah said. “I’ll call you in a couple hours. Jarod left our room without telling me first and Raines wants to call.”

“Sarah,” Sydney said quickly.

“Yeah,” she answered.

“Don’t surrender yourself to him,” the man said. “If you do you’ll never see your son again.”

“Sydney,” Sarah said. “You ought to know me better than that. I never give in.”

Sarah hung up her phone and headed toward the lobby to look for her father. She checked at the desk for messages and then went outside to check the grounds. After checking the restaurant and walking between the buildings she headed to the pool area.

When she got there she noticed a piece of paper on the table where she had sat not long ago. On it was a single word in her father’s handwriting: LIAR. Sarah sat slowly down in her chair and realized that Jarod was gone.

Disclaimer: The characters Miss Parker, Sydney, Jarod, Broots etc. and the fictional Centre, are all property of MTM, TNT and NBC Productions and used without permission. I'm not making any money out of this and no infringement is intended.



The Tender Side of The Heart
part 5
By Sarah Elizabeth




Two hours later Jarod walked along the beach near Plymouth Rock. He couldn’t believe how stupid he’d been. Taken in and nearly caught because of something he wanted to be true even when his gut told him that it wasn’t real. He was always telling Miss Parker to follow her instincts. Maybe he should have listened to his own advice.

Quickly Jarod dialed Miss Parker’s number.

“Nice try,” he said when she answered. “But you haven’t caught me yet.”

“What are you talking about?” Miss Parker said. “We haven’t had a single lead on you in weeks. Daddy is furious and the Triumverate has put out a hit order on Sydney.”

“What?” Jarod questioned. “Well if you didn’t send Sarah then who did?”

“Did you say Sarah?” Miss Parker asked. “That’s the name of a Pretender Sydney supposedly helped escape two and a half years ago.”

“How did you know about her?” Jarod asked.

“Sydney asked Broots to check into the whereabouts of her son,” Miss Parker answered.

“Is Broots with you?” Jarod asked. “I need to talk to him.”

“He’s in the Tech room,” Miss Parker said.

“Thank you Miss Parker,” Jarod said, and then disconnected the call.

Jarod dialed into Broots personal cell and waited for the man to pick up.

“Broots,” Broots answered.

“Hello, Mr. Broots,” Jarod said. “How’s Debbie?”

“Sh… she’s fine.” Broots stammered.

“Broots,” Jarod said. “I need to know what you’ve found out about Sarah and her son.”

“I…I don’t know Jarod. Miss Parker would kill me if she knew I was giving you inform…”

“I just spoke with Miss Parker,” Jarod said. “Just tell me. It may be a matter of life and death.”

“Well” Broots said. I had to go through several data bases and break into three different offices.”

“The point Broots,” Jarod said.

“Sarah was part of a program called Prodigy 2. Officially she died in May of ’98 in the explosion in SL-27. A few weeks ago, Travis apparently spotted her with her son near one of the places where you had also been seen. Travis recognized her and told Mr. Raines. Raines apparently decided to kidnap her son before capturing her to ensure her full cooperation and has had sweepers tailing her ever since. From what I can tell her son is not being held here, but so far that’s the only thing I’ve found on him. Apparently, no one knew about him before he was spotted with Sarah. I’ll keep searching.”

“Thank you Broots,” Jarod said.

“Jarod?” Broots questioned. “Why is this so important to you? I mean I know you like to stand up for the innocent, but…”

“Sarah is my daughter,” Jarod said. He hung up the phone knowing that the knowledge he had just passed would cause Broots to work even harder to find the truth.

******************************************************************

Broots put his phone away as he let Jarod’s words sink in. Jarod was a father! Had a daughter. Broots thought about his own daughter and thought about if he was in Jarod’s place. Realizing how hard it would be if Debbie had a missing child redoubled Broots’ determination to get to the truth.

“Hard at work I see,” Miss Parker said walking into the room.

“Miss Parker,” Broots said. I just got a call from Jarod.”

“I just talked to the lab rat myself,” Miss Parker said. “What did you tell him?”

“I told him what we know,” Broots said with an uncharacteristic boldness. “He told me the strangest thing.”

“Strange is normal at The Centre Broots,” Miss Parker said. “What did he tell you?”

“Well,” Broots said. “He told me that Sarah is his daughter.”

“I want everything you can find on Prodigy 2,” Miss Parker said. “I want to be informed as soon as you find anything.”

******************************************************************

Sarah walked over to the bench by the playground where Sydney sat. As soon as she realized that Jarod had left her behind she had called Sydney and they had agreed to meet at Central Park since they were both in the New York area. Sydney called Anthony back from the Merry-go-round where he was playing and they all headed for Sydney’s new rental car as the older man introduced his two prodigies to each other.

“He heard me talking on the phone,” Sarah said. “He must have misunderstood what was being said.”

“He’ll call me soon,” Sydney said. “We’ll explain then. Let’s worry about Paul now.”

As if Raines could read minds, he chose that moment to call. “Sorry I’m late calling back,” he said sarcastically. “I hope you’re not too late to save your son.”

“Well,” Sarah said. “I guess I know how you felt when Annie was missing. Lonely. Terrified. At least you had your wife to comfort you.”

“Not the same,” Raines answered. “I’m offering you a chance to save your son. Annie wasn’t so lucky.”

“What chance Dr. Mengaele?” Sarah asked. What chance are you offering him? A chance to be raised by Centre pawns so you can take another future killer under your wing. Like Lyle or Ethan? Or one that just barely gets away for you to have killed later like Kyle, and Christina, and Jeremy?”

“I didn’t have Jeremy killed,” Raines said, his voice seeping with arrogance.

“He wouldn’t have committed suicide if you hadn’t brainwashed him. I will not give in! And if anything happens to my son, you will wish you had never been born. I know your secrets and if my son is not returned to me unharmed, so will the Triumverate. Call me back in an hour.”

Sydney stared at Sarah in amazement. He had known many Pretenders, but never one so bold or so stupid. Threatening Raines was suicide. “What do you think you’re doing?” Sydney asked.
“If you can’t beat ‘em. Join ‘em.” Sarah said.

“What do you mean by that?” Sydney asked.

“I know more about Raines than anyone else alive,” Sarah answered. “I have the information stored in various databases throughout the world. If anything happens to me or if I choose to release it, all that information as well as the evidence needed to convict everyone involved will be released. First to the FBI and the CIA, and then to the Triumverate. In addition it would be sent to every major newspaper and news network. Raines will be lucky if the law catches him before The Centre.”

“You’re playing with fire,” Sydney said. “If Raines decides to kill your son anyway…”

“Trust me Syd, he won’t,” Sarah responded. “Not when he finds out how much I know. Knowledge is power if that knowledge has the opportunity to be passed to the right people.”

******************************************************************

Mr. Raines pounded his fist against his office wall. This was not working out as he had planned. Sarah had never been submissive, but he had thought that separation from her son would break her. What did she have on him? When she was a child she had reminded him so much of Annie. He had confided in her and revealed secrets. He had coddled her unlike any of the others and this was how she repaid him? What had he told her and then forgotten? What had she found out on her own? He must find out and fast.

******************************************************************

Broots rubbed his eyes as he tried to keep them focused. Whoever had handled the cover up of Prodigy 2 had done a very thorough job. He had been staring at the screen for several hours straight and still had been unable to find any further information. He was just about to take a break when something caught his eye. It was a message sent from an unknown terminal within The Centre ten years earlier:

To: Debbie’s Dad
From: Anastasia

We are closer in distance than you might think. We may meet someday. Don’t worry, this is not a romantic thing but I would like to be friends and to meet your wife and daughter. It is not possible for me right now, but maybe someday.

Broots nearly fell back in his chair. He remembered the message, but it had never occurred to him that Anastasia might actually be within The Centre. He had been in communication with her for fifteen years and still they had not met. How was Anastasia related to Prodigy 2 and could she possibly know where Paul was?

Quickly, Broots pulled up his e-mail and pulled up Anastasia’s address. “Why didn’t you tell me you were at The Centre?” he typed. Quickly he finished his message and sent it, hoping for a quick response.

******************************************************************

Jarod sat before a fire in Miss Parker’s living room. He had dinner cooking in the oven and had set the table. All there was left to do now was await her arrival and hope that he managed to disarm her before she shot him. He knew she was on her way home he’d been tracking her movements for hours. It was only a matter of minutes before she would arrive.

Hearing Miss Parker pull into the driveway, Jarod hid himself behind the front door and waited. Miss Parker entered the house with gun raised and checked behind the door just in time for Jarod to grab the weapon from her hands.

“What game will it be tonight?” Miss Parker asked scowling.

“No games this time,” Jarod answered her. “Please, Miss Parker. Sit down.”

“I’ll stand,” Miss Parker said. “Just tell me why you’re here so you can leave me alone!”

“It’s about Prodigy 2,” Jarod said. “She’s our daughter.”

“You and who?” Miss Parker said trying to laugh.

“Me and you,” Jarod responded.

“Impossible,” Miss Parker said. “We never… I never would…”

“But your father did,” Jarod said. “He wanted you to have a child he could blackmail you with. A genius child.”

“Are you sure?” Miss Parker asked. “I mean how do you know?”

“I took a DNA sample,” Jarod said. “I tested it two hours ago. She is our daughter.”

******************************************************************

Sarah sat in her hotel room and tried to make herself concentrate on simming a way to get her son back. She knew her phone call to Raines was only a way to buy time. Raines would never give in. His will to live wasn’t that strong. If only they knew where he was being kept. Suddenly her phone rang.

“This is Sarah.”

“Sarah, it’s Jason,” said the voice on the other line. “We’ve found out where Paul is being held! Chris from Minneapolis just called and he’s been assigned as one of the guards.”

“Find out what shift Chris is on and call me back. I’ll have to ditch Sydney, but I’ll be at headquarters A.S.A.P.”

“Sarah,” Jason said. “Why don’t you bring Sydney with you? Our sources say The Tower’s got a hit order out on him. He’s one of us now.”

“His loyalties are uncertain,” Sarah reminded him. “He might betray us.”

“There’s no reason for him to,” Jason said. “And he might be able to help us rescue Paul.”

“Bad idea,” Sarah said. “I won’t expose our operation, not even for my son. I can’t be responsible for the loss of lives like that ever again.”

Disclaimer: The characters Miss Parker, Sydney, Jarod, Broots etc. and the fictional Centre, are all property of MTM, TNT and NBC Productions and used without permission. I'm not making any money out of this and no infringement is intended.



The Tender Side of The Heart
part 6
By Sarah Elizabeth







Broots opened his laptop and checked his messages. No answer yet, but he had found out that Anastasia was one of the best hackers in the world and that no one had ever been able to find any traces of the actual person. She had apparently been under investigation by several agencies but all of the cases had died for lack of information. She was just the type of person to be involved with The Centre.

“Broots!” Miss Parker snapped as she stormed into the tech room. “What’ve you got for me?”

“Well, prodigy two was an attempt to determine the exact genetic connection between natural born pretenders,” Broots said. “They impregnated 50 surrogates with embryos made from Jarod’s sperm. There were 8 with the genetic anomaly present in their blood. The other pregnancies were terminated. Three of the babies died in the womb. The other 5 were born between September and November of 1974. They were kept together in SL-27. The program was run by Mr. Raines. Sarah was the first born. There’s no other information about the others.

“Keep on it!” Miss Parker said as she left the room.

******************************************************************

Sarah dialed Jarod’s number. While she didn’t feel comfortable bringing Sydney in on the operation, her father was one of the best pretenders in the world and right now she could use all the help she could get.

“This is Jarod,” Sarah’s father said.

“Dad,” Sarah said. “Don’t hang up!”

“I’m listening,” Jarod said.

“Meet me at Central Park in New York. 5:00pm,” Sarah said. “I’ll explain everything.”

“I’ll be there,” Jarod answered.

They both hung up and Sarah started packing. She was hoping to be gone before Sydney and Anthony returned.

******************************************************************

“I want to see my mommy!” Paul shouted in Mr. Lyle’s face.

“Mommy’s not here right now,” Lyle answered him. “But it’s okay. I’m your daddy. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“No! I want Grandpa and Mommy.”

Paul looked at Lyle defiantly as if daring him to say another word. Lyle flinched slightly before roughly pulling the toddler into his arms and dropping him into a nearby crib.

The crib had been altered so that an additional set of bars could be pulled up to cover the top and locked down with a padlock. Paul sat in his cage and kicked the bars.

“Just like your mother,” Lyle muttered under his breath. “Always fighting fate. But eventually you’ll give in just like her.”

Lyle left the room. He could hardly wait for Sarah to give into her maternal instincts. Then he would have them both under his control.

******************************************************************

Broots watched the DSA he’d found for the Prodigy 2 project in horror as Miss Parker stood over him. The threat made by Raines to Sarah was not a surprise, but the fact that he ordered a child murdered in front of her despite her compliance gave him a jolt. He put the next one in the machine and watched Sydney appear.

“Seven months since the deaths of the other children,” Sydney was saying. “And Sarah still refuses to cooperate in any way. I fear for her safety. I don’t know what will happen to her if she continues to defy the Triumverate.”

Sydney moved away from the camera and Sarah could be seen throwing a food tray at one of the sweepers. The slimy green mix of wheat grass, tomatoes and bean sprouts could be seen sliding down his suit as Sarah said, “If you want me to eat then bring me real food!”

“Well she’s doesn’t let people push her around,” Miss Parker said proudly. “Jarod told me that I was her mother.”

Broots looked up in surprise and Miss Parker smiled at him with satisfaction having gotten the desired reaction.

“Like mother. Like daughter,” Broots finally mumbled.

******************************************************************

“Are you planning a trip without us?” Sydney asked as he watched Sarah close her suitcase.

“Just some business to take care of,” Sarah answered.

“Business more important than Paul?” Sydney questioned.

“It has to do with my son Sydney, but I have to take care of this myself.”

“I want to help you Sarah,” Sydney said. “But I have to know what’s going on.”

“Hold on,” Sarah said. “I’ll bring you in, but I have to make a call first.”

Sarah quickly dialed the familiar number. “Jason, It’s Sarah. It looks like I’ll be bringing Sydney with me after all, and a child who’s with him. Sydney might need protection. We should be there by morning… Don’t worry I’ll take all of the necessary precautions.”

“What was that about?” Sydney asked.

“Just talking to a friend. That’s all you need know for now,” Sarah answered him. “Let’s go!”

“Where are we going?” Sydney asked.

“Central park to meet Jarod.” Sarah answered.

Just at that moment Sarah’s phone rang. It was Raines. “Where is my son?” Sarah demanded to know.

“Safe,” Mr. Raines replied. “For now.”

“Let me talk to him,” Sarah said. “So I know he’s okay.”

There was a pause and some background noise. “Hi Mommy,” Paul said.

“Hi baby,” Sarah answered as tears began to well up in her eyes.

“Mommy when you coming to get me?” Paul asked.

“Soon baby, Mommy will be there soon,” Sarah answered him. “Be good until I get there.”

“You talked to him,” Raines said.

“I want him back now!” Sarah said.

“The Triumverate ordered this,” Raines said. “I can’t release him. Just come back home and all will be forgiven.”

Suddenly Sarah heard another voice come up from the background. “Is that Lyle with you?” Sarah demanded to know.

“Yes,” Raines said. “Why?”

“Let me talk to him,” she said. There was movement in the background and Lyle came on the line.

“Hello, Sarah,” Lyle said smoothly. “It’s been a long time.”

“Yeah,” Sarah answered. “Almost three years.”

“Now,” Lyle said. “Be a good girl and come back home and we’ll find a good home for Paul. Hell, I might even take him in.”

“If you lay one hand on my son,” Sarah said. “I’ll see to it that you’re running from the Triumverate for the rest of your life. Wouldn’t they like to know how you’ve been screwing with their projects, literally. I’m not ten years old any more and I’m not a slave anymore, so don’t screw with me or I’ll make your torturous murders look like mercy killings.”

“You’d better watch who you mess with Sarah,” Lyle said. “Or your son could get hurt. Don’t threaten me. And weather or not you belong to The Centre is a difference of opinion.”

“Slavery is a state of mind Lyle,” Sarah answered him. “And if I tell my parents who molested me and got me pregnant five times you’ll experience it right before you die.”

“Even if you knew who your parents were they couldn’t touch me,” Lyle responded.

“But I do know who my parents are and they have been right under your nose for years. Give me back my son, or you will wish you’d never been born.”

Sarah hung up the phone and grabbed her bag. Sydney and Anthony were following close behind.

They drove in silence until Sydney finally spoke. “You know who your parents are?”

“Don’t you?” Sarah asked him.

“No,” Sydney answered. “They just said that your parents died in a car accident.

“They lied,” Sarah responded. “Jarod and Miss Parker are my parents. That’s why the Triumverate never terminated my program. I was a good hostage. Mr. Parker had it done before Miss Parker was sent away to school. I was to ensure her unwavering loyalty.”

“Why aren’t I surprised,” Sydney thought to himself.”

They had arrived at the park entrance and pulled into a parking spot. While Sydney put change into the meter Sarah searched the immediate vicinity for her father hoping that he was not too far from the main entrance. When she didn’t find him she turned around and suddenly he was there.

“Hi Dad,” Sarah said.

“Hello,” Jarod answered. “You didn’t tell me you were bringing an old friend with you.”

“I wasn’t planning on it,” Sarah explained. “He saw me packing and decided he was going.”

“Where are we going?” Jarod asked.

“To The Refuge,” Sarah said.

“Refuge?” Sydney and Jarod said together.

“Probably the only place in the world,” Sarah told them. “That’s safe from The Centre.” Sarah pulled two black bags out of her purse. “Get in the car and put these on. If you take them off I’ll have to drop you off where we are. I’ll be doing lots of backtracking and taking back roads so it will be a while before we get there.”

“Why the blindfolds,” Jarod asked. “Don’t you trust me?”

“Security policy,” Sarah answered him. “No one knows our location until they have been officially accepted into the organization.”

“Sounds like The Centre,” Jarod mumbled.

“Not quite,” Sarah said. “You’re free to leave at any time, but if you betray us the penalty is death.”

Sarah’s phone rang. “This is Sarah. What? Really!.. That’s great Jason. Tell Chris I really appreciate the news… Assemble a rescue team and send them in. Take volunteers, but don’t make participation an order. They are risking recapture and I won’t order anyone to do that. Not even for Paul. Let me know when he’s safe. We’ll be at headquarters A.S.A.P.”

“One of our inside people has found a way to get a team in and out unnoticed.” Sarah explained to her father and Sydney. “If all goes well, Paul should be waiting for us when we arrive.”

“That’s great Sarah,” Jarod said. “Let’s go.”

******************************************************************

“Miss Parker,” Broots called anxiously. “Look at this.”

Miss Parker looked at the screen and then looked at Broots. “What is it?”

“A Security breach,” Broots answered. “Someone has been instantaneously copying every file that passes through all of The Centre’s computers from the outside. It’s amazing I’ve never seen anything like it. They would have had to set it up from the inside.”

“Great,” Miss Parker responded. “What’s a security breach got to do with Prodigy 2?”

“I think Sarah set it up,” Broots responded. “If she did then she can override Centre security including the cameras and access anything she wants in the system.”

“Find out if the Triumverate knows about this,” Miss Parker said. “If they think Sarah can access everything, they won’t care about keeping me here. They’ll just want Sarah dead.”

“I’m right on it,” Broots said with concern. “And Miss Parker, don’t worry. Sarah’s safe with Jarod.”

Miss Parker exited the room in silence praying that Broots was right.

******************************************************************

Anthony sat half asleep between Jarod and Sydney. Sarah had explained a lot to them in the last several hours. Including the fact that Kyle, Jarod’s brother had actually started the “Refuge” program and built it up to what it was today. Sarah herself had learned to override Centre security after all of her siblings were gone and had been leaving the Centre for days and even weeks at a time since she was fourteen years old. Because she had always had the tendency to disappear into the air shafts, for long periods of time her longer disappearances had not raised much suspicion, especially since she had stopped cooperating long before and every attempt to restrain her had resulted in a full blown escape attempt. That combined with the fact of Miss Parker’s full loyalty at the time had caused those in charge to decide to leave her free to explore the bowels of the Centre with Angelo.

After three Vehicle changes and a plane ride followed by two more vehicle changes, they finally arrived. They had been informed a couple hours before their arrival that the rescue attempt had been successful and that Chris’ cover was still protected.

Jarod and Sydney were led through an open field and down a long flight of steps. At the bottom their blindfolds were removed and Sarah led them towards an elevator. Suddenly the door opened and Paul came running towards them.

“Mommy!” Paul shouted as he ran into Sarah’s arms.

“Hi baby!” Sarah responded as she held him close. “Have you been good while I was gone?”


THE END!!!