A/N -- Thanks for the feedback. It's the most I've ever received for any of my stories -- it's a wonderful feeling. And for those of you even remotely interested (as if!) about Zoe's fate...Here's how it happened in my mind. As much as I would have liked a slow, painful death for her, Jarod and Zoe came to a mutual decision to not see each other anymore since it would only endanger Zoe's life. Especially since Zoe threw a tantrum about being kidnapped. So she would not make an appearance in this story at all. But if you prefer the slow, painful death idea, by all means, go with it!

Concrete Angel
Part 2

by DOTLP

"Honesta turpitudo est pro causa bona (Latin) -- For a good cause, wrongdoing is virtuous."
[Publius Syrus; Roman Philosopher circa 100 B.C.]
as used by [Robert Ludlum; Sigma Protocol]

======

        "It's rather deserted here," observed Sydney.

        "Most likely why Jarod's sister and mother decided to come here. Works to Lyle's advantage too."

        "I don't see any sign of them anywhere."

        "Calm down Broots! We probably won't be seeing them for another hour. Now remember what you and Sydney have to do. You have to take care of Lyle's henchmen. Leave my evil twin to me."

        "Miss Parker," began the technician uneasily, "I'm still not certain about using a gun."

        "Relax, you don't have to shoot them if you don't want to. They'll have to come from that direction," she said, pointing over Broots' shoulder, "since there isn't any other way to get onto this dock. You can both hide behind the crates over there, then wait until they pass, sneak up and then knock them out. Just make sure they're not going to be able to help Lyle."

        Broots turned around and took a moment to survey the area. He saw the two huge piles of crates and boxes on either side of the wide wooden dock, creating a shield from any prying eyes on the other side of the fence. The metal gate to the dock swung to and fro in the gentle breeze. Thirty yards from the gate and across the beaten, muddy track that served as a road, stood a concrete warehouse.

        He turned his attention back to her. Still fidgeting, he started, "But I can't..."

        She cut in, already having lost her patience. "Broots! It's not a difficult thing to do. Now, are you going to repay Jarod for
helping you gain custody of Debbie or not?"

        His mouth was hanging open. "But...how did you...I never..." he stuttered.

        "I know more than people give me credit for," she shrugged.

        Chuckling, Sydney walked over to his shocked friend and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I told you," he simply stated.

        Looking down at the gun in his hand, Broots made up his mind, and with more resolve than he felt, he told them, "I'll do it. For Debbie and for Jarod."

        Forty minutes later the two men were standing at their posts and Miss Parker just stood watching for the small boat that was to bring the women of Jarod's family. Her vigilance was rewarded when three minutes later a speed-boat, heading for the dock she was on, made an appearance. It pulled up to the wharf and a woman quickly jumped out, securing the heavy ropes to the posts. A few seconds later, another older woman stepped out to join the younger woman, their backs turned to Miss Parker.

        "Margaret, Emily."

        Both women started after hearing their names and turned about quickly. Margaret gasped and said, "You. You look just like her."

        "So I'm told," Miss Parker replied.

        "We're not going with you to that place," stated Emily.

        "I don't even want to be there. Why would I take you two?"

        "Because you chase my brother all the time and try to take him there," she spat.

        "Listen lady! I could've shot your brother on numerous occasions and taken him back to that god-forsaken prison. And he's still alive isn't he? And free."

        "Ease up Emily," said Margaret, draping her hand around her daughter's shoulders. "So, why are you here?"

        "To warn you..." Her words stopped immediately after hearing an unmistakable male shout. Miss Parker turned around only to see her brother rushing down the path leading to the gate, gun drawn, followed by two of his men.

        Miss Parker whipped her gun out and sprang into attack mode. "That he's trying to trap the two of you and use you as bait to get Jarod back," she continued in a hurry. " Now get the hell outta here!" She motioned with her gun to their boat. "Go!"

        Both women wasted no time in getting back to their boat and Emily quickly untied the ropes. As the boat was pulling out of the dock, Margaret shouted to Miss Parker, who was waiting for her brother to reach her. "Why are you helping us?"

        "Does it matter?" she shouted over her shoulder.

        "Yes!"

        "For Momma," Miss Parker replied. "Now go, or I'll shoot you myself!" she growled. She heard the roar as the motor came to life and the two women raced away.

        She silently cheered for both men on her team as she saw them knock out the only two men Lyle had brought with him.

        Lyle's foot-falls resounded loudly off the pier, and all the while he shouted "Stop them!" He stood six feet away from Miss Parker when he finally reached her. Both of them trained their gun on the other. Lyle was the first to break the silence, his anger rising to the surface. "You were supposed to be in Vermont. How the hell are you here?"

        "You leave very obvious clues Hannibal. Plus, DSAs tell a world of stories. And I was in Vermont."

        "You let them get away!"

        "So? You have a problem with that?" she spat venomously.

        "Yes. But it will soon disappear when I get you out of my way." He released the safety of his weapon and shot Miss Parker three times in the chest. At the same time, she shot him squarely in his forehead, and another bullet pierced his chest as she fell backwards.

        "Miss Parker!" Sydney and Broots shouted as they raced towards her fallen form, ignoring Lyle's lifeless, bloody body just a few feet away from her.

        Broots took one look at her and then turned in anger to face the man who had placed three bullet holes in his friend. He stalked towards him and stood over Lyle's corpse. "You bloody bastard!" he whispered vehemently as he kicked him several times in his gut. "If you weren't dead already, I would have killed you with my bare hands!"

        The psychiatrist knelt down and gently felt Miss Parker's neck, searching for a pulse. It was strong. "Thank God!" he softly breathed as he brushed the hair away from her closed eyes. "Broots?" He turned to see the balding man placing some expert kicks in the lump that was once Mr. Lyle. "No matter how much you kick him, he won't feel it. Miss Parker is fine. Her pulse is strong. I think you should call an ambulance."

        "Not necessary. Miss Parker happens to be alive and," she glanced at what Broots was doing, "kicking. Spock, kindly help me to my feet." The old man obliged. Only then did Sydney notice the curious lack of blood.

        At hearing her voice Broots stopped and ran to crush Miss Parker in a hug.

        "Let go of me if you don't want to resemble my twin!" she reprimanded with a chuckle.

        Broots let go and grinned sheepishly. "It's just that I'm glad you're okay."

        "I told you already I wasn't going anywhere."

        "Miss Parker?" interjected Sydney. "How did you..." he trailed off, his hand flicking back and forth between Lyle and Miss Parker.

        "Simple," she replied as she started to undo the buttons of her blue shirt, only to reveal a bullet-proof vest. "Knowing Lyle, he would have just shot me right in the chest, never stopping to think that I was protected. Which was unfortunate for him."

        She walked over to his still form and stooped down. She watched with satisfaction as blood ran down the side of his face and mouth, forming a pool on the weather-stained wood by his ear. Lifting his hand, she felt his wrist, then dropped it after finding there was no pulse. With a grim smile, she said, "Never underestimate me."

        She motioned for the two men to follow her. "Let's go. Broots you'll drive the limo."

        The two gentlemen caught up with her. "Uh, Miss Parker? Are we just going to leave Lyle there?" asked Broots, a slight quiver in his voice.

        "Yes. Those two worthless guys," she started, pointing at the two sweepers as they passed them, "will take care of it when they wake up. On second thought...Broots, hand me your gun. Can't risk these men squealing that we were helping Jarod."

        Broots handed it over. "Miss Parker, can't we just tie them up and let them starve to death?"

        "No. There's always a possibility that they would get loose. Dead men tell no tales, so it's safer for us like this. It's all a matter of survival: either them or us." She shot both men in the back of their heads twice, then tossed the gun as far as she could, hearing the clunk as it hit the murky water.

        Sydney watched her eyes as she died a little more with the lives she had to take. The last time he saw that haunted look in her eyes was when she was a little girl and found out about the apparent death of her mother. He strode over to her and grasped her hand, giving it a comforting squeeze, then let go. "What now Miss Parker?"

        Taking a deep breath, she answered, "Call a clean-up team. Then we head back to the motel, grab our stuff and move on to Blue Cove. And we use The Centre jets this time. I've had just about enough of Sue to last a lifetime."

======

        No funeral was held for Mr. Lyle or his two henchmen. Their bodies were taken back to The Centre and cremated within three days.

        After the cremation, the trio was summoned to Raines' office.

        Raines' back was facing them as he stood, looking out the window. They seated themselves in front his glass-topped desk, Miss Parker in the middle.

        Turning around, he fixed them each with a searching gaze. "Miss Parker, please explain to me why three Centre operatives are now dead."

        In a detached voice she replied, "I had made plans to capture Jarod's mother and sister to use as bait to lure him back to The Centre. His freedom in exchange for theirs. A trusted source found out that they were going to be in Texas, so we went there. I was handling the situation perfectly. Jarod's mother and sister had no idea I was behind them. Since the whole 'run in with guns blazing' routine wasn't working so far in capturing Jarod...I thought I'd use a much quieter approach.

        "I would have been able to knock them out and they would have been here at this moment being used as bargaining chips. That was going to happen, until that moron of a brother raced in shouting 'Stop them!' and alerting them that they were in danger. They hopped right back into their boat and raced away, before I could knock them out. Since they would be no use to us dead, I had no other choice but to let them go."

        "I see," said Raines, thoughtfully rubbing his chin and taking a seat behind his desk. "Then you turned on Lyle and shot him in a rage of anger at having lost a chance at capturing Jarod once and for all?"

        She shrugged. "He was starting to piss me off. When it wasn't him screwing up my chances at getting Jarod it was Brigitte. Now they're both out of my way and I can secure my place at The Centre," she finished nonchalantly.

        A thin smile crossed Raines' features. "I had expected that more from Lyle. Good to know that The Centre's interests are still your own." He looked at the two men. "And you two can vouch for the truth of this?"

        They both answered him with a 'yes'.

        Finally satisfied, he dismissed them. When Miss Parker neared the door he said, "If I ever find out that your loyalties lie with Jarod and not The Centre, you will suffer a fate similar to your brother's."

        She turned around and stalked to him. Placing her hands on his desk, she sent him an icy glare and said coldly, "If you ever threaten me again, I'll be certain to take revenge for murdering my mother. You might be my biological father, but nothing
more, and I'd gladly kill you myself." She left him in his office fuming.

        Silently, the trio made their way back to Miss Parker's office. A few seconds later a young man knocked and handed her a box. It was addressed to her in Jarod's handwriting. Opening it, she found three Pez-containers with plastic heads of Broots,
Sydney and herself. "Broots, Sydney. Catch," she said after removing them and throwing them their rightful Pez-containers.

        "I'm not that bald," Broots said after catching his own.

        "Is there a note with this?" asked the psychiatrist, amusement shining in his eyes.

        "Yes. It says: You deserve something sweet. Jarod."

        "That's it? No cryptic clue?"

        "Nothing else." She turned the box upside down and shook it to emphasise her statement.

        After tidying up a few files on her desk, she told them, "Boys, I'm heading home. Keep searching for Jarod and call me if it's important." She walked close to the two men and whispered, "We still have a masquerade party to put on for them." Her eyes flicked towards the cameras mounted in her office.

        The two men nodded and watched her leave with her Pez-container in her hand. Broots and Sydney played with their treats as they headed towards Broots' work area.

        "What do you think Jarod meant by that note, Syd?"

        "Somehow, I don't think it was meant for all of us. I think it was just for Miss Parker."

        "Something happened on that island. I wonder what it was."

        "So do I Broots, so do I." After a while he continued, "I'm guessing that what happened has them both seeing things a lot
differently now."

        "If you ask me, I think their feelings go a lot deeper than they'd like anyone to think. Did you read that book Jarod wrote for her? And when I went to give her some information when Bartlett was trying to kill Jarod, she had this far-away, concerned look on her face."

        "I know what you mean," said Sydney, remembering what he had heard her say to Jarod's clone on a DSA.

======

        The ringing of her phone roused her from her sleep as she reached to answer it. "What?" she greeted while switching on her bedside lamp and sitting up, bracing her back against the headboard. She blinked a few times until her eyes adjusted to the
light.

        "Thank you."

        "Excuse me?"

        "I said 'thank you'. That is the customary response one uses when another does something nice for him, is it not?" he asked playfully.

        "You had to choose to tell me this in the middle of the night?"

        "Old habits die hard. Dad told me what you did for Mom and Emily. For me. Ethan says to tell you hello."

        She reached for the Pez-dispenser by her lamp and popped one of the candies in her mouth. "How is he?"

        "Good. The voices aren't bothering him that much anymore. What did Raines have to say about your shooting Lyle?"

        "How did you know?"

        "Sydney."

        "Figures. Raines pegged it down to sibling rivalry. You'd be surprised at how sticking close to the truth provides a very plausible cover. I just used Lyle's plan as my own and...that was it. Besides, it's The Centre. Someone's always dying."

        "I've noticed."

        She put another one of the candies in her mouth. "You know, Pez isn't that bad," she said before she hung up.

======

        A smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he remembered the conversation he had the night before with his Huntress. "You're not that bad either Miss Parker," he said softly.

        "You know, you really shouldn't be talking to yourself," commented Ethan as he walked into the room Jarod was currently using as his lair.

        "This coming from the guy who hears voices."

        "I didn't ask for it," he said laughing. "Anyway, you're lucky Miss Parker saved your mom and sister."

        "I know," said the Pretender, a big grin on his face. "I know. Anyway, Mom and Emily found Dad and my clone. Dad e-mailed me two days ago. Said he always knew Miss Parker was more like her mother than the cold-hearted woman she pretended to be after Mom and Emily told him what she did for them."

        "Where are they?"

        "They're in Texas. About forty miles from where Mom and Emily were going to dock their boat before Miss Parker told them to get the hell outta there or she'll shoot them herself. I'm quoting on that."

        Ethan laughed. "Sounds just like her. So when are you going to see them?"

        "After I do one more pretend."

        "You mean after you get Miss Parker out of The Centre. And Broots, Debbie, Sydney and Angelo," he counted off on his fingers.

        "You're too smart for your own good."

        "I can't help it. Besides, it was easy to figure out. Your eyes always light up when I mention Miss Parker, ever since you came back from Carthis. What happened there?"

        "Let's just say that Miss Parker and I both found turning points."

        His half-brother raised his eyebrows in confusion. "Care to clarify?"

        "No." His laptop beeped before Ethan could interject. It was a video phone call. "Hey Dad, Mom, Emily. Ethan come over here. "Are you sure this is safe?"

        "Ninety-nine point nine per cent certain, son. They shouldn't be able to trace it." said the Major.

        Ethan walked over and grabbed another chair, placing it next to Jarod. He sat down and asked, "Where's Ryan?"

        "Well, apart from looking exactly like Jarod, he loves junk food just as much as Jarod. He's in the kitchen searching for ice-cream," answered his father.

        "Miss Parker really risked her life saving us from The Centre. Changed Emily's opinion of her a lot. She's willing to defend Miss Parker now, instead of cursing her. She certainly is a remarkable woman," stated Margaret.

        "Yeah, Miss Parker sure is," Jarod agreed, a dreamy look coming over his face.

        Major Charles, his wife and daughter all shared knowing glances. Ethan looked at him sideways, a sly smile playing on his lips.

        The Pretender shook his head slightly, then asked, "What's so funny?" after noticing the smiles on their faces. He turned to Ethan. "Care to clarify?"

        "To quote you, no."

        "I'll tell you," said Emily. "You're in love with Miss Parker." They all laughed at the shocked expression on his face. "What? You thought we wouldn't know?" asked his sister.

        "When can we look forward to having you with us?" asked his Mom after her laughter died down.

        "After I do one more thing. Then I'll come and we'll disappear from The Centre's eyes for the rest of our lives."

        "In other words, you'll be getting Miss Parker et al out of that place," stated the Major.

        "What is it? Does everyone know what I'm planning on doing?" asked Jarod.

        "We do today! Especially where it concerns a certain leggy brunette." teased his sister.

        "Take care," he said before ending the conversation, his cheeks turning a peculiar shade of red. Ethan just laughed loudly. "Shut up," pleaded Jarod, punching his brother lightly.

======

        It had been two days since he had heard Miss Parker's explanation concerning the death of the three Centre employees. He was still mulling over her answer. "Definitely more than an act of rage. She's not the power-hungry type, so it can't be that she only wants to secure a place here," he muttered. "I'll soon find out." He picked up his phone and summoned Willie to his office.

        There was a knock on his door in less than five minutes. "Enter," called Raines.

        "Yes sir?" asked the sweeper after he was standing before his superior.

        "Willie, I want you to keep a close eye on Miss Parker and her team. I have a gut feeling that there's more to Lyle's death than a mere tiff. You know how we deal with disloyalty."

        "Yes Mr. Raines." Willie turned about and left, leaving the old ghoul to himself.

======

        "Miss Parker!" exclaimed Broots after barging into her office, Sydney on his heels.

        "What Broots? And why are you wearing that shirt? I thought I told you to get rid of it. It makes me nauseous."

        He glanced at his Hawaiian print shirt. "Well, yes you did. But that's not important now. We have a lead on Jarod. He's in a little town in Virginia."

        "Then let's go. Sydney, get the jet ready."

        "Already did that Miss Parker," stated the psychiatrist.

        Four hours later they stepped into the little shop Jarod had been working at: AJ's Rough House. Sydney and Broots brandished Jarod's photograph and asked the standard questions while Miss Parker looked around. She was only paying minimal attention to what the owner of the store had to say.

        "Yes, that helpful young man was here," said the old woman. "And handsome too. If I had been a bit younger I would have asked him out already."

        "What did he do when he was here?" continued Sydney.

        'What else does he ever do Spock?' Miss Parker silently asked as she moved along the aisles looking at all the outdoor sporting equipment the store had to offer. Finally at the back of the store, she spotted a red notebook on one of the dark wooden counters. She picked it up and flipped it open only to find the usual assortment of newspaper clippings. The headline on the first clipping read: Woman accused of drug-smuggling. She turned to the last clipping entry. Scanning the article, she quickly learned that the store-owner's name was Aggie James and that all charges against her had been cleared. The clerk she had working with her -- one Jason Bellows -- was running a small-time drug smuggling ring.

        He had confessed to planting incriminating evidence in one of her shipments and then giving an anonymous tip to the authorities. Another anonymous phone call took the police to an abandoned warehouse where an unconscious Bellows had been found bound to a chair. The tape with his confession had been left on an old crate a few feet away from where he was found. The police were still at a loss as to who helped clear Aggie Smith's name.

        Miss Parker's shoulder's shook with silent laughter at the thought of Bellows' predicament. 'Only Jarod.' A piece of paper fell from the book in her hand and landed on the counter. She picked it up and un-folded it. In red, Jarod's neat block-letters stood out against the white paper: Miss Parker, meet me at 11p.m. on Friday in front of the Statue degli Angeli at St. John's Cathedral. You should have no difficulty in finding it. It's only forty miles away from you. Come alone. It's important. Jarod.

        She quickly folded the note and tucked it in her coat pocket, her interest piqued. 'I guess I'll find out in four days.' She found Broots and Sydney chatting about the different types of fishing lines and tackles with AJ. "Let's go. He's long gone," she said, handing the red notebook to the psychiatrist.

        "It was nice meeting friends of Jarod's. Come back soon, you hear?" said AJ to the trio.

        "I think that was meant for you Syd. Did you see the way she was looking at you?" asked Broots.

        "Back to The Centre Broots," he replied, ignoring Broots' remark. Miss Parker merely chuckled.

======

That was part two. Still want to know what happens? Or do you think it should be thrown in the garbage? What was good? What was bad? What could've been done better? Tell me at j_angelgadd_amt@hotmail.com or click the little lilac button. I live on feedback.