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Chapter or Story 
Chapter or Story
Surfacing
~Part 1
Author: Jennifer DeNaughel
Rating: PG-15, Adult situations, Adult content, Mild sexual situations, Mild violence, Mild language
Category: Major drama, Adventure, Romance, Major angst (J/MP)
Archived on: December 1, 2001
Timeline: Late-season four
Spoilers: "Wake-Up," and some from season two and three.
Summary: When destiny brings Miss Parker and Jarod to a crossroads, the decisions they make could soon have them traveling the same path.
Disclaimer: The characters portrayed in this fan fiction belong to NBC, TNT, and any other copyright holders. No infringement is intended.
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The lone figure stood, silhouetted against a kaleidoscope sky of pink, blue, lavender and gold, watching as the sun disappeared beneath the endless expanse of blue-gray ocean. For three decades he had been denied sunrises and sunsets and even the warmth of the afternoon sun on his face. And as he gazed upon the scene with childlike wonder, he knew he would rather die than have such beauty taken from him again.
A slight chill in the air sent a shiver down his spine. Pulling his leather jacket closed, Jarod zipped it up, pushed his hands into the pockets, then began walking leisurely along the beach.
Pausing frequently to pick up a hand full of stones, he tossed them one by one into the surf as he walked. He loved the ocean,
the peace and tranquillity. For Jarod, the Oregon coast had quickly become a refuge from the past and a reprieve from the cat-and-mouse game he had been playing for nearly five years. He was tired…he felt it in his bones.
Glancing up toward the lighthouse, Jarod took a deep breath, inhaling the clean, salty air. Tossing the last of the stones into the waves, he turned and headed for home.
The path up from the beach was overgrown with wild blackberry bushes and lush green foliage. Deep sand, scattered bits of driftwood and loose gravel made the climb even more difficult. By the time Jarod reached the top, the muscles in his thighs were complaining bitterly, his chest heaving. Sitting down on the front porch of the old house, he pulled off his shoes and socks and dumped as much sand as he could out of them before placing them on the porch to dry.
Leaning back against the support post, he watched as the beacon of the lighthouse swept over the land and sea. It was easy to imagine the life of the men who dedicated their lives to keeping the light burning back in the days before automation rendered them obsolete. He understood, better than anyone, the isolation and the loneliness they must have felt. He also understood the dedication to protecting those who depended on the lighthouse to guide them safely along the treacherous coastline.
As he stood to go inside the house, Jarod’s vision blurred and his world suddenly seemed to spin out of control as he was overcome by a wave of nausea. He grabbed hold of the porch railing for support, making his way up the steps he reached for the door. Once inside, he lowered himself onto the sofa, closing his eyes to ward off the dizziness.
Something was wrong…very wrong. He hadn’t felt like himself for weeks. Unable to concentrate for a long period of time on anything without developing a migraine, pretends had become few and far between.
Whatever it was, he knew that he needed help and soon. Sydney was the only logical choice, but contacting him would mean risking the Centre finding out that their runaway pretender was in a vulnerable state…the proverbial sitting duck. Miss Parker would love nothing more than to take advantage of the situation.
He could contact his father and Josh but that would only put them at risk as well and he wasn’t willing to do that. No, he would just have to get through this on his own. He just needed sleep, quiet and food. The thought of food made him realize that he hadn’t eaten anything since the previous evening.
Getting up from the sofa he slowly walked into the kitchen. His appetite had diminished to the point that he was only eating one meal a day and sometimes not even that. Deciding to open a can of vegetable soup, he placed a manual can opener on the rim of the can. Trying to squeeze the handles together to break the seal of the can, his hands started to shake uncontrollably. The can opener slipped from his grasp and dropped into the cast iron sink with a sharp metallic clang. Giving up he leaned back against the wall, sliding slowly to the floor.
Josh stepped off the school bus, covering the distance to the front porch in quick, long strides. He flew through the door, and headed for the kitchen dropping his bag on the floor at the bottom of the stairs as he passed.
“Dad, you here?” he called out. Receiving no response, he grabbed a Coke from the refrigerator and a package of Double-Stuff Oreos from the pantry. Pausing just long enough to collect his backpack, he took the stairs two at a time.
In his bedroom, he tossed his bag on the bed and turned on his laptop. Shoving an Oreo into his mouth he waited while the inbox started to fill with messages from his online friends. He relied heavily on those friendships, since it was impossible for him to get to know anyone in the real world. At any moment a team of Centre sweepers could show up on their doorstep and they would have to pull up stakes and leave again.
Sometimes he wondered what it would be like to have real relationships with the people around him. A best friend…maybe even a girlfriend, it was a hopeless dream. Even if he ever got the chance, the dark secrets in his past would make honesty in a relationship impossible.
Breaking open another Oreo, Josh scraped off the creamy inside with his teeth and scanned the message subjects for the word ‘Refuge’, a secret code that his older brother used whenever he contacted him. A message near the bottom of the list immediately caught his attention. It was from CJ, and the subject line said ‘Open-Urgent’.
Clicking on the message it came up on the screen. There was an attachment as well, but he read the message first. “Oh my God,” he gasped as he read and reread the message.
The attachment was an image of Jarod, a map of the Oregon coast and the number to a bank account containing over five thousand dollars. Reading the message again, Josh’s heart started to pound.
Jarod in danger. Get to him before it’s too late. CJ
Closing the laptop, he pulled his duffel bag out from under the bed, and shoved the computer inside along with extra clothes and his cell phone. Josh had always suspected that CJ was somehow connected to Jarod and the Centre.
He could never put it into words, but he knew that his friend would never lie to him. Jarod was in trouble and he had to go.
Stopping just long enough to write his father a note, he placed it in an envelope and dropped it into the message box in the kitchen. Pausing for a last look to make sure that he had everything he needed, he left the house, locking the door behind him.
When Major Charles arrived a few hours later, he noticed immediately that the house was completely dark and the porch light was off. Alarm bells went off in his head as he cautiously entered the kitchen through the back door and switched on the light.
“Josh, where are you?” he called out. Heading straight for the message box, he found the note. Tearing open the envelope he pulled out the single sheet of paper and unfolded it.
Dad,
I have to find Jarod. CJ said that he is in trouble. I will contact you as soon as I can.
Love, Josh
“Damn,” he swore under his breath as he leaned against the kitchen counter for support. Major Charles slowly made his way to the living room and sank down into his chair, Josh’s note still clutched tightly in his fist.
He struggled with the urge to go after Josh, but he knew that his youngest son was as stubborn as his oldest. And if Jarod was in trouble, Josh would have a much better chance of finding him alone. He would let him go, but he wasn’t about to sit there and do nothing.
Pulling his cell phone from the pocket of his jacket, the Major dialed a number used only in emergencies. It only rang once before it was picked up and a familiar voice came over the line.
“This is Sydney.”
“Sydney, I need your help.”
Miss Parker walked into Sydney’s office just as the psychiatrist was finishing up a conversation on his telephone. She knew immediately by the look on his face that something was wrong.
“I promise you, I will do everything in my power to find out what is going on. I will contact you as soon as I learn anything. Goodbye, Major.”
Miss Parker’s eyebrow raised as she placed both hands flat on Sydney’s desk and leaned toward him. “Major…as in Major
Charles, Jarod’s father? Hmmm, this is an interesting turn of events,” she said with a calculating smile.
Sydney stood, came around the desk and approached her, grabbing her by the shoulders. “Miss Parker, if you breath a word of this…” he warned.
Staring into his angry face, Miss Parker glared back with eyes as cold as steel, “You of all people should know better than to threaten me. Are you going to tell me what the hell is going on?”
“It is none of your concern, Parker.”
“If it has to do with Jarod, it is my concern.”
Sydney shook her slightly, his face etched with fury, “The only thing that you are concerned with is catching him and returning him to this hell.”
“You should be too, Syd. If they find out you have been secretly in contact with Major Charles…” she said.
“Thank you for your concern, Parker,” Sydney’s eyes softened.
“Syd, you are playing with fire. They will kill you if given enough reason.”
Sydney shook his head and laughed humorlessly, “Since when does the Centre need a reason for anything that they do? And besides, I told you before, you cannot kill someone who is all ready dead,” he said. Then releasing Miss Parker, he ran out of his office leaving her with a stunned look on her face.
Recovering quickly she followed him. The mad scientist was not going to get off that easy. Major Charles contacted Sydney, which had to mean that it was a matter of life and death…and that left little doubt that Jarod was the reason behind their concern.
Broots was dozing at his terminal when Sydney stormed into the tech room nearly scaring him to death causing him to fall off his chair. He barely managed to scramble to his feet before Miss Parker charged in. “Syd. Miss Parker.”
“Broots, I need your help,” Sydney said firmly. “Lives may depend on it.”
“Lives?” Miss Parker asked in confusion.
“I just received a call from Jarod’s father,” Sydney responded in a hushed but anxious tone, ignoring Miss Parker’s questioning gaze. “Josh received an email warning him that Jarod is in danger. Major Charles came home and found only a note saying that he had gone to find Jarod.”
“Wait a minute, Syd, you’re getting ahead of yourself.” Miss Parker moved around to sit on the corner of Broots’ desk. “I assume that this ‘Josh’ is Gemini, Jarod’s clone?”
“Yes. Apparently he has an email friend who is somehow connected to the Centre and I need to find out who it is,” Sydney gave a quick nod to Broots who immediately began typing something into his computer.
Miss Parker stood and headed for the door but found her path blocked by Sydney. “Out of my way, Sydney.”
“You are not going to your father with this, Parker.”
Suddenly furious, Miss Parker took hold of his hand and peeled his fingers from her arm. “If there is a termination order out on Jarod, I can find out without raising any suspicions.”
“Parker, when are you going to open your eyes and see your father for who he is? You cannot continue to blindly trust him or you are going to end up just like your mother.”
Miss Parker spun away from him, “And just whom do you expect me to trust. You…Jarod? Who can I trust if it isn’t my own father?”
“Trust in yourself…trust what’s in your heart,” Sydney took a step toward her and smiled gently. “I have watched your father destroy little by little, the compassion and the love for life that your mother instilled in you. He has betrayed you over and over again, and yet you still play into his hands.”
Miss Parker moved wordlessly toward the sofa and sat down. She knew Sydney was right. But she’d clung to the hope for so long, that her father would someday give her the unconditional love she had always needed from him. Even though, deep down, she knew that it would be a cold day in hell.
Finally finding her voice, she stood and approached Sydney who was studying the monitor over Broots' shoulder. “Syd, I want to help,” she whispered.
Sydney straightened and gathered her into his embrace without saying a word. He knew how difficult it was for her to face the truth about her father, but it was necessary if she was ever to have any semblance of a normal life. She could have had one with Thomas…but as usual, her father and the Centre put an end to any hope of her ever having a life outside Blue Cove.
“I’ve got something,” Broots broke in.
Sydney released Miss Parker and turned back toward the technician, leaning over him, “What did you find?”
“It is an Internet connection used solely for interoffice email. They used it to send undetected messages to outside recipients. Like a virus, the messages were attached to interoffice communications, then automatically forwarded to the intended recipient once the system accessed an outside Internet connection.”
“Spare us the technical mumbo jumbo and tell us who it is, Broots,” Miss Parker hissed impatiently.
Broots shook his head, “I don’t know. The signature is ‘CJ’.”
“So this CJ has been our information leak all along. That explains why Jarod seems to know our every move and how he keeps tabs on the Centre’s activities,” Miss Parker said as she started pacing the floor. A moment later, she stopped and nodded slowly, a thin smile on her lips. “CJ…Cracker Jack…” she whispered.
“Angelo…” Sydney smiled.
“I knew there was more to him than meets the eye,” Broots said with a grin.
“Well, why don’t we go find Cousin It and see if he will shed some light on the whereabouts of Jarod,” Miss Parker said as she moved toward the door.
“It won’t do any good, Parker. Angelo is not going to talk to any of us as long as he is inside the Centre. We have to get him out of here, to a safe place,” Sydney said.
“How are we going to get him out of the Centre without Raines finding out?” Broots asked nervously.
“Leave that to me,” Sydney said.
“Broots,” Miss Parker motioned toward the telephone. “You call and get the jet ready, and meet us in the parking lot behind the main building with the car.”
“Be careful…both of you,” Broots whispered as he reached for the telephone.
Twenty minutes later they left the Centre with Angelo. Deciding it was best to lay low for awhile, Miss Parker instructed Broots to drive them to a small out of the way motel where they rented three rooms with connecting doors. Sydney needed time to get through to Angelo and she needed to formulate a plan once he told them where Jarod was.
Josh entered the small diner and slid into a booth near the door. Picking up a menu he scanned it quickly.
“What can I get you, honey?” the pretty red-haired waitress asked with a friendly smile as she approached him, placing a glass of ice water in front of him.
Josh returned her smile, “I would like a cheeseburger, fries and a Coke, please.”
“Are you eating alone, cutie?” she winked.
Josh grinned, “Afraid so.”
“I will be right back with your Coke just as soon as I put in your order.”
“Thank you,” Josh smiled as he lifted his bag onto the bench next to him and rifled through its contents retrieving the photo of Jarod and the map of the coast. Tracing the path of Highway 101 with his index finger, he tried to focus on Jarod and where he may have gone. He had narrowed the possibilities down to within twenty miles of his current location…Angel Bay, Oregon.
According to a newspaper clipping Josh had cut out of the local paper, Jarod had helped someone there less than a month earlier, but there had been no sign of him anywhere since.
The waitress returned with his Coke and glanced down at the map he was studying. “You aren’t from around here, are you?”
Josh started to fold up the map and in doing so, uncovered Jarod’s picture. “I’m looking for my brother. He was last seen somewhere in this area.”
“Here, let me have a look,” the waitress said, picking up the photo. She recognized the man immediately and smiled brightly.
“You’re Jarod’s brother.”
Josh’s eyes lit up, “You have seen him. Do you know where he is now?”
“Possibly. He was looking for a secluded place to stay. Said he was a writer and needed peace and quiet. I mentioned the old lighthouse keeper’s quarters out on Cape Illusion.” She nodded, handing the picture back to Josh. “I’m off in an hour. After you eat your lunch, I will drive you up to the trailhead. From there it’s just a half-mile hike to the lighthouse. If he is still around, that’s where you will find him.”
“Thank you so much, ma’am,” Josh smiled.
“You are very welcome. But call me Josie.”
"Thank you…Josie,” he grinned.
It was just after one o’clock, when Josh followed Josie out to a battered old Honda parked behind the diner. She laughed as she turned the key in the ignition and the engine grumbled and sputtered to life. “It’s not much, but it’s paid for and it runs…sort of,” Josie shrugged.
Josh smiled, “It’s more than I’ve got. My dad said we can’t buy me a car until we are able to stay in one place for more than just a few months.”
“You travel a lot?” Josie asked.
“Yeah…you could say that,” he frowned.
“I understand. My father was a commercial fisherman, now retired. We were always moving from place to place…going wherever the fishing was best. My mother died of cancer when I was in my early teens so it’s been just me and my dad even since.”
Josh nodded, “I never knew my mother. I barely know my brother, for that matter.”
“Well, I can tell you first hand, that Jarod is a very special man. He helped my dad out at his bait shop for several days while my cousin was in the hospital. Dad was thrilled to have someone new to tell all his classic fish tales to. And I think Jarod actually enjoyed listening to them.”
“Jarod loves people, that much I do know about him,” Josh smiled.
“Jarod told me a little bit about how he was searching for the family he’d been separated from as a child? If you don’t mind my asking, what happened to him? To you?”
“It’s a very long story. And believe me, it is one that you are safer not knowing.”
Josie glanced sideways at the young man in the passenger seat as she pulled the Honda into the parking area near the Cape Illusion trailhead. “Jarod always seemed to be looking over his shoulder. Like he was running from something or someone.”
“There are people that want him back under their control. They want me too. I cannot tell you more, but if they should come around looking for us. Please, for your own safety, deny that you ever saw us.”
“If you ever need a friend, you know where to find me,” she said with a wink.
Josh gave a nod and smiled, “Thank you, Josie. I will remember that.”
“Would you like me to wait just in case Jarod isn’t up there?”
“No, you had better get home, it is going to storm,” Josh said as he got out of the car and leaned in the window to shake Josie’s outstretched hand.
“Whatever happened to separate your family, I sincerely hope that you will find your way back to each other very soon. In the meantime, you take care of yourself and that brother of yours, when you find him.”
“I will, I promise,” Josh released her hand and started up the trail, pausing just long enough to wave as she drove away. Then turning his gaze to the sky he studied the clouds which were growing darker by the second. Taking a deep breath he zipped up his jacket and pulled the hood over his head. As he resumed climbing, he tried to keep his attention focused on the slippery steep trail instead of on the nagging fear of what he would find once he reached the top.
Massive thunderheads rolled in from the sea, releasing a torrential downpour, soaking Jarod to the bone in the few short minutes it took to carry a load of firewood the ten yards from the woodshed to the house. The wind howled mercilessly, threatening to turn the century-old structure into nothing more than a pile of kindling. It took all his strength, struggling against the squall, just to get the door closed.
Slipping out of his wet shirt, Jarod moved toward the fireplace to start a fire. Once it was burning strongly, he put on a couple of larger logs and sat down on the hearth to warm his hands.
Going to the bedroom, he stripped off the rest of his wet clothing and slipped into a dry pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. He then went into the kitchen to make some hot cocoa and before long he was stretched out on the too-short sofa, one long leg draped over the arm as he drifted off into a much-needed sleep.
The nightmare crept up on him so suddenly…terrifying images seeming to strike at him from all directions. The piercing cries of all the people who died because of him, calling out, condemning him. The sound reverberating in his ears as he struggled to gain a handhold on reality. “It’s time, Jarod,” he heard Miss Parker’s voice and looked up to see her standing over him, smiling, her 9mm aimed directly at his heart. “You have caused enough pain, it’s time for you to die.”
The gunshot rang out and Jarod bolted upright on the sofa, covered in sweat, he ran shaky hands through his hair. Tears ran down his face as he struggled with the aftermath of the nightmare, the incessant ringing in his ears added to his confusion and terror. His vision blurred and as he attempted to stand, his knees buckled sending him crashing to the hardwood floor. Curling up into a fetal position, his body refusing to go any further, and his mind crying for relief, his last clear thought before his world went black…’I don’t want to die alone’.
Josh moved quickly. The storm was growing worse and he knew that he had to reach the lighthouse before it hit full force. He was scared and cold but there was no way he would give up. Something inside kept urging him forward until finally he reached a clearing.
Spotting the lighthouse and then the keeper’s quarters just beyond, Josh started toward it. Stumbling on a twisted tree root, he nearly fell but managed to keep his footing despite the harsh wind and cold, biting rain. Reaching the house he pounded on the door, “Jarod. Jarod, are you here? Open the door.” There was no answer but through the windows he could see a dim glow emanating from the fireplace.
Running around to the back of the house, Josh quickly pried away the weathered wood from a boarded up window and carefully slipped through the opening, avoiding the jagged edges of broken glass. Finding himself in the kitchen, he moved cautiously through the dimly lit rooms to the living room.
“Jarod, it’s me Josh, where are you?” A sudden flash of lightening illuminated the room and Josh gasped as he spotted his brother’s prone form lying on the floor. “Jarod,” he cried out, his eyes filling with tears as he dropped to his knees next to him and checked for a pulse. It was weak but it was there. “Jarod, can you hear me?”
Somewhere in the darkness of his mind, Jarod heard someone calling to him. Focusing on the voice, he tried to move toward it…clung to it like a lifeline. Somehow he knew it would guide him back.
“Jarod, I’m here big brother. I am not going to leave you.” Josh pulled the blanket off the couch and covered Jarod with it then went to stoke the fire. Adding two more logs before returning to his brother’s side. “I have to get you off this cold floor,” he whispered.
Josh managed to maneuver Jarod onto the sofa and cover him again with the blanket. Running into the bedroom, he returned a moment later and spread two more blankets over his brother’s shivering body. “Hang on, big brother, don’t you dare die on me.”
The minutes passed agonizingly slow until finally Jarod came to, gasping for breath almost as if he had been trapped underwater and had just broken through to the surface. Blinking his eyes, he struggled to focus on the figure standing over him. “Josh?” he asked weakly.
Josh nearly choked with relief, “Yes, Jarod, it’s me. Are you all right?”
“I will be, I think. How—How did you find me?”
“CJ, sent me a message. He said you were in trouble.”
“CJ is Angelo,” Jarod smiled weakly.
Josh nodded, “Angelo…your friend from the Centre.”
“Yes,” Jarod grimaced. Lightning bolts of pain ravaged his mind as he struggled to sit up.
“What happened, Jarod?” Josh asked, helping his brother into an upright position.
“I’m not sure. I’ve never felt anything like it before…a nightmare, one I couldn’t wake up from. I feel like I’m slowly losing what little sanity the Centre hasn’t already destroyed.”
“I want to help, Jarod. But I don’t know if I can.”
“You already have,” Jarod smiled weakly. “Just by being here.”
“I’m just glad I got here when I did.”
Jarod reached out and placed his hand on Josh’s shoulder. “So am I.”
“Turning, Josh went to the kitchen to retrieve his bag. “I need to call Dad. He’s probably worried about both of us.”
“I can’t believe he let you come alone.”
“I didn’t give him much of a choice, I took off before he got home. I just left him a note.”
“He’s going to tan your hide,” Jarod chuckled softly as he rubbed the back of his neck.
“I know,” the young man grinned.
Jarod eased his tortured body off the sofa and headed for the bathroom. “You call Dad, I’m going to take a shower.
Josh dialed his father’s number as Jarod disappeared into the bathroom.
When Jarod came out, Josh was sitting on the sofa with his cell phone in his hand. He was dialing and redialing, a worried expression on his face.
“Can’t reach Dad?” Jarod asked.
“No,” Josh replied. “It is the middle of the night there. He should answer.”
“He is probably out searching for you,” Jarod said.
“I told him that I would call.”
Jarod sat down next to Josh and placed a hand on the young man’s shoulder. “You have to remember, he lost two sons, he isn’t about to risk losing you too.”
“I know…I’m sorry. Sometimes I feel like he wishes that I were you. I am not you,” Josh said with more sadness than anger.
“Josh, I understand. God knows that our relationship is hardly typical, but we are family…all we have is each other.”
“Jarod, tell me about your life at the Centre and everything since your escape,” Josh said hopefully. “I want to know more about who you are…who I am.”
Jarod nodded, “I will, I promise. But why don’t you go lie down and try to get some sleep. I have a phone call to make then I am going to do the same. We will talk more later.
“All right, but just for a couple of hours. Keep trying to call dad,” Josh said as he got up and headed for the bedroom.
“I will.” Jarod waited until Josh closed the door then reached for his cell phone. As much as he hated to risk it, he needed help.
Miss Parker was alone in her room when Sydney’s cell phone rang. He was in the adjoining room with Angelo, trying to get him to talk to him about Jarod, and Broots had left a few minutes earlier to get them something to eat.
“What,” she said, pressing the button to answer it.
“Syd, you have been hanging around Miss Parker too long, you’re starting to sound like her.”
“I am not amused, Jarod.”
“Where is he? I need to talk to him.”
“He is trying to get information out of your mole as to your whereabouts so we can find you and put your father’s mind at ease.”
“My father?”
“Your father called Sydney and said that you were in some kind of danger and that Josh went looking for you. What’s going on? Is he with you?”
“He found me…what’s left of me anyway.”
“Jarod, you are not making any sense.”
“Not much does these days,” Jarod spoke softly.
“You don’t sound like yourself, what is wrong with you?”
Jarod paused for a moment before replying. “I wish to God I knew.”
Miss Parker’s voice caught in her throat. She could hear the fear and uncertainty in Jarod’s voice and it frightened her. “Let me help…God knows I owe you,” she whispered softly. “Tell me where you are. I will bring Sydney and Angelo to you. Just trust me.”
“I did once…”
“I’m only making this offer out of concern for Sydney. If anything were to happen to you it would kill him.”
There was only silence before he finally relented. “I will trust you. Please don’t make me regret it.”
A strange sense of relief washed over her as she swiped at a stray tear on her cheek. “You won’t, Jarod. I promise.”
“We are in Oregon, on the coast. Cape Illusion…the lighthouse.”
Jarod seemed to be fading as he gave her the directions. “Jarod?” she asked, not even bothering to hide the fact that she was worried about him. “Jarod, are you still with me?”
“Hurry, Parker…” he said just before the connection was terminated.
Getting up, Miss Parker moved quickly to the connecting door, pausing with her hand on the doorknob as she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror above the dresser. She had promised him he would not regret trusting her…but would she be able to keep that promise? In order to do so, it would mean going against the Centre and possibly losing her life in the bargain. Did she have that kind of courage? Was she truly her mother’s daughter?
Making her decision, she opened the door. “Syd, it’s time to go. I know where Jarod is.”
Josh opened his eyes and shot up straight in his bed. A moment later, a blood-curdling scream came from Jarod’s room.
Moving as quickly as he could through pitch-black darkness, he reached his brother’s side. Finding him huddled in the farthest corner of the room, his clothes soaked with sweat, Josh touched Jarod’s forehead and cheek. “Jarod, you’re burning up,” he said, somehow managing to keep his voice steady even though he was scared to death.
“Help me…” Jarod pleaded his voice barely a whisper.
“Jarod, I need to get you back to bed, but I am going to need your help.”
Nodding, Jarod managed to stand and with Josh supporting him, he made it back to the bed. Lying down, his body shivering uncontrollably, he closed his eyes and curled up into a fetal position.
Josh ran to the bathroom to get the first aid kit and to fill a bucket with cold water. Grabbing clean towels from the kitchen, he soaked them in the water, then gently bathed Jarod’s face and body, trying to bring down his fever.
As soon as his heartbeat returned to normal and Jarod was resting quietly, Josh went into the living room to find his brother’s cell phone. Pressing redial he waited for someone to answer.
“This is Sydney.”
“Sydney, this is…”
“Josh, thank God. Are you all right? How’s Jarod?”
“I’m fine, and he’s sleeping…for now.”
“We are on our way, just hold on.”
“Hurry, please. I am really scared,” Josh tried to hide the shakiness in his voice but failed miserably.
“Jarod is going to be fine, Josh. Don’t worry.”
“Sydney, I tried to reach my dad earlier…”
“He’s with us. We’ll be there by dawn.”
“Thank you,” Josh said as Sydney disconnected the call.
The storm was beginning to move inland as Major Charles flew the helicopter toward the shore. He could see the Cape Illusion lighthouse, its beacon beaming out to sea. His heart started pounding like a freight train in his chest when he saw that the only place he could land was a small clearing near the cliff’s edge. The slightest error could send them crashing down onto the rocks below.
“Everyone tighten your seat belts and hold on,” he warned.
Sydney followed orders and glanced over his shoulder to make sure the others were doing the same. Then he nodded to the Major, “Ready.”
Miss Parker took a deep breath and held it. “It didn’t take a genius to realize the precarious landing Major Charles was about to attempt. She could see the clearing…it was less than thirty feet from the edge of a sheer drop.
Angelo reached over and took hold of her hand, squeezing it gently. When she turned to him he gave her one of his goofy grins, bringing a grateful smile to her face. “We will be okay,” he nodded.
Broots held on for dear life, his eyes were closed…his stomach turning. He hated flying. He thought about Debbie, trying to concentrate on her smiling face, her sweet laughter…anything but what was happening at that moment.
Major Charles gripped the stick with both hands as he guided the helicopter toward the clearing. The chopper dipped toward the ground once then lifted again. The Major heaved a sigh of relief as the aircraft finally touched down with only a slight bump.
“Nice bit of flying, Major,” Sydney released the breath he too had been holding in.
Major Charles just shook his head, “Now I remember why I have an aversion to helicopters.”
They climbed down from the cockpit and followed Miss Parker, Angelo and Broots toward the house.
Josh met them halfway. “Dad,” he called out as he ran into his father’s embrace.
“Josh, thank God. I was so worried,” the Major hugged his youngest son.
Angelo smiled and tapped Josh on the shoulder, “Josh found Jarod…Jarod will be okay now.”
“Angelo, thank you. Thank you so much,” Josh hugged his friend.
“You’re welcome,” Angelo grinned.
“Hello, Josh. It’s good to see you again,” Miss Parker said.
Josh smiled as he recognized her. “You tried to help me when I was at the Centre.”
Then turning to Sydney, Josh nodded, “Jarod woke up again after I spoke with you, Sydney. He seemed lost. Like he wasn’t sure where he was.”
“I will go and check on him now,” Sydney and Major Charles entered the house.
Josh gave a sigh of exhaustion. “I am so glad that you guys got here when you did. I have never been so scared in my life.”
Miss Parker smiled reassuringly and placed a hand on the young man’s shoulder. “Why don’t you try to get some sleep. You look like you have been up all night.”
He nodded, “I was afraid to go back to sleep. Afraid I wouldn’t hear him if he…” his voice broke as tears filled his eyes.
Gathering him into her embrace, Miss Parker held him. “It’s okay. Jarod’s going to be just fine. You’ll see.” She released him and smiled, “Believe me, your brother is the strongest person I know. He has survived much worse than this. And he has you and his father…that alone will give him the will to fight this.”
“You really care about him don’t you, Miss Parker,” Josh smiled slightly. “He was the boy you told me about when you came to see me at the Centre.”
Miss Parker’s eyes sparkled with unshed tears. “Go get some rest,” she whispered as she stepped away from his knowing gaze and turned toward the fireplace.
Broots placed an arm around Josh and guided the boy inside. Once out of earshot, he gave a quick nod and a slight smile, “You noticed it too.”
Josh glanced back toward the door. “Why does she try so hard to hide the fact that she cares about my brother?”
“Because she has lived her entire life at the Centre where it is considered a mortal sin to show any sort of emotion. I always got the feeling that she and your brother were once very close. But I have never been able to determine what exactly happened between them that changed that fact.”
“I don’t think it did change.” Josh sat down on the bed and stared out the dirt-encrusted window. “They still care very deeply for each other.”
“What makes you say that,” Broots asked.
“Just now, in her eyes when I questioned her about him. And the fact that Jarod called out her name in his sleep several times. Almost like he was searching for her.”
Broots nodded, “I guess that would explain why he never totally disappeared. He has been trying to find the Miss Parker he once knew, the one she keeps hidden beneath the cold hard surface.”
“She’s still there, Mr. Broots. She just has to realize it. Her mind tells her it is too late…that there is no going back. It’s her heart she needs to begin listening to.”
“That would take a miracle I’m afraid,” Broots frowned.
Miss Parker sat down on the badly warped front steps of the dilapidated old house. She stared out to sea, her thoughts drifting back to a childhood so far removed from her current existence that it almost seemed as though someone else had lived it.
‘You really care about him don’t you, Miss Parker.’ Josh’s words kept coming back to her like a boomerang. The harder she tried to force them away the louder and clearer they came back to her.
It was true. She did care…more than she ever wanted to. Jarod was the one constant in her life, always there for her whenever she needed someone to save her from herself. As children they’d found in each other a special friendship which they had treasured more than anything. But she had allowed her father’s lies to begin eating away at the delicate fabric of their bond until there were only remnants.
Sydney was right. Directly or indirectly, her father had taken all that was good in her life…and her soul. Everything and everyone he had viewed as a threat to his twisted world found themselves removed from it. Her mother…Thomas…both were killed because they offered hope and a chance at finding happiness and normality in her life. And now, if she lost Jarod…
Going inside the house, Miss Parker stopped in the partially open bedroom doorway to look in on Josh who was sleeping soundly on the bed while Broots snored away in the chair near the window. She crept in silently and pulled an extra blanket from the end of the bed and covered Broots with it. He stirred in his sleep and opened his eyes slightly. “Thanks,” he whispered.
“You’re welcome,” she said then walked out closing the door behind her.
In Jarod’s room, her sudden appearance startled Major Charles who had been dozing in the chair next to the bed.
“Sorry…how is he?”
“Sydney gave him a sedative. He should sleep comfortably for a while.”
“Why don’t you go lie down too. You need to rest. I will stay with him.”
“Are you sure?” Major Charles asked.
“I’m sure. Go on. If he wakes up and starts acting up again I’ll shoot him,” she said with a smile and a wink.
The Major chuckled softly and gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. “I now know why my son cares so much for you.”
“I hardly think that is possible.”
“All I know is, my son gave up the two things he values most in this world to save your life…his family and his freedom. He stayed behind the day you were shot, refusing to leave with Josh and me.”
Miss Parker turned toward the bed and the man she had been hunting for five years. “He should have gone with you. I’m not worth the price he paid.”
“To him you are…and more.”
“He should hate me for the things I have done to him.”
“But he doesn’t, does he,” Major Charles smiled and left her with her thoughts, closing the door behind him.
Alone in the room with Jarod, she stood frozen in place until she was finally able to will her feet to move and approached the bed. As she reached out to touch his face, tears slid down her cheeks as she thought about what he must have gone through during the few weeks that he had been back in the Centre’s clutches.
Until that moment, she’d managed to make herself believe Lyle’s story that Jarod had been captured while trying to escape with his father and the boy. He had so conveniently left out the fact that Jarod had sacrificed himself to save her life.
In fleeting dreams, she’d remembered Jarod’s face hovering over her. The worry in his dark eyes…the tenderness in his voice, as he’d spoke to her. The words she’d heard him utter, which she had tried so hard to block out, now echoed in her mind…’Miss Parker, please…I can’t lose you too.’
Jerked back to the present by the sound of Jarod’s labored breathing, Miss Parker tried to calm him. “Jarod, can you hear me?”
Suddenly his eyes flew open and he seized her wrist in a vice-like grip. Barely managing to stifle a scream, she bit down on her bottom lip. He seemed to be staring right through her as if she wasn’t there. After the initial shock wore off, she relaxed slightly, she knew he would never intentionally hurt her. Determined to get through to him, she blocked out the pain and concentrated on talking to him.
“Jarod listen to me. You are going to be okay.”
His grip loosened on her wrist, though he didn’t release her. Blinking his eyes slowly, he struggled to focus on her face. “I hurt you,” he gasped. “I-I’m sorry,” he said, releasing her.
“It’s nothing, Jarod, I’m fine,” she smiled, quickly placing her arm behind her back to hide the black and blue bruises that were already appearing around her wrist. She would have to remember not to let him see them. He would never forgive himself for hurting her.
“Parker…” Jarod said, his eyes drifting closed again as sleep beckoned him again.
“What Jarod?”
“Don’t leave me…please.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
He nodded slightly in response and then closed his eyes.
Tucking the covers back around Jarod’s shivering body, she then moved toward a chair and settled herself down for the night. It wasn’t long before she drifted off to sleep as well.
The silence of the night was soon shattered by a guttural cry from Jarod as his mind was again subjected to a barrage of hallucinations and horrific images. He thrashed about wildly, to the point where Sydney could not administer a sedative to calm him without risking injury to both himself and the man he was trying so desperately to save.
Major Charles had several bruised ribs and a black eye as proof that his had lost all control of his senses. He and Sydney could only stand by and watch helplessly as the son they both loved slipped farther and farther out of their reach.
Miss Parker held Josh in her arms as he cried then softly began to pray…begging God to end his brother’s suffering.
The reality of the situation hit them all light a freight train. Angelo sat in a stupor on the floor just to the right of the doorway. Broots sat in a chair with his face in his hands trying to hide his own tears.
Storming out of the room, Sydney went into the small storage room where he had set up a makeshift lab. And for the third time, he tested the blood sample he’d taken from Jarod only to get the same results. “Damn,” he swore under his breath.
“How could I have let this happen?”
“What is it?” Major Charles asked anxiously as he entered the storeroom.
Sydney shook his head and met Major Charles’ gaze with sickened look on his face. “It’s a virus, called TJX5, developed by the Centre.”
“Is it…”
Sydney collapsed into the nearest chair rubbing his weary eyes. “There is no known cure,” he said choking on the words.
Burying his face in his hands he struggled to hold back the rage that was boiling up inside of him.
“There has to be something we can do,” Major Charles said as he paced the room furiously. “Why would the Centre give it to him if there wasn’t a cure.”
Josh, who had been listening, burst into the room. “Don’t let Jarod die. Please, we have to do something,” he shouted, tears streaming down his face.
Major Charles gathered his youngest son tightly to his chest and held him. “Shh, son. We won’t give up. We can’t give up.”
Miss Parker knew something was very wrong the moment Sydney and Major Charles returned to Jarod’s room. She could see it in their eyes. “Did you find out what’s wrong with him?” she asked as she stood and crossed the room to stand next to the bed.
“Miss Parker, it is a virus, called TJX5,” Sydney said.
“So what can you do for him?”
Shaking his head slowly, Major Charles placed an arm around her shoulder and looked down at his son. “It came from the Centre and we have no idea how he contracted it or if there is a cure.”
“There has to be. The Centre wouldn’t infect their prize Pretender with a virus that has no cure,” Miss Parker stated with more certainty than she felt.
“It was developed after his initial escape, Miss Parker,” Sydney fought to keep his voice steady. “They used one of Jarod’s last simulations to create a hybrid microorganism that gradually breaks down the brains natural defenses causing terrifying hallucinations and devastating depression. The final stages of the virus are total mental collapse and…eventually…death.”
“Did they test it on humans?” Major Charles asked, not sure if he wanted to hear the answer.
“I don’t know,” Sydney shook his head slowly.
Miss Parker remained silent for a moment, concentrating on adjusting the blankets over Jarod. Then a thought occurred to her and she looked up to meet Sydney’s hardened gaze. “Syd, you said that the Centre developed it after his ‘initial’ escape.”
“Yes,” Sydney nodded.
“So in order for the Centre to have infected him with it, it would have to have been during those few weeks that he spent under
Lyle’s control. Is it possible that the symptoms could have taken this long to surface from the actual point of contact with the virus?”
“Yes,” he said. “I recall that some of the test animals did not develop symptoms until ten or eleven months after the injections.”
“Injections?” Major Charles asked.
“Yes, the virus was introduced into the subjects in a series of three shots. The last being the completed virus.”
“Wasn’t Jarod being transferred to the Triumvirate in Africa when he escaped? Could they have passed off the virus as inoculations against African diseases?” Miss Parker asked.
“Yes, it is possible,” Sydney frowned.
“Lyle,” Miss Parker uttered her brother’s name as if it were the vilest word she knew.
“We still don’t know why?” Major Charles said as he sat down on the edge of Jarod’s bed.
“Because he knew the inevitable would happen and he wanted a trump card he could play,” Miss Parker paused a moment before continuing. “Lyle knew that Jarod would eventually begin showing symptoms and believed that he would come crawling back to him for the cure. Then he would give him a choice…his freedom or his life.”
Major Charles stood and walked to the window. He was trying to hide the tears in his eyes but failed. “Jarod would never do that.”
Miss Parker shook her head, “No, he wouldn’t. To Jarod, they are one and the same…he would rather die than throw himself at the mercy of the Centre.”
Sydney swore under his breath, “Lyle will not hand over the cure willingly?”
“Then I guess I’ll just have to give my dear brother the same option he was planning to give Jarod…live…or die,” she stated flatly before turning to Major Charles. Can you fly Broots, Sydney and me back to the airfield?”
“No, Miss Parker, I am staying here. I will not abandon Jarod…not this time,” Sydney said firmly.
Miss Parker saw a fierce determination in the psychiatrist’s eyes that even made her back down. “All right, Syd. But keep in constant communication. If there’s any change at all…” she broke off mid sentence as Jarod stirred.
Major Charles placed a hand on Sydney’s shoulder and motioned him out of the room so she could have a moment alone with Jarod. “Be ready to go in fifteen minutes.”
Miss Parker said nothing, only nodded to acknowledge that she had heard him. Alone again with Jarod, she straightened the blankets for the hundredth time. “Jarod, I promise you, I am not going to let Lyle win…not this time.”
With tears in her blue eyes, she leaned over and kissed his unshaven cheek. She then touched her forehead to his and whispered softly, “Hold on, Jarod…don’t give up the fight. I need you.”
Reluctantly, Miss Parker turned to leave. Pausing for a moment to gather herself before opening the door, she glanced back at him. Then without another word she walked out of the room.
Sydney and Josh waved from the ground as the helicopter lifted off. Major Charles would return as just soon as he dropped
Miss Parker and Broots off at the airfield and picked up more supplies and medical equipment. He didn’t want to leave Jarod, but his son would need all the help they could give him until Miss Parker could return with the cure…if there was a cure. They just had to hope and pray that there was.
The next afternoon, Miss Parker left Broots in the tech room with orders to dig for every scrap of information on TJX5, including what he could get out of his mutant Centre informants. She wanted anything she could use to help locate the cure.
As she pressed the button on the panel inside the elevator, her thoughts drifted back to Jarod. There wasn’t much time, and they all knew it. Sydney was afraid that he was slipping deeper and deeper into madness with every attack on his mind.
Angelo couldn’t even be in the same room with him without going ballistic and spouting endless streams of nonsense.
She could not shake the memory of the terror in Josh’s eyes as he’d witnessed his brother’s violent episodes. They all felt so helpless…
The elevator doors opened and she stepped out into the corridor that led to Lyle’s office. She toyed with the idea of just putting a bullet in his heart the second she set eyes on him. But that would get her nowhere.
Pausing at the closed office doors, she decided to knock first…purely for the shock factor. She pasted on her rarely seen two
hundred-watt smile and walked in as soon as she heard his voice summoning her to come in. She almost lost it when he looked up from the paperwork on his desk with a stunned expression on his face.
“You knocked?” Lyle raised an eyebrow suspiciously.
“Don’t get used to it. I just happen to be in a good mood today.”
“Yeah right, and my thumb is going to grow back…what the hell are you up to?” he glared at her.
“What, a sister can’t drop in on her brother for a visit?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Not when that sister knocks on doors about as often as she utters a kind word to anyone…especially her brother. Out with it, Parker. What is the latest conspiracy you are going to blame on me?”
“All right, let’s do away with the formalities,” Miss Parker smiled. Reaching under her jacket, she pulled out her 9mm Smith and Wesson and aimed it directly between Lyle’s eyes. “I want answers and I had better get them or I am going to use this to cut you apart piece by piece beginning with your remaining thumb.”
“Whoa Sis, what are you doing?”
“What the hell is TJX5?”
Lyle went pale the instant he heard the question. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”
“You’re lying,” she said in a singsong voice. She then squeezed the trigger and smiled with satisfaction as Lyle grabbed his thumb screaming in pain. “Care to rephrase that response?”
“Crazy bitch,” Lyle cursed. You shot me.”
Taking a step toward him she grabbed his arm and examined the wound. “Damn, I must be getting rusty. I just winged it…next one takes it off completely. Now talk.”
“You don’t want the truth, Parker. You can’t handle the truth.”
“Lyle, I don’t have time for this crap. You have ten seconds to spill your guts or I do it for you.”
With a groan, Lyle sat down in his chair and pulled a first aid kit out of his desk drawer. Taking out a roll of gauze he proceeded to wrap his wounded thumb. “You have no idea what a Pandora’s box you are about to open,” he shook his head.
Miss Parker motioned toward the first aid kit. “Maybe you should try making friends instead of enemies.”
“Very funny.”
“Talk to me Lyle or you are going to look like a mummy by the time I finish with you.”
“Damn,” he swore and slammed the lid shut on the metal box. “Why do you insist on digging up the past?”
“Because the past keeps jumping up and biting me in the ass and I am sick and tired of running from it.”
“This has nothing to do with you. Leave it alone.”
“I am not going to leave it alone because if I do, someone will die.”
Lyle met his sister’s gaze with sudden curiosity. “TJX5? Are you saying that someone has the virus?”
“Yes, and all evidence points to you, dear brother.”
“Jarod,” Lyle smirked.
Miss Parker resisted the sudden urge to wipe that smug grin off his face. “He is dying. You have the cure. I want it.”
Lyle shook his head slowly, “I really hate to disappoint you, but you are targeting the wrong villain. You are going to have to confront dear old dad on this one. He is the one who ordered that Jarod be injected with the virus. It was all a part of his plan to regain control of the Centre.”
Shaking her head in disbelief, Miss Parker whispered, “You are lying again. Daddy wasn’t even in control during that time. Jarod was in your torture chamber and you gave him the injections.”
“I told you that you wouldn’t be able to handle the truth. Believe what you will, but face it, Parker. The lab rat is going to die and there isn’t a damn thing you can do about it. Ironic isn’t it…now that your favorite toy is damaged beyond repair, you suddenly realize how important he was to you.”
Without blinking an eye, Miss Parker pulled the trigger. Lyle slumped against the wall, crying out in pain pressing his hand to the gaping hole in his shoulder. “His name is Jarod,” she said as she fired another shot into his right thigh. “Never let me hear you speak of him that way again or I promise you will not live to regret it.” She turned and started toward the door.
“Parker, you can’t just leave me here to bleed to death, I am your brother,” he called after her, his voice filled with pain and desperation.
“Watch me,” she said as she walked coolly toward the door.
“All right, you win. I will help you,” Lyle gasped.
Mr. Parker stormed out of the elevator and down the corridor to the infirmary. The instant he set eyes on his daughter he flew into a rage. “Are you out of your mind? How could you draw the blood of your own brother? You are out of control.”
Miss Parker flashed him an icy stare. “Not yet, Daddy,” she hissed. “I’m just getting started.”
A few minutes later, with a determined glint in her blue eyes, she walked out of the infirmary and toward the elevator. As she stepped inside it, she glanced up at the ever-present bullet hole, nodding slowly as a single tear slid down her cheek.
Catherine Parker’s calling had been to rescue the children and bring down the Centre…only to pay the ultimate price in the end. And now, nearly three decades later, it was time for her daughter to pick up where she’d left off…beginning with saving Jarod.
Josh was the first to hear the helicopter. He jumped up from his bed and ran barefoot out into the cold rainy night. When he saw Miss Parker he ran into her open arms. She held him for a moment and smiled. “Everything’s going to be okay,” she whispered. Then together they walked into the house with Broots and Debbie in tow.
Sydney met them at the door and Miss Parker’s first thought was that he had aged ten years since she’d left. “Syd,” she said as he approached her.
“Miss Parker, thank God,” he whispered and hugged her.
Placing the medical bag into his hands, Miss Parker touched his cheek and smiled. “Go…save Jarod.”
Sydney nodded and all but ran into Jarod’s bedroom followed by Major Charles.
Taking Debbie and Josh into the kitchen, Broots did his best to keep the boy’s thoughts from what was happening in the next room. Making hot cocoa, he pulled a bag of Oreos out of the cupboard and placed them on the table. “You two want to play cards or something?”
“No, not right now,” Josh shook his head as he continuously stirred his cocoa. “Thanks for trying, Broots.”
Broots sat down in the chair next to Debbie. It was going to be a long night.
Miss Parker stood near the end of the bed as Sydney injected the antibiotic into Jarod’s upper arm. She could not believe how much his condition had deteriorated in just the two days she’d been gone. He was a mere shell of the man she had known most of her life. What she would give to see that annoying little smirk of his…or to hear the amusement in his voice during one of their late night phone calls.
‘Please, Jarod, I don’t want it to end this way. There are so many things I need to tell you,’ she cried out silently.
Stepping back from the bed, Sydney turned to her and smiled weakly. “How did you do it? What did you have to do to get the antibiotic from Lyle?”
Miss Parker gave the psychiatrist a half smile. “Let’s just say that Lyle won’t be running any marathons for awhile.”
Major Charles stepped forward and embraced her. “Thank you, Miss Parker. I know what going back there must have cost you.”
“Actually, it helped me come to terms with a few things about my family…and my mother.”
“You are more like Catherine than you realize, you know that.”
With a soft laugh, Miss Parker nodded, “That’s what your son has been trying to get me to realize all these years.”
Sydney placed a hand on the Major’s shoulder, “Come on you two, let’s get something to eat. All we can do now is wait to see if the antibiotic works.”
“How long before we know if it is working?” he asked.
“I wish I knew,” Sydney frowned.
“Are you coming, Miss Parker?” Major Charles paused in the open doorway.
“I’m not hungry. I’ll just sit here with him for a while.”
“I’ll bring you a cup of tea.”
“I’d like that, thank you,” Miss Parker smiled.
Pulling a chair over to the bed, she sat down. Taking his hand in hers, she fought back the tears that again threatened to fall. “Jarod, I’m here…I am not going to leave you again.”
When Major Charles returned with the tea a few minutes later, he found her sound asleep in the chair with her head resting on
Jarod’s shoulder. He knew he should wake her or she would have some serious back pain by morning, but he just didn’t have the heart to do so. Taking a blanket from the end of the bed, he covered her. “Catherine would be proud,” he whispered softly.
As he left the room, the Major pulled the door closed. There was definitely something special between his son and Catherine’s daughter. More than what lay on the surface…much, much more.
Day after day, Jarod’s condition worsened. The attacks were coming more and more frequent. The antibiotic didn’t seem to be helping at all. Sydney tried everything he could think of to ease his suffering.
Miss Parker refused to leave Jarod’s side. She would tell him the stories she used to tell him back in the Centre when they were children. Stories that she made up for him whenever he would ask about the outside world. It was a miracle that she still remembered them. Somehow she hoped that the memories would give him some comfort and a lifeline to cling to as he drifted through the dark abyss keeping him prisoner.
With each passing day, they knew that the chances of Jarod waking were becoming less and less. And even if he did awaken, there would likely be permanent brain damage and loss of memory.
Sydney bent over Jarod’s still form, the hypodermic in his hands contained the last of the antibiotic. He uttered a silent prayer before injecting it into the pretender’s arm. As he straightened, he turned toward the people gathered at the end of the bed.
Without a word, he turned toward the door.
Everyone followed except Josh who couldn’t seem to move. Miss Parker approached him, placing a hand on his arm. He turned toward her and burst into tears, wrapping his arms around her neck. Holding him tightly, she fought back her own tears.
Sydney and Major Charles stood in the doorway struggling with their own emotions. They both knew that Jarod had given up the fight. That he was slipping away before their eyes and there was nothing anyone could do.
With an arm around Josh’s shoulder, Miss Parker walked him slowly to where his father was waiting by the door. Major Charles replaced her arm with his own and led his youngest son into the living room.
Glancing over her shoulder at Jarod, Miss Parker wiped away a tear that slid down her face. “Syd, I never told him…”
Sydney took hold of her hand and squeezed gently. “Tell him now…”
Nodding slowly, she turned back toward the bed as Sydney closed the door. “Jarod, I don’t know if you can hear me, but I have something I need to tell you. When we touched hands through the glass the day we first met, I felt an undeniable connection to you…it’s still there, stronger than ever.”
Miss Parker sank down in the chair next to the bed, still holding Jarod’s hand. Tears spilled from under her eyelashes as she released a ragged breath. “Maybe someday you will find it in your heart to forgive me for betraying our friendship and for hurting you. I never meant to hurt you, Jarod…I love you.” The instant the words left her lips, something changed inside her.
She gasped softly, “I love you.”
Somewhere in the blackness, Jarod heard her voice as the words she had uttered echoed through the emptiness that enveloped him, renewing his courage and igniting his desire to fight. He would not give up…she loved him.
Sydney met her outside the door and gathered her into his embrace as she broke down. “Come on Parker, you need to rest,” he said as he guided her into the other bedroom.
Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Miss Parker allowed Sydney to remove her shoes and jacket. She lay back on the pillow as he covered her with the quilt. “Do you think he heard…”
Sydney smiled, “I know he did. Now, get some sleep. I will wake you if anything changes.”
She nodded and closed her eyes. Seconds later she was asleep.
Sydney looked at his watch, it was approaching dawn and there was still no improvement in Jarod’s condition. Frustration and overwhelming guilt weighed heavily on his shoulders. Closing his eyes, he laid his head back against the wall and allowed himself to cry.
Awakened by the morning sun streaming through the window Sydney glanced over toward the bed and was stunned to see that Jarod’s eyes were open. Jumping up from the chair he smiled widely, “My God, Jarod. You’re awake.”
Jarod turned his head and nodded weakly. “Syd—ney,” he whispered hoarsely.
“Welcome back, you gave us all quite a scare. How do you feel?”
“How do I look?”
“You look like hell.”
Jarod just gave a weak laugh.
“With what you have been through, you are lucky to be alive.”
“W—Where’s everyone?”
“Asleep. It’s still early. Do you want me to wake them?”
“No…not yet. Help me to the bathroom. I really need a shower.”
Miss Parker awoke and slipped on her shoes. She decided to take a walk before looking in on Jarod. Stepping out onto the front porch she inhaled the fresh air. The morning sun was a welcome sight after so many gloomy wet days. She hoped that it was a sign that everything was going to be all right.
“Miss Parker,” Broots called out as he opened the screen door. “Miss Parker, you’d better come inside, right now.”
“Jarod.” She charged past him and into the house, expecting the worst. Two steps into the bedroom she froze in place.
“Jarod?”
Major Charles, Josh and Sydney stepped aside giving her an unobstructed view of the bed and Jarod propped up on pillows and still pale as a ghost, but very much alive and alert.
“Hi,” he whispered.
“Jarod,” she gasped as tears filled her blue eyes.
“Are you okay?”
With a slight nod and a soft cry, she launched herself forward into his arms. “I am now,” she wrapped her arms around his neck. “I am now.”
Jarod held her tightly. It felt so good to hold her…to finally be able to touch her. So many years of anger and bitterness, so much deceit…and yet, somehow they had beat the odds and found their way back to each other. “I’m never letting you go, you know.”
“I’m not going to give you the chance.”
“I love you, Madeline. I always have.”
Miss Parker pulled back slightly as the combined shock of Jarod’s declaration and hearing her first name spoken out loud for the first time in decades, registered in her mind. “Say it again,” she smiled.
“I love you, Madeline,” Jarod repeated softly and kissed her.
Neither of them noticed that the others had left the room with broad grins on their faces.
Two weeks later, Jarod sat on the front steps watching as his father and Sydney loaded the medical equipment onto the helicopter. He felt so useless, so weak. The virus had taken more out of him than he let on. His muscles felt like Jell-O and his mind like mush. He could hardly keep his thoughts straight. Sydney had said that it would take time and both mental and physical therapy to regain his strength.
It was time that they were buying him by going back to the Centre. And even though deep down he knew it was best, he fought them every step of the way. For the first time in his life he’d caught a glimpse of a future only to have it swallowed up again by the shadows of the past.
There was no way of knowing what lay in wait for their return. Shooting Lyle would no doubt have serious repercussions for Parker…not to mention facing the wrath of her father and possibly even the Triumvirate.
Broots came out of the house with another load of equipment and supplies. Heading for the helicopter, he handed it off to Sydney then returned to the house to see what was left.
Miss Parker watched Jarod through the window as she gathered the last of her belongings together. She knew he was not happy with her decision to return to the Centre. She wished she could reassure him that everything would work out for the best. He was still so weak and even though he tried to hide it, she knew he was still in a considerable amount of pain.
She wished she could tell him everything, but to do so would be a mistake. If her plan was to work, Jarod had to remain underground with his father, Josh and Sydney was the only way to keep him safe until her plan was set in motion. If all went well, the Centre would be out of their lives forever.
Collecting her bag, Miss Parker walked out of the house and down the steps to the ground. Josh ran up and took her things to the helicopter. She kept her back to Jarod as she watched the younger version leap over a fallen log and jog down the path to where Major Charles was waiting.
“You’re really going back,” Jarod said softly.
“Please, Jarod. Don’t make this harder than it all ready is.”
“Maddie, I just don’t want to lose you again.”
Turning to look into his dark, troubled eyes, she smiled, “You aren’t going to lose me.”
Forcing his muscles to cooperate, Jarod stood and stepped toward her. “Just promise me that you will turn tail and run at the first sign of trouble. Don’t take any unnecessary risks.”
“I promise, I will be careful. I plan on being back here before you start having second thoughts about us.”
Jarod smiled, “That’s not going to happen.”
“I love you, Jarod. Please don’t ever doubt that.”
“Never,” he said and kissed her.
“I have to go.”
As he reluctantly released her, he nodded slowly. “I will see you soon.”
“Take care of yourself,” she whispered.
Holding on to her hand for as long as he could, Jarod finally let her go. As she walked away, he called out after her, “I love you.”
Miss Parker kept walking…her heart and mind waging a battle of wills. She knew that if she allowed her heart to win they would all lose. It would not be easy hiding her feelings for Jarod from her father and the Triumvirate, but if they learned the truth, it would be over before it started.
Jarod waved as they lifted off and watched Sydney and Josh walking slowly back toward the house. He knew that Sydney was taking a big risk for him, but there had been no convincing him to return with the others. He was determined to stay and help with his recovery.
Josh smiled at his brother as they approached. “Dad said he will return before dark.”
Noticing the weariness in Jarod’s face, Sydney placed a hand on his shoulder. “You need to rest. Come on inside.”
“I’ll be there in a minute, I’m going for a short walk,” Jarod said. He walked in the direction of the lighthouse, his stride measured and tentative.
Sydney and Josh remained on the porch watching him. “Do you think I should go with him,” Josh asked softly.
“Give him a few minutes alone,” Sydney said. “Then go to him.”
Josh nodded, “I’m really worried about him.”
“So am I, Josh,” Sydney frowned, placing his hands on the boy’s shoulders. “So am I.”
Jarod reached the base of the lighthouse tower, leaning on it for support as he stopped to catch his breath. As he turned his gaze toward the ocean, frustration and fear overwhelmed him. His dark eyes were brimming with unshed tears as he lowered himself to the ground. Sitting with his back against the concrete wall of the tower, he brought his legs up, resting his forearms across his knees.
A few minutes had passed when he heard Josh’s footsteps on the gravel. “I’m not the best company right now, little brother,” he grimaced. Reaching down he picked up a stone and tossed it over the edge of the cliff.
Josh crouched down and picked up a rock of his own, chucking it over the side as well. “Sure hope no one is enjoying a leisurely walk on the beach right now,” he said with a straight face then glancing over at his brother, broke into a wide grin.
Jarod chuckled softly, shaking his head. “If you’re trying to cheer me up, you are doing a very poor job of it.”
“Yeah, I know,” Josh laughed.
“Jumping off this cliff wouldn’t solve my problems would it.”
Josh shook his head, “Somehow, I don’t think so.”
“What am I going to do?”
“Well, the first step is to stop feeling sorry for yourself. Then concentrate on your therapy and get your strength back. Once you are back on your feet then you can worry about the future,” Josh said as he tossed another rock over.
“You’ve been talking to Sydney.”
“He is worried about you.”
“Sydney is only worried about what’s in here,” Jarod tapped his forehead. “It’s his life’s work. The only reason he stayed is to make sure my genius mind is still intact.”
“Jarod, you have no idea what that man went through while you were sick. He blamed himself.”
“It wasn’t his fault.”
“Don’t tell me…tell him.”
Jarod stared at Josh for a moment then smiled slightly, “You are too smart for your own good you know that.”
“Tell me about it,” he frowned.
“Come here,” Jarod reached over and gathered Josh into his embrace. “What would I do without you?”
“Well, they say the best way to work things out is to talk to yourself,” Josh grinned raising an eyebrow.
Jarod laughed, “I forget sometimes that you and I came from the same mold. But I hope you realize that is as far as it goes. You are your own person and I am so proud of what you have become.”
“That means a lot to me, big brother,” Josh hugged him tightly. “I couldn’t have come from better DNA,” he laughed.
“Are you ever serious?” Jarod chuckled as he poked him in the ribs.
“Only when I have to be.”
Shaking his head as he got to his feet, Jarod placed an arm over Josh’s shoulders and mussed his hair with his free hand. “I love you, kid.”
“Love you too, old man.”
“Hey, watch who you’re calling old,” Jarod said as he walked gingerly back toward the house.
“So you’re just pretending,” Josh grinned.
“Very funny.”
“I thought it was.”
Sydney watched as the two approached the house. Seeing the smile on Jarod’s face brought welcome relief. He was going to be okay.
It was nearly one o’clock in the morning, when Jarod finally gave up trying to sleep. With the lingering memory of the terrifying visions he’d had during his illness and worrying about Parker, Broots and Angelo, there was little hope of getting any rest at all.
Slipping out of bed, he crept quietly into the kitchen to fix himself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Pouring a glass of milk, he sat down at the table and took a bite out of his sandwich. He was glad that his appetite was finally returning.
“Jarod, is everything okay,” Sydney asked as he came into the kitchen.
“Just fine, I’m sorry I woke you, Syd.”
“You didn’t, I haven’t even been asleep yet.”
“I told you that you should take my bed, I can sleep on the couch.”
“No, no, the couch is fine.”
“Would you like a sandwich and some milk?” Jarod asked.
“Yes, thank you.”
Jarod got up and quickly made four more sandwiches and poured Sydney a glass of milk while refilling his own glass.
Returning to the table, his hands were shaking as he set Sydney’s milk down in front of him, causing some to splash out onto the table. “Guess I’ll have to get used to that,” he whispered sadly.
Sydney grabbed a dishtowel and quickly cleaned up the spilled milk. “Jarod, there is no reason to believe that you won’t make a full recovery. Just give it some time.”
“Time is something I don’t have a lot of. Any moment now the Centre could bust down that door and I wouldn’t have the strength to resist.”
“Jarod, I promise you that I will never let them take you back. I’d die before I would allow that to happen,” Sydney’s voice cracked as he averted his eyes to hide the emotions so clearly written in them.
“I’m sorry, Sydney,” Jarod whispered.
“Jarod, you have no reason to be sorry.”
“Yes, I do. I blamed you for everything when I should have thanked you for always being there…for doing your best to protect me. Sydney, it was you who taught me right from wrong and gave me hope when I was surrounded by nothing but
darkness and despair.”
Sydney stood and walked across the room. “I could have saved you…if only I had not been so blinded by my work. If only I had fought them harder when I realized what they were doing with your simulations.”
Jarod got up from his chair and approached him, “Sydney, don’t you see? You did save me. You saved me from myself.
Without your guidance and support, who knows what I would have become.”
Turning to face Jarod, Sydney saw something in the depths of the pretender’s dark eyes that he never thought he’d live to see…forgiveness. “The one thing I regret most, Jarod…” Sydney began. “Is never telling you how much I love you.”
Jarod’s eyes filled with tears as he embraced the man who had raised him. “I love you too, Syd.”
The next morning, Jarod opened his eyes to the pitter-patter of raindrops on the tin roof. Running his hands through his hair as he slipped out of bed. Going to the front door, he stepped outside letting the gentle rain wash away the weariness from his body.
“Isn’t a genius supposed to be smart enough to know when to come in out of the rain,” Major Charles stepped out of the house and placed both hands on his oldest son’s shoulders.
“Good morning, Dad. Sleep well?” Jarod smiled as he raised his face to the sky, enjoying gentle breeze on his skin.
“I heard you and Sydney in the kitchen last night. I am glad that you two finally talked. I may be your father in every sense of the word, Jarod. But that man raised you and gave you the best life that he could under the circumstances. I will forever be indebted to him for being there when I could not.”
“I couldn’t have asked for a better surrogate father,” Jarod smiled.
The Major chuckled softly, “Well, son what do you say we go fix some breakfast?”
“I am starving,” Jarod said and followed his father back into the house.
Miss Parker exited the elevator, walking down the corridor toward her office as if it were any normal day at the Centre.
Everyone she passed seemed in a hurry to get out of her way, barely meeting her icy gaze. There had been a time when she would have enjoyed intimidating them. Now, it merely reminded her of the woman she had allowed herself to become…the woman she never wanted to be again.
Tossing her purse and jacket onto the sofa in her office, she contemplated going to see her father but decided to put it off as long as possible. Needing to compose herself and her latest explanation as to why she had yet again failed to bring back Jarod.
With a secretive smile she sat down behind her desk and dialed Broots’ number. When he didn’t answer, she got his voice mail. “Broots, get your carcass in my office yesterday…”
The rest of what she had been about to say slipped her mind as the doors of her office opened. Sam entered, followed by Willie and two other sweepers.
“Miss Parker, we have been ordered to escort you to the Tower,” Sam stated firmly.
Miss Parker got up from her chair and approached the men. “Well, my father will just have to wait. Tell him that I will be up to his office with a full report shortly.”
“It isn’t your father…it’s the Triumvirate,” Willie responded.
“The Triumvirate…why?” Miss Parker was visibly shaken by just the idea of facing them alone.
“We are just following orders,” Sam said with a look of regret. Despite her demeanor, he liked Miss Parker…respected her. The thought of sending her into that den of wolves did not set well with him.
Willie, on the other hand, was enjoying watching the chairman’s daughter squirm. “Miss Parker, we have authorization to use any force deemed necessary if you refuse to come willingly.”
With a heated glare that would have instantly melted Antarctica, Miss Parker rose to her full height. “Oh yes, Willie, I have a death wish,” she hissed, her voice heavily laced with sarcasm. “Let’s get this over with,” she said as she passed between them
and headed for the Tower elevator.
Flanked by the four sweepers, Miss Parker struggled to pull herself together before they reached the interrogation room. The lives of the people she cared about hung in the balance and if they were to survive, she could not allow herself to display any emotion whatsoever.
By the time she was led into a 10x12 room at the end of the corridor, her Ice Queen façade was firmly in place. Sam recognized the change in her and it was all he could do to hold back a smile. The Triumvirate had no idea what they were in for.
Willie roughly shoved her into a chair in the middle of the dimly lit room. If he believed for one moment that she would come out of that interrogation in one piece, he would have thought twice about angering her. But since no one ever walked out of a meeting with the Triumvirate the same as when they went in, he felt had little to worry about. The chairman’s daughter was finally going to pay for her many failures.
Miss Parker sat quietly as the sweepers left her to her fate. Alone in the room, she waited for the ax to fall. Seconds passed…then minutes, until nearly an hour had gone by. Surrounded by silence and shadows, she listened and watched for any sign of movement. She didn’t dare let down her guard, she knew they were watching, she could feel their eyes on her.
Jarod had spent most of his life under the watchful eye of the powers that be…his every movement recorded. She never really understood until that moment what it had been like for him.
Glancing down at her watch she realized that it had been over an hour. For the first time in more than two years, she found herself craving a cigarette. Getting up from the chair, she started to pace. What did they want her to do? If they were expecting her to break down and start begging for mercy…hell would freeze first.
Sam had taken her gun. They were probably afraid she would go postal and start blasting away anything that moved. She smiled to herself as she settled back down in the chair.
A moment later a door opened in the far corner of the room and a badly deformed figure loomed in the opening. “Miss Parker…you are to come with me,” it said in a voice that made it impossible to discern if it was a man or a woman.
Without a word, Miss Parker stood and followed the voice. It led her into another dark, but much larger room with a table and a single chair and a round platform that reminded her of a witness stand in a courtroom.
“Please be seated, Miss Parker,” boomed a definitely masculine voice.
Doing as she was told, she sat down in the chair and folded her hands in front of her on the table. Almost immediately a bright light illuminated the place where she sat, leaving the rest of the room shrouded in darkness and secrecy. “May I ask why I am here?”
“We have called you here for many reasons,” he said. The first is to inform you that your father and brother are awaiting execution for their continual blatant disregard for Centre property and objectives. The misuse of the TJX5 virus was the decisive factor.”
“Please, don’t expect me to shed a tear for them,” Miss Parker stated flatly.
“Miss Parker,” a cold, but definitely feminine voice added. “We have questions about your loyalty to the Centre. It has been brought to our attention that you have had ample opportunity to capture and return Jarod to the Centre where he belongs. However he remains free to continue his absurd crusade to single-handedly right the wrongs of the world. Why is that, Miss Parker? And please spare us the spiel about his abilities.”
“Jarod is a man with conviction and compassion, two things that most of humanity is sadly without. I have always done my best to catch him even though it went against my better judgment.
“Thank you for your honesty,” the man said.
“We have been informed that Sydney did not return with you. We would be interested to know where he is,” a somewhat friendlier female voice asked.
Miss Parker had been dreading that question. “Sydney is with Jarod. He is putting him through a battery of tests to see how much the TJX5 virus has affected Jarod’s mind and his performance as a pretender. I spoke with him this morning and he said that the damage is extensive and that even with years of therapy Jarod will never be able to perform at the level he was capable of before he contracted the virus.”
“We are very much aware of the damage this microorganism can do to the human brain. Sydney’s report confirms our own findings and we have no choice but to determine that Jarod is no longer of any use to us and shall be dealt with accordingly.”
Panic rose in her throat as Miss Parker struggled to keep her composure. “I ask that you grant him his freedom and allow him to live the remainder of his life without interference from the Centre?”
“It is not your place to make such demands, Miss Parker,” the male voice warned. “But I am curious. Why do you care what happens to Jarod?”
Choosing her words carefully, she nodded slowly, “I was just a child when my mother died. He was there for me when my father was not. Jarod understood the loss of a parent and he helped me come to terms with her death…I owe him a debt of gratitude.”
“This sense of obligation toward Jarod,” said the man. “Has it affected your objectivity in your pursuit of him?”
“No, I do not feel that it has. I performed to the best of my ability. Chasing a pretender is no easy task,” she smiled slightly.
“Do you have anything else you would like to add before we confer on these latest developments, Miss Parker?”
“Yes, actually there is,” she said as she stood and took a deep breath. “As evident in my father and brother, corruption and deceit has weakened the Centre. Dramatically undermining its initial objective, which was to help its fellow man. I believe that it can become strong again if more altruistic endeavors become foremost in our future. My mother was only one of the many victims of the evil that has been inherent within these walls for far too long. It must be eradicated if the Centre is to survive.”
“Very admirable, Miss Parker. Thank you for your insight,” the man responded.
Miss Parker felt a hand on her shoulder as the voice returned. Without another word, she was led back into the smaller room and the door closed. Alone at last she glanced at her watch and was stunned to realize that she had been in front of the Triumvirate for over three hours.
Lowering herself into the chair she replayed the whole scene in her head. Even though she had only heard three voices, she could not shake the feeling that someone else had been there with them. Maybe one of the voices she had heard was only a stand in for the real thing…a fourth person whose voice she would have recognized if they had spoken. The idea intrigued her.
A few minutes later she was again summoned by the voice and returned to her seat in front of the Triumvirate. Remaining silent, Miss Parker waited for them to speak.
It seemed like an eternity before the man finally acknowledged her presence. “Miss Parker, we have made our decision…”
Broots entered Miss Parker’s office fully expecting her to jump all over him for being late. Instead he found the room empty. Her bag and jacket lay on the sofa and her cell phone on the desk as if she had dropped them and left.
He had gotten the feeling from her message that someone or something had interrupted her. Now he was sure of it. Sitting down at her desk he switched on her computer and quickly pulled up the security footage from that morning.
The images on the monitor confirmed his fears. Miss Parker had been taken to the Tower. He watched as Sam and Willie followed her into the elevator. Rewinding the footage Broots isolated the audio and played it back. The instant he heard Willie mention the Triumvirate his blood ran cold. “Oh God, Miss Parker. What are they doing to you?”
His hand hovered over the cell phone contemplating whether or not to keep his promise to Jarod and call him if anything went wrong. He knew that Miss Parker would kill him if he called him. Jarod was in no shape to do battle with the Triumvirate but that is exactly what he would do without giving it a second thought and would only end up getting himself captured.
He finally picked up the phone and was about to dial when the grate from the air vent crashed to the floor. Broots clutched at his chest as he scrambled out of the chair. He glanced up to see Angelo crouched in the opening with a goofy grin on his face.
“Angelo, you--you scared me half to death,” he stammered.
“Sorry, Broots,” Angelo said. Then he motioned toward the cell phone in Broots’ hand. “Do not worry. Miss Parker safe.”
“How can you be so sure, she was taken to the Triumvirate.”
“Miss Parker strong. Will be okay.”
“I hope you’re right,” Broots said. He settled himself back into the chair, placing the cell phone in his pocket. When he looked up, Angelo had vanished and the grate was back in place.
Miss Parker stepped out of the elevator in a haze. She didn’t even flinch when a very relieved Broots threw his arms around her the instant she entered her office.
“Miss Parker, thank God. Are you all right? You look strange. Here, you better sit down,” he guided her toward her chair.
“Broots, thank you for your concern, but I am fine…just fine,” she smiled.
“What happened? What did they do to you?”
“Nothing…nothing really. They just asked me questions. I guess I am still in a state of disbelief.”
“No kidding, I would be too. You faced the Triumvirate and lived to talk about it. I was so afraid that I would never see you again.”
“Broots, calm down and take a deep breath before I tell you anything.”
“This is bad,” he said as he sank down on the sofa.
Miss Parker flashed him a brilliant smile, “We have just been promoted.”
“Wha—What are you saying?”
“I am saying that it’s all mine…all of it.”
“Miss Parker, I’m sorry but you are not making sense.”
Laughing heartily, Miss Parker sat back in her chair. “Broots, the Centre is all mine to do with as I please. The Triumvirate has given me complete control of each and every aspect of it. Everything from the everyday business to the Pretender Project.”
“Jarod.”
Miss Parker winked, “Jarod is Centre property. That makes him my property to do with as please.”
Broots chuckled, “Somehow I don’t think he is going to mind this new arrangement.”
“First things first, though,” she clapped her hands together. “Time to go rattle some cages and shake things up a bit.
“What does that mean?” Broots stammered.
“It means that we get to do some spring cleaning.”
“Beginning with your father and Lyle?”
“Thanks to the powers that be, my father and Lyle have already been shown the door…I guess the Triumvirate liked the thought of turning this place around. Getting it going in the direction it was intended to go back in the early days when it was a force for good.”
“Miss Parker, what happened to them?”
“Daddy and Lyle? Let’s just say that they won’t be darkening any doorways in this world anymore.”
“I’m sorry.”
Miss Parker thought for a moment then shook her head. “I refuse to allow them to control me from the grave the way they did in life. The last time I saw my father he was livid that I had shot Lyle. I confronted him about the TJX5 virus. He admitted to intentionally subjecting Jarod to the virus. I asked him why.”
“What did he say?”
Miss Parker’s blue eyes sparkled with unshed tears. “Nothing…he just glared at me with a coldness like I had never felt from him before. I realized then that I was nothing more than a pawn in his twisted, sadistic little game. Someone that he could manipulate into doing almost anything for him.”
“But you are his daughter, his flesh and blood.”
“That has never mattered to him, why should it matter to me? The only thing I care about is getting my baby brother out of this place as soon as possible. He is better off without my father. He would only do to him what he has done to me all these years.”
“What about Lyle?”
“Lyle may be my brother by blood, but in here…” she said placing a hand over her heart. “In my heart, no matter what the DNA tests say, Angelo is my brother.”
Broots smiled and nodded, “So where do we start?”
“Why don’t we start with Mr. Raines?” Miss Parker smirked.
“This should be interesting.”
“Very, Broots. Very interesting indeed.”
~Part 1
Author: Jennifer DeNaughel
Rating: PG-15, Adult situations, Adult content, Mild sexual situations, Mild violence, Mild language
Category: Major drama, Adventure, Romance, Major angst (J/MP)
Archived on: December 1, 2001
Timeline: Late-season four
Spoilers: "Wake-Up," and some from season two and three.
Summary: When destiny brings Miss Parker and Jarod to a crossroads, the decisions they make could soon have them traveling the same path.
Disclaimer: The characters portrayed in this fan fiction belong to NBC, TNT, and any other copyright holders. No infringement is intended.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The lone figure stood, silhouetted against a kaleidoscope sky of pink, blue, lavender and gold, watching as the sun disappeared beneath the endless expanse of blue-gray ocean. For three decades he had been denied sunrises and sunsets and even the warmth of the afternoon sun on his face. And as he gazed upon the scene with childlike wonder, he knew he would rather die than have such beauty taken from him again.
A slight chill in the air sent a shiver down his spine. Pulling his leather jacket closed, Jarod zipped it up, pushed his hands into the pockets, then began walking leisurely along the beach.
Pausing frequently to pick up a hand full of stones, he tossed them one by one into the surf as he walked. He loved the ocean,
the peace and tranquillity. For Jarod, the Oregon coast had quickly become a refuge from the past and a reprieve from the cat-and-mouse game he had been playing for nearly five years. He was tired…he felt it in his bones.
Glancing up toward the lighthouse, Jarod took a deep breath, inhaling the clean, salty air. Tossing the last of the stones into the waves, he turned and headed for home.
The path up from the beach was overgrown with wild blackberry bushes and lush green foliage. Deep sand, scattered bits of driftwood and loose gravel made the climb even more difficult. By the time Jarod reached the top, the muscles in his thighs were complaining bitterly, his chest heaving. Sitting down on the front porch of the old house, he pulled off his shoes and socks and dumped as much sand as he could out of them before placing them on the porch to dry.
Leaning back against the support post, he watched as the beacon of the lighthouse swept over the land and sea. It was easy to imagine the life of the men who dedicated their lives to keeping the light burning back in the days before automation rendered them obsolete. He understood, better than anyone, the isolation and the loneliness they must have felt. He also understood the dedication to protecting those who depended on the lighthouse to guide them safely along the treacherous coastline.
As he stood to go inside the house, Jarod’s vision blurred and his world suddenly seemed to spin out of control as he was overcome by a wave of nausea. He grabbed hold of the porch railing for support, making his way up the steps he reached for the door. Once inside, he lowered himself onto the sofa, closing his eyes to ward off the dizziness.
Something was wrong…very wrong. He hadn’t felt like himself for weeks. Unable to concentrate for a long period of time on anything without developing a migraine, pretends had become few and far between.
Whatever it was, he knew that he needed help and soon. Sydney was the only logical choice, but contacting him would mean risking the Centre finding out that their runaway pretender was in a vulnerable state…the proverbial sitting duck. Miss Parker would love nothing more than to take advantage of the situation.
He could contact his father and Josh but that would only put them at risk as well and he wasn’t willing to do that. No, he would just have to get through this on his own. He just needed sleep, quiet and food. The thought of food made him realize that he hadn’t eaten anything since the previous evening.
Getting up from the sofa he slowly walked into the kitchen. His appetite had diminished to the point that he was only eating one meal a day and sometimes not even that. Deciding to open a can of vegetable soup, he placed a manual can opener on the rim of the can. Trying to squeeze the handles together to break the seal of the can, his hands started to shake uncontrollably. The can opener slipped from his grasp and dropped into the cast iron sink with a sharp metallic clang. Giving up he leaned back against the wall, sliding slowly to the floor.
Josh stepped off the school bus, covering the distance to the front porch in quick, long strides. He flew through the door, and headed for the kitchen dropping his bag on the floor at the bottom of the stairs as he passed.
“Dad, you here?” he called out. Receiving no response, he grabbed a Coke from the refrigerator and a package of Double-Stuff Oreos from the pantry. Pausing just long enough to collect his backpack, he took the stairs two at a time.
In his bedroom, he tossed his bag on the bed and turned on his laptop. Shoving an Oreo into his mouth he waited while the inbox started to fill with messages from his online friends. He relied heavily on those friendships, since it was impossible for him to get to know anyone in the real world. At any moment a team of Centre sweepers could show up on their doorstep and they would have to pull up stakes and leave again.
Sometimes he wondered what it would be like to have real relationships with the people around him. A best friend…maybe even a girlfriend, it was a hopeless dream. Even if he ever got the chance, the dark secrets in his past would make honesty in a relationship impossible.
Breaking open another Oreo, Josh scraped off the creamy inside with his teeth and scanned the message subjects for the word ‘Refuge’, a secret code that his older brother used whenever he contacted him. A message near the bottom of the list immediately caught his attention. It was from CJ, and the subject line said ‘Open-Urgent’.
Clicking on the message it came up on the screen. There was an attachment as well, but he read the message first. “Oh my God,” he gasped as he read and reread the message.
The attachment was an image of Jarod, a map of the Oregon coast and the number to a bank account containing over five thousand dollars. Reading the message again, Josh’s heart started to pound.
Jarod in danger. Get to him before it’s too late. CJ
Closing the laptop, he pulled his duffel bag out from under the bed, and shoved the computer inside along with extra clothes and his cell phone. Josh had always suspected that CJ was somehow connected to Jarod and the Centre.
He could never put it into words, but he knew that his friend would never lie to him. Jarod was in trouble and he had to go.
Stopping just long enough to write his father a note, he placed it in an envelope and dropped it into the message box in the kitchen. Pausing for a last look to make sure that he had everything he needed, he left the house, locking the door behind him.
When Major Charles arrived a few hours later, he noticed immediately that the house was completely dark and the porch light was off. Alarm bells went off in his head as he cautiously entered the kitchen through the back door and switched on the light.
“Josh, where are you?” he called out. Heading straight for the message box, he found the note. Tearing open the envelope he pulled out the single sheet of paper and unfolded it.
Dad,
I have to find Jarod. CJ said that he is in trouble. I will contact you as soon as I can.
Love, Josh
“Damn,” he swore under his breath as he leaned against the kitchen counter for support. Major Charles slowly made his way to the living room and sank down into his chair, Josh’s note still clutched tightly in his fist.
He struggled with the urge to go after Josh, but he knew that his youngest son was as stubborn as his oldest. And if Jarod was in trouble, Josh would have a much better chance of finding him alone. He would let him go, but he wasn’t about to sit there and do nothing.
Pulling his cell phone from the pocket of his jacket, the Major dialed a number used only in emergencies. It only rang once before it was picked up and a familiar voice came over the line.
“This is Sydney.”
“Sydney, I need your help.”
Miss Parker walked into Sydney’s office just as the psychiatrist was finishing up a conversation on his telephone. She knew immediately by the look on his face that something was wrong.
“I promise you, I will do everything in my power to find out what is going on. I will contact you as soon as I learn anything. Goodbye, Major.”
Miss Parker’s eyebrow raised as she placed both hands flat on Sydney’s desk and leaned toward him. “Major…as in Major
Charles, Jarod’s father? Hmmm, this is an interesting turn of events,” she said with a calculating smile.
Sydney stood, came around the desk and approached her, grabbing her by the shoulders. “Miss Parker, if you breath a word of this…” he warned.
Staring into his angry face, Miss Parker glared back with eyes as cold as steel, “You of all people should know better than to threaten me. Are you going to tell me what the hell is going on?”
“It is none of your concern, Parker.”
“If it has to do with Jarod, it is my concern.”
Sydney shook her slightly, his face etched with fury, “The only thing that you are concerned with is catching him and returning him to this hell.”
“You should be too, Syd. If they find out you have been secretly in contact with Major Charles…” she said.
“Thank you for your concern, Parker,” Sydney’s eyes softened.
“Syd, you are playing with fire. They will kill you if given enough reason.”
Sydney shook his head and laughed humorlessly, “Since when does the Centre need a reason for anything that they do? And besides, I told you before, you cannot kill someone who is all ready dead,” he said. Then releasing Miss Parker, he ran out of his office leaving her with a stunned look on her face.
Recovering quickly she followed him. The mad scientist was not going to get off that easy. Major Charles contacted Sydney, which had to mean that it was a matter of life and death…and that left little doubt that Jarod was the reason behind their concern.
Broots was dozing at his terminal when Sydney stormed into the tech room nearly scaring him to death causing him to fall off his chair. He barely managed to scramble to his feet before Miss Parker charged in. “Syd. Miss Parker.”
“Broots, I need your help,” Sydney said firmly. “Lives may depend on it.”
“Lives?” Miss Parker asked in confusion.
“I just received a call from Jarod’s father,” Sydney responded in a hushed but anxious tone, ignoring Miss Parker’s questioning gaze. “Josh received an email warning him that Jarod is in danger. Major Charles came home and found only a note saying that he had gone to find Jarod.”
“Wait a minute, Syd, you’re getting ahead of yourself.” Miss Parker moved around to sit on the corner of Broots’ desk. “I assume that this ‘Josh’ is Gemini, Jarod’s clone?”
“Yes. Apparently he has an email friend who is somehow connected to the Centre and I need to find out who it is,” Sydney gave a quick nod to Broots who immediately began typing something into his computer.
Miss Parker stood and headed for the door but found her path blocked by Sydney. “Out of my way, Sydney.”
“You are not going to your father with this, Parker.”
Suddenly furious, Miss Parker took hold of his hand and peeled his fingers from her arm. “If there is a termination order out on Jarod, I can find out without raising any suspicions.”
“Parker, when are you going to open your eyes and see your father for who he is? You cannot continue to blindly trust him or you are going to end up just like your mother.”
Miss Parker spun away from him, “And just whom do you expect me to trust. You…Jarod? Who can I trust if it isn’t my own father?”
“Trust in yourself…trust what’s in your heart,” Sydney took a step toward her and smiled gently. “I have watched your father destroy little by little, the compassion and the love for life that your mother instilled in you. He has betrayed you over and over again, and yet you still play into his hands.”
Miss Parker moved wordlessly toward the sofa and sat down. She knew Sydney was right. But she’d clung to the hope for so long, that her father would someday give her the unconditional love she had always needed from him. Even though, deep down, she knew that it would be a cold day in hell.
Finally finding her voice, she stood and approached Sydney who was studying the monitor over Broots' shoulder. “Syd, I want to help,” she whispered.
Sydney straightened and gathered her into his embrace without saying a word. He knew how difficult it was for her to face the truth about her father, but it was necessary if she was ever to have any semblance of a normal life. She could have had one with Thomas…but as usual, her father and the Centre put an end to any hope of her ever having a life outside Blue Cove.
“I’ve got something,” Broots broke in.
Sydney released Miss Parker and turned back toward the technician, leaning over him, “What did you find?”
“It is an Internet connection used solely for interoffice email. They used it to send undetected messages to outside recipients. Like a virus, the messages were attached to interoffice communications, then automatically forwarded to the intended recipient once the system accessed an outside Internet connection.”
“Spare us the technical mumbo jumbo and tell us who it is, Broots,” Miss Parker hissed impatiently.
Broots shook his head, “I don’t know. The signature is ‘CJ’.”
“So this CJ has been our information leak all along. That explains why Jarod seems to know our every move and how he keeps tabs on the Centre’s activities,” Miss Parker said as she started pacing the floor. A moment later, she stopped and nodded slowly, a thin smile on her lips. “CJ…Cracker Jack…” she whispered.
“Angelo…” Sydney smiled.
“I knew there was more to him than meets the eye,” Broots said with a grin.
“Well, why don’t we go find Cousin It and see if he will shed some light on the whereabouts of Jarod,” Miss Parker said as she moved toward the door.
“It won’t do any good, Parker. Angelo is not going to talk to any of us as long as he is inside the Centre. We have to get him out of here, to a safe place,” Sydney said.
“How are we going to get him out of the Centre without Raines finding out?” Broots asked nervously.
“Leave that to me,” Sydney said.
“Broots,” Miss Parker motioned toward the telephone. “You call and get the jet ready, and meet us in the parking lot behind the main building with the car.”
“Be careful…both of you,” Broots whispered as he reached for the telephone.
Twenty minutes later they left the Centre with Angelo. Deciding it was best to lay low for awhile, Miss Parker instructed Broots to drive them to a small out of the way motel where they rented three rooms with connecting doors. Sydney needed time to get through to Angelo and she needed to formulate a plan once he told them where Jarod was.
Josh entered the small diner and slid into a booth near the door. Picking up a menu he scanned it quickly.
“What can I get you, honey?” the pretty red-haired waitress asked with a friendly smile as she approached him, placing a glass of ice water in front of him.
Josh returned her smile, “I would like a cheeseburger, fries and a Coke, please.”
“Are you eating alone, cutie?” she winked.
Josh grinned, “Afraid so.”
“I will be right back with your Coke just as soon as I put in your order.”
“Thank you,” Josh smiled as he lifted his bag onto the bench next to him and rifled through its contents retrieving the photo of Jarod and the map of the coast. Tracing the path of Highway 101 with his index finger, he tried to focus on Jarod and where he may have gone. He had narrowed the possibilities down to within twenty miles of his current location…Angel Bay, Oregon.
According to a newspaper clipping Josh had cut out of the local paper, Jarod had helped someone there less than a month earlier, but there had been no sign of him anywhere since.
The waitress returned with his Coke and glanced down at the map he was studying. “You aren’t from around here, are you?”
Josh started to fold up the map and in doing so, uncovered Jarod’s picture. “I’m looking for my brother. He was last seen somewhere in this area.”
“Here, let me have a look,” the waitress said, picking up the photo. She recognized the man immediately and smiled brightly.
“You’re Jarod’s brother.”
Josh’s eyes lit up, “You have seen him. Do you know where he is now?”
“Possibly. He was looking for a secluded place to stay. Said he was a writer and needed peace and quiet. I mentioned the old lighthouse keeper’s quarters out on Cape Illusion.” She nodded, handing the picture back to Josh. “I’m off in an hour. After you eat your lunch, I will drive you up to the trailhead. From there it’s just a half-mile hike to the lighthouse. If he is still around, that’s where you will find him.”
“Thank you so much, ma’am,” Josh smiled.
“You are very welcome. But call me Josie.”
"Thank you…Josie,” he grinned.
It was just after one o’clock, when Josh followed Josie out to a battered old Honda parked behind the diner. She laughed as she turned the key in the ignition and the engine grumbled and sputtered to life. “It’s not much, but it’s paid for and it runs…sort of,” Josie shrugged.
Josh smiled, “It’s more than I’ve got. My dad said we can’t buy me a car until we are able to stay in one place for more than just a few months.”
“You travel a lot?” Josie asked.
“Yeah…you could say that,” he frowned.
“I understand. My father was a commercial fisherman, now retired. We were always moving from place to place…going wherever the fishing was best. My mother died of cancer when I was in my early teens so it’s been just me and my dad even since.”
Josh nodded, “I never knew my mother. I barely know my brother, for that matter.”
“Well, I can tell you first hand, that Jarod is a very special man. He helped my dad out at his bait shop for several days while my cousin was in the hospital. Dad was thrilled to have someone new to tell all his classic fish tales to. And I think Jarod actually enjoyed listening to them.”
“Jarod loves people, that much I do know about him,” Josh smiled.
“Jarod told me a little bit about how he was searching for the family he’d been separated from as a child? If you don’t mind my asking, what happened to him? To you?”
“It’s a very long story. And believe me, it is one that you are safer not knowing.”
Josie glanced sideways at the young man in the passenger seat as she pulled the Honda into the parking area near the Cape Illusion trailhead. “Jarod always seemed to be looking over his shoulder. Like he was running from something or someone.”
“There are people that want him back under their control. They want me too. I cannot tell you more, but if they should come around looking for us. Please, for your own safety, deny that you ever saw us.”
“If you ever need a friend, you know where to find me,” she said with a wink.
Josh gave a nod and smiled, “Thank you, Josie. I will remember that.”
“Would you like me to wait just in case Jarod isn’t up there?”
“No, you had better get home, it is going to storm,” Josh said as he got out of the car and leaned in the window to shake Josie’s outstretched hand.
“Whatever happened to separate your family, I sincerely hope that you will find your way back to each other very soon. In the meantime, you take care of yourself and that brother of yours, when you find him.”
“I will, I promise,” Josh released her hand and started up the trail, pausing just long enough to wave as she drove away. Then turning his gaze to the sky he studied the clouds which were growing darker by the second. Taking a deep breath he zipped up his jacket and pulled the hood over his head. As he resumed climbing, he tried to keep his attention focused on the slippery steep trail instead of on the nagging fear of what he would find once he reached the top.
Massive thunderheads rolled in from the sea, releasing a torrential downpour, soaking Jarod to the bone in the few short minutes it took to carry a load of firewood the ten yards from the woodshed to the house. The wind howled mercilessly, threatening to turn the century-old structure into nothing more than a pile of kindling. It took all his strength, struggling against the squall, just to get the door closed.
Slipping out of his wet shirt, Jarod moved toward the fireplace to start a fire. Once it was burning strongly, he put on a couple of larger logs and sat down on the hearth to warm his hands.
Going to the bedroom, he stripped off the rest of his wet clothing and slipped into a dry pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. He then went into the kitchen to make some hot cocoa and before long he was stretched out on the too-short sofa, one long leg draped over the arm as he drifted off into a much-needed sleep.
The nightmare crept up on him so suddenly…terrifying images seeming to strike at him from all directions. The piercing cries of all the people who died because of him, calling out, condemning him. The sound reverberating in his ears as he struggled to gain a handhold on reality. “It’s time, Jarod,” he heard Miss Parker’s voice and looked up to see her standing over him, smiling, her 9mm aimed directly at his heart. “You have caused enough pain, it’s time for you to die.”
The gunshot rang out and Jarod bolted upright on the sofa, covered in sweat, he ran shaky hands through his hair. Tears ran down his face as he struggled with the aftermath of the nightmare, the incessant ringing in his ears added to his confusion and terror. His vision blurred and as he attempted to stand, his knees buckled sending him crashing to the hardwood floor. Curling up into a fetal position, his body refusing to go any further, and his mind crying for relief, his last clear thought before his world went black…’I don’t want to die alone’.
Josh moved quickly. The storm was growing worse and he knew that he had to reach the lighthouse before it hit full force. He was scared and cold but there was no way he would give up. Something inside kept urging him forward until finally he reached a clearing.
Spotting the lighthouse and then the keeper’s quarters just beyond, Josh started toward it. Stumbling on a twisted tree root, he nearly fell but managed to keep his footing despite the harsh wind and cold, biting rain. Reaching the house he pounded on the door, “Jarod. Jarod, are you here? Open the door.” There was no answer but through the windows he could see a dim glow emanating from the fireplace.
Running around to the back of the house, Josh quickly pried away the weathered wood from a boarded up window and carefully slipped through the opening, avoiding the jagged edges of broken glass. Finding himself in the kitchen, he moved cautiously through the dimly lit rooms to the living room.
“Jarod, it’s me Josh, where are you?” A sudden flash of lightening illuminated the room and Josh gasped as he spotted his brother’s prone form lying on the floor. “Jarod,” he cried out, his eyes filling with tears as he dropped to his knees next to him and checked for a pulse. It was weak but it was there. “Jarod, can you hear me?”
Somewhere in the darkness of his mind, Jarod heard someone calling to him. Focusing on the voice, he tried to move toward it…clung to it like a lifeline. Somehow he knew it would guide him back.
“Jarod, I’m here big brother. I am not going to leave you.” Josh pulled the blanket off the couch and covered Jarod with it then went to stoke the fire. Adding two more logs before returning to his brother’s side. “I have to get you off this cold floor,” he whispered.
Josh managed to maneuver Jarod onto the sofa and cover him again with the blanket. Running into the bedroom, he returned a moment later and spread two more blankets over his brother’s shivering body. “Hang on, big brother, don’t you dare die on me.”
The minutes passed agonizingly slow until finally Jarod came to, gasping for breath almost as if he had been trapped underwater and had just broken through to the surface. Blinking his eyes, he struggled to focus on the figure standing over him. “Josh?” he asked weakly.
Josh nearly choked with relief, “Yes, Jarod, it’s me. Are you all right?”
“I will be, I think. How—How did you find me?”
“CJ, sent me a message. He said you were in trouble.”
“CJ is Angelo,” Jarod smiled weakly.
Josh nodded, “Angelo…your friend from the Centre.”
“Yes,” Jarod grimaced. Lightning bolts of pain ravaged his mind as he struggled to sit up.
“What happened, Jarod?” Josh asked, helping his brother into an upright position.
“I’m not sure. I’ve never felt anything like it before…a nightmare, one I couldn’t wake up from. I feel like I’m slowly losing what little sanity the Centre hasn’t already destroyed.”
“I want to help, Jarod. But I don’t know if I can.”
“You already have,” Jarod smiled weakly. “Just by being here.”
“I’m just glad I got here when I did.”
Jarod reached out and placed his hand on Josh’s shoulder. “So am I.”
“Turning, Josh went to the kitchen to retrieve his bag. “I need to call Dad. He’s probably worried about both of us.”
“I can’t believe he let you come alone.”
“I didn’t give him much of a choice, I took off before he got home. I just left him a note.”
“He’s going to tan your hide,” Jarod chuckled softly as he rubbed the back of his neck.
“I know,” the young man grinned.
Jarod eased his tortured body off the sofa and headed for the bathroom. “You call Dad, I’m going to take a shower.
Josh dialed his father’s number as Jarod disappeared into the bathroom.
When Jarod came out, Josh was sitting on the sofa with his cell phone in his hand. He was dialing and redialing, a worried expression on his face.
“Can’t reach Dad?” Jarod asked.
“No,” Josh replied. “It is the middle of the night there. He should answer.”
“He is probably out searching for you,” Jarod said.
“I told him that I would call.”
Jarod sat down next to Josh and placed a hand on the young man’s shoulder. “You have to remember, he lost two sons, he isn’t about to risk losing you too.”
“I know…I’m sorry. Sometimes I feel like he wishes that I were you. I am not you,” Josh said with more sadness than anger.
“Josh, I understand. God knows that our relationship is hardly typical, but we are family…all we have is each other.”
“Jarod, tell me about your life at the Centre and everything since your escape,” Josh said hopefully. “I want to know more about who you are…who I am.”
Jarod nodded, “I will, I promise. But why don’t you go lie down and try to get some sleep. I have a phone call to make then I am going to do the same. We will talk more later.
“All right, but just for a couple of hours. Keep trying to call dad,” Josh said as he got up and headed for the bedroom.
“I will.” Jarod waited until Josh closed the door then reached for his cell phone. As much as he hated to risk it, he needed help.
Miss Parker was alone in her room when Sydney’s cell phone rang. He was in the adjoining room with Angelo, trying to get him to talk to him about Jarod, and Broots had left a few minutes earlier to get them something to eat.
“What,” she said, pressing the button to answer it.
“Syd, you have been hanging around Miss Parker too long, you’re starting to sound like her.”
“I am not amused, Jarod.”
“Where is he? I need to talk to him.”
“He is trying to get information out of your mole as to your whereabouts so we can find you and put your father’s mind at ease.”
“My father?”
“Your father called Sydney and said that you were in some kind of danger and that Josh went looking for you. What’s going on? Is he with you?”
“He found me…what’s left of me anyway.”
“Jarod, you are not making any sense.”
“Not much does these days,” Jarod spoke softly.
“You don’t sound like yourself, what is wrong with you?”
Jarod paused for a moment before replying. “I wish to God I knew.”
Miss Parker’s voice caught in her throat. She could hear the fear and uncertainty in Jarod’s voice and it frightened her. “Let me help…God knows I owe you,” she whispered softly. “Tell me where you are. I will bring Sydney and Angelo to you. Just trust me.”
“I did once…”
“I’m only making this offer out of concern for Sydney. If anything were to happen to you it would kill him.”
There was only silence before he finally relented. “I will trust you. Please don’t make me regret it.”
A strange sense of relief washed over her as she swiped at a stray tear on her cheek. “You won’t, Jarod. I promise.”
“We are in Oregon, on the coast. Cape Illusion…the lighthouse.”
Jarod seemed to be fading as he gave her the directions. “Jarod?” she asked, not even bothering to hide the fact that she was worried about him. “Jarod, are you still with me?”
“Hurry, Parker…” he said just before the connection was terminated.
Getting up, Miss Parker moved quickly to the connecting door, pausing with her hand on the doorknob as she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror above the dresser. She had promised him he would not regret trusting her…but would she be able to keep that promise? In order to do so, it would mean going against the Centre and possibly losing her life in the bargain. Did she have that kind of courage? Was she truly her mother’s daughter?
Making her decision, she opened the door. “Syd, it’s time to go. I know where Jarod is.”
Josh opened his eyes and shot up straight in his bed. A moment later, a blood-curdling scream came from Jarod’s room.
Moving as quickly as he could through pitch-black darkness, he reached his brother’s side. Finding him huddled in the farthest corner of the room, his clothes soaked with sweat, Josh touched Jarod’s forehead and cheek. “Jarod, you’re burning up,” he said, somehow managing to keep his voice steady even though he was scared to death.
“Help me…” Jarod pleaded his voice barely a whisper.
“Jarod, I need to get you back to bed, but I am going to need your help.”
Nodding, Jarod managed to stand and with Josh supporting him, he made it back to the bed. Lying down, his body shivering uncontrollably, he closed his eyes and curled up into a fetal position.
Josh ran to the bathroom to get the first aid kit and to fill a bucket with cold water. Grabbing clean towels from the kitchen, he soaked them in the water, then gently bathed Jarod’s face and body, trying to bring down his fever.
As soon as his heartbeat returned to normal and Jarod was resting quietly, Josh went into the living room to find his brother’s cell phone. Pressing redial he waited for someone to answer.
“This is Sydney.”
“Sydney, this is…”
“Josh, thank God. Are you all right? How’s Jarod?”
“I’m fine, and he’s sleeping…for now.”
“We are on our way, just hold on.”
“Hurry, please. I am really scared,” Josh tried to hide the shakiness in his voice but failed miserably.
“Jarod is going to be fine, Josh. Don’t worry.”
“Sydney, I tried to reach my dad earlier…”
“He’s with us. We’ll be there by dawn.”
“Thank you,” Josh said as Sydney disconnected the call.
The storm was beginning to move inland as Major Charles flew the helicopter toward the shore. He could see the Cape Illusion lighthouse, its beacon beaming out to sea. His heart started pounding like a freight train in his chest when he saw that the only place he could land was a small clearing near the cliff’s edge. The slightest error could send them crashing down onto the rocks below.
“Everyone tighten your seat belts and hold on,” he warned.
Sydney followed orders and glanced over his shoulder to make sure the others were doing the same. Then he nodded to the Major, “Ready.”
Miss Parker took a deep breath and held it. “It didn’t take a genius to realize the precarious landing Major Charles was about to attempt. She could see the clearing…it was less than thirty feet from the edge of a sheer drop.
Angelo reached over and took hold of her hand, squeezing it gently. When she turned to him he gave her one of his goofy grins, bringing a grateful smile to her face. “We will be okay,” he nodded.
Broots held on for dear life, his eyes were closed…his stomach turning. He hated flying. He thought about Debbie, trying to concentrate on her smiling face, her sweet laughter…anything but what was happening at that moment.
Major Charles gripped the stick with both hands as he guided the helicopter toward the clearing. The chopper dipped toward the ground once then lifted again. The Major heaved a sigh of relief as the aircraft finally touched down with only a slight bump.
“Nice bit of flying, Major,” Sydney released the breath he too had been holding in.
Major Charles just shook his head, “Now I remember why I have an aversion to helicopters.”
They climbed down from the cockpit and followed Miss Parker, Angelo and Broots toward the house.
Josh met them halfway. “Dad,” he called out as he ran into his father’s embrace.
“Josh, thank God. I was so worried,” the Major hugged his youngest son.
Angelo smiled and tapped Josh on the shoulder, “Josh found Jarod…Jarod will be okay now.”
“Angelo, thank you. Thank you so much,” Josh hugged his friend.
“You’re welcome,” Angelo grinned.
“Hello, Josh. It’s good to see you again,” Miss Parker said.
Josh smiled as he recognized her. “You tried to help me when I was at the Centre.”
Then turning to Sydney, Josh nodded, “Jarod woke up again after I spoke with you, Sydney. He seemed lost. Like he wasn’t sure where he was.”
“I will go and check on him now,” Sydney and Major Charles entered the house.
Josh gave a sigh of exhaustion. “I am so glad that you guys got here when you did. I have never been so scared in my life.”
Miss Parker smiled reassuringly and placed a hand on the young man’s shoulder. “Why don’t you try to get some sleep. You look like you have been up all night.”
He nodded, “I was afraid to go back to sleep. Afraid I wouldn’t hear him if he…” his voice broke as tears filled his eyes.
Gathering him into her embrace, Miss Parker held him. “It’s okay. Jarod’s going to be just fine. You’ll see.” She released him and smiled, “Believe me, your brother is the strongest person I know. He has survived much worse than this. And he has you and his father…that alone will give him the will to fight this.”
“You really care about him don’t you, Miss Parker,” Josh smiled slightly. “He was the boy you told me about when you came to see me at the Centre.”
Miss Parker’s eyes sparkled with unshed tears. “Go get some rest,” she whispered as she stepped away from his knowing gaze and turned toward the fireplace.
Broots placed an arm around Josh and guided the boy inside. Once out of earshot, he gave a quick nod and a slight smile, “You noticed it too.”
Josh glanced back toward the door. “Why does she try so hard to hide the fact that she cares about my brother?”
“Because she has lived her entire life at the Centre where it is considered a mortal sin to show any sort of emotion. I always got the feeling that she and your brother were once very close. But I have never been able to determine what exactly happened between them that changed that fact.”
“I don’t think it did change.” Josh sat down on the bed and stared out the dirt-encrusted window. “They still care very deeply for each other.”
“What makes you say that,” Broots asked.
“Just now, in her eyes when I questioned her about him. And the fact that Jarod called out her name in his sleep several times. Almost like he was searching for her.”
Broots nodded, “I guess that would explain why he never totally disappeared. He has been trying to find the Miss Parker he once knew, the one she keeps hidden beneath the cold hard surface.”
“She’s still there, Mr. Broots. She just has to realize it. Her mind tells her it is too late…that there is no going back. It’s her heart she needs to begin listening to.”
“That would take a miracle I’m afraid,” Broots frowned.
Miss Parker sat down on the badly warped front steps of the dilapidated old house. She stared out to sea, her thoughts drifting back to a childhood so far removed from her current existence that it almost seemed as though someone else had lived it.
‘You really care about him don’t you, Miss Parker.’ Josh’s words kept coming back to her like a boomerang. The harder she tried to force them away the louder and clearer they came back to her.
It was true. She did care…more than she ever wanted to. Jarod was the one constant in her life, always there for her whenever she needed someone to save her from herself. As children they’d found in each other a special friendship which they had treasured more than anything. But she had allowed her father’s lies to begin eating away at the delicate fabric of their bond until there were only remnants.
Sydney was right. Directly or indirectly, her father had taken all that was good in her life…and her soul. Everything and everyone he had viewed as a threat to his twisted world found themselves removed from it. Her mother…Thomas…both were killed because they offered hope and a chance at finding happiness and normality in her life. And now, if she lost Jarod…
Going inside the house, Miss Parker stopped in the partially open bedroom doorway to look in on Josh who was sleeping soundly on the bed while Broots snored away in the chair near the window. She crept in silently and pulled an extra blanket from the end of the bed and covered Broots with it. He stirred in his sleep and opened his eyes slightly. “Thanks,” he whispered.
“You’re welcome,” she said then walked out closing the door behind her.
In Jarod’s room, her sudden appearance startled Major Charles who had been dozing in the chair next to the bed.
“Sorry…how is he?”
“Sydney gave him a sedative. He should sleep comfortably for a while.”
“Why don’t you go lie down too. You need to rest. I will stay with him.”
“Are you sure?” Major Charles asked.
“I’m sure. Go on. If he wakes up and starts acting up again I’ll shoot him,” she said with a smile and a wink.
The Major chuckled softly and gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. “I now know why my son cares so much for you.”
“I hardly think that is possible.”
“All I know is, my son gave up the two things he values most in this world to save your life…his family and his freedom. He stayed behind the day you were shot, refusing to leave with Josh and me.”
Miss Parker turned toward the bed and the man she had been hunting for five years. “He should have gone with you. I’m not worth the price he paid.”
“To him you are…and more.”
“He should hate me for the things I have done to him.”
“But he doesn’t, does he,” Major Charles smiled and left her with her thoughts, closing the door behind him.
Alone in the room with Jarod, she stood frozen in place until she was finally able to will her feet to move and approached the bed. As she reached out to touch his face, tears slid down her cheeks as she thought about what he must have gone through during the few weeks that he had been back in the Centre’s clutches.
Until that moment, she’d managed to make herself believe Lyle’s story that Jarod had been captured while trying to escape with his father and the boy. He had so conveniently left out the fact that Jarod had sacrificed himself to save her life.
In fleeting dreams, she’d remembered Jarod’s face hovering over her. The worry in his dark eyes…the tenderness in his voice, as he’d spoke to her. The words she’d heard him utter, which she had tried so hard to block out, now echoed in her mind…’Miss Parker, please…I can’t lose you too.’
Jerked back to the present by the sound of Jarod’s labored breathing, Miss Parker tried to calm him. “Jarod, can you hear me?”
Suddenly his eyes flew open and he seized her wrist in a vice-like grip. Barely managing to stifle a scream, she bit down on her bottom lip. He seemed to be staring right through her as if she wasn’t there. After the initial shock wore off, she relaxed slightly, she knew he would never intentionally hurt her. Determined to get through to him, she blocked out the pain and concentrated on talking to him.
“Jarod listen to me. You are going to be okay.”
His grip loosened on her wrist, though he didn’t release her. Blinking his eyes slowly, he struggled to focus on her face. “I hurt you,” he gasped. “I-I’m sorry,” he said, releasing her.
“It’s nothing, Jarod, I’m fine,” she smiled, quickly placing her arm behind her back to hide the black and blue bruises that were already appearing around her wrist. She would have to remember not to let him see them. He would never forgive himself for hurting her.
“Parker…” Jarod said, his eyes drifting closed again as sleep beckoned him again.
“What Jarod?”
“Don’t leave me…please.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
He nodded slightly in response and then closed his eyes.
Tucking the covers back around Jarod’s shivering body, she then moved toward a chair and settled herself down for the night. It wasn’t long before she drifted off to sleep as well.
The silence of the night was soon shattered by a guttural cry from Jarod as his mind was again subjected to a barrage of hallucinations and horrific images. He thrashed about wildly, to the point where Sydney could not administer a sedative to calm him without risking injury to both himself and the man he was trying so desperately to save.
Major Charles had several bruised ribs and a black eye as proof that his had lost all control of his senses. He and Sydney could only stand by and watch helplessly as the son they both loved slipped farther and farther out of their reach.
Miss Parker held Josh in her arms as he cried then softly began to pray…begging God to end his brother’s suffering.
The reality of the situation hit them all light a freight train. Angelo sat in a stupor on the floor just to the right of the doorway. Broots sat in a chair with his face in his hands trying to hide his own tears.
Storming out of the room, Sydney went into the small storage room where he had set up a makeshift lab. And for the third time, he tested the blood sample he’d taken from Jarod only to get the same results. “Damn,” he swore under his breath.
“How could I have let this happen?”
“What is it?” Major Charles asked anxiously as he entered the storeroom.
Sydney shook his head and met Major Charles’ gaze with sickened look on his face. “It’s a virus, called TJX5, developed by the Centre.”
“Is it…”
Sydney collapsed into the nearest chair rubbing his weary eyes. “There is no known cure,” he said choking on the words.
Burying his face in his hands he struggled to hold back the rage that was boiling up inside of him.
“There has to be something we can do,” Major Charles said as he paced the room furiously. “Why would the Centre give it to him if there wasn’t a cure.”
Josh, who had been listening, burst into the room. “Don’t let Jarod die. Please, we have to do something,” he shouted, tears streaming down his face.
Major Charles gathered his youngest son tightly to his chest and held him. “Shh, son. We won’t give up. We can’t give up.”
Miss Parker knew something was very wrong the moment Sydney and Major Charles returned to Jarod’s room. She could see it in their eyes. “Did you find out what’s wrong with him?” she asked as she stood and crossed the room to stand next to the bed.
“Miss Parker, it is a virus, called TJX5,” Sydney said.
“So what can you do for him?”
Shaking his head slowly, Major Charles placed an arm around her shoulder and looked down at his son. “It came from the Centre and we have no idea how he contracted it or if there is a cure.”
“There has to be. The Centre wouldn’t infect their prize Pretender with a virus that has no cure,” Miss Parker stated with more certainty than she felt.
“It was developed after his initial escape, Miss Parker,” Sydney fought to keep his voice steady. “They used one of Jarod’s last simulations to create a hybrid microorganism that gradually breaks down the brains natural defenses causing terrifying hallucinations and devastating depression. The final stages of the virus are total mental collapse and…eventually…death.”
“Did they test it on humans?” Major Charles asked, not sure if he wanted to hear the answer.
“I don’t know,” Sydney shook his head slowly.
Miss Parker remained silent for a moment, concentrating on adjusting the blankets over Jarod. Then a thought occurred to her and she looked up to meet Sydney’s hardened gaze. “Syd, you said that the Centre developed it after his ‘initial’ escape.”
“Yes,” Sydney nodded.
“So in order for the Centre to have infected him with it, it would have to have been during those few weeks that he spent under
Lyle’s control. Is it possible that the symptoms could have taken this long to surface from the actual point of contact with the virus?”
“Yes,” he said. “I recall that some of the test animals did not develop symptoms until ten or eleven months after the injections.”
“Injections?” Major Charles asked.
“Yes, the virus was introduced into the subjects in a series of three shots. The last being the completed virus.”
“Wasn’t Jarod being transferred to the Triumvirate in Africa when he escaped? Could they have passed off the virus as inoculations against African diseases?” Miss Parker asked.
“Yes, it is possible,” Sydney frowned.
“Lyle,” Miss Parker uttered her brother’s name as if it were the vilest word she knew.
“We still don’t know why?” Major Charles said as he sat down on the edge of Jarod’s bed.
“Because he knew the inevitable would happen and he wanted a trump card he could play,” Miss Parker paused a moment before continuing. “Lyle knew that Jarod would eventually begin showing symptoms and believed that he would come crawling back to him for the cure. Then he would give him a choice…his freedom or his life.”
Major Charles stood and walked to the window. He was trying to hide the tears in his eyes but failed. “Jarod would never do that.”
Miss Parker shook her head, “No, he wouldn’t. To Jarod, they are one and the same…he would rather die than throw himself at the mercy of the Centre.”
Sydney swore under his breath, “Lyle will not hand over the cure willingly?”
“Then I guess I’ll just have to give my dear brother the same option he was planning to give Jarod…live…or die,” she stated flatly before turning to Major Charles. Can you fly Broots, Sydney and me back to the airfield?”
“No, Miss Parker, I am staying here. I will not abandon Jarod…not this time,” Sydney said firmly.
Miss Parker saw a fierce determination in the psychiatrist’s eyes that even made her back down. “All right, Syd. But keep in constant communication. If there’s any change at all…” she broke off mid sentence as Jarod stirred.
Major Charles placed a hand on Sydney’s shoulder and motioned him out of the room so she could have a moment alone with Jarod. “Be ready to go in fifteen minutes.”
Miss Parker said nothing, only nodded to acknowledge that she had heard him. Alone again with Jarod, she straightened the blankets for the hundredth time. “Jarod, I promise you, I am not going to let Lyle win…not this time.”
With tears in her blue eyes, she leaned over and kissed his unshaven cheek. She then touched her forehead to his and whispered softly, “Hold on, Jarod…don’t give up the fight. I need you.”
Reluctantly, Miss Parker turned to leave. Pausing for a moment to gather herself before opening the door, she glanced back at him. Then without another word she walked out of the room.
Sydney and Josh waved from the ground as the helicopter lifted off. Major Charles would return as just soon as he dropped
Miss Parker and Broots off at the airfield and picked up more supplies and medical equipment. He didn’t want to leave Jarod, but his son would need all the help they could give him until Miss Parker could return with the cure…if there was a cure. They just had to hope and pray that there was.
The next afternoon, Miss Parker left Broots in the tech room with orders to dig for every scrap of information on TJX5, including what he could get out of his mutant Centre informants. She wanted anything she could use to help locate the cure.
As she pressed the button on the panel inside the elevator, her thoughts drifted back to Jarod. There wasn’t much time, and they all knew it. Sydney was afraid that he was slipping deeper and deeper into madness with every attack on his mind.
Angelo couldn’t even be in the same room with him without going ballistic and spouting endless streams of nonsense.
She could not shake the memory of the terror in Josh’s eyes as he’d witnessed his brother’s violent episodes. They all felt so helpless…
The elevator doors opened and she stepped out into the corridor that led to Lyle’s office. She toyed with the idea of just putting a bullet in his heart the second she set eyes on him. But that would get her nowhere.
Pausing at the closed office doors, she decided to knock first…purely for the shock factor. She pasted on her rarely seen two
hundred-watt smile and walked in as soon as she heard his voice summoning her to come in. She almost lost it when he looked up from the paperwork on his desk with a stunned expression on his face.
“You knocked?” Lyle raised an eyebrow suspiciously.
“Don’t get used to it. I just happen to be in a good mood today.”
“Yeah right, and my thumb is going to grow back…what the hell are you up to?” he glared at her.
“What, a sister can’t drop in on her brother for a visit?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Not when that sister knocks on doors about as often as she utters a kind word to anyone…especially her brother. Out with it, Parker. What is the latest conspiracy you are going to blame on me?”
“All right, let’s do away with the formalities,” Miss Parker smiled. Reaching under her jacket, she pulled out her 9mm Smith and Wesson and aimed it directly between Lyle’s eyes. “I want answers and I had better get them or I am going to use this to cut you apart piece by piece beginning with your remaining thumb.”
“Whoa Sis, what are you doing?”
“What the hell is TJX5?”
Lyle went pale the instant he heard the question. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”
“You’re lying,” she said in a singsong voice. She then squeezed the trigger and smiled with satisfaction as Lyle grabbed his thumb screaming in pain. “Care to rephrase that response?”
“Crazy bitch,” Lyle cursed. You shot me.”
Taking a step toward him she grabbed his arm and examined the wound. “Damn, I must be getting rusty. I just winged it…next one takes it off completely. Now talk.”
“You don’t want the truth, Parker. You can’t handle the truth.”
“Lyle, I don’t have time for this crap. You have ten seconds to spill your guts or I do it for you.”
With a groan, Lyle sat down in his chair and pulled a first aid kit out of his desk drawer. Taking out a roll of gauze he proceeded to wrap his wounded thumb. “You have no idea what a Pandora’s box you are about to open,” he shook his head.
Miss Parker motioned toward the first aid kit. “Maybe you should try making friends instead of enemies.”
“Very funny.”
“Talk to me Lyle or you are going to look like a mummy by the time I finish with you.”
“Damn,” he swore and slammed the lid shut on the metal box. “Why do you insist on digging up the past?”
“Because the past keeps jumping up and biting me in the ass and I am sick and tired of running from it.”
“This has nothing to do with you. Leave it alone.”
“I am not going to leave it alone because if I do, someone will die.”
Lyle met his sister’s gaze with sudden curiosity. “TJX5? Are you saying that someone has the virus?”
“Yes, and all evidence points to you, dear brother.”
“Jarod,” Lyle smirked.
Miss Parker resisted the sudden urge to wipe that smug grin off his face. “He is dying. You have the cure. I want it.”
Lyle shook his head slowly, “I really hate to disappoint you, but you are targeting the wrong villain. You are going to have to confront dear old dad on this one. He is the one who ordered that Jarod be injected with the virus. It was all a part of his plan to regain control of the Centre.”
Shaking her head in disbelief, Miss Parker whispered, “You are lying again. Daddy wasn’t even in control during that time. Jarod was in your torture chamber and you gave him the injections.”
“I told you that you wouldn’t be able to handle the truth. Believe what you will, but face it, Parker. The lab rat is going to die and there isn’t a damn thing you can do about it. Ironic isn’t it…now that your favorite toy is damaged beyond repair, you suddenly realize how important he was to you.”
Without blinking an eye, Miss Parker pulled the trigger. Lyle slumped against the wall, crying out in pain pressing his hand to the gaping hole in his shoulder. “His name is Jarod,” she said as she fired another shot into his right thigh. “Never let me hear you speak of him that way again or I promise you will not live to regret it.” She turned and started toward the door.
“Parker, you can’t just leave me here to bleed to death, I am your brother,” he called after her, his voice filled with pain and desperation.
“Watch me,” she said as she walked coolly toward the door.
“All right, you win. I will help you,” Lyle gasped.
Mr. Parker stormed out of the elevator and down the corridor to the infirmary. The instant he set eyes on his daughter he flew into a rage. “Are you out of your mind? How could you draw the blood of your own brother? You are out of control.”
Miss Parker flashed him an icy stare. “Not yet, Daddy,” she hissed. “I’m just getting started.”
A few minutes later, with a determined glint in her blue eyes, she walked out of the infirmary and toward the elevator. As she stepped inside it, she glanced up at the ever-present bullet hole, nodding slowly as a single tear slid down her cheek.
Catherine Parker’s calling had been to rescue the children and bring down the Centre…only to pay the ultimate price in the end. And now, nearly three decades later, it was time for her daughter to pick up where she’d left off…beginning with saving Jarod.
Josh was the first to hear the helicopter. He jumped up from his bed and ran barefoot out into the cold rainy night. When he saw Miss Parker he ran into her open arms. She held him for a moment and smiled. “Everything’s going to be okay,” she whispered. Then together they walked into the house with Broots and Debbie in tow.
Sydney met them at the door and Miss Parker’s first thought was that he had aged ten years since she’d left. “Syd,” she said as he approached her.
“Miss Parker, thank God,” he whispered and hugged her.
Placing the medical bag into his hands, Miss Parker touched his cheek and smiled. “Go…save Jarod.”
Sydney nodded and all but ran into Jarod’s bedroom followed by Major Charles.
Taking Debbie and Josh into the kitchen, Broots did his best to keep the boy’s thoughts from what was happening in the next room. Making hot cocoa, he pulled a bag of Oreos out of the cupboard and placed them on the table. “You two want to play cards or something?”
“No, not right now,” Josh shook his head as he continuously stirred his cocoa. “Thanks for trying, Broots.”
Broots sat down in the chair next to Debbie. It was going to be a long night.
Miss Parker stood near the end of the bed as Sydney injected the antibiotic into Jarod’s upper arm. She could not believe how much his condition had deteriorated in just the two days she’d been gone. He was a mere shell of the man she had known most of her life. What she would give to see that annoying little smirk of his…or to hear the amusement in his voice during one of their late night phone calls.
‘Please, Jarod, I don’t want it to end this way. There are so many things I need to tell you,’ she cried out silently.
Stepping back from the bed, Sydney turned to her and smiled weakly. “How did you do it? What did you have to do to get the antibiotic from Lyle?”
Miss Parker gave the psychiatrist a half smile. “Let’s just say that Lyle won’t be running any marathons for awhile.”
Major Charles stepped forward and embraced her. “Thank you, Miss Parker. I know what going back there must have cost you.”
“Actually, it helped me come to terms with a few things about my family…and my mother.”
“You are more like Catherine than you realize, you know that.”
With a soft laugh, Miss Parker nodded, “That’s what your son has been trying to get me to realize all these years.”
Sydney placed a hand on the Major’s shoulder, “Come on you two, let’s get something to eat. All we can do now is wait to see if the antibiotic works.”
“How long before we know if it is working?” he asked.
“I wish I knew,” Sydney frowned.
“Are you coming, Miss Parker?” Major Charles paused in the open doorway.
“I’m not hungry. I’ll just sit here with him for a while.”
“I’ll bring you a cup of tea.”
“I’d like that, thank you,” Miss Parker smiled.
Pulling a chair over to the bed, she sat down. Taking his hand in hers, she fought back the tears that again threatened to fall. “Jarod, I’m here…I am not going to leave you again.”
When Major Charles returned with the tea a few minutes later, he found her sound asleep in the chair with her head resting on
Jarod’s shoulder. He knew he should wake her or she would have some serious back pain by morning, but he just didn’t have the heart to do so. Taking a blanket from the end of the bed, he covered her. “Catherine would be proud,” he whispered softly.
As he left the room, the Major pulled the door closed. There was definitely something special between his son and Catherine’s daughter. More than what lay on the surface…much, much more.
Day after day, Jarod’s condition worsened. The attacks were coming more and more frequent. The antibiotic didn’t seem to be helping at all. Sydney tried everything he could think of to ease his suffering.
Miss Parker refused to leave Jarod’s side. She would tell him the stories she used to tell him back in the Centre when they were children. Stories that she made up for him whenever he would ask about the outside world. It was a miracle that she still remembered them. Somehow she hoped that the memories would give him some comfort and a lifeline to cling to as he drifted through the dark abyss keeping him prisoner.
With each passing day, they knew that the chances of Jarod waking were becoming less and less. And even if he did awaken, there would likely be permanent brain damage and loss of memory.
Sydney bent over Jarod’s still form, the hypodermic in his hands contained the last of the antibiotic. He uttered a silent prayer before injecting it into the pretender’s arm. As he straightened, he turned toward the people gathered at the end of the bed.
Without a word, he turned toward the door.
Everyone followed except Josh who couldn’t seem to move. Miss Parker approached him, placing a hand on his arm. He turned toward her and burst into tears, wrapping his arms around her neck. Holding him tightly, she fought back her own tears.
Sydney and Major Charles stood in the doorway struggling with their own emotions. They both knew that Jarod had given up the fight. That he was slipping away before their eyes and there was nothing anyone could do.
With an arm around Josh’s shoulder, Miss Parker walked him slowly to where his father was waiting by the door. Major Charles replaced her arm with his own and led his youngest son into the living room.
Glancing over her shoulder at Jarod, Miss Parker wiped away a tear that slid down her face. “Syd, I never told him…”
Sydney took hold of her hand and squeezed gently. “Tell him now…”
Nodding slowly, she turned back toward the bed as Sydney closed the door. “Jarod, I don’t know if you can hear me, but I have something I need to tell you. When we touched hands through the glass the day we first met, I felt an undeniable connection to you…it’s still there, stronger than ever.”
Miss Parker sank down in the chair next to the bed, still holding Jarod’s hand. Tears spilled from under her eyelashes as she released a ragged breath. “Maybe someday you will find it in your heart to forgive me for betraying our friendship and for hurting you. I never meant to hurt you, Jarod…I love you.” The instant the words left her lips, something changed inside her.
She gasped softly, “I love you.”
Somewhere in the blackness, Jarod heard her voice as the words she had uttered echoed through the emptiness that enveloped him, renewing his courage and igniting his desire to fight. He would not give up…she loved him.
Sydney met her outside the door and gathered her into his embrace as she broke down. “Come on Parker, you need to rest,” he said as he guided her into the other bedroom.
Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Miss Parker allowed Sydney to remove her shoes and jacket. She lay back on the pillow as he covered her with the quilt. “Do you think he heard…”
Sydney smiled, “I know he did. Now, get some sleep. I will wake you if anything changes.”
She nodded and closed her eyes. Seconds later she was asleep.
Sydney looked at his watch, it was approaching dawn and there was still no improvement in Jarod’s condition. Frustration and overwhelming guilt weighed heavily on his shoulders. Closing his eyes, he laid his head back against the wall and allowed himself to cry.
Awakened by the morning sun streaming through the window Sydney glanced over toward the bed and was stunned to see that Jarod’s eyes were open. Jumping up from the chair he smiled widely, “My God, Jarod. You’re awake.”
Jarod turned his head and nodded weakly. “Syd—ney,” he whispered hoarsely.
“Welcome back, you gave us all quite a scare. How do you feel?”
“How do I look?”
“You look like hell.”
Jarod just gave a weak laugh.
“With what you have been through, you are lucky to be alive.”
“W—Where’s everyone?”
“Asleep. It’s still early. Do you want me to wake them?”
“No…not yet. Help me to the bathroom. I really need a shower.”
Miss Parker awoke and slipped on her shoes. She decided to take a walk before looking in on Jarod. Stepping out onto the front porch she inhaled the fresh air. The morning sun was a welcome sight after so many gloomy wet days. She hoped that it was a sign that everything was going to be all right.
“Miss Parker,” Broots called out as he opened the screen door. “Miss Parker, you’d better come inside, right now.”
“Jarod.” She charged past him and into the house, expecting the worst. Two steps into the bedroom she froze in place.
“Jarod?”
Major Charles, Josh and Sydney stepped aside giving her an unobstructed view of the bed and Jarod propped up on pillows and still pale as a ghost, but very much alive and alert.
“Hi,” he whispered.
“Jarod,” she gasped as tears filled her blue eyes.
“Are you okay?”
With a slight nod and a soft cry, she launched herself forward into his arms. “I am now,” she wrapped her arms around his neck. “I am now.”
Jarod held her tightly. It felt so good to hold her…to finally be able to touch her. So many years of anger and bitterness, so much deceit…and yet, somehow they had beat the odds and found their way back to each other. “I’m never letting you go, you know.”
“I’m not going to give you the chance.”
“I love you, Madeline. I always have.”
Miss Parker pulled back slightly as the combined shock of Jarod’s declaration and hearing her first name spoken out loud for the first time in decades, registered in her mind. “Say it again,” she smiled.
“I love you, Madeline,” Jarod repeated softly and kissed her.
Neither of them noticed that the others had left the room with broad grins on their faces.
Two weeks later, Jarod sat on the front steps watching as his father and Sydney loaded the medical equipment onto the helicopter. He felt so useless, so weak. The virus had taken more out of him than he let on. His muscles felt like Jell-O and his mind like mush. He could hardly keep his thoughts straight. Sydney had said that it would take time and both mental and physical therapy to regain his strength.
It was time that they were buying him by going back to the Centre. And even though deep down he knew it was best, he fought them every step of the way. For the first time in his life he’d caught a glimpse of a future only to have it swallowed up again by the shadows of the past.
There was no way of knowing what lay in wait for their return. Shooting Lyle would no doubt have serious repercussions for Parker…not to mention facing the wrath of her father and possibly even the Triumvirate.
Broots came out of the house with another load of equipment and supplies. Heading for the helicopter, he handed it off to Sydney then returned to the house to see what was left.
Miss Parker watched Jarod through the window as she gathered the last of her belongings together. She knew he was not happy with her decision to return to the Centre. She wished she could reassure him that everything would work out for the best. He was still so weak and even though he tried to hide it, she knew he was still in a considerable amount of pain.
She wished she could tell him everything, but to do so would be a mistake. If her plan was to work, Jarod had to remain underground with his father, Josh and Sydney was the only way to keep him safe until her plan was set in motion. If all went well, the Centre would be out of their lives forever.
Collecting her bag, Miss Parker walked out of the house and down the steps to the ground. Josh ran up and took her things to the helicopter. She kept her back to Jarod as she watched the younger version leap over a fallen log and jog down the path to where Major Charles was waiting.
“You’re really going back,” Jarod said softly.
“Please, Jarod. Don’t make this harder than it all ready is.”
“Maddie, I just don’t want to lose you again.”
Turning to look into his dark, troubled eyes, she smiled, “You aren’t going to lose me.”
Forcing his muscles to cooperate, Jarod stood and stepped toward her. “Just promise me that you will turn tail and run at the first sign of trouble. Don’t take any unnecessary risks.”
“I promise, I will be careful. I plan on being back here before you start having second thoughts about us.”
Jarod smiled, “That’s not going to happen.”
“I love you, Jarod. Please don’t ever doubt that.”
“Never,” he said and kissed her.
“I have to go.”
As he reluctantly released her, he nodded slowly. “I will see you soon.”
“Take care of yourself,” she whispered.
Holding on to her hand for as long as he could, Jarod finally let her go. As she walked away, he called out after her, “I love you.”
Miss Parker kept walking…her heart and mind waging a battle of wills. She knew that if she allowed her heart to win they would all lose. It would not be easy hiding her feelings for Jarod from her father and the Triumvirate, but if they learned the truth, it would be over before it started.
Jarod waved as they lifted off and watched Sydney and Josh walking slowly back toward the house. He knew that Sydney was taking a big risk for him, but there had been no convincing him to return with the others. He was determined to stay and help with his recovery.
Josh smiled at his brother as they approached. “Dad said he will return before dark.”
Noticing the weariness in Jarod’s face, Sydney placed a hand on his shoulder. “You need to rest. Come on inside.”
“I’ll be there in a minute, I’m going for a short walk,” Jarod said. He walked in the direction of the lighthouse, his stride measured and tentative.
Sydney and Josh remained on the porch watching him. “Do you think I should go with him,” Josh asked softly.
“Give him a few minutes alone,” Sydney said. “Then go to him.”
Josh nodded, “I’m really worried about him.”
“So am I, Josh,” Sydney frowned, placing his hands on the boy’s shoulders. “So am I.”
Jarod reached the base of the lighthouse tower, leaning on it for support as he stopped to catch his breath. As he turned his gaze toward the ocean, frustration and fear overwhelmed him. His dark eyes were brimming with unshed tears as he lowered himself to the ground. Sitting with his back against the concrete wall of the tower, he brought his legs up, resting his forearms across his knees.
A few minutes had passed when he heard Josh’s footsteps on the gravel. “I’m not the best company right now, little brother,” he grimaced. Reaching down he picked up a stone and tossed it over the edge of the cliff.
Josh crouched down and picked up a rock of his own, chucking it over the side as well. “Sure hope no one is enjoying a leisurely walk on the beach right now,” he said with a straight face then glancing over at his brother, broke into a wide grin.
Jarod chuckled softly, shaking his head. “If you’re trying to cheer me up, you are doing a very poor job of it.”
“Yeah, I know,” Josh laughed.
“Jumping off this cliff wouldn’t solve my problems would it.”
Josh shook his head, “Somehow, I don’t think so.”
“What am I going to do?”
“Well, the first step is to stop feeling sorry for yourself. Then concentrate on your therapy and get your strength back. Once you are back on your feet then you can worry about the future,” Josh said as he tossed another rock over.
“You’ve been talking to Sydney.”
“He is worried about you.”
“Sydney is only worried about what’s in here,” Jarod tapped his forehead. “It’s his life’s work. The only reason he stayed is to make sure my genius mind is still intact.”
“Jarod, you have no idea what that man went through while you were sick. He blamed himself.”
“It wasn’t his fault.”
“Don’t tell me…tell him.”
Jarod stared at Josh for a moment then smiled slightly, “You are too smart for your own good you know that.”
“Tell me about it,” he frowned.
“Come here,” Jarod reached over and gathered Josh into his embrace. “What would I do without you?”
“Well, they say the best way to work things out is to talk to yourself,” Josh grinned raising an eyebrow.
Jarod laughed, “I forget sometimes that you and I came from the same mold. But I hope you realize that is as far as it goes. You are your own person and I am so proud of what you have become.”
“That means a lot to me, big brother,” Josh hugged him tightly. “I couldn’t have come from better DNA,” he laughed.
“Are you ever serious?” Jarod chuckled as he poked him in the ribs.
“Only when I have to be.”
Shaking his head as he got to his feet, Jarod placed an arm over Josh’s shoulders and mussed his hair with his free hand. “I love you, kid.”
“Love you too, old man.”
“Hey, watch who you’re calling old,” Jarod said as he walked gingerly back toward the house.
“So you’re just pretending,” Josh grinned.
“Very funny.”
“I thought it was.”
Sydney watched as the two approached the house. Seeing the smile on Jarod’s face brought welcome relief. He was going to be okay.
It was nearly one o’clock in the morning, when Jarod finally gave up trying to sleep. With the lingering memory of the terrifying visions he’d had during his illness and worrying about Parker, Broots and Angelo, there was little hope of getting any rest at all.
Slipping out of bed, he crept quietly into the kitchen to fix himself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Pouring a glass of milk, he sat down at the table and took a bite out of his sandwich. He was glad that his appetite was finally returning.
“Jarod, is everything okay,” Sydney asked as he came into the kitchen.
“Just fine, I’m sorry I woke you, Syd.”
“You didn’t, I haven’t even been asleep yet.”
“I told you that you should take my bed, I can sleep on the couch.”
“No, no, the couch is fine.”
“Would you like a sandwich and some milk?” Jarod asked.
“Yes, thank you.”
Jarod got up and quickly made four more sandwiches and poured Sydney a glass of milk while refilling his own glass.
Returning to the table, his hands were shaking as he set Sydney’s milk down in front of him, causing some to splash out onto the table. “Guess I’ll have to get used to that,” he whispered sadly.
Sydney grabbed a dishtowel and quickly cleaned up the spilled milk. “Jarod, there is no reason to believe that you won’t make a full recovery. Just give it some time.”
“Time is something I don’t have a lot of. Any moment now the Centre could bust down that door and I wouldn’t have the strength to resist.”
“Jarod, I promise you that I will never let them take you back. I’d die before I would allow that to happen,” Sydney’s voice cracked as he averted his eyes to hide the emotions so clearly written in them.
“I’m sorry, Sydney,” Jarod whispered.
“Jarod, you have no reason to be sorry.”
“Yes, I do. I blamed you for everything when I should have thanked you for always being there…for doing your best to protect me. Sydney, it was you who taught me right from wrong and gave me hope when I was surrounded by nothing but
darkness and despair.”
Sydney stood and walked across the room. “I could have saved you…if only I had not been so blinded by my work. If only I had fought them harder when I realized what they were doing with your simulations.”
Jarod got up from his chair and approached him, “Sydney, don’t you see? You did save me. You saved me from myself.
Without your guidance and support, who knows what I would have become.”
Turning to face Jarod, Sydney saw something in the depths of the pretender’s dark eyes that he never thought he’d live to see…forgiveness. “The one thing I regret most, Jarod…” Sydney began. “Is never telling you how much I love you.”
Jarod’s eyes filled with tears as he embraced the man who had raised him. “I love you too, Syd.”
The next morning, Jarod opened his eyes to the pitter-patter of raindrops on the tin roof. Running his hands through his hair as he slipped out of bed. Going to the front door, he stepped outside letting the gentle rain wash away the weariness from his body.
“Isn’t a genius supposed to be smart enough to know when to come in out of the rain,” Major Charles stepped out of the house and placed both hands on his oldest son’s shoulders.
“Good morning, Dad. Sleep well?” Jarod smiled as he raised his face to the sky, enjoying gentle breeze on his skin.
“I heard you and Sydney in the kitchen last night. I am glad that you two finally talked. I may be your father in every sense of the word, Jarod. But that man raised you and gave you the best life that he could under the circumstances. I will forever be indebted to him for being there when I could not.”
“I couldn’t have asked for a better surrogate father,” Jarod smiled.
The Major chuckled softly, “Well, son what do you say we go fix some breakfast?”
“I am starving,” Jarod said and followed his father back into the house.
Miss Parker exited the elevator, walking down the corridor toward her office as if it were any normal day at the Centre.
Everyone she passed seemed in a hurry to get out of her way, barely meeting her icy gaze. There had been a time when she would have enjoyed intimidating them. Now, it merely reminded her of the woman she had allowed herself to become…the woman she never wanted to be again.
Tossing her purse and jacket onto the sofa in her office, she contemplated going to see her father but decided to put it off as long as possible. Needing to compose herself and her latest explanation as to why she had yet again failed to bring back Jarod.
With a secretive smile she sat down behind her desk and dialed Broots’ number. When he didn’t answer, she got his voice mail. “Broots, get your carcass in my office yesterday…”
The rest of what she had been about to say slipped her mind as the doors of her office opened. Sam entered, followed by Willie and two other sweepers.
“Miss Parker, we have been ordered to escort you to the Tower,” Sam stated firmly.
Miss Parker got up from her chair and approached the men. “Well, my father will just have to wait. Tell him that I will be up to his office with a full report shortly.”
“It isn’t your father…it’s the Triumvirate,” Willie responded.
“The Triumvirate…why?” Miss Parker was visibly shaken by just the idea of facing them alone.
“We are just following orders,” Sam said with a look of regret. Despite her demeanor, he liked Miss Parker…respected her. The thought of sending her into that den of wolves did not set well with him.
Willie, on the other hand, was enjoying watching the chairman’s daughter squirm. “Miss Parker, we have authorization to use any force deemed necessary if you refuse to come willingly.”
With a heated glare that would have instantly melted Antarctica, Miss Parker rose to her full height. “Oh yes, Willie, I have a death wish,” she hissed, her voice heavily laced with sarcasm. “Let’s get this over with,” she said as she passed between them
and headed for the Tower elevator.
Flanked by the four sweepers, Miss Parker struggled to pull herself together before they reached the interrogation room. The lives of the people she cared about hung in the balance and if they were to survive, she could not allow herself to display any emotion whatsoever.
By the time she was led into a 10x12 room at the end of the corridor, her Ice Queen façade was firmly in place. Sam recognized the change in her and it was all he could do to hold back a smile. The Triumvirate had no idea what they were in for.
Willie roughly shoved her into a chair in the middle of the dimly lit room. If he believed for one moment that she would come out of that interrogation in one piece, he would have thought twice about angering her. But since no one ever walked out of a meeting with the Triumvirate the same as when they went in, he felt had little to worry about. The chairman’s daughter was finally going to pay for her many failures.
Miss Parker sat quietly as the sweepers left her to her fate. Alone in the room, she waited for the ax to fall. Seconds passed…then minutes, until nearly an hour had gone by. Surrounded by silence and shadows, she listened and watched for any sign of movement. She didn’t dare let down her guard, she knew they were watching, she could feel their eyes on her.
Jarod had spent most of his life under the watchful eye of the powers that be…his every movement recorded. She never really understood until that moment what it had been like for him.
Glancing down at her watch she realized that it had been over an hour. For the first time in more than two years, she found herself craving a cigarette. Getting up from the chair, she started to pace. What did they want her to do? If they were expecting her to break down and start begging for mercy…hell would freeze first.
Sam had taken her gun. They were probably afraid she would go postal and start blasting away anything that moved. She smiled to herself as she settled back down in the chair.
A moment later a door opened in the far corner of the room and a badly deformed figure loomed in the opening. “Miss Parker…you are to come with me,” it said in a voice that made it impossible to discern if it was a man or a woman.
Without a word, Miss Parker stood and followed the voice. It led her into another dark, but much larger room with a table and a single chair and a round platform that reminded her of a witness stand in a courtroom.
“Please be seated, Miss Parker,” boomed a definitely masculine voice.
Doing as she was told, she sat down in the chair and folded her hands in front of her on the table. Almost immediately a bright light illuminated the place where she sat, leaving the rest of the room shrouded in darkness and secrecy. “May I ask why I am here?”
“We have called you here for many reasons,” he said. The first is to inform you that your father and brother are awaiting execution for their continual blatant disregard for Centre property and objectives. The misuse of the TJX5 virus was the decisive factor.”
“Please, don’t expect me to shed a tear for them,” Miss Parker stated flatly.
“Miss Parker,” a cold, but definitely feminine voice added. “We have questions about your loyalty to the Centre. It has been brought to our attention that you have had ample opportunity to capture and return Jarod to the Centre where he belongs. However he remains free to continue his absurd crusade to single-handedly right the wrongs of the world. Why is that, Miss Parker? And please spare us the spiel about his abilities.”
“Jarod is a man with conviction and compassion, two things that most of humanity is sadly without. I have always done my best to catch him even though it went against my better judgment.
“Thank you for your honesty,” the man said.
“We have been informed that Sydney did not return with you. We would be interested to know where he is,” a somewhat friendlier female voice asked.
Miss Parker had been dreading that question. “Sydney is with Jarod. He is putting him through a battery of tests to see how much the TJX5 virus has affected Jarod’s mind and his performance as a pretender. I spoke with him this morning and he said that the damage is extensive and that even with years of therapy Jarod will never be able to perform at the level he was capable of before he contracted the virus.”
“We are very much aware of the damage this microorganism can do to the human brain. Sydney’s report confirms our own findings and we have no choice but to determine that Jarod is no longer of any use to us and shall be dealt with accordingly.”
Panic rose in her throat as Miss Parker struggled to keep her composure. “I ask that you grant him his freedom and allow him to live the remainder of his life without interference from the Centre?”
“It is not your place to make such demands, Miss Parker,” the male voice warned. “But I am curious. Why do you care what happens to Jarod?”
Choosing her words carefully, she nodded slowly, “I was just a child when my mother died. He was there for me when my father was not. Jarod understood the loss of a parent and he helped me come to terms with her death…I owe him a debt of gratitude.”
“This sense of obligation toward Jarod,” said the man. “Has it affected your objectivity in your pursuit of him?”
“No, I do not feel that it has. I performed to the best of my ability. Chasing a pretender is no easy task,” she smiled slightly.
“Do you have anything else you would like to add before we confer on these latest developments, Miss Parker?”
“Yes, actually there is,” she said as she stood and took a deep breath. “As evident in my father and brother, corruption and deceit has weakened the Centre. Dramatically undermining its initial objective, which was to help its fellow man. I believe that it can become strong again if more altruistic endeavors become foremost in our future. My mother was only one of the many victims of the evil that has been inherent within these walls for far too long. It must be eradicated if the Centre is to survive.”
“Very admirable, Miss Parker. Thank you for your insight,” the man responded.
Miss Parker felt a hand on her shoulder as the voice returned. Without another word, she was led back into the smaller room and the door closed. Alone at last she glanced at her watch and was stunned to realize that she had been in front of the Triumvirate for over three hours.
Lowering herself into the chair she replayed the whole scene in her head. Even though she had only heard three voices, she could not shake the feeling that someone else had been there with them. Maybe one of the voices she had heard was only a stand in for the real thing…a fourth person whose voice she would have recognized if they had spoken. The idea intrigued her.
A few minutes later she was again summoned by the voice and returned to her seat in front of the Triumvirate. Remaining silent, Miss Parker waited for them to speak.
It seemed like an eternity before the man finally acknowledged her presence. “Miss Parker, we have made our decision…”
Broots entered Miss Parker’s office fully expecting her to jump all over him for being late. Instead he found the room empty. Her bag and jacket lay on the sofa and her cell phone on the desk as if she had dropped them and left.
He had gotten the feeling from her message that someone or something had interrupted her. Now he was sure of it. Sitting down at her desk he switched on her computer and quickly pulled up the security footage from that morning.
The images on the monitor confirmed his fears. Miss Parker had been taken to the Tower. He watched as Sam and Willie followed her into the elevator. Rewinding the footage Broots isolated the audio and played it back. The instant he heard Willie mention the Triumvirate his blood ran cold. “Oh God, Miss Parker. What are they doing to you?”
His hand hovered over the cell phone contemplating whether or not to keep his promise to Jarod and call him if anything went wrong. He knew that Miss Parker would kill him if he called him. Jarod was in no shape to do battle with the Triumvirate but that is exactly what he would do without giving it a second thought and would only end up getting himself captured.
He finally picked up the phone and was about to dial when the grate from the air vent crashed to the floor. Broots clutched at his chest as he scrambled out of the chair. He glanced up to see Angelo crouched in the opening with a goofy grin on his face.
“Angelo, you--you scared me half to death,” he stammered.
“Sorry, Broots,” Angelo said. Then he motioned toward the cell phone in Broots’ hand. “Do not worry. Miss Parker safe.”
“How can you be so sure, she was taken to the Triumvirate.”
“Miss Parker strong. Will be okay.”
“I hope you’re right,” Broots said. He settled himself back into the chair, placing the cell phone in his pocket. When he looked up, Angelo had vanished and the grate was back in place.
Miss Parker stepped out of the elevator in a haze. She didn’t even flinch when a very relieved Broots threw his arms around her the instant she entered her office.
“Miss Parker, thank God. Are you all right? You look strange. Here, you better sit down,” he guided her toward her chair.
“Broots, thank you for your concern, but I am fine…just fine,” she smiled.
“What happened? What did they do to you?”
“Nothing…nothing really. They just asked me questions. I guess I am still in a state of disbelief.”
“No kidding, I would be too. You faced the Triumvirate and lived to talk about it. I was so afraid that I would never see you again.”
“Broots, calm down and take a deep breath before I tell you anything.”
“This is bad,” he said as he sank down on the sofa.
Miss Parker flashed him a brilliant smile, “We have just been promoted.”
“Wha—What are you saying?”
“I am saying that it’s all mine…all of it.”
“Miss Parker, I’m sorry but you are not making sense.”
Laughing heartily, Miss Parker sat back in her chair. “Broots, the Centre is all mine to do with as I please. The Triumvirate has given me complete control of each and every aspect of it. Everything from the everyday business to the Pretender Project.”
“Jarod.”
Miss Parker winked, “Jarod is Centre property. That makes him my property to do with as please.”
Broots chuckled, “Somehow I don’t think he is going to mind this new arrangement.”
“First things first, though,” she clapped her hands together. “Time to go rattle some cages and shake things up a bit.
“What does that mean?” Broots stammered.
“It means that we get to do some spring cleaning.”
“Beginning with your father and Lyle?”
“Thanks to the powers that be, my father and Lyle have already been shown the door…I guess the Triumvirate liked the thought of turning this place around. Getting it going in the direction it was intended to go back in the early days when it was a force for good.”
“Miss Parker, what happened to them?”
“Daddy and Lyle? Let’s just say that they won’t be darkening any doorways in this world anymore.”
“I’m sorry.”
Miss Parker thought for a moment then shook her head. “I refuse to allow them to control me from the grave the way they did in life. The last time I saw my father he was livid that I had shot Lyle. I confronted him about the TJX5 virus. He admitted to intentionally subjecting Jarod to the virus. I asked him why.”
“What did he say?”
Miss Parker’s blue eyes sparkled with unshed tears. “Nothing…he just glared at me with a coldness like I had never felt from him before. I realized then that I was nothing more than a pawn in his twisted, sadistic little game. Someone that he could manipulate into doing almost anything for him.”
“But you are his daughter, his flesh and blood.”
“That has never mattered to him, why should it matter to me? The only thing I care about is getting my baby brother out of this place as soon as possible. He is better off without my father. He would only do to him what he has done to me all these years.”
“What about Lyle?”
“Lyle may be my brother by blood, but in here…” she said placing a hand over her heart. “In my heart, no matter what the DNA tests say, Angelo is my brother.”
Broots smiled and nodded, “So where do we start?”
“Why don’t we start with Mr. Raines?” Miss Parker smirked.
“This should be interesting.”
“Very, Broots. Very interesting indeed.”
