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Destiny

By: Gemini-M

Chapter 2


"It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves." William Shakespeare.

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1


From the moment that Broots had entered her office, Miss Parker could feel the anxiety and fear radiating from the nervous little man. Her body sensed his emotions and she felt as if she had been kicked in the stomach. Sometimes she wished she had not inherited this gift from her mother. Many would say it was an advantage, a blessing but it was also a curse.

At Broots' indecision to break the news, Miss Parker glared at him and stated, "Broots, we are not getting any younger here. What have you found? What is my demented little brother up to now?"

Broots blinked at her harsh words, moved closer and whispered at the two occupants, "Miss Parker is it safe to talk here?"

"Yes Broots, I swept my office this morning and it's clean, besides I told Lyle if I found another bug in my office, he was going to be known as the thumbless wonder."

Broots smiled nervously and continued, "Listen to what this communication from this guy, Mr. White says, Mr. Lyle, Target: MR1935 has been located at Saint James Hospital, Butte, Montana. Awaiting orders to move in and apprehend."

Frowning, Sydney said, "I don't understand. Who's MR1935?"

Still looking around the room anxiously, Broots said, "I went back to the red files and the NuGenesis records and ran a check on all the ID codes and project names and came up with this, MR1935 is the file name for a Margaret Russell."

Miss Parker placed a hand over her mouth as if to hold back a scream. She looked at both men and slowly moved back and sat on her chair. "My God Sydney, I need to contact Jarod right away."

"Parker, what's wrong, tell me what's happened, what about Jarod?" Seeing how pale she was Sydney moved towards her, pushing his concerns for Jarod aside for a moment.

"I'm fine Syd; Right now we need to find out if Lyle has seen this message already and we need to send Jarod a message immediately about this new development. My God Sydney, if they capture her, Jarod will.... I don't want to think about it." Parker could not finish her thoughts. She could feel the panic creeping from the bottom of her stomach.

Broots moved quickly around the desk next to Miss Parker and stuttered nervously. "B...but Miss Parker we cannot send a message or call Jarod from here. It's too dangerous."

"I know that Broots", she said with exasperation.

Catching her aggressive tone instantly, she placed a hand on Broots'arm and said, "I'm sorry Broots, I didn't mean to snap at you. It just that I don't know how Jarod is going to react to this news and that scares me."

"It's OK Miss Parker, I'll go find out about Lyle and call you as soon as I know something." Saying that, Broots ran out of the office, jiggling the files in his hands.

"Broots I'll be at home call me on the cell phone." She called out before the nervous techie exited her office.

Immediately, Miss Parker grabbed her jacket and keys and headed toward the door.

Through the whole conversation, Sydney had been quietly observing Miss Parker. He was very concerned for her. In the past weeks, she had been feeling ill almost every day and the pressures of her job and the upcoming events were taking a toll on her physically and mentally. Sydney approached Parker and placing a supporting hand on her arm said, "Parker I'm very concerned about you. When was the last time you ate or slept?"

Miss Parker gave the old man a sharp look, but when she saw the love and concern in his eyes, her demeanour softened. Sydney was more of a father to her than the man that had masqueraded as her father her entire life. Mr. Parker had only made her hard and cold and had lied to her about all the people that were important in her life. She shook her head to erase his memories and smiled at this gentle old man standing in front of her who had always cared for her unconditionally, "Sydney you are acting like a mother hen again. I'm fine."

"No you are not Parker, and if something happens to you, Jarod will never forgive me."

"Is Jarod's forgiveness still so important to you?" As soon as the words had left her mouth, she regretted it, but it was too late to take them back. She noticed the hurt in Sydney's eyes and hated herself for being so cold with him, but she still could not completely erase that defensive attitude that had been part of her conditioning since she was a child. Daddy had trained her so well, she thought bitterly.

Sydney sighed and looked at Parker in defeat, "Yes Miss Parker it is. Jarod and you are very important to me. You both are like my..." Sydney could not finish his thought, but the look in Miss Parker's eyes told him that she had felt the emotions behind his words. Sydney smiled at her and turned to walk out of the office.

With tears glistening in her eyes, Miss Parker called to Sydney just before he had exited her office, "Sydney...Thanks."

Sydney smiled back and said, "Please keep me informed, and be careful, both of you."

Miss Parker arrived at her home in record time. She raced up her driveway, leaving behind a new set of skid marks and the disturbed barks of the neighbor's dog. As she reached her front door, keys in hand, she felt a presence in the house. It didn't feel like a threat, but she could not take any chances at this time. She drew her weapon from her hoister, slowly opened her front door, and entered the dark house. Everything was quiet except for some clatter coming from the direction of the kitchen. She thought to herself, "Whoever is here better have a good excuse, because I'm not in the mood to deal with unwanted visitors tonight." With a swift kick, she pushed open the kitchen door and rushed in taking aim with her gun. At the sight of her visitor, she stood wide-eyed and speechless for an instant. After regaining her power of speech she exclaimed, "My God Ethan, what are you doing here?"

Ethan just stood there frozen, staring at the gun, with his hands raised holding a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

After the initial shock had passed, Ethan smiled at his sister, lowered his hands and said, "Well thank you for the title, but I don't think it fits me. Parker, is this the way you usually greet your family?"

I'm sorry Ethan; I didn't know it was you." Miss Parker took a deep breath put her gun away and crossed the kitchen swiftly to embrace her little brother.

Ethan returned her hug affectionately and then looked at her with wonder and tenderness. "It's good to see you again Sis. It has been too long since our last meeting. How are you feeling?"

Parker looked at Ethan a little frustrated and said, "What is it with everyone asking me today, how I feel? I am fine, Thank you."

"Sorry, It just that a person in your condition..."

"What condition Ethan? What the hell are you talking about?" Parker angrily interrupted Ethan before he could finish his explanation.

"Our mother told me to come and take care of you. To protect you and the baby. Her voice told me you were in danger." Ethan explained while trying to calm his infuriated and sometimes dangerous sister.

"Ethan, what baby are you talking about?"

"Yours and...Jarod's. OH MY GOD!, YOU DIDN'T KNOW" Ethan gasped and they stared at each other for a moment. When Ethan noticed that Parker had become pale, he quickly moved to guide his sister to a chair.

Parker lowered herself on the chair before her legs would fail to support her. This clearly explained her tiredness, dizziness and mood swings. With tears glistening in her eyes, she looked at Ethan and said, "A baby?"

"Yes, A baby" Ethan replied smiling at his sister.

"Parker, I think you should tell Jarod"

"OH MY GOD, I have to contact Jarod about the news on his mother, but I cannot tell him about the baby right now." Parker stood from her chair and started pacing around the kitchen.

"Parker calm down, what happen to Jarod's mom?"

"The Centre knows her location and is planning to capture her." With that said she rushed to her bedroom, with Ethan trailing behind, to look for the cell phone Jarod had given her to contact each other. She looked at her watch. It was 5:30pm, the same time in Montreal, Canada. She prayed that she would find Jarod at this early hour. He was so unpredictable,

Before dialing Jarod's number, Parker turned to Ethan with tears in her eyes and said, "If you talk to Jarod later, not a word about the baby. If Jarod finds out he will not be able to think straight and that can be deadly right now. Please Ethan; promise me you will not say a word."

With disappointment in his voice Ethan said, "I don't like this, but OK. I just hate to lie to Jarod, plus he is going to kill me when he finds out."

"Don't worry Ethan; I'll explain everything to him. Right now Jarod has to get to his mom before The Centre does. This has to work and we have to help Jarod in anyway we can. I can't lose him now." Parker replied with worry and sadness in her voice.

At that moment, her personal cell phone rang and they both jumped at the sound. Parker looked at Ethan and said, "That must be Broots with some news." She grabbed her phone from her pocket and flipped it open, "What?"

"M...Miss Parker I found out something about the communication and Lyle" Broots voice was just a nervous whisper.

"Well? Come on Broots I don't have all day! What about Lyle?"

"Lyle got the message and left at 4:30pm for Montana. According to my calculations, he will be arriving in Montana in about four hours. Miss Parker did you call Jarod? Hello, hello" Broots looked at Sydney and murmured, "I hate it when she does that."

Parker threw her cell phone on the bed and dialed Jarod's number on their private cell phone. After a couple of rings, a sleepy voice answered, "Hello"

"Jarod is me Parker" She said softly.

Immediately, she heard a commotion in the background and his voice became alert and filled with concern. "Parker what's wrong? Are you OK?"

She had to blink back the tears that were threatening to fall and get through this without falling apart. "I'm fine. She took a deep breath and continued. "Jarod...we intercepted a message from Mr. White to Lyle regarding your mom."

The mention of Mr. White's name made him shiver. Jarod sat stunned for a moment. After a few seconds of silence, he asked in a very controlled voice, "Have they found her?"

Parker knew that he had slipped into some kind of pretend to control his emotions. That was the only way he could deal with the possibility that The Centre had captured his mother, but she could sense Jarod's fear in his voice.

"No Jarod, I don't think they have captured her, but they know where she is and Lyle is on his way there already. Jarod maybe your family can get to her before The Centre." She was trying her best to reassure him that they had a chance to save her.

"Where is she?" Jarod asked almost inaudibly.

"Saint James Hospital in Butte, Montana. Jarod what are you going to do?" Miss Parker was trying to control her emotions, but the knot in her throat was almost shocking her.

"She's in the hospital! What's wrong? Is she hurt?" Jarod was starting to panic.

"Calm down Jarod, please. I don't know what is her condition. All we have is the communication we intercepted, from Mr. White, stating where she is. I'm sorry Jarod."

Jarod sat quietly for a few minutes calculating the distances and travel time from his father's location in Oregon. He knew that he was too far to reach his mother on time. Without delay, he started to work on a simulation in his mind on how to get her out of the hospital safely.

Parker became alarmed at his silence and said, "Jarod are you there?"

"Yes I'm here. I'll contact my dad right away. I hope that they can reach her on time. I'll call you as soon as I learn something. Thanks Parker, Love you." With that, the line went dead.

Slowly, in a daze Parker sat at the edge of her bed placing one hand over her mouth in an effort to control her emotions. Ethan sat next to her and draped his arm over her shoulder. "It's OK Sis. Don't worry, Jarod will figure something out. He always does."

Parker felt as if she was caught in the middle of a tornado. Her emotions were in turmoil. She was terrified for what could happen to Jarod or his mother, and at the same time, she was so happy at the news of their baby, but now she couldn't share that joy with the person that meant the world to her. The Centre again had shattered their happiness. Wait was all she could do. She prayed that Jarod and his family would reach Margaret on time and that soon Jarod would be back safe at her side.


Somewhere in Montreal, Canada.
5:45p.m.


Immediately after talking to Parker, Jarod contacted Father Moore in Butte, Montana. Jarod knew he could count with the help of Catherine's old friend. After explaining his plan to the priest, Jarod proceeded to hacking into the hospital's computer system to learn more about his mother's condition and the layout of the hospital. With the rescue plan calculations all figured out, now it was time to call Major Charles and put the plan into motion.

Jarod agreed with Major Charles to meet at Saint John's Catholic Church after they had rescued Margaret from the hospital. Father Moore cordially agreed to give them refuge until it was safe for them to move out of the area. Jarod hated the idea of letting his father and Emily carry out the rescue, but he had no choice. He was four hours away and Lyle was already on his way to Montana. Ignoring the complaints from Gemini, Major Charles had decided to drop off Gemini at Father Moore's church before going to the hospital. He didn't want to put the boy at risk and Jarod had concurred with his idea.

Shortly after finishing the conversation with his father, Jarod called a friend at the local airport and asked him to get his Falcon 10 Jet ready for take off at 6:30pm (Eastern Time). According to his calculations, he was l865 miles (3001Km) away and traveling at 459MPH (739KPH) he would reach Montana in about 4 hours, to be exact, 8:30pm (Mountain Time). As soon as he finished the arrangements for his flight, Jarod gathered his duffle bag, his portable computer and took one last glance at the temporary refuge he had prepared for his family and friends while they awaited the take down of The Centre. As he was exiting the house, he stopped and looked back. Jarod had a strange sensation that he was not going to return to this house. He always listened to his inner sense, but now was not the time. He shook his head to erase those feelings and told himself, "Stop it. Your focus has to be on Mom's rescue." With that self-reprimand, he turned and exited the house.


Saint James Hospital
Butte, Montana 8:00p.m.


When Major Charles and Emily arrived at Saint James Hospital, the place was already crawling with sweepers. They quickly made their way to the third floor and prepared themselves for the role they were about to take. Jarod had informed them that Margaret had suffered a stroke and was being treated in ICU on the third floor. They would only have one chance at this, so it had to work. Emily looked like a completely different person with a nurse's uniform, blond wig tied in a ponytail and glasses. Major Charles wore an orderly uniform, a black wig and mustache. He too was completely unrecognizable. At the first chance they had, Emily found Margaret's medical records and printed an order for a CAT scan.

Now came the decisive moment, Emily approached the room that was heavily guarded by two men dressed in black suits. When she reached the door, one of the men stepped in front of her and stated coldly, "Stop, What you want?"

Emily looked at him seriously and answered, "I'm here to take the patient's vital signs and prepare her for a CAT scan, Doctor's order",showing the suited gorilla the order form.

The stubborn sweeper looked at Emily with distrust and said, "Wait here, I have to check this with my boss."

The minutes seemed like hours and she felt like she didn't have the strength to go through with this pretend. For an instant, she understood her brother's life and the risks he took on a daily basis to help others or just to survive on the outside. Now it was her turn to be strong and she was not going to let him down. Their mother's life was on the line and Jarod and her father were counting on her to make this work. Emily was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice the figure that had exited her mother's room. When she looked up, she was face to face with Mr. Lyle.

TBC

Sorry to leave you with another cliffhanger. Next chapter will be up very soon. Please review. Love to know if you like it or hate it. Thanks.

Gemini-M










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