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Chapter or Story 
Chapter or Story
Part 3
The Triumvirate Offices, SL-9
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
11:45am May 16, 2000
"I'm impressed, Miss Stephanie. To deduce so much information from so little actual data is quite a feat."
Stephanie bowed her head. "Thank-you, sir. Having learnt so much of the Centre's projects already, it was not particularly difficult to understand the connections within these documents, despite the fact that they, as you say, contain little in the way of data." She studied to the pattern of the table again. "If I may be so bold, sir, might I enquire as to your intended punishment for the people you are going to question this afternoon?"
"That is a point on which we are not yet decided." The deep growl of another member of the organisation drew Stephanie's attention briefly away from the original speaker. "However, we will be requiring your input, so be aware of this fact."
"Of course, sir. I understand."
"Will there be anything else?"
"I was wondering, sir, the best method of using this information to gain the best results." She indicated, with a wave of her hand, the documents which were spread out on the table in front of her.
"We have not told them that we have any of it."
"That, sir," she responded, laughingly, "was because you did not *have* any of it until this morning."
He grinned at her and showed a mouthful of white teeth, in much the same manner, Stephanie was forced to reflect, as the wolf had probably shown before eating Little Red Riding Hood. "We shall," he commented airly, "be following your lead. You, as you requested, will be in charge of the interrogation. It is for this reason that you were given transcripts of the three T-Board investigations that were carried out yesterday."
"Yes, sir. I suspected as much. And, if I may ask, where will you be?"
"Behind the one-way mirror. I understand that you checked through the rooms yesterday afternoon."
"Yes, sir. They are all prepared."
"Good, good. Go down to SL-19. You may have the honour of bringing your prisoners up to their section of the room."
Stephanie stood. "Thank-you, sir. You are most kind. I will see you all shortly."
The third man, who had thus far remained silent, now spoke. "I guarantee, Miss Stephanie, that we will see you first."
She smiled conspiratorially. "I have no doubt, sir."
SL-19
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
11:57am May 16, 2000
"Are you ready?"
"As I'll ever be." Jarod put one hand on Stephanie's shoulder and turned her to face him with a small smile on his face. "Are you sure this is going to work?"
"As I'll ever be." She grinned at him. "Now, for goodness sake, try to remember that *you* are the prisoner. That means, no smart-ass remarks, no rudeness and no jibes." She turned and faced him. "Miss Parker is going to be pretty smug about this whole situation. So, for the moment, just let her be. Things will change later."
He looked sober for a moment. "Okay, I understand."
"Oh, and Sydney’s been concerned about your welfare. Just try and make sure that those bruises stay realistic. Just... just pretend that you were beaten up. I'm sure you can manage that, can't you?"
"What, pretend to be someone else?" He grinned. "I suppose I could try."
She found it hard not to grin back but, instead, snapped the cuffs she had brought onto his wrists. Opening the door, she led him out to where a small group, complemented by a number of sweepers, waited for her. At the signal, the group began to make its way along the corridor.
SL-25
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
12:03pm May 16, 2000
Miss Parker drummed her fingers on the tabletop and glared around the room. It was well structured. She, Sydney and Broots sat along one wall of the table and, running on a forty-five degree angle to them was another table, along which sat her father, her twin brother and Mr Cox. Facing her was a barred area that contained a long wooden bench and a similarly made table. Facing her father and the others was a long wall that contained a mirror, but Miss Parker was not deceived. Doubtless the Triumvirate would be in attendance behind that wall, watching every stage of the meeting. Miss Parker wondered briefly who would be conducting the meeting and hoped that it would not be Stephanie.
Her thoughts were broken by the opening of a door within the barred section of the room and she watched, a smirk growing on her face, as the four figures walked slowly into the room, surrounded by a group of sweepers. Obviously, thought Miss Parker to herself, no one was taking any chances. She saw another figure walk through the door before it was closed and her glare resettled on her face as she recognised the woman who walked to the gate in the bars, unlocked it and, passing through, locked it behind her.
Going to the desk in the middle of the room, Stephanie picked up a bundle of papers and, sitting down, began to flick through it. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as Miss Parker got up from her chair and, accompanied by Sydney, wandered over to the cage.
"Well, well, well. How the mighty have fallen."
Jarod glared at her from under lowered eyelids and muttered something incomprehensible, always with one arm pressed tightly to his chest. He also coughed, a deep rumbling sound that made him groan and Sydney jump.
"Are you all right, Jarod? What did they do?"
Miss Parker turned on the psychiatrist with a look of scorn. "What does it look like? Obviously Wonder Boy put up a fight and this was the only way they could drag him back."
Sydney eyed her with a look that was less than friendly. "Perhaps he was trying to protect his family." Sydney ran his eye along the row of people, stopping briefly at the pale young woman who still wore a bandage on her head and leant against her father for support. "I know that Jarod, at least, has a very solid idea of responsibility to family."
Miss Parker was about to glare at him when a cold voice from the other side of the room stopped her.
"If everyone will sit down, we will begin."
The Triumvirate Offices, SL-9
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
12:16am May 16, 2000
"For my own information, Miss Parker, would you please remind us all what occurred on your previous visit to the Triumvirate?"
The other woman remained perversely silent and the seconds dragged. Sydney, sitting on the other side of Broots, glanced warily from Miss Parker to Stephanie, who stood and waited for an answer. He didn't comment, but he thought all the more and wondered to which occasion Stephanie was referring. He knew of no circumstance under which they had been called to account to the Triumvirate but it was obvious to him from Miss Parker's reaction that she knew otherwise. Stephanie kept an eye fixed on the subject of her question but glanced along the row of men. Perspiration rolled down Broots' face and Sydney looked strained but she had no idea of comforting them. Knowing that Sydney was more worried about Jarod than Miss Parker, Stephanie glanced surreptitiously over her shoulder at the silent group of prisoners. Well, she thought silently, he would have even more reason for concern soon. But, for now, finding them to be as well as could be expected, she looked back and fixed her gaze on Miss Parker, visually demanding an answer. Finally, Miss Parker gave out.
"They - threatened to use electro-shock treatment on us."
Stephanie watched as the eyes of all in the room widened but she herself refused to permit any expression to cross her face.
"And would you please inform us all for what purpose this threat was applied?"
Stephanie watched the woman closely and saw that, despite the outward demeanour, she was nervous about the answer that both women knew were coming. Miss Parker's mouth formed itself into a straight and determined line and, after some moments of silence, it became obvious to all concerned that she was not going to answer without some other form of enticement. Stephanie nodded and a figure at the back of the room stepped forward. Before Miss Parker could see who it was, however, she felt the cold steel of a gun barrel in the nape of her neck.
"If you do not tell us, Miss Parker, it may be the last refusal you are ever permitted to make."
Stephanie heard two gasps from the men seated on the same table as her female adversary and she turned quick glances to them. Sydney's eyes no longer wandered to the people in the barred section of the room but moved rapidly between herself and Miss Parker while Broots' eyes held an expression of pure anguish that made Stephanie secretly wonder if he had the disposition for such work. But for the moment she pushed the thought away and concentrated on the woman in front of her.
"Miss Parker, I am waiting. It will do you no good to delay. Please tell everybody here the reason for which you were subjected to such treatment."
Miss Parker inhaled deeply. "Because we were planning..." She glanced rapidly at her father and in her eyes was an expression that combined anger with something which begged him to forgive her for what was coming.
"Because we were planning to kill the Chairman."
SL-25
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
2:13pm May 16, 2000
"And so, despite the long period of time in which you were together, you made no effort to subdue Red File #2 in any way. " Stephanie’s voice was ice-cold. "Could you explain why you failed to do this?"
"He...I couldn't."
"So you have said, three times. But there must be a reason."
"He..." Broots glanced over to the four prisoners in the brightly lit cell and met Jarod's eye, an expression of panic in his own. The Pretender nodded slightly. "He provided enough information for me to gain custody of my daughter."
Stephanie stepped back, a satisfied smirk on her lips. "So you, Miss Parker, are indebted to the prisoner because of the things he uncovered about your past. You, Doctor, owe the prisoner a debt because he told you about your son and you, Mr Broots, gained custody of your daughter through his intervention. It would therefore seem that the more time he spent in society, the more opportunity he had to provide you with information about your lives. So your desire to return him to the Centre decreased with each passing week." She gave them a scornful look and then turned to the sweepers within the barred section. " It would seem, then, that the best way to reduce any further chance of such a thing happening is to remove from the memory of Red File #2 any idea of his past. You will take the prisoner into the other room and ensure that he *will* remember nothing. The Triumvirate wants him to recommence his SIMs as soon as possible." She nodded at the sweepers, two of whom stepped forward and grabbed the Pretender by his arms. Jarod threw himself at the bars as soon as he felt their touch.
"Please, Sydney, don't let them do it. Please!"
The doctor jumped to his feet, sending his chair crashing to the ground. "Please - Miss - Stephanie, there can be no need for this. I'm sure he would co-operate."
Stephanie turned to him and shrugged, her face expressionless. "I am merely obeying orders, doctor. Perhaps, if you had obeyed orders in the first place, we would not all be in this situation now." She turned back. "Return him to the room when he is in a suitable condition to begin work."
SL-25
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
4.19pm May 16, 2000
"All right. We are going to have a ten-minute break. You are forbidden from leaving the room." As she spoke, Stephanie walked towards the single door in the room and walked through it. A sweeper closed it behind her and then placed himself in front of it. She walked down the hall and opened another door, climbing the stairs until she appeared in the room overlooking the conference room. One of the men turned his chair so that he was facing her.
"More entertainment, eh? Well, Miss Stephanie, consider yourself to be very entertaining."
"We are enjoying it very much."
Stephanie made a mock-curtsey, difficult in her tightly fitting dress, and took the seat they offered her. "Thank-you. I believe it is working well."
"And what do you have planned for Jarod? That was not part of the original idea."
"No, sir. I'm aware of that. But it does have a purpose."
"As does everything you do. Very well, we will watch and learn."
Stephanie waved a hand and the three figures looked through the glass in time to see Jarod walking stiffly but unbound between the two sweepers. Two grey marks on his temples, as well as bandages on both his hands, showed the occupants of the room that here was the source of the screams that they had heard, very faintly, through the walls. Major Charles leapt up from his seat and would have thrown himself at his son, but a burly sweeper restrained him and kept him on his seat. Ethan placed one hand one the pretender's shoulder and shook him, but it brought no response. Emily turned pale but, having seen the treatment that her father received, she didn't move. It remained for Sydney to make the greatest reaction.
Mirroring his earlier effort, the psychiatrist jumped out of his seat. Through it all, Jarod remained staring straight ahead, not blinking and hardly breathing, and he made no response as Sydney loudly called his name. One of the Triumvirate members turned and stared at Stephanie.
"What caused this?"
"Several treatments of electricity, applied to the temples. A most effective treatment, as you see."
"And your purpose?"
"As you see." She drew their attention back to the group. Sydney, having elicited no response, had dropped back into his chair, staring as vacantly as Jarod did. Broots attempted to show some sign of sympathy, but Miss Parker turned a scornful look on them both.
"For heavens sake, grow up. It's nothing more than he deserved."
Sydney glared at her and muttered under his breath as Stephanie rose and headed for the door.
"How did you know that she would not join up with her father and brother?"
"An innate sense of mistrust. Besides, neither Lyle nor Mr Cox are in positions to help anyone." She indicated the two men, bound in their chairs and gagged to prevent them from further disruptions with which they had punctuated the earlier session. "Equally, considering her earlier revelations, I doubt her father is particularly pleased with her at the moment."
"Very well, Miss Stephanie. Do continue with your activities. We will be watching."
"I am well aware of the fact, sir." She turned and left the room, muttering a phrase under her breath that they could not hear. "It makes it so much more fun that way."
SL-25
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
5:30 pm May 16, 2000
"Well, I believe that we have all the information that we could possibly require. That, when supported by the other information which I have obtained, detailing the various deals that you have made over the years, particularly in regard to the sale of simulations, as well as information outlining any and all plans made by some of you to achieve higher positions than the ones you hold now."
Mr Parker glared at her over the top of his recently applied gag, but Stephanie easily ignored him and continued with her grim speech.
"In the meantime, I believe there are some people who which to ask you some questions." She turned to the three gagged men. "If you speak out of turn, you will be forcibly removed and, possibly, given the same treatment as Red File number two." She waved at Jarod, who remained immobile and mute. "Understand?"
Three silent nods were all she needed and the gags were removed. At the same instant, lights in the room behind the mirror were turned on, allowing all those in the room below to see the occupants. During this, Stephanie slipped out of the door and back into the hallway. Then she headed down towards another door and waited behind it, viewing the events within the room from a small screen placed near the door.
As the lights illuminated the three figures behind the glass, Miss Parker exchanged a confused glance with her father, the first since the interview began.
"Who are you?"
"My, my, Mr Parker. I was under the impression that your memory was better than that."
"But...the Triumvirate?"
"*We* are the Triumvirate. There was a bloodless and unannounced coup several months ago. The old Triumvirate, poor things, all met with rather nasty accidents. You won't be seeing them again. In fact, you three," he fixed his eyes firmly on the three men sitting directly opposite him, "came very close to such nasty accidents yourselves. Only a few small turns of fate have saved your lives. So be aware of your luck."
Mr Parker mumbled to himself for a few seconds before he felt the heated glare upon him and stopped abruptly.
"We consider you all to be a danger and the information we have uncovered only served to confirm this fact. With Raines out of the way, you, Mr Parker, felt that you could attempt a coup you have been planning, I understand, for many months. It is a shame that all of those plans have now come to nought. Particularly considering that it is we who know about it." He turned and glanced at one of the sweepers. "You will, at the end of this interview, take Mr Parker to the cell that we have prepared. Is that understood?"
The sweeper nodded and the member of the Triumvirate turned his attention to Lyle.
"You, too, Mr Lyle and Mr Cox, have behaved in the same traitorous way and will be punished in a similar attitude."
"And what attitude will that be?" Lyle demanded.
"Well," the man leant back in his chair and stroked his chin with a contemplative expression on his face. "We could make you the subject of your own planned experiments. Or we could come up with our own ideas. Or else we could hand you over to the American legal authorities."
Lyle muttered something under his breath but stopped as the Triumvirate member turned a piercing glance on him.
"Have you something else to offer, Mr Lyle?"
"No, sir."
"Or you, Mr Cox?"
"No, sir."
"Very well. Then, once this is finished, they will be put into separate cells until we decide on the future course of action."
"Now," he continued, "for the other three."
At these words, Stephanie turned the knob and entered the barred area of the room beside Jarod and his family. She placed one hand gently on Jarod's shoulder so that he knew she was there. His lack of reaction made her wonder whether he was so deep in the pretend she had suggested to him earlier that he was unable to respond.
"It is time for us to reveal to you the altered aims of the future Centre. I believe they may come as something of a surprise to you. There will be no more arbitrary abductions here, nor any experimentation. That will cease completely from today. You three have a choice. You may continue to work for the Centre, as it will be in the future. Or you may leave, and take your chances in the outside world. We cannot guarantee what the future will be."
Miss Parker stood up and stared at the three men. "And why should we believe what you say? The Centre of the past cannot change. There is too much at stake. We...You would all stand to lose too much."
Stephanie glanced up at the Triumvirate and found that they were all looking at her. One nodded and she reached over to remove a panel from the wall. Then she pressed a button and two strips of the floor slid away, revealing two thin tracks. Another push and the vertical bars slid along the length of the room, increasing the barred section and decreasing the size of the room where the six people sat to a room of about ten feet square. Sydney and Broots leapt to their feet and they, with Miss Parker, ran to the bars, which stopped moving as soon as the door was no longer reachable by the individuals in the room.
"What is going on?!"
"My dear Miss Parker, is it not obvious?" Stephanie smiled for the first time since beginning the interview. "You are now the prisoners and they are not."
"But there is more to come, is there not, Miss Stephanie?"
"Of course, sir." She stepped forward to the bars so that she was visible to all of the people in the room. "There are several things still to be discussed. The first, Sydney, concerns you. When Mr Broots informed you of Jarod's capture by the Centre, you, unlike Miss Parker, were not surprised by the fact that he was still alive. Now, why was this?"
"Jarod called me at about half past three yesterday to tell me that he was still alive."
Stephanie turned and eyed Jarod, who, despite the depth of his involvement in his pretend, still had the grace to blush slightly. Fortunately Stephanie blocked him from the others and they failed to see his action.
"And you, Mr Lyle, were very keen to get to know me, were you not, when I first began working here?"
"I suppose..." he muttered, discomfited.
"Have you never wondered why *I* was chosen to work here, Mr Lyle, and not others? For your information, and that of the others in this room, I will tell you my real name. It is Lee Lin. Does the name sound even vaguely familiar to any of you?"
"Lee Lin?" Stephanie, or to give her real name, Lee, watched as Miss Parker's mind put the pieces together.
"Lin? That was the name of..." She turned to Sydney, who had worked it out at the same time as Miss Parker had.
"That is correct," stated Lee. "May Lin was my sister. She disappeared only a few weeks after getting to know you, Mr Lyle. She disappeared and it was then found that she had been murdered. No court may be able to convict you of that but, were these bars not in place, I would repay her 'debt' myself. As it is, I prefer to wait and see what the Triumvirate decide."
"A wise choice, Miss Lin. We will not make you wait for very long. But first we wish you to assist us."
"In any way that I can, sir."
"It is just possible that some of these six people will be beneficial to the new Centre, as it will be."
"And you," another member spoke up, "will be the person who makes those decisions for us, as you know them better than we do."
"Of course, sir." She began to pace the length of the bars, staring intently at each of the six people. "I feel, sir, that his past works have shown Mr Broots to be trustworthy and willing to work for you."
"Very well. Let him out."
As Stephanie walked to the door, Miss Parker meditated dashing through the gate but the feeling of cold metal in her neck prevented her. Glancing over, she saw that Sydney was being treated to similar methods. Only Broots was allowed, nervously to edge through the door that Lee held open. He walked through and then sank down onto the bench and mopped his sweating forehead.
"Well, Miss Lin, anyone else?"
Lee glanced at Sydney and saw that, unlike the others, he was not looking at her but rather at Jarod. Without turning, she could tell that Jarod had maintained his blank, staring expression and lack of reaction to any stimulus in the room. Despite herself, Lee was unable to feel anything but sympathy for him and decided to relieve his suffering.
"Doctor Sydney. He has proven himself beyond doubt and will be useful in future when working with Jarod and the others."
The men behind the glass glanced at each other before one nodded. "Very well. He is yours. Open the door."
Lee did as she was bid and Sydney slipped through the gap and went immediately to Jarod's side and began speaking to him in low tones. As for Lee, she turned and eyed the others for a moment before looking at the Triumvirate once more. "I would like time to consider."
"Very well." One of the men looked at his watch. "You may have thirty minutes."
Lee turned back to the people in her section of the room. "Jarod, you will come with me."
Sydney stood and looked at her pleadingly. "Please, Miss Lin, if I may come too..."
"No, Doctor. You are to remain here." She saw the pain in his eyes and, despite herself, felt her expression soften. "I will call you if you are needed."
She turned back to Jarod, who had stood as she spoke, and opened the door, following the pretender out of the room.
SL-25
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
6.15pm pm May 16, 2000
"Now before you say anything..." Jarod began as soon as the door of the nearby office was closed behind them.
"No, before *you* do, I want an apology from the man who has no faith in my plans whatsoever." Lee placed a hand on his shoulder and turned him so that he was forced to look at her. She watched as the formerly blank facial expression crumbled, leaving his eyes sparkling and his cheeks glowing.
"Mm-hm"
"Pardon?"
"I'm hm-mm."
"I didn't quite catch that."
"I'm *sorry*, okay? Sheesh."
"What was that again?"
"Nothing, nothing." Jarod turned away with the hint of a smile on his face and Lee grinned in response. After a moment, the pretender turned back. "So what now?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, what's going to happen now? What's the next step?"
"I thought you'd remember."
"Humour me."
Lee glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "Well, whoever said you were a genius definitely missed the bus. In fact, I'd say they missed the mark by about as much..."
"Hey, I'm not the one who wheedled their way into the confidence of the Triumvirate." Jarod seated himself on the edge of the table as he made this remark, cutting across the beginning of what, from experience, he knew to be a lengthy tirade. "But, as you have, be the dear, sweet, angelic little person that you pretend, in public, to be and tell me - "
He broke off suddenly as Lee turned on him and wrestled with him, neatly landing him on the floor but maintaining her own balance by a miracle.
"Just you apologise." Lee stood over him and calmly straightened her Asian-style dress with long fingers. "I won't be insulted, even by you. And especially not considering who's wielding power at the moment."
"All right, all *right*!" Jarod picked himself up off the floor and reseated himself on the edge of the table. "I'm sorry. Again. But please - like I said before, humour me."
"Right now," Lee folded her hands on the table in front of her, "I've successfully managed to get everyone on the back foot. None of the group that includes your former mentor have any intention of working together, except perhaps Broots and Sydney, which is exactly what I planned. The Triumvirate are still wondering exactly what I have planned, which is the whole point, incidentally, and your family are carrying out my instructions to the absolute letter."
"And what about Miss Parker?"
She smiled at him. "Would it break your heart if I left her out? No, I'm not that unkind. Right now I'm letting her sweat it out a bit - it'll be good for her. But she's going to be included. I'm sure *they* will find her very useful. Besides, I owe her a debt for going behind the back of the old Triumvirate to try and get information about my sister."
"She did - ?"
"Oh, come on, Jarod. I told you about that, I know I did. It was started by the information you sent them, which they got while you were thrown into the pool, handcuffed and blindfolded, remember? Fulfilling another of your ambitions, I presume."
"And how are you managing Mr Parker and the rest of that trio?"
"Sedatives."
"What?!"
"Do you have a better idea?"
"Well, no." Jarod grinned briefly. "And what about Sydney?"
"I've been thinking about that."
"And?"
"And - well, let's get him in here."
She threw open the door, and the sweeper outside turned to her.
"Escort Doctor Sydney here immediately."
Lee's order echoed down the hall and the figure, dressed in black, hurried to obey orders. Lee turned and glanced at Jarod, who grinned once before allowing his face to resume its former, blank expression. This was just completed when the door opened and Sydney hurried into the room.
"What - what is it? Is there something - ?" He stopped and looked from Lee to Jarod with an expression of near-terror on his face. Lee turned to the man who was still standing inside the door.
"You may go. I will call you if you are needed." It was only by a miracle that she remembered to adopt her stilted accent again and she made a determined effort not to catch Jarod's eye, knowing that it would be her undoing, and probably his as well.
"Is there - what's wrong? Can I help?" Sydney's voice displayed the panic that was rapidly building in him.
"There is certainly something you can do, Doctor."
"What - Jarod?"
"Jarod needs no help that you can give." The man spoke for himself and allowed the blank expression to completely disappear from his face.
"I - what...?" Sydney glanced over and did a quick double take. Tragically for the other two in the room, Lee happened to glance in the same direction and any further conversation was held up until their laughter could stop.
"Oh, Sydney." Lee was nearly weeping by this time and Jarod, who had calmed down sooner, stepped over and, taking her by the shoulders, shook her two or three times.
"Just you stop that and remember who's sitting only a few doors down - and how much we still have to do."
Lee, who had bitten her tongue when Jarod shook her and was still in pain from it, nodded her head and then wiped her eyes.
"I'm sorry, Sydney. It was just your statement - and your comments..."
She was about to go off again but felt Jarod's eye on her and stopped. "Sit down. We'll explain."
#####
Lee stood outside the room and glanced at the screen. She had been there for long enough that Miss Parker's pacing was making her feel slightly dizzy. It was either that or nerves; she wasn't sure which. She inhaled deeply and felt Jarod's hand on her shoulder. It squeezed gently and she looked up at him with a smile. His own smile, when he returned it, was full of warmth and affection and, for a moment, made her forget her concern. Then the memory came flooding back and she turned and placed one hand on the firm handle. She felt Jarod's hand slip from her shoulder and, out of the corner of her eye, watched as his face resumed the almost terrifyingly blank expression. Then she pushed open the door and entered the room.
