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Sleight of Hand
Part 18



Ashe, New York
Sam gently stroked Helen’s hair as she lay on his chest, and smiled as she looked up at him. "Can a two-year-old sleep through the night?"

"That one can," Helen smiled in return. "And David can, too."

"And will Jarod and Ethan still be here in the morning?"

"Yes, or at least Jarod will. We talked about it and realized that if he left, it would give Steve reason to be afraid. Although he'd be able to hide it well, Michael or David might pick up on it and that's the worst thing that could happen."

"You love those kids, don't you?" Sam stated.

"They remind me a bit of me. I just want to give them a good life."

"Do you think you can?"

"I certainly have every intention of doing so. If my brother and his friends decide to get involved, they could find life rapidly becoming unpleasant."

"Well, if you want a hand, just give me a call."

Helen looked up at him in mock-astonishment. "You'd work against the organization that, in your words, 'pays my bills'?"

"Only if you ask me to." He smiled. "I'd hate for you to leave them alone, simply in order to sneak back into the Centre, when I can get things for you."

"Sydney said that, too," she smiled.

"When?"

"When he was in 'Iowa'." She laughed at his expression. "You thought it was real, didn't you?"

"It all sounded pretty genuine,” Sam agreed, laughing. “Maybe I should insist on coming along to the next 'sighting', just to see what Miss Parker says."

"And you can come to me to have your ear-drums mended once she's finished all her yelling."

Sam laughed again, softly. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"The 'Margaret' you used to write to - I haven’t seen her 'missing' son recently, have I?"

"Pretty recently," Helen agreed, her eyes dancing with laughter.

He glanced at his watch. "Three hours ago?"

"Until he went to bed, yes." She smiled. "Did you ever suspect?"

"Once or twice, but I didn't want to mention it to you, in case it encouraged you to do exactly what you did do after you lost contact with her."

"You know me far too well."

"Is that such a problem?" he demanded.

"No, I suppose it isn't, as long as I can know you equally well."

"What am I going to suggest now?"

"Hmm." Helen paused for effect and Sam laughed. "You're going to suggest that you tell Sydney about knowing me so that you can be a part of any plan we come up with."

"Make sure you keep an eye on it. His reaction could be entertaining."

"I'll do that. And I'll give you some token to prove it to him."

"Like what?"

"I'm not sure yet, but I'll think of something."

"While you're thinking, can I change the subject?"

"You mean I have to think about two things at once?" She smiled. "Well, I guess not being male, I should be able to manage that."

"What's Jarod's reaction to your sexist taunts?" Sam asked curiously.

"The same as yours used to be before you learned to ignore them." Helen looked up. "What was it that you wanted to change the subject to?"

"You."

"I'm so glad to hear it."

Sam laughed again. "You and me. Us. I want to know if you feel able to cope with a long-distance relationship."

"Long-distance being three states?"

"Exactly."

"How often will I see you?"

"I don't know. That's why it'll be long-distance."

"On one condition."

"And that is?"

"That I get to see the papers constituting the ‘deal’ before you leave tomorrow," she smiled.

He gave her a mock-glare. "You have a one-track mind."

"Not at all! Being female, I can think about more than one thing at once, meaning that I can make connections between them."

Sam laughed. "All right, Miss 'I can take down the Centre single-handed if I want to, nerny nerny ner ner'. You've got yourself a deal."

"Now I know why my brother sent you to New York." Helen kissed him. "You're such a wonderful negotiator."

# # #


The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware

"Doctor, do you have a moment?"

"Of course, Sam." Sydney looked up in surprise. "Come in."

The sweeper firmly shut the door before walking over to the psychiatrist's desk. "I was wondering - the next time all three of you go somewhere in response to a sighting of Jarod, would you mind taking me along?"

"I don't understand."

"Well, I have a strong attraction to New York - sorry, Iowa - and I'd really like the chance to visit it as often as possible."

The psychiatrist looked at the sweeper narrowly, his facial features expressionless. "I don't know what you're talking about, Sam."

"Are you sure, sir? I was talking to somebody who felt sure that they saw you on Saturday in New York - Ashe, to be precise - and was equally positive that three people answering to your descriptions were there for a number of days roughly, if not precisely, equal to the length of your mysterious disappearance last week. Sorry, four people, because a girl who looked very similar to Mr. Broots' daughter was there too, apparently."

"And who else have you mentioned this 'somebody' to?" Sydney demanded.

"Oh, nobody, sir. I thought it would be worth mentioning to you first, as you, being a doctor, would have had more to do, taking care of Debbie and the other patient when they got the measles. As far as I've been told, Mr. Broots presumably spent most of the days at his daughter's bedside, and Miss Parker, not having had the measles when she was younger, probably spent a lot of time resting, trying to build up her immune system enough to prevent herself from coming down with it, if she even got it at all, too badly." Sam paused. "But that, of course, would only have occurred if you had to act as the doctor, but there might have already been one in attendance, in which case I imagine you spent much of the time by the bed of the other patient, because of how much Jaro – I mean he, that other patient - means to you."

Sydney sat back in his chair. "All right, Sam, who is it? Who's the 'somebody'?"

"An old friend, Doctor. I happened to meet her at a shopping mall in Lyneham, New York, as I was just about to leave, having completed a deal for her broth… the head of the Triumvirate. I'm sorry, sir. I don't seem to be very articulate today. It could be to do with the fact that I'm slightly tired. I didn't get much sleep last night."

"And this 'old friend' told you all of that?"

"Yes, sir. She described it in great detail. She thought it might be useful for me to tell you, so that you could trust me enough to ask for my help, just in case any of you feel the need for help if you wanted to 'liberate' files again or something like that."

"Did she happen to mention how anybody was?" the older man queried curiously.

"Indeed she did, Doctor. She told me that Jarod in her professional opinion was well on his way to a full recovery from his bout of measles, that Ethan was totally over his exhaustion, and also that all three of the people over whose disappearance the Triumvirate are currently puzzling were also well and happy."

"And did she say anything about calling?"

"Yes sir." Sam stared hard at the phone and it obediently rang. He looked back at the psychiatrist. "Will that be all?"

"No, Sam. Stay." Sydney reached forward, activating the speaker. "All right, Helen, very funny."

"I thought it was too," she responded, laughingly. "Although my 'messenger' gave away a bit more information than I was expecting him to."

"Sorry, ma'am. I got carried away," the sweeper stated apologetically, unable to help casting an amused look at the security camera mounted on the wall.

"All right, Sam, you're forgiven."

"I'm so glad to hear it."

"What's the reason behind all this, Helen?"

"I thought he told you, Sydney. In fact I know he did, because I heard him. During a discussion that we had last night, Sam volunteered to help us when we plan the last great downfall of the Centre."

"You'd better hope that scrambler's working."

"My brother and his buddies in the middle of a T-Board with Raines right now and a problem in the security room means that all audio recordings have been turned off."

"Who did that?" Sydney demanded.

"The sage doesn't remember?” Helen retorted. “I'm disappointed."

"Oh, he remembers. He was just wondering if you were going to tell him."

"I'm not that silly, especially as both of you, although not Miss Parker who, for the information of my 'messenger', has been sitting in the corner for the entire conversation, are well aware of who I mean."

The sweeper jumped violently, turning to find his boss closely observing him, a finely manicured eyebrow raised, and Helen laughed. "I’m sorry, Sam. I was going to say something before, but I wouldn't have missed that reaction for the world."

"For that, I might not come and visit on my next day off," he retorted.

"Oh, I'm sure you will, whenever that great day might be."

"You seem to be sure about an awful lot, Helen," Miss Parker stated quietly.

"Where your personal sweeper is concerned, I can afford to be." The amusement in the woman's voice was clear. "But I wouldn't worry. I have no plan to steal him from you. Not yet anyway."

# # #


Ashe, New York
"And are you alone there or do you have company, Helen?"

The doctor glanced around the room. "Sydney, do you happen to remember that I now have two small children to care for? How can I possibly hope to be alone? And why would I want to be?"

"So who else has heard this conversation, or watched it by logging into the security system?"

"Well, not the same person who helped you after the terrible incident with your T-Board, Sydney. At least I don't think he has. That person left earlier this morning, as did his brother."

"Where to?" the other woman demanded.

"Your brother went to visit his father, Miss Parker. I'm not sure where he's going after that, but he said he'd keep in touch with both of you."

"And the others?"

"We're all well and happy, thank you for asking." She smiled, looking down at the baby who was asleep in her arms. "But, delightfully entertaining as this has been, all good things must come to an end."

"Quite,” the psychiatrist agreed. “Any longer and we'd probably get your brother coming in to ask what we thing we're doing."

"Try and remember not to say hello for me if you see him."

Helen could hear the amusement in Sydney's voice. "We'll remember. And if your loving brother should happen to ask about you?"

"You feigned ignorance to Sam very convincingly,” she reminded him. “Don't forget all your medical directions, Sydney. Flustered and unable to concentrate."

"Goodbye, Helen."

The doctor laughed as the call was firmly disconnected, glancing over at the man who had silently listened to the entire conversation.

"Is he angry with you?" Steve asked.

"No." She smiled and shook her head. "That was just part of the fun."

"Can we trust him?"

"Who?” she asked. “Sam? Sydney?"

"Both." Steven looked at her. "I mean… I know he's important to you, but…"

"Steve, I'm glad to hear that you're tentative. That suspicion is what will keep you safe from the Centre. But I believe we can trust Sydney and I know we can trust Sam. I can understand if you still have doubts, even about me…"

"How did you know?" he asked, his eyes wide.

"Because it's natural. I'm a total stranger to you. I just appeared in your room one night and took you somewhere. Apart from all that, your treatment at the hands of Raines would have instilled a sense of suspicion in you. Just about everyone has points when they're suspicious - it's normal. Even Sydney's like that sometimes," she smiled, thinking back to the car trip that brought them to her house.

"David isn't."

"Children are naturally less suspicious than adults, possibly because they've never lived through experiences to create suspicion. As a balance, though, most children seem able to detect danger better than adults. That instinct is the one thing that's kept Jarod away from Centre personnel on many occasions and, except that Sam prevented it, would have had him running last night."

"He didn't run away from you."

"The first thing I did was get him out of danger and that gave him reason to trust me at first. That trust was shaken slightly but, by having one of Jarod's family beside him when he came around, he began to trust me again."

# # #


The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware

The man replayed the DSA footage of the autopsy for the fourth time and the small smile on his face widened. Slipping out the disc, he put in another, allowing him to clearly see the man's death throes as he succumbed to poison that had been administered through his final meal.

"Still reveling?"

Starting, the redhead looked up to see another of the other Triumvirate members enter the room. "Reveling, no. Quietly relishing it." He shrugged and flicked off the machine. "After all, he would have done a similar thing to us if that coup had gone ahead."

"Yes, that's true."

"You're doing well with Raines' T-Board."

"I appreciate the compliment, but it's infuriatingly slow. If only we could use those drugs, it would at least be tolerable, but this is like having teeth pulled."

The man sat back in his chair. "Do we have an idea of the conditions of which that doctor spoke?"

"No, but it's probably something to do with blood-type or something of that nature and that," he eyed the other man hopefully, "would be fairly easy to test."

"Do we have Sydney's results available?"

"Fortunately, yes. The infirmary hadn't got around to destroying the material after they added it to the medical records on the old mainframe."

"Good. If there is a difference, run a series of tests of those drugs on people whose tissue types correspond with that of Raines. Should the tests show no reactions, then you can use the drug on him, and him only. Clear?"

"Yes, sir." Smirking, the man exited the room, allowing the head of the Triumvirate to return to the task in which he had been engaged when the other man entered.

# # #


Ashe, New York
Helen looked down at the boy on her lap as she read the last word, closing the book before putting it down on the cushion beside her. Gently, she moved David's head so it rested more comfortably against her chest and then picked up her own book, looking at Steve.

"Everything okay?"

He smiled. "Fine. Remind me, how long do we have these books for?"

"Two weeks," she explained for the third time, patiently. "And then we take those back and get some more out if we want to."

"I like that idea."

"That's no surprise to me at all. It must be a pleasure to read what you like these days instead of having it dictated to you."

"It's a pleasure to do whatever I want these days, instead of having to do what he tells me."

She nodded at the box that stood beside his chair. "Isn't that Jarod's DSA case?"

"How did you know?"

"I have a vague memory of it stripping the paint off the front of my car."

The Pretender grinned. "He mentioned that. If you'd wanted to meet him that badly, all you really had to do was say hello."

Helen laughed. "You've been taking lessons in smart comments from him as well."

"He made some suggestions," Steve smiled.

"I bet he did." She nodded at the case. "Why were you watching them?"

"I was trying to compare what he went through with what I did."

"And?"

"And what?"

"What conclusions did you draw? Who had an easier life?"

"That's not something I want to compare."

She nodded. "I think both of you had an easier time than Kyle, for instance."

"Jarod's brother? He mentioned him a few times, but I never met him."

"No, you wouldn't have. I understand that Kyle was taken down to SL-27 a few weeks before you were brought to the Centre." Helen smiled. "Did you meet Miss Parker when you were younger?"

"No, although I’ve heard Angelo say her name a few times. From what Jarod said to me, she was almost never at the Centre by the time I was brought there, until she joined the team in security."

"Do you remember your kidnapping?"

"Yes. I suppressed it for a while but one of my simulations was about saving a kidnapped child so it came back."

"When was that?"

"Several weeks before Michael was born. After that, I almost never did any simulations, because taking care of him became virtually my full-time job."

"Do you mind me doing most of it, or would you like to be more involved?"

"Well, I enjoy not having to get up during the night," he grinned, before continuing hesitantly, "but I would like to help more during the day, changing him and stuff. Bathing him used to be kind of fun too."

"Well, how about you take over that job then? I've got plenty to do caring for David in the morning, and I'd be happy for you to do all that for Michael."

"Are you sure?"

"Steve, I don't suggest things unless I'm sure. And if one of us wants to sleep in for some reason, the other can take over."

"Like when Sam was here," Steve commented innocently. "And Jarod got David and Michael up."

"Yes," Helen responded lightly, suddenly very interested in her book again. "Just like that."

# # #


The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware

"Mr. Raines, I have something that could be useful for you."

Still fuming from his latest T-Board and having only just returned to his office, the bald man looked up as Willie announced his entry in this intriguing manner.

"And that is?"

"I found Angelo's latest space - and something that might interest you."

He placed a DSA player onto the desk and played the footage of Raines and Helen on the night of Steve, David and Michael’s escape. When it was over, the man sat back in his chair.

"It's useful, certainly,” Raines agreed. “The question is what to do with it?"

"I'm sure the Triumvirate could find it useful."

"And I need something to convince them that I'm useful or else I might meet the same fate as Mr. Parker." He looked at Willie thoughtfully. "Do you have a plan?"

The man sat down in a chair on the other side of the desk. "From other recorded material of that night, Angelo helped the woman to spirit those three away. They could use him – or a threat to him – as bait to catch her. The empath's computer had a number of messages that he had sent her and the Triumvirate could make a similar message and send it to the woman."

"Do we know how she gets in?"

"There are three possible places - and three members of the Triumvirate."

Raines rose to his feet. "Where are the terrible trio now?"

"In a meeting, sir. But, with something as important as this..."

"We'll have to crash that meeting. You're right."

# # #


The three men listened to the details in silence, watching the two men who stood on the other side of the large table. When they were finished, the redheaded man spoke.

"And where is the empath now?"

Raines glanced at Willie, who filled the gap. "I'm not sure, sir. He wasn't in there when I found of the information, but I put two other sweepers to guard it, to make sure that he wouldn't move it before I could bring it to show Mr. Raines."

The head of the Triumvirate looked at his colleague. "Blockade the Centre."

"Yes, sir." The man rose and left the room immediately.

"All right, that'll do for now. If we need any more information, we'll call you." The man looked at Willie. "I'll send several people to bring all of that information here so that your fellow-sweepers can be provided with other work."

"Is there anything I can do, sir?" the sweeper responded.

"Go to the Security Room and oversee proceedings. Make sure that no emails have a chance of getting through without us reading them. The same goes for calls."

The sweeper left the room immediately, followed by Raines, and the head of the Centre looked down at the frozen image of the woman on the screen. After a few moments his eyes widened slightly before he turned to his colleague.

"Does that image look familiar?"

His co-leader examined the woman's features for a moment. "Vaguely, but I wouldn't want to try putting a name to that face, or to say where I've seen it before."

"You saw it in here," the first man growled. "The only difference was that she had brown hair then. Somehow she was involved with the business of Sydney's collapse at the T-Board. In fact, when I think about it, I’d suspect she was responsible for that. Nobody else could remember those 'tests' that she mentioned."

"How did she do it?"

"I don't know, but it probably means the drugs won't have that affect on people other than Sydney and possibly Miss Parker and Mr. Broots."

"So you think she was responsible for their disappearance?" the other man guessed.

"And the mainframe disaster as well, yes," the man mused. "If she knows how to get a person out of the Centre so subtly that nobody knows until the following morning they're gone, she probably also knows how to steal the codes from offices and put false ones in their place."

"So - what? She created something to counteract the drug we gave Sydney?"

"It's possible. She certainly gave Raines something. You only have to listen to his voice and look at him to know that he'd been given a drug of some kind."

"So, we'll catch her..."

"Outside. That way any drugs she could use won't have an effect."

"And are we going to kill her?"

"No, not yet."

The other man looked over in surprise. "Why not? She's an incredible danger."

"But she has two large benefits. First, she's clearly very skilled with chemical creations and could be useful. Then she appears to be helping Sydney, Miss Parker and Mr. Broots. Now who else could be working with them?"

"Jarod?"

"It's possible, and if we put her in danger, that might be enough to bring him back at a run. For all we know, they could be buddying up in a big way."

"I love it." The second man stretched in his chair, grinning. "I love it a lot."

# # #


Ashe, New York
Helen glanced up from her book as Steve stood. "Going to bed?"

"I think I might, if that's okay."

"Of course it is, Steve. Sleep well."

"You, too." He smiled faintly before going into the kitchen and she could hear him descending to the cellar.

Reaching over, she turned on her computer, completing the book while it began. As she read the last word, a new email was announced and she typed in the password. For several seconds she read the message until the meaning forced its way into her mind.

Jumping to her feet, Helen typed in a short message for Steven and left the machine open on the table so that he’d see it. In the kitchen she pulled on a jacket before locking the door of the house behind her and jumping into the car. Only a few seconds later, she was almost a block away from the house.

# # #


The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware

The black-clad figure approached the vent cover and put out a hand, expecting it to give. When it failed to do so, Helen straightened and looked around, her eyes almost instantly meeting those of the man who stepped out of the shadows opposite her. The two hands on her arms, just seconds later, holding them firmly behind her back, were no surprise.

"There are far easier ways for you to get into the infirmary than through the vents, Doctor, or did you forget to bring your sign-in card tonight?"

"I always like a challenge," she retorted calmly.

"Well, I hope we've provided you with that over the years, Helen." The man drew a gun from his holster, aiming it at her. "That is how long you've been sneaking in and out for, isn't it? You've been going in and taking various files out of people's cupboards and filing cabinets, putting false documents in their place."

"Is that a question or a statement?"

"For somebody in as much trouble as you, my dear, you're very cocky."

"I'd be more concerned if I thought anybody else was in trouble, but as I can now assume that my fear for other people's safety is unfounded, I'm not worried about me. You're going to kill me, so why should I be concerned?"

"If I was going to kill you, I’d have done it already. No, we have a number of other plans for you." He stepped closer. "Where are they?"

"Who?"

"The people we saw you helping to get out of the Centre."

"Safe. Considering what you were planning to do, I can't imagine it making a difference whether they're here or somewhere else, except to them, of course."

"We like to know where our people are, Helen, and we're going to make sure we know where you are at all times."

"Do you think I'd run away or something? What possible reason could I have for running away from my big brother?"

"And who might that be?" he demanded.

"You don't know?" She stared at him, moonlight illuminating the look of mocking amusement on her face. "You are, of course. Aren't I lucky?"

"And, always assuming you're not lying,” he asked, eyes narrowing, “you know this how?"

"I did a little comparison of your latest physical with similar results from a batch of tests that I had done several years ago. It matched. After you drag me inside, you can run more tests to prove it to yourself, if you like. I'm sure I won't know anything about them."

"You're right about that." He nodded at the sweeper. "And we aren't going to rely on a mere drug to make sure you don't try to fight."

Helen felt the impact of the blow to the side of her head that sent her sprawling to the ground but was unconscious before she could feel the pain.

# # #


"Now what?" The man turned to his boss, as they looked at the woman who lay, unconscious, and firmly bound to the operating table in front of them.

"I'm not going to drag any of the pursuit team back to the Centre tonight, but I’ll see if Sam knows anything about her."

"Why would he?"

"If she's been working with Sydney and the others, he might have met her as well and may know where she could have taken the others." He nodded toward a sweeper, who immediately left the room.

"And you think he'll tell you?"

"Loyalty is their first responsibility - and I'm sure he knows what would happen to him if we found he was lying."

"Could she really be your sister?"

"I've already got someone checking it, not that it makes any difference."

"You wanted to see me, sir?"

The man turned. "Yes, Sam. I have somebody here that, if you can, I want you to identify."

Stepping aside, the head of the Triumvirate revealed the woman and watched the sweeper, who gazed at her for a few minutes, his face expressionless, before he nodded slowly.

"Wasn't she the doctor that treated Sydney after he collapsed at the T-Board? I'm sure it was her, although I thought she had brown hair."

"But you've never seen her before that?"

"If I had, sir,” Sam responded quickly, desperately suppressing the urge that he was feeling to knock the man to the floor, grab Helen and leave, “wouldn't I have said something when she appeared?"

The man nodded thoughtfully. "Sam, I want you to go outside and guard the shaft at point 82-B in case any of her friends decide to try and rescue her. Ask security to let you out."

"Of course, sir," Sam agreed, instantly planning his next moves.

As the sweeper closed the door, the second man turned to his boss. "Why?"

"If he'd seen her before, he would have denied knowing her. The fact that he admitted seeing her at the T-Board, when we know she was there, makes me fairly sure he was telling the truth."

"And what now?"

"Now,” with a malicious smile curling his lips, “it's time to start."

# # #


Falk, New Jersey
Half-waking, Jarod reached out for the phone and activated it.

"Hello?"

"Jarod, it's Steve."

"What's up?"

"Helen's not here."

The Pretender sat up. "What do you mean, she's not there?"

"I mean she's not here! I got up because Michael was crying - had been for quite a while – and I found a note saying that she had to go back to the Centre."

"Did she say why?"

"There was an email from Angelo, saying that he was in danger."

Jarod arched an eyebrow. "He sent it?"

"Apparently. It's from the address that I know he uses."

"When?"

"It came about five hours ago."

"Okay, I'll find out what's going on and call you when I know. Just stay with those kids."

"Believe me, I'm not going anywhere."

"Call Dad and get him to come around there. He can get you away if need be."

"Sure thing," Steve agreed at once.

Jarod hung up the phone and was thinking who to call next when the device rang in his hand.

"Helen?" he demanded.

"No, it's Sam. They've got her, Jarod, I've seen her." The Pretender could detect the well-hidden concern in the sweeper's voice.

"She's alive?"

"Yes. Somebody told me they won't kill her, only 'retrain' her, whatever that might mean."

"Where are you?"

"The shaft. I was sent to guard it, to keep other people from getting in."

"And Angelo?"

"I haven't seen him, but I think it was just a ploy to get her here."

"I'll be there as soon as I can."

"What are you planning?"

"I'll let you know when I arrive."

# # #


The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware

"She was telling the truth," the second Triumvirate member told his boss.

"That makes this even more fun, then," the redhead grinned, before nodding. "Begin."

As one of the men inserted a syringe into the still-unconscious woman's arm, the man took the folder that was held out to him and glanced through it.

"Very interesting."

"You didn't know?"

"My parents put me up for adoption when I was eight. It seems that they then had her. How nice of them to get rid of one child before they had another."

"And how ironic that she should have been working against the Centre for all this time."

"Quite." The man folded his arms, the folder held in one hand, and watched a drug being injected before the doctor stepped back, turning to him.

"We can't do anything else until this has been allowed to be absorbed, sir, and it will take at least an hour."

"Put a guard in this room and send someone to get us as soon as she's ready for the next stage."

"Yes, sir."

# # #


"Are you going to lift the blockade?" his co-member queried at the end of an hour of planning.

"No, not yet. It's more than likely that people will try to rescue her and, with that in place, they’ll need inside help to do so. As far as we know, they don't have that among the staff members who are here."

"And once this is complete?"

"Later I'm bringing Miss Parker and the others in for another T-Board. If they still refuse to be helpful, we'll see how much more effective a threat to the woman is. I suspect," he added with a grin, "that it will be quite effective indeed."

"And Raines?"

The first man laughed softly. "He's certainly been useful, hasn't he? It's a pity that, while he was talking to us, someone else was spraying that equally useful drug, Ammon, around his office and quarters. I'd be rather surprised if there's anybody 'living' there now, pun completely intended."

"Was that the punishment for his planned coup that he thought he'd avoided?"

"Precisely,” the redhead agreed. “We've been too nice to him after every other T-Board, which is exactly which this response will be so unexpected."

"And Cox?"

"The man is starting to annoy me. I preferred his thinly veiled animosity to this nauseating obsequiousness." The head of the Triumvirate looked up at his assistant. "What work is he doing for us at the moment?"

"He's dragging out the staff details, presumably because he feels that it will keep him safe, if only for a while longer."

"I want him guarded from a distance. As soon as he knows about Raines' fate, he will know it's time to leave and I want it prevented, by a bullet in the back, if that's what it takes."

"Excuse me, sir. I was asked to tell you that the next stage is almost ready."

"I'm glad to hear it." The man stood, stretching. "Why couldn't this blasted woman have snuck in at a reasonable hour, like midday? Then we could all at least have had a good night's sleep to prepare for this."

# # #


"Sam?"

Hearing the familiar voice, the sweeper glanced around warily before rapidly walking to the shadows.

"Where is she?"

"SL-24. The Triumvirate has a series of rooms there that use for their own private work. She was carried there."

"Carried?"

"They knocked her out first."

Jarod could see the sweeper's hands clenched into fists as he struggled to control his anger and the Pretender attempted to speak calmly.

"Sam, I'm going to get her out."

"You're not doing this alone, Jarod, not this time. There's no possible way for you to manage it."

"I would say there's no way for either of you to manage it," a new voice stated. The dark-skinned man appeared from the shadows away to their left, his gun in his hand. "I, on the other hand, am going to manage to be rather popular with the Triumvirate when I appear in the room in SL-24 with both of you, aren't I?" He nodded at the gun in his hand as the two men froze. "It's got to be clear to both of you that I won't hesitate to use this. Now we're going for a short walk over to the air vent cover."

The trio walked over the moonlit ground towards the cover without speaking but as they neared it, Sam turned.

"What are you going to do now, Willie? If we go down first, we'll both have vanished, the moment we're out of sight down there. If you're the first down, we'll be gone from up here."

"I'm not stupid, Sam," the other man snarled. "You're going to demonstrate to me how you've kept this vent open and then we'll waltz in through the front door just like one, big, happy family." Willie stepped over to the cover, his gun still firmly trained on the men, and felt it, before looking up with a wide smirk. "And, to nobody's surprise, it's loose, meaning that call I heard wasn't an mistake, as I'm sure the Triumvirate will agree when I tell them that later." He straightened up but suddenly staggered sideways, grabbing for his lower leg, as he yelled out in pain. That second was all Sam needed, and, drawing his gun, the sweeper shot the other man once through the heart, and again through the head.

"You were right, Helen," he stated quietly as he looked at the dead man’s body. "Nobody in their right mind ever trusts Willie."

Jarod looked down at the tousled head that appeared through the hole, offering a hand to pull the man up.

"Angelo, what...?"

The empath opened his hand to show the empty syringe, before tossing the item aside. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a number of small glass vials and placed them into the pretender's hands.

"What's this?" the Pretender demanded.

"Drug. Raines."

The man nodded slowly before looking at Sam. "If that's going to...?"

"It won't. She gave me the antidote to it before I left Ashe and she said you'd had it as well."

Jarod eyed the man beside him for a moment. "She really trusts you."

"You need to as well, Jarod, or we'll never be able to get her out." He hesitated, a look of concern in his eyes. "If we don't, they'll destroy her and those children will never see her again." Sam had to swallow hard. "And neither will I."

The three men crept along the passages to the lowest levels of the Centre, and eventually arrived at the air vent of the room where a large group was gathered to watch and to guard the occupant. Jarod drew in his breath sharply but silently as a movement by a doctor showed the figure on the bed.

"What now?" Sam murmured in just-audible tones.

"Now," Jarod grinned suddenly. "Everybody's about to have a nice sleep." He broke the seal of a vial and threw it into the room, where the loud discussion between the doctor and the head of the Triumvirate covered the tinkle of broken glass. Jarod repeated the action until six vials had been opened. Glancing to one side, he took in the glazed eyes of the empath and then pulled the man aside.

"Angelo, did you get the antidote for that?"

"No," the younger man murmured, swaying slightly.

"Damn." Jarod stared at the man for a moment. "Well, wait there and try to stay awake if you can. When we've got her, then you can follow us."

The empath nodded numbly, his eyes fixed on the vent wall without seeing anything, and Jarod, casting a last concerned glance at the man, turned back to the room. He could clearly tell the gas slowly overcoming the occupants, and the majority of them swayed as they attempted to continue working, fear of the figure who stood in the corner pushing them to make the effort.

Jarod kept an eye on the head of the Triumvirate as the man took a hesitant step backward, hand outstretched for the back of the chair. Slowly he sank down onto it, raising one hand to his forehead. Glancing around, the man took in the sight of the other two Triumvirate members slumping to the floor, as those other Centre staff members present also gradually succumbed. Eventually, no longer able to hold his breath as he’d been trying to do since first feeling something wrong, the man slumped in his chair, instantly totally insentient.

A moment passed that seemed hours to the men who waited in the air vent shaft, before Jarod put out a hand and pushed the metal, only half-surprised when it yielded to his touch and swung into the room.

"Now or never," he muttered under his breath, jumping down.

Sam ran immediately to the bed and released the straps binding the woman to the gurney, before picking her up in his arms. Jarod used a key on the sweeper's belt to lock the door from the inside and pocketed the metal object before grabbing the pile of papers that were lying on a table beside the unconscious doctor and pocketing the syringes lying beside them. With difficulty Sam climbed back up into the shaft and watched as Jarod pulled the cover closed, securely fastening it, before he put an arm around Angelo to support him and looked at his fellow rescuer.

"Let's get out of here."









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