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Chapter or Story
Part 23
Ashe, New York
"You could stay with Jarod..." the psychiatrist began.
"No, Sydney." Her eyes glittered and her jaw was set firmly. "I'm going back there one last time to do this before it's destroyed completely, and I'm going to use the chance to find out the names of the people who killed my parents, your brother and David's parents, too. As I said to Jarod while he was trying to persuade me not to grab Miss Parker on my own, I'm an expert at escaping and you couldn’t keep me here while everyone else went to Delaware, no matter what you do."
"I could think of one way," the man commented drily. "But I'm not sure anyone would be particularly pleased if I suggested it."
"I'm sure we wouldn't," Sam remarked. "So please, Doctor, don't."
"Always assuming we do let you go," Michelle put in, "who else would be in the lion’s den with you?"
"Me," the sweeper responded quickly.
"Well, of course." She smiled. "I wouldn't dream of going in there without you. But I'd also planned to take Miss Parker, Ethan..."
"Me."
Helen looked at the Pretender. "Are you sure, Steve? I wasn't planning to include you unless you were willing - and you'll have to think about it."
"I've already thought about it. You aren't doing it without me." He stared at the floor before looking back at her. "There's probably things about me in the files and I want to be there to know about it, rather than reading them afterwards with the knowledge that somebody else risked their life to get them."
"All right, you're welcome to come." She turned back to Sydney. "I planned to ask Jarod's dad, as well."
"And Angelo?" Sydney queried.
"No. His risk is as great as Jarod's, but for different reasons. I'd worry what effect the antidote to my drugs might have on him, considering how many other things he's been treated with over the years."
"What about me?" Nicholas looked up at his cousin. "I'm coming, too."
"No, you're not." It came from both his parents simultaneously and Helen grinned at him.
"I think you just got your answer."
"I don't. If you can risk your life, so can I." He looked at his father. "After all, it's all the fault of the Centre that I don't know you as well as I should. Why would you deny me my chance to help tear it to pieces?"
"It's too dangerous, Nick." Michelle rested a hand on his shoulder, "I couldn't bear to see you go through that kind of thing again."
"Mom, these are the same people who approved, if they didn't actually arrange, my kidnapping a few years back. How is that any worse for me than the things we're planning now?"
"And you'd put your mother through that sort of thing all over again?" His father's voice was stern. "Nicholas, you are not going into the Centre."
"He could stay with Jarod as the driver of the other car," Helen suggested. "We’re really too many to fit into one vehicle and he'd be safe - "
"Safer," Sydney put in. "But still not safe."
"You wouldn't trust Jarod to get him out of danger at the first sign?"
"Well, of course, but..."
"Then I'm sure he'd be quite capable of fulfilling that task, and he can maintain some form of contact - radio or something similar - with a base that we'll set up here or in Falk or somewhere. That way Michelle won't need to worry as much."
"Not about him, anyway," the woman commented wryly. "But I suspect I may have other people to worry about."
"But you're going to let me do it." Helen's voice was calm and definite.
"I hardly expect to be able to stop you. After all, I couldn't stop your mother when she planned to sneak into the Centre for the first time."
Maverick, Connecticut
"Jarod?"
"Yes, Dad?" The man looked up from the computer screen in front of him to see his father in the doorway. "What is it?"
"What are you doing?"
"Spying on the Centre."
"Helen's brother?"
"No, not now. I'm going room by room to see if Alex or anybody else I know might be in there."
The man sat next to his son and put an arm around him. "You're not still worrying about what he said, are you?"
"I've been trying not to, but I can't get his words out of my mind." He looked at his father. "How do you know what he said?"
"Helen showed your mother and me the footage from that tower."
The Pretender nodded slowly, his jaw tensing as he tried to control the feelings that remembering those scenes always caused.
"Jarod, he was wrong," Major Charles urged. "He couldn't have foreseen the way things changed, but we don't have to hide from you anymore, nor must you avoid us. You know how important a role Miss Parker plays in your life. And, when the Centre's dealt with, then we'll find somewhere to settle down as a family, together."
"You make it sound so easy."
"You're right, it won't be so easy. This is the Centre, after all. But you could never have won it on your own, any more than Helen could have. That's why they've tried to keep us apart for so long, because they realized that when we all got together they'd have reason for concern. Their current situation would have to be causing, at the very least, a bit of concern, wouldn't you say?"
"Well," Jarod admitted with a small smile. "Maybe just a little bit."
"Good, so stop worrying about what some crazed and bitter person said when his intention was to upset you and focus on reality. We've got a job to do."
"You're right." The Pretender glanced at his watch. "We've still got two hours or so before calling New York."
"Your mother sent me up to bring you and Jon down for dinner."
"The first family dinner, huh?"
"Exactly. The first of many."
Ashe, New York
"Broots, how secure is this line?"
"As secure as I can make it, Helen." He grinned. "What do you think they're going to do - knock down the blockade and listen in?"
"Could they?"
"I don't honestly know how they could work around that blockade - or the next one that will start up automatically if the first one is avoided."
Helen applauded loudly, watching as the technician laughed. "How many rings of blockades did you make - or have you lost count?"
"Four. And there's an alarm on the third so that, if they do break through, I'll know and can set up more. The last two only took about ten minutes to construct."
"And have they managed it yet?"
"No, and they aren't really trying, from a conversation I overheard in the Tech Room earlier. Every few hours, one of them goes to your brother's co-member of the Triumvirate and reports that they haven't had any luck, comes back slightly shaken and tells the others what was said."
"That's suicide!"
"But they don't know that. None of them know what happened to the man shot by your brother. All they know is that he didn't come back to the room."
She nodded slowly. "Still, they're all risking immediate death by not doing as they were told."
"Would you like me to send them a message and let them know?"
"Thanks, Broots, no. I think I'd rather not see them panic." Helen eyed him. "Is it possible for us to send messages to the Centre? I know they can't contact us, but can we get in touch with them in some way?"
"Sure, if you wanted to. All we need to do is set a time and I can slip through the blockade - one-way only, so they can't trace it - and then you can talk with your brother, if that's what you wanted to do."
"Not yet, but it's something I'd like to think about in future."
"So you like my idea, Helen?" a new voice put in.
"Absolutely, Ethan,” Helen giggled. “If we can humiliate my brother even a little bit, it sounds like a good idea to me."
"So you'd call him in front of his other Triumvirate members?” another voice put in. “That's cruel!"
"Jarod, how often do we have to have this conversation?" She grinned as Sydney smiled. "You've still never told me whether you think I'm cruel or not."
"That's because I'm still making up my mind." He laughed. "But I do know that you can come up with wonderful ideas, so we're all waiting for your most recent plan to discredit the Centre."
"If I was that good, Jarod, I’d have got a better mark on a philosophy exam that your mother gave me before she left Philadelphia."
"She gave it to me earlier today and apparently you got a better mark than I did."
"I always knew learning all of those Trivial Pursuit questions would come in handy one day." The doctor laughed. "Bring it with you when you come back to Ashe and we can compare answers once everything's finished."
"And when are we all doing that?"
"We aren't 'all' doing it, but you're right. All of us here did come up with a plan of sorts."
"So who is doing it?"
"Only those people who want or are allowed to." She leaned back against Sam's arm and smiled. "And yes, before you try to object, Jarod, I am participating."
"As long as it's not going back into the Centre..."
"Actually, part of it is, but don't worry. You won't be there." She laughed as Jarod immediately opened his mouth to protest. "Let me explain and then complain, okay?"
"No, it's not okay,” he exclaimed heatedly. “I don't like it already!"
"Then don't be a part of it at all," she responded quickly, "rather than waiting out in the woods with the cars, which was where I was intending to put you."
"I like that idea," Margaret put in quietly and Helen laughed at the black look that Jarod shot at his mother.
"So who will be a part of it?"
"You, Miss Parker, if you want to be, and also Ethan and his father. On this end, me, Sam, Steve, and Nicholas to drive the other car."
"In other words, it's already planned."
"Pretty much, yes. All we don't have right now is a date."
"And what about the rest of us?"
"Broots and Debbie can stay in Vermont, if Broots can control the security system from there."
"Not a problem. That's easy."
Helen hid a smile at the relieved look on the man's face.
"Margaret, Jon and Em can stay in Connecticut - and no, Jon, you aren't going to take part in this at all," Helen added quickly when she saw the boy's mouth open to protest. "You would never be able to convince your Mom and Dad, even if you could talk me into it."
"Very true." Margaret put her arm around the boy's shoulders, and Helen smiled as he snuggled closer to her.
"Sydney, Michelle and Angelo will stay here in New York with Michael and David, which is the place that we'll meet and come back to with the spoils."
"And they are?"
"The last of the files that I haven't uncovered yet. My plan, if everybody I named is willing to take part, is for us to divide up into three groups and go into all three of the most important offices - Mr. Parker's, Mr. Raines' and that of my brother. When the teams get here, we'll work out who's going where and I'll show everybody the various catches used to try and keep hidden things hidden."
"And what are you expecting to find?" Charles asked.
"The biggest secrets of the Centre. Before we close the place down for good, we need to make sure that we know everything. Naturally, none of the things we'll be looking for are on the mainframe, but the Centre is good at hoarding things, so we ought to be able to find answers to any questions we might have somewhere in one of the three offices I mentioned."
"Will we also going be checking those hiding places behind the filing cabinets, as you suggested after bringing those three back?" the older Pretender suggested.
"Well, the rest of us will," Helen laughed, before becoming more serious when she saw the look of frustration on his face. "Jarod, as much as I hate to say it, you could be a risk for this. There's no way for you to guarantee that you'll have enough strength to get through it, and I'm sure you won't want to endanger the rest of us by being unable to finish the job - particularly if there are enough of us to make up for you." She eyed the man sitting beside him, who nodded. "Like your dad, for instance."
"And you're so much better than I am," he commented sarcastically.
"Actually, yes, I am. After one more good night's sleep, the only thing that will be there to remind me of it at all is my colorful decoration."
"Is that just your professional opinion?"
"No, it's Sydney's as well."
"Well, I can hardly argue against that fount of knowledge, can I?"
"If I hadn't detected the faintest hints of sarcasm in that," Sydney rejoined, "I'd be pleased at how easily persuadable you are."
"Gee, I wonder who I got my sarcasm from." Jarod arched an eyebrow. "Somehow I'm not of the opinion that it was inherited."
"Let's keep this focused, shall we?" the pilot interrupted.
Helen looked at Charles as he spoke. "What else is there to discuss?"
"A certain little hobby of yours - and I don't mean petty theft. If you were planning to use any of your drugs, we'll need to be protected against them, and, as far as I know, most of your antidotes send people off for a nap before they become effective. That won't help much if it kicks in on the way, particularly," he eyed his oldest son with a grin, "if someone's coming down with something and so sleeps for longer than planned."
"Helen, did you tell him?" Jarod demanded.
"Hey, it was too good to keep to myself." She laughed. "Actually, I've been thinking about that, too. If those people who are helping arrive at some point in the morning of that day, I can administer the antidote then and we'll all be up and about again by the time we leave in the early evening."
"So what time will we get to Blue Cove?"
"I was aiming for midnight. We'll stay in radio contact the whole way and just prior to going inside, Broots can activate the locks on the doors, meaning that anyone who happens to be in the rooms will be trapped there until we have everything."
"Sleeping sweetly," Sam put in with a grin.
"Of course." She laughed. "And then, as we drive away, Broots can unlock all the doors and my brother can find that he's been duped by his little sister and all her friends again."
"Unless, of course, he managed to trap the lot of you in the Centre," Sydney interjected.
"Well, if he does, I have faith in all of you to mount a major rescue operation and break us out."
"Except that the greatest brains would be trapped in the Centre."
"I'm sure Jarod and Jon will be delighted to know they've been cut out of that prestigious group," Helen grinned. "Don't forget that the blockade will still exist and, on the off-chance that something does go wrong, Jarod and Nick can come here and help everyone else kick-start the emergency plan."
"Oh, so you have one of those, too?" Jarod suggested.
"No, not yet, but we'll come up with something."
"Well, the primary plan being so infallible..." he told her mockingly.
"Jarod, you're not bitter, are you? Surely the reasons make sense."
"Sense or not, he doesn't like them." Miss Parker smiled. "Now I know why we're here and you're there. It's a lot harder to tear you limb from limb at this distance."
"Well, that only lasts until we put this plan into action," Helen retorted.
"And when will that be?" Charles asked.
"First of all, before we decide on those sorts of details, can anyone see any major problems with it - and I mean logistical, not personal ones," Helen added quickly, seeing Jarod's mouth open.
Sydney glanced at the technician. "Are there any problems technically?"
Broots shook his head. "There shouldn't be any. I'll quickly run through the whole plan again with the system open in front of me and test a few things, but I really don't foresee any."
"Good. Anyone else?"
"If there aren't, can I start bringing up personal ones?"
Helen laughed. "After you get here and everyone else is sleeping off my antidote, Jarod, then you can rip into me, I promise."
"Will it make any difference?"
"Of course not."
"Great." He rolled his eyes. "Still, that probably won't stop me..."
Maverick, Connecticut
"Tomorrow?" Margaret looked slightly nervous. "Doesn't that seem a little too soon?"
"The longer we leave it, the more time they’ll have to work around our blockade, or to strengthen defenses within the building. Besides, this isn't the whole plan, and any further steps will depend on the success of this." Charles put his hands over those of his wife. "This is simple and straightforward enough that it has a very good chance of success, but it won't be something they'll be looking for - damage to Centre property, yes, but not the files. This is a good move."
"I can think of a way to improve it," his eldest son began.
"Keep going like that, Jarod, and I'll suggest to Helen that you don't come at all."
"Then who'd drive?"
"I would." Major Charles eyed the younger man severely. "I think Helen's right. You won't be able to guarantee having enough strength and once inside the Centre we can't leave you behind, or be hindered by needing to carry somebody out. This all has to be done quickly."
Margaret gathered her son's hands in hers. "Jarod, I just wish that you were Jon's age so I could forbid you from going the way I can with him. Although I agree that something has to be done, I just wish it was possible without any of us having to go near that awful place."
The Pretender's face softened as he looked at her. "Mom, we'll be okay."
Miss Parker looked at his brother. "What does she say?"
Ethan grinned. "She says that Helen's plan will work." He fixed his eyes on his brother. "As long as we don't make any adjustments, anyway."
"This is a conspiracy," Jarod muttered, rolling his eyes.
"No, this is an attempt to regain some of what we've lost to the Centre through all our lifetimes," his cousin told him firmly. "And to guarantee us a future without having to be burdened with doubt and anxiety. You asked me, a couple of years ago, what would happen to us when we had all the answers. Maybe it's time to find out."
"And when we do," Emily added, "then we can make sure that nobody else - including David and Michael - has to go through the uncertainty that we have."
Ashe, New York
"Do you think it's going to work?"
Helen looked up at Sam as, about to get into bed beside her, the sweeper jumped. "I thought you were asleep."
"Without having said 'goodnight'? Hardly."
He drew her into his arms, kissing her. "Why do you suddenly have doubts?"
"They're not sudden. Though I'm used to planning ahead for things like this I'm not used to having to rely on other people for help."
"You're just a control freak," he teased.
"That might be it." She smiled faintly. "But do you think it'll be okay, or are we all going to be dead by this time the day after tomorrow?"
"It's great you've got so much confidence in yourself." Gently he brushed her lips with his, a hand gently stroking her hair. "Helen, it'll be okay, I'm sure. We'll go in, grab all the things we want, and leave again."
"So you have no doubts?"
"I never said that. I'm not ecstatic about needing to go there again, but it's necessary - we all know that. And I'm certainly not letting you go in there without me."
"Is it necessary or am I doing what Jarod suggested - trying to be a hero?"
"If that's what you were trying to do, you’d have disappeared one night to try and do it yourself."
Her lips twisted into a smile and she refused to meet his eye. Sam put one finger under her chin and lifted her face to his.
"Helen, you were planning to do exactly that, weren't you?"
"The thought had crossed my mind, yes," she admitted. "I really hate the thought that I could be coming up with this grand scheme that could get us all killed - and for what? The possibility..."
"Of ending the guilt that Sydney's been carrying for almost thirty years, the doubt your aunt's had for equally as long about your parents' death, questions that Miss Parker's had for years about her mother. Really, Helen, these aren't small things. The information we find will make such a big difference to the lives of so many people. Then, with free minds, we can close the place down, so saving other people from having to go through similarly difficult lives."
"I just wish I'd thought about this when I was able to slip in and out of the Centre at will, and then I could have gotten it all then and not have had to worry about it now."
"That situation hasn't changed,” Sam reminded her. “It's the same as it always was - the identical risks and dangers, getting information for the same people..."
"But I'm putting lives at risk this time, and not just my own."
"Steve was right in what he said. He wouldn't want the burden of guilt that he's got information at the risk of someone else's life. I talked to Major Charles briefly, before he returned to his family in Connecticut," Sam's voice deepened with the emotion he felt, "and before we knew whether any of those treatments were going to work and he felt terribly guilty at the thought of what you'd gone through, just because you were trying to get information to protect his family."
"It did work, Sam." She pressed closer to him, feeling his arms tighten around her. "I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere."
"I don’t want to lose you again, Helen. I had to leave you in Minnesota and then I thought that you were leaving me..."
"I wouldn't do that willingly, unless I thought there was no other way. It wasn't my choice, Sam."
"If we get through this all right, tomorrow..."
As he hesitated, she looked up. "What, Sam? If we get through this, what?"
"Will you do what David suggested?"
"Do you mean, 'will I marry you'?"
"Yes." Sam raised one hand and placed it gently on her cheek, his thumb resting near her lips. "I never want to lose you, and the best way I can think of to make sure that it doesn't happen is to marry you."
"You always like getting your own way," she smiled. "And you did say I was very accommodating in that respect."
"It would give those children a father, as well as a mother." He kissed her. "After we get back..."
"Yes, Sam." Linking her arms behind his neck and resting her head on his chest, Helen nodded. "After we get back."
The little box beside the bed revealed the first sound and Helen woke, easing out of Sam's arms. Turning down the volume so it wouldn't disturb him, she left the room and hurried into the next one, her eyes fixed on the small boy who lay, sobbing, as he had been when she had first seen him.
"It's all right, David." Gently, she picked him up, and he nestled against her, a fist pressed into his mouth, sobbing against her neck. "I'm here now, baby. It's okay. You're safe." She took his hand away from his face, looking down to where the small teeth had sunk into the skin. "You don't have to hide that here, sweetie. You can cry. I told you that."
"I thought... he might... hear me..."
"He can't, honey, I promise. If you have a bad dream and you're scared, you call out to me and I'll come and give you a big hug like I promised on the first day you were here, remember?"
"Uh huh." He snuggled into her arms as Helen sat down on the bed, the final tears rolling down his cheeks. "And are you sure...?"
"David, he can't find you here,” she soothed. “He'll never find you again, and that's a promise. If I tell you that, you can be sure that I mean it." She held him closer and he clung to her, sobbing for one last time before he was quiet.
"Mommy?"
"Yes, my darling?"
"How did you know?"
She picked up the box from where its place next to the bed, showing it to him. "I can hear you on this, honey. I have one just like it beside my bed, too, so I can hear you when you make a noise."
"And for Michael, too?"
"That's right, sweetie. I want to make sure that both of my favorite little men are okay, and that's the best way to do it."
"If we're your favorite little men, what's Sam?" the boy asked curiously.
"He's my favorite grown-up man." She smiled. "And that makes us a family."
"My family?"
"Yes, honey."
"Did he mean it when he said that my real Mommy and Daddy were gone?"
Helen’s eyes saddened. "I think so, sweetheart."
"Is that why you said you'd be my mom?"
"Yes, David." She gently wiped away the last traces of tears. "I have photos of them so you don't forget what they looked like, but Sam and I will do all of the things they would have, until you're a big man like Jarod and can go and start your own life somewhere else."
"So I really don't have to go back there?"
"No, sweetie, you never have to. You can stay here for as long as you want, and when you start school you'll be at a place nearby and you’ll come home every night to tell me all the fun things you've done all day."
"And what do you do?"
"I'm a doctor, baby. I look after children when they're sick."
"So what does Sam do?"
"We're not sure what he or Steve will do now, David. That still has to be decided."
Standing up, Helen carried him along the hall and into bathroom, seating him on the cabinet that held the basin before taking a box down from the cupboard.
"What are you doing, Mommy?"
"I'm going to put some sticking plaster on your fingers, so they don't get germs in them." She took out one and tore off the paper before showing him the picture on it. "You see, darling? They're from that TV show you were watching yesterday."
He nodded, resting against her as she put a plaster on each of the tiny cuts. After it was finished, she put the rubbish in the bin and replaced the box in the cupboard.
"Can you sleep now, sweetheart?"
"Can I sleep in your bed?"
Hesitating for a moment, she finally nodded. "All right, but only for tonight."
Reaching up, he wrapped both arms around her neck and rested his head against her shoulder. She stroked his hair, opening the door of her room to see the smile that appeared on the face of the man in bed. David raised his head and looked at her.
"Is this where Daddy sleeps, too?"
"Yes, baby." She handed him to the man before getting into bed, and the boy snuggled down in between them.
"Daddy?"
"Yes, David." Sam looked down into the small face with a smile. "What is it?"
"Will you play with my train with me tomorrow?"
"Of course I will."
Sam smiled as the boy yawned, snuggling down in his arms, but with one hand still tightly wrapped around Helen's finger.
"Good."
The child closed his eyes, convulsively clutching the woman's finger for a moment before he relaxed. Sam raised a hand and gently stroked Helen's hair with a smile.
"You sounded just like a mother."
"You were listening?"
"I woke up when you left the room and heard it through your 'security system' as you named it to Jarod when you bought it."
She laughed softly. "Were you listening then, too?"
"He told me. We were discussing the children."
"So he trusts you?"
"I think so. Steve seems to, as well. He didn't make any sudden excuses to leave the room earlier when he and I were the only two people there, like he did when I was here that other evening."
"That's probably fortunate, considering you're going to be here from now on."
"I knew I could talk you around to that idea. Shall I ask Mom to bring my rug, next time she comes to visit?"
"Maybe she can bring all the things that are still stored in your old room. Now that I've brought so many things down from the attic, there's a lot more room."
"She was thinking about moving."
"I know. She told me when we were talking earlier. I think it's a good idea. If there was another room free upstairs here, I'd suggest she move in here, but we can't really have her sleeping in the cellar."
"All the rooms down there are full."
She smiled. "Well, they are at the moment, but I doubt Sydney or Michelle will be here forever, or Nicholas either."
"But there's still Steve..."
"And Ethan. I promised him a room here if he wants it, and he and Steve get on really well. I think Steve's still a little overawed by the amount that Jarod's changed since he left the Centre, but Ethan seems to be easier for Steve to deal with."
Sam laughed softly. "Jarod overawes people anyway."
"Even the sweeper who used to oversee his simulations?"
The man raised an eyebrow. "How do you know that?"
"Do you know how many DSAs of Jarod I've seen? There were even a few times when I’d watch the actual SIMs from the vents. It was lucky that I had the DSAs to watch later, because I always seemed to be distracted."
"Hmm, I wonder why that would be." He kissed her. "Couldn't have had anything to do with me, could it?"
Helen took the Pop-tarts out of the toaster, putting one on David's plate and the other on Sam's, before continuing to make the pancakes. Sydney rolled his eyes as he came up the stairs.
"And I thought Jarod ate badly."
She laughed. "Did you see all of the junk in his bag? Compared to that, this is positively healthy." Turning off the hotplate, she slid the steaming object onto Steve's plate and sat down. "As well as that, Sydney, there's muesli and fruit for those people who object to anything sweet. I don't think you can really complain about variety. There's toast and eggs, too, if you want that."
He eyed the pancake and Pop-tart again. "These children will have rotten teeth."
"They brush them after every meal." She spooned some baby food into Michael's waiting mouth. "Besides, all their other meals are healthy, so this is a good balance."
The psychiatrist smiled. "You can be very convincing, you know."
"I'm getting into practice for when Jarod comes later."
"Is he coming?" David looked up eagerly and she smiled.
"Yes, baby, he and Miss Parker and a lot of other people as well, for the next few days."
"Goody." The boy bounced in his seat and Sam laughed.
"Steady, David. We don't want you to fall off."
"Can I sit on your knee instead then?"
"Not at the table while you're eating, honey," Helen interposed quickly. "But you can do that when you're both playing with your train."
"Okay." The child ate the last bite of his pop tart and drank some milk before starting on the soft-boiled egg that Helen gave him.
"Did we miss breakfast?"
"Sadly, no." Helen rolled her eyes. "But I'm about to miss all of the food that was here until you lot showed up."
Jarod laughed, slipping more pop-tarts into the toaster. "We can always do a big shop, for you on the way..." Feeling the pressure of a foot on his, he looked at Helen and followed her line of vision to where the small boy was watching him. With a slight nod, the man went over and picked up the child. "How are you, kiddo?"
"Good, Jarod." The boy threw his arms around the man's neck. "Are you going to stay for as long as you did that other time?"
"Maybe, David. We'll see." He returned the child to his chair and got the two pastry squares out of the toaster, taking a plate from the cupboard and sitting down.
"That was my seat, if you don't mind," Helen protested as she turned around with a mug in each hand.
"I don't mind at all," he laughed. "And if you mind, that's your problem."
Sam slipped an arm around the woman's waist and pulled her down to sit on his lap. "This is just as good."
"How come you get to do that and I don't, Mommy?” David protested at once. ”That's not fair!"
Helen caught the psychiatrist's eye, grinning. "Why didn't you teach Jarod better table manners, Sydney?"
"Oh, I tried, Helen. Believe me, I tried." He rolled his eyes. "David, this is only for now because there's so many people here, and she's finished breakfast."
"But I've finished breakfast, as well." He scrambled down from his seat, running over to Helen and holding out his arms. "So can I sit on Daddy's knee now?"
"I'm sitting on his knee, baby." Helen picked him up, laughing. "But you can sit on my knee if you like."
"Okay." He snuggled against her. "If Jarod sits in your seat every day, will you sit here and then I can sit like this too?"
"We'll see, honey." She eyed Jarod viciously and he grinned. "But I don't think, if he knows what's good for him, that he will sit in my seat every day."
Helen dropped the needle into the container and carefully screwed the lid on, before glancing at Steve. "Sorry."
"That's okay." He pulled down his sleeve. "I've had so many of those that I don’t really even feel them anymore."
"And Sydney did your physical, right?"
"Twenty minutes ago." He stood up from the stool. "Is there anything I can do for you now?"
"You can go and lie down so I don't have to carry you to bed when that kicks in," she smiled.
He laughed. "How would you manage?"
"Oh, it probably wouldn't be too hard. I half-carried Jarod upstairs when he began to get sick, and we're on the same level so that would make it easier."
"Well, I won't make difficulties for you." He suddenly yawned widely and she eyed him.
"It's not supposed to kick in quite that fast."
"I didn't get a lot of sleep last night," he admitted. "I guess I'm kind of..."
"Nervous," she finished for him. "I can understand that, Steve. But we're all feeling a bit that way today, trust me."
"Even you?"
"Definitely. You know what happened to me the last time I was there, and I don't feel like a repeat performance. Besides, I feel like I've got responsibility for this whole expedition and that's no light weight, I promise you."
"Ethan said everything would be okay."
"I'm glad to hear it, but I'll be a lot happier in," Helen quickly consulted her watch, "fourteen hours from now."
"Well, you can distract yourself by having that discussion with Jarod. That ought to last until the rest of us wake up again."
"And longer," Helen laughed as she shut and locked the cupboard, putting the key in her pocket. "I'm fully expecting us to still be arguing about it when we arrive in Delaware tonight. In fact, if I know Jarod, we'll still be 'discussing', to use your term, it all when we get back here." She gently squeezed his hand. "Try and get some sleep, Steve, for even longer if possible. We can always call you before we go."
"Well?"
"Everyone's sleeping soundly." Helen looked from Jarod to Sydney. "How are we all in terms of health?"
"All but one driver got full marks." He eyed Jarod before turning to Helen. "I think your plan is a good one, if only for that reason."
"What's wrong with me?"
Sydney handed over the notepad in which he had been keeping track of the test results. "Slight anemia. I'll start you on a dietary supplement before you go back to Connecticut."
"That may not be from the measles."
"Well, you didn't have it when they performed the physical during your last stay in the Centre, and that was only two years ago, so whenever it's developed during the intervening period, anything I give you can only help."
"This is definitely a conspiracy," the Pretender muttered and Sam laughed.
"Would it make it any easier for you if Sydney drove and you stayed here?"
"Then you'd be one gunman short."
"Hey, I can shoot," Sydney protested. "You don't think I was really aiming for the man himself, do you? The tank looked so much more impressive when it blew up than if Raines had."
Helen laughed. "Actually, the only people who aren't taking guns with us tonight are Steve, Nick, and Ethan."
"Besides, if Sydney went then Michelle would have to be concerned about three people, not just two."
"What's another one," the woman commented drily, "when two of the most important people in my life are already risking their necks?"
Helen smoothed her hair before putting on the black cap and checking the safety on her gun. As she slid it into the holster, a figure came into the room behind her and Helen turned to see Sam in his suit.
"I always thought that was an attractive uniform,” she commented. “If it wasn't for what everybody else who's wearing it wanted to do to me right now, I'd probably ask you to wear it all the time."
"Well, as it would make a few people here slightly nervous, I think I might refuse."
She pretended to look hurt. "You'd refuse a request of mine?"
"Only that one." He kissed her. "I'd love to say the same about your outfit, but, as I know what you wear it for, I can't. It worries me too much."
"Well, this is the last time you'll have to worry and you'll be there with me, so that has to help, right?"
"Hmm, maybe." Sam took out and checked the status of his own weapon before returning it to his holster "We'll have to find a good hiding place for these."
"We'll make one. I'm sure you could put a lock on one of the kitchen cupboards."
He slipped an arm around her waist. "Have you ever had to use it?"
"Once. I was hiding on one side of those trees when the security guard came by early and was about to check the place where I was. I fired a shot into the trees on the far side - with the silencer - and he went over there to check. Naturally, I used the time to scarper."
"That was rather clever," he laughed.
"I thought so." She grinned. "Shall we go down and make everybody in the living room slightly tense at the sight of you?"
The sweeper laughed. "It's lucky Nicholas is driving our car or Jarod might be so busy keeping an eye on me that he could send us off the road."
"Why do you think I planned it that way? That's also why our car will have your boss and not the others in it. Consciously they're all aware that you're on our side, but, subconsciously, they've had several years to get scared of the sight of that outfit. It's best this way."
"Is that also why we're working together?"
"That and the fact that I've heard enough complaints from Jarod about the whole thing. I didn't want to have to hear a whole lot from you as well."
