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Chapter or Story 
Chapter or Story
Part 3
Ashe, New York
Helen looked over to see Debbie and Emily playing cards and then turned back to the three men seated opposite her.
"Are you going to bring her here?"
"That was the plan, yes. Then you can explain things to her before she shoots off my head for rifling through her father's things."
"Just out of interest," Broots looked up, "what was it that you took out of the hole in his wall?"
She smiled, leaning nonchalantly back in her chair. "Mainframe access codes for the next week."
The technician's eyes popped. "And… what did you put in?"
"The wrong codes." Helen grinned. "The Centre's in a lot of trouble, the day after tomorrow."
"Why not until then?" the psychiatrist proposed.
Broots glanced at Sydney. "The codes are pre-programmed into the system."
"And what happens when they put in a wrong one?"
The technician stared at the table for a minute before looking up. "It's a little complicated but I'll try to explain. As you know, there's a password required to access the mainframe every time a person wants to find out something. Those words change daily, and the words for the upcoming days are entered just after the backup of data carried out by the Centre weekly. When the internal clock clicks over to a new 'day', the password automatically changes to the new one and the user has to enter an identical word to the one the system recognizes to be able to access the mainframe. The head of Security - Miss Parker's old job - receives the list of words every month from the Triumvirate. He puts in the codes each week and then destroys the lists so that unauthorized people, like Jarod for instance, don't creep in and find them." Broots sent a half-hearted grin in the Pretender's direction as he said this, before continuing. "Mr. Parker gets the list of codes too, but he can't destroy them because he has to send out a daily memo to anyone with a high enough status to be told the new code. The next morning, the first arrival puts in the right code and the day gets off to a good start. I can only assume that Mr. Parker keeps them in that hole that Helen took them from because he thought it would be safe."
"So why won't it happen tomorrow? Why the day after?"
Helen smiled. "Mr. Parker's lazy. Instead of writing a new memo daily, he writes the week's worth on one day and pre-programs them to send at the relevant time. As of tomorrow, he's going to create the emails of new, false words for this week, and then, when somebody tries to use it, the day after tomorrow, complete havoc will reign."
"What will happen?"
"Total lock-down."
Broots and Helen said this simultaneously, but only the woman continued with the explanation. "Nobody - and I mean nobody, including Broots if he'd happened to be there - will be able to access the mainframe from inside the Centre. We, and other people outside the Centre, however, will, because we have the right codes." She put one hand into the bag and took out a bundle of pages that she put down on the table and then glanced at Jarod. "If there's anything you wanted to know, that will be the time to find out about it and no-one can stop you."
"And how long do we have?"
"Jarod, think about it. Total lock-down. Not only won't they be able to enter any of the passwords, but after twenty-four hours, when the word changes, none of the computers will even give them the option of entering another possible password. The Centre will have to rebuild the mainframe from the bottom up - with no access to any of the information they've got in the old one. But they will be oh, so glad to remember that they do have hard copies of some of the information."
"Why do I suddenly see a problem with that?"
Helen grinned and tried to look innocent. "I have no idea what you mean."
Sydney narrowed his eyes. "Oh, really? So it would just be coincidence that all of the information you've 'replaced' is material considered too confidential to put up on the old mainframe."
Helen leaned back in her seat and laughed softly. "To put up or not to put up, that is the question. Whether 'tis smarter for the Centre to allow any fool to get hold of highly confidential material or to leave it for private access is a problem that only the Triumvirate will be able to sort out. I doubt Mr. Parker or Mr Raines will be particularly popular people after tomorrow."
"Why them?"
She shrugged, grinning. "Mr. Parker will provide the wrong code and Raines was the one who hired the security chief."
Sydney suddenly looked up from the notes he was making. "Just out of curiosity, how long as all this been going into motion?"
The woman glanced at Broots. "What was the date on the first of those files with the doorbells?"
Broots thought for a moment. "Almost a year ago."
"There you go, Sydney. That's how long it's been in motion for." She shrugged. "I like to work in the long-term."
"And your vendetta?"
Helen turned to Jarod. "Date of SIM 3832?"
"July 18, 1996. And the print was almost forty-eight hours old."
She smiled and got out of her chair to refill the kettle.
"What's your reason for it, Helen?"
"My reason for what, Sydney?" Her innocent tones weren't fooling anybody and the psychiatrist rolled his eyes.
"The vendetta. Why do you keep sneaking in and out of the Centre?"
With a sad smile on her lips, Helen turned. "July 15 was the last day I ever heard from Jarod and Em's mother. It was also the day I graduated from my specialized course. Being free from work at the time, but still expecting more messages from Margaret, I decided that I’d see what I could do, to make her life better and traveled down to Atlanta the next day."
"NuGenesis?"
"Exactly. During the night, I snuck into the place and found the Centre's location, as well as a few other bits and pieces that I thought might be handy. Next day, I traveled to Delaware and spent a night in the Centre, getting to know the layout of the air ducts." She smiled. "I had help."
"Angelo," Sydney suggested.
"Exactly. He was happy to show me around, having an idea of what I was after."
"And that was?"
Helen looked at Jarod, a degree of scorn on her face. "You, of course. You and Kyle. Naturally, Kyle wasn't there but I found information about him in one of Raines' files. Although I went to see him, I didn't tell your mother about it. Nor did I mention that you were still in the Centre in the last email I ever sent her. In all the messages I ever got, she was hoping that you'd already managed to get out." Helen turned a sad gaze on Sydney. "Margaret hoped that somebody would help you to escape before anything serious happened to you." The woman paused. "Unfortunately, nobody did."
Briar Road
Blue Cove, Delaware
Miss Parker drove her car up the drive and moodily got out of it. All she was keen to do now was get inside her house and try to forget about the day. Although Lyle had been at a conference, she had still felt uncomfortable. This had been caused by a combination of things, she knew. Her twin brother’s comments about their father 'keeping secrets' was still annoying and she made a mental note to pressure him about it again. She was becoming increasingly concerned at the continuing absence of Sydney, Broots and Debbie. Driving past Broots' house that morning, she had found Sydney's car but the lack of any signs of injury or of a struggle hadn't eased any of her concerns. Frowning blackly, Miss Parker took the key from the ignition and went to the front door, opening it and letting herself inside.
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
Lyle walked into his office and dropped the bag down on the floor beside his desk before sitting in the chair. He looked up in time to see the door slowly fall shut and, as he heard a faint click, Lyle stared at the frosted glass panels before shrugging, reaching over and turning on his computer. Absent-mindedly, he scratched at an itchy spot on the side of his hand, before looking at it to see that the skin had turned red. He wondered what had bitten him before picking up the mug that sat on his desk and filling it from the bottle that stood beside it, watching unthinkingly as the computer completed its start-up process.
Taking the first sip of water, he felt it burn its way into his stomach and stared at the bottle, eyes narrowing at the slight pain that he was now feeling. Suddenly, with no warning, the twinge turned to gut-wrenching agony that caused him to almost fall off the chair. His eye was caught by a change of his computer screen when his screensaver activated, and his hands grabbed the arms of his chair as a name, in thick, three-dimensional red writing on a black background, began bouncing its way around the screen.
Ammon.
The hidden.
It had seemed so appropriate when he had created it - a drug that was unable to be seen, tasted or smelled, but could only be felt as the skin absorbed it, speedily breaking down cell clusters and taking the body apart, bit-by-bit.
And he was now on the receiving end of his own creation.
With a frantic push, Lyle moved his chair away from the desk with legs that, he was well aware, were in the process of being dismantled on the inside. He lunged for the door of his office, expecting the hard surface to give, but the glass didn't yield to his push. The scarcely noticed click now returned to his mind and Lyle knew that whoever had done this, had tried to murder him, would have taken all necessary precautions to make sure he had no chance of getting help. Not that there was any help to get. Ammon had never had an antidote, nor could or would it ever have. It was impossible to rebuild tissues that had collapsed in on themselves. Lyle knew that, but the instinctive grasp he had on life made him keep mentally searching for answers even as his knees began buckling and he slipped down to the cold, hard marble.
Ashe, New York
Helen stared at the images on her screen, watching in morbid fascination as the man dropped to the floor. Having read the detailed reports about Ammon, she knew what was happening, even if his outward appearance wasn't changing. Not yet, anyway. It would become obvious, she knew, in a few hours, and Helen wondered how long Cox and Mr. Parker would wait before they 'found' his body. A movement of the man brought her attention to the screen, and she watched as Lyle began to convulse, the drug making its way up his spinal cord and breaking down every cell it met along the way, slowly beginning to dismantle his brain.
"What are you doing?"
Abruptly Helen shut the laptop and looked up to see Jarod in the doorway of her room.
"Nothing much."
"I wanted to know if you were planning to cook dinner for us all."
"Can you do it, Jarod? There's plenty of food. I've got things to do."
"Sure, no problem." He looked back over his shoulder. "Are you okay?"
"Fine." She half-smiled. "Maybe a little tired."
"Well, I'm sure there's plenty of things you could give yourself to get over that."
"Remind me to get my own drink tonight, okay? Just in case you decide to 'assist' me with a short nap."
Listening to Jarod laugh, as he descended the stairs, Helen reopened the laptop, staring at Lyle's body. Reaching out a leg, she kicked the door of her room shut and then turned up the volume on the computer. As she expected, he was still alive. Just. The breathing sounds were degenerating into noises similar to those of a bubbling pot as the structure of the lung tissue disintegrated. After several long moments, the body gave one, final, violent jerk and then was still. Helen watched the skin on the man's face started to darken, the walls of the blood vessels, as with the others, falling apart and allowing blood to pool under skin that would, in a few minutes, also start to disintegrate. It was only a slight relief that he was dead. Despite everything she knew he had done in his life, it was still a terrible way to die, and it could only be worse if you knew, as Lyle must have, what was happening to him. A wave of nausea swept over Helen as she cut the connection with the Centre mainframe; the frozen image of the dead man remained on the screen as she pushed the laptop down on the bed beside her, leaning her head back against the wall and closing her eyes.
"What is it?"
Opening her eyes, she found him once more in the doorway, one hand still on the doorknob that he must have softly opened a few seconds earlier. Hesitating, she tried to come up with some lie that wouldn't sound too unrealistic, but he gave her no chance to speak.
"Please, Helen, don't lie to me. And don't say 'nothing'. I know there's something wrong so tell me what it is."
"I don't know if you'll consider this as 'wrong'." She swallowed, closing her eyes again briefly before looking at him. "Then again, maybe you will. Shut the door, Jarod."
He did as she directed and then came over, looking down first at her and then at the image on the screen. For a few seconds, his eyes seemed transfixed on the dead man’s body, Lyle’s face now swelling, before Jarod stretched out his hand to clear the image from the screen. He shut the laptop and put it on the floor before sitting on the bed next to her.
"What was it?"
"Ammon."
"And who ordered it?"
"Mr. Cox and Mr. Parker."
"Why?"
"He knew too much." She looked up at him. "That's why I need to get Miss Parker out, and soon. I'm not sure who they're going to aim for next, but it could be her."
He nodded slowly. "When?"
"I'm going there tonight. I'll get her and bring her back here. Then we need to see what happens at the Centre, both as a result of this and my theft of the codes."
"I'm coming with you."
"No, Jarod." She shook her head firmly. "I work alone. I can't risk needing to think of somebody else's safety at a critical moment."
"You're no safer in Blue Cove than I am."
"I don't have a family to be concerned about me. Stay with your sister so that she doesn't need to worry."
"And what about you? What happens if they find you?"
"They won't have me for long." She half-smiled. "I'm even better at escaping than you." Glancing up, she saw the expression in his eyes and her own hardened. "Jarod, you aren’t coming with me if I have to make certain of it. You didn't like it when I put you to sleep last time, and you'll enjoy it even less tonight, I promise you."
"And you're in such a fit state to go and kidnap anybody!" Jarod's tones were full of sarcasm. "Let alone Miss Parker!"
"I'll be fine, Jarod. I'm just not used to watching people literally come apart in front of my eyes. By the time I leave for Blue Cove, I'll be okay."
"Okay?" He looked skeptical. "Who are you trying to convince, you or me?"
"Both." She gave another half-smile and got up. "Hey, if I can recover after hitting you with the front of my car, I should be able to manage after seeing that happen, particularly to a person like him."
Briar Road
Blue Cove, Delaware
Miss Parker angrily slammed the receiver of the phone back onto the cradle and sat on the sofa, glaring at it, for several minutes. It was probably useless to keep trying to call Sydney in the hope that they had come back but she wasn't able to help herself. She just had to know they were okay and the fact that none of them had called was the hardest to deal with. If she had received even a short email from them, she would be less worried but the original message was all she had heard. Turning, she glared at the fire that burned steadily in the hearth before her as she reached over to turn on the television.
Ashe, New York
Helen put the black hat on over her red hair, and checked that her gloves were in a pocket of her trousers, before opening the case and, as before, fixing the silver canister under the back seat of the car. Straightening, she turned to find another figure in black standing behind her.
"Jarod!" The word was an angry hiss from between clenched teeth and he looked down at her in surprise.
"Temper, temper."
"What are you doing?"
"Trying to see if you're any more reasonable now than you were before."
"I should have slipped something into your drink at dinner."
"I kept a very firm eye on it to make sure you didn't."
"Fine. What do you want?"
"To help. You can't possibly carry an unconscious Miss Parker, and if you use the 'pick-me-up' drug, she'll find more than enough time to wrap both hands around your throat before she falls asleep again. Besides, I'll be good company."
Helen shut the car door and leaned against it with her arms folded. "You're really just unhappy about the fact that I'm doing something you're not involved in."
He tried to hide a smile. "That might be it, yes. You got the others without my assistance and I want to help with this."
"So you think that Miss Parker's going to trust you any more than she does me?"
"Who said anything about trust? You knock her out, I'll carry her to the car."
"I had other plans, Jarod."
"Let me guess. She was going to knock you out instead."
Despite her best attempt, a small grin appeared on Helen's face and he smiled in response. "So, do I get to tag along?"
"Can you keep your mouth shut?"
"For as long as necessary, yes."
She nodded and then reached into the case, pulling out a small syringe.
"Roll up your sleeve."
"Why?"
"Trust is usually useful between partners, Jarod."
"Tell me what it's for and I'll trust you."
"It's an antidote to my little drug creations. In about half an hour, you'll fall asleep and, when you wake about thirty minutes after that, the drugs I'm planning to use on Miss Parker won't have any affect on you."
He pushed up the black cloth of his t-shirt and let her inject the substance before grinning. "I think you just want to knock me out again."
Snorting, Helen closed the case and opened the front door of the car. "Let's just get this over with, shall we?"
Delaware
Yawning, Jarod stretched in the seat and then opened his eyes to see the world flashing past the car window.
"How fast are we going?"
Helen laughed. "I would have expected your first question to be 'where are we'?"
"It's my second."
"We're going slightly over the speed limit and we're not far from Blue Cove. I was starting to think you wouldn't wake up before we got there. So much for the good company. Obviously you were a little weary before I gave it to you."
He grinned half-heartedly. "Maybe just a bit."
"If you're too tired to help..."
"Keep hoping, Helen."
She laughed. "And who says I was?"
"It was implication. I got the idea after your 'I work alone' comment."
"I usually do. I might work for other people but I don't generally work with them."
"So you're broadening your experiences."
"Great. I'll add it to my résumé as soon as we get back to Ashe."
Jarod laughed and turned to look out of the window for a moment before glancing at her. "So, are you going to tell me your plan?"
Briar Road
Blue Cove, Delaware
Helen slipped the piece of metal into the keyhole and turned it until the lock gave. Silently she walked along the dark hallway, changing the gun to her right hand as she approached the living room. Peeping through the doorway she could see her target sitting on the sofa, her head hanging down and hair fallen around her face. Her eyes narrow, Helen hesitated. It was tricky, in a situation like this, to know if a person was really asleep or not. Fingering the syringe in her left hand, Helen returned it to her pocket as she watched Miss Parker's shoulders rising and falling in deep, even breaths.
Returning the gun to its holster, she assured herself that the bottle and cloth were in her other pocket and then took a final, careful look around the room before walking inside. Her feet made no sound on the floor as she crossed the carpet and stood in front of the sofa. Picking up a cushion, she cautiously lifted it so it came to rest against the side of Miss Parker's head. For a moment, there was no movement, but then, as she’d anticipated, the woman nestled slightly into the soft fabric. Helen touched Miss Parker's shoulder, exerting a gentle pressure until she felt the woman leaning to that side. Helen bent her knees, gradually lowering the body until, several minutes later, Miss Parker was stretched out on the sofa, still sound asleep.
Easing her hand out from under the cushion, Helen straightened up and reached into her pocket, pulling out the vial and cloth. Soaking one with the other took just a few seconds, and then Helen lowered the material towards Miss Parker's face. Holding it a few inches away, she let the woman breathe in the fumes, before she placed the rag over her mouth and nose and then stepped back. She glanced up to where Jarod stood in the doorway and spoke in a low voice.
"Ready, Muscles?"
He grinned. "How 'out' is she?"
"Well, don't drop her or..."
Smothering a grin, he came into the room and gave her the syringe he had been holding, before bending down and slipping his arms in behind Miss Parker's neck and legs. As he straightened, her head rolled onto his shoulder but, as her arms slowly lifted to link behind his neck, he tensed and glanced over at Helen.
"Talk to her."
Jarod nodded at the murmured words and looked at the woman in his arms. "It's all right, Parker." He moved the fingers that were touching her shoulder and felt as she relaxed against him with a soft sigh.
"Let's get out of here."
Nodding again, Jarod turned to the door and walked out into the cool night air as Helen locked the house. Going over to the car, she opened the back door and moved away. As Jarod was about to place Miss Parker on the seat, the sleeping woman shivered and clung to him more tightly, snuggling in against his shoulder. A quick glance was enough to show him that she had remained asleep, but as he tried again to put her into the car, Miss Parker tensed, and a sound like a whimper came from between her parted lips. He looked at the other woman.
"Now what?"
"Now you'll have to sit on the back seat with her." Helen grinned. "You're the fool who volunteered to come. It's your own stupid fault."
"How long will this stuff of yours last?" the man demanded when they had been underway for just over twenty minutes.
Helen glanced down at the clock on the dashboard and then into the mirror at the man in the back seat, the woman lying with her head on his lap. "Not very much longer."
"And what's going to happen...?"
Before he could continue, Miss Parker moved her head slightly on his knee, and he looked down at her. "It's all right, Parker."
"Tommy?"
At the murmured word, a sad look came into Jarod's eyes and he gently stroked her hair. "Just try to sleep again, Parker. We've got a long way to go."
The woman relaxed again against him for a moment, before tensing and stifling a yawn, opening her eyes and staring at his in disbelief.
"J...Jarod?"
He grinned weakly. "Morning, Parker."
"What on earth...?"
Hearing the anger in the woman's voice, Helen pressed the button that would put the hole in the gas canister. She had been hoping to avoid using it, but now it would seem to be necessary.
"Are you going to tell me what you're doing?" Miss Parker sat upright on the seat and glared at him before looking around. "And where are we?"
"We're in my car, Miss Parker,” the driver announced. “Nice to see you again."
"Helen?"
"Very good." The woman's voice became condescending. "With all the things that have been going on, I thought you might have forgotten me by now."
"What are you...where are you taking...?"
"The same place I took Sydney and the others. I thought you might like to see the three of them again, just to make sure I'm not torturing them or anything like that, so that's where we're going."
"You're abducting us?"
"That's right. Just like I did with them." Helen grinned over her shoulder. "Try not to get too upset about it, Miss Parker. It won't do you any good."
Looking down at the dial, she nodded slightly and watched in the mirror as Jarod yawned. He relaxed back against the seat and stared blankly out through the window, his head lolling forward once or twice and eyelids drooping, before the woman on the seat beside him spoke.
"Jarod, are you all right?"
Rolling his head lazily in the woman’s direction, Jarod turned glazed eyes on her. "I'm okay, Miss Parker. Just... a… a little..." Another wide yawn interrupted the mumbled words, as his head sank back against the headrest. He nestled against the car seat before Jarod's eyes closed and his lips parted slightly, his breathing becoming deep and even. The other woman glanced at Helen, who had pulled the car over to the side of the road and now turned in her seat.
"What on earth...?"
"Don't worry, Miss Parker. He'll be fine."
"Fine?!" She reached over and put one hand on Jarod's shoulder, shaking him vigorously, to which the man failed to respond, before she turned to Helen. "He's unconscious! What did you do to him? What did you give him?"
"Just a small sleeping drug to make sure he won't learn our destination. You know, Miss Parker," Helen softened her tones, making them more soothing, and seeing as the woman, taking several deep breaths to control her emotions, started to be affected by the gas. "If I were to let him watch where we were going, he might remember later and that could be bad for me. So, to prevent him from remembering, I gave him that. Think of it as a gift – a lovely, long sleep, so he'll be nice and relaxed when we get there. He looks so peaceful, doesn't he, just lying there, none of those awful dreams haunting him like they so often do."
She paused as the other woman yawned, and Helen hid a smile, her voice taking on a monotonous, near-hypnotic tone.
"I feel sorry for you, too, Miss Parker, with all that work you do. You're in as much need of a long night's sleep as Jarod is. It's a pity you woke up. I was hoping that you might manage to stay asleep for the whole trip, through the beautiful, dark night with the moon illuminating the sky as we drive along and the engine creating a lovely vibration. But, if you close your eyes now, then you might also be able to sink into a lovely deep sleep just like the one Jarod's enjoying. When, in a couple of hours, you wake up again, you'll be lying in a wonderfully soft bed, covered in warm, cozy blankets in a dark room where you don't have to get up until you want to."
Before Helen half-finished this speech, Miss Parker had yawned widely several times. Gradually, her blinking became more erratic, as a mixture of the gas and the earlier drug made it impossible for her to fight against the medication’s soporific effect. Drowsily, she gazed up at the woman who was speaking from the driver’s seat. No longer able to hear the individual words spoken, she found herself relaxing at their tone. As the incomprehensible murmuring continued, the woman let herself sink back against the seat. Her heavy-lidded eyes remained fixed on the woman in front of her, but, as her vision began to blur, the woman's head lolled back against the headrest. Helen's quiet voice, speaking the last words, accompanied Miss Parker letting her eyelids fall shut, lashes lying unmoving on her cheeks as the woman's lips parted with a soft release of breath.
"Sweet dreams, Parker."
The masculine voice softly spoke and Helen looked over to see Jarod watching the woman as her breathing became slower. Smiling, Helen turned and restarted the engine. Jarod reached out and gently rearranged Miss Parker's body until her head lay in his lap again. As he gently stroked the unconscious woman's hair, Jarod stared through the fast moving car's window into the dark night.
Ashe, New York
"Hey, Muscles, you weren't supposed to sleep too!"
Yawning, Jarod glanced up to see Helen standing beside him, holding the door open, and grinned as he looked down at the woman who still lay with her head in his lap, where he had put it several hours earlier.
"That's your fault. You shouldn't make it sound like such a tempting idea."
"Well, if you were really that tired, you didn't have to come." She helped him out, watching as he scooped the sleeping woman up in his arms.
"How would you have managed this if I hadn't?"
"Oh, I have my secrets." She grinned. "I rearranged the downstairs with the idea that Miss Parker would sleep where Debbie was and Broots’ daughter could sleep on a sofa in the living area. One of those sofas folds out to a bed."
"Lead the way."
Shutting the door and locking the car, she opened the rear door of the house and walked into the kitchen. Sydney and Broots were sitting at the table as they entered and both jumped to their feet.
"Any problems?"
"Were you expecting any, Sydney?"
"Well, you did take a while."
"I thought it best to take a roundabout way back to shake any possible pursuers. Broots, can you show Jarod where I made up the bed for Miss Parker and get her settled into it?"
"Sure thing."
Helen thankfully sat down at the table with a sigh as the trio descended the stairs into the cellar.
"Tired?"
"Would you like the honest answer or the sarcastic one?"
Sydney pushed a mug in her direction and she eyed it for a second. As the man watched, she got up, took out a glass, rinsed it in hot water and filled it with cold water from the tap. Seeing the look of disappointment on Sydney's face, although he tried to hide it, she grinned.
"In my line of work, Sydney, I've learned not to trust anybody, even those people who might want to help me. It's a very kind thought but there are two problems."
"Oh really?" Sydney tried to sound innocent. "And what are they?"
"First, I've created an antidote to all of the drugs I create and I give it to myself as soon as I know it works."
"Why?"
"To prevent from happening what would have, if I'd been less aware or less suspicious."
He smiled. "And what's the second problem?"
"I'm not going to drink it." She laughed. "Besides, you won't need to give me an artificial sedative tonight. I'll sleep quickly enough without it."
"Even despite having seen what you saw earlier?"
Her face became serious as she sat down at the table again. "I've been trying not to think about that ever since I got into the car."
"I'm sorry." He reached out, gently touching her hand. "I didn't want you to start thinking about it again. I was just wanting you to know that we've seen it as well."
"Is it a good thing or a bad one for the two of you?"
"Probably a mixed blessing. He hadn't made any of our lives more pleasant since he turned up, but..."
"But he was a human being and it's terrible to watch something like that happen, I know. It'd be a lot worse if you'd actually known what was happening inside him as he writhed on the floor." She glanced at him. "Unless you did."
Sydney nodded slowly and then looked up. "How did you know about Ammon?"
"I went hunting after I found that report, while you, Broots and Debbie were still asleep." Helen got to her feet and put the glass in the sink, yawning widely. "I've managed to have progressively less sleep each month that I'm involved with the Centre. Soon I'll be getting up before I go to bed."
"And then you might as well apply for a job there,” the psychiatrist joked. “That's what the rest of us do."
Helen laughed. "I might see if I can break out of that horrible habit tonight. Good night, Sydney."
She felt the laptop gently removed from under her hands, but was too comfortable to open her eyes. That feeling lasted until she felt herself being lifted up from the chair in the corner of her room, staring into the deep, brown eyes that were on a level with her own.
"Jarod, what are you...?"
"Beds are generally horizontal things, not half-vertical ones, and that was where you told Sydney you were going."
"What do you think you're doing? - apart from showing off, of course."
"Putting you there." He grinned. "I got suspicious when I saw your light on."
"I was in the middle of something."
"Yes, you were sleeping. You'll do that far more productively in bed than if you sit up in a chair - even one as comfortable as that."
"I could quite easily have got here myself." She glared up at him indignantly from the position against the pillows where he had just put her.
"Well, it didn't look like you were trying very hard so I thought I'd - help."
"You're far too good at that."
"As long as people appreciate it." He sat on the bed next to her, starting to shut down the laptop. "So what were you looking at anyway?"
The humor in her eyes faded. "I wanted to find out if anybody had been in Lyle's office yet."
"And?"
"You don't want to look, Jarod. Trust me."
"I'll take that as a no, shall I?"
"Mmm-hmm." She gave him a sleepy half-smile. "You do that."
Jarod shut the lid of the laptop and put it down on the floor next to the bed. As he looked up, he saw that Helen's eyes were closed and leaned forward, easing the extra pillows from behind her head. As he was about to stand up, she rolled over onto her side and drowsily opened one eye.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome - but do you want to warn me before you do that?"
"You'll cope. You should be used to the unexpected by now."
He laughed softly and got up. "Good night, Helen."
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
"Why did you leave it there?"
Mr. Cox leaned back in his seat and looked over at the man sitting opposite him, a faint smile on his face. "When word gets around, it will ensure that any of his potential supporters either give up on the idea or leave - fast."
Mr. Parker nodded slowly, eyes fixed on the desk in front of him, before looking up again. "So will you use the same method for the others?"
"Only if you can't think of an objection. It's fast, easy, reliable and totally untraceable. If we work it correctly, we can even blame it all on Mr. Lyle."
"And you would be very pleased at that possibility." The older man looked sharply at his assistant. "And my daughter?"
"That depends on your choice, sir."
"Fine. Her behavior's changed since the disappearance of those two people she works with. My directions to you will depend on her actions today. If she will be of no more use, you may dispose of her in any way you choose."
Ashe, New York
"Miss Parker?"
The woman felt the touch against her cheek and rolled her head away from it, the cool fingers an unpleasant alternative to the warmth of the bed in which she now felt herself to be lying, as she could vaguely remember somebody promising that she would be.
"Come on, Miss Parker, it's time to wake up now."
Moaning softly, she tried to ignore the voice and attempted to roll over, but every muscle felt like it was made of lead and it was easier to stay where she was.
"Parker?"
This voice was familiar and, although the woman wanted nothing more than to let herself sink back into sleep again, something about the tones made her force her eyes open, to meet those of the man who sat next to her. For a second she gazed at him drowsily, before suddenly her eyes widened and she tried to sit up.
"Sydney?"
"It's all right, Parker." He placed one hand on her shoulder to keep her still. "Don't try to move. Just stay there."
"Are you...what are you...where...when...?"
"What a lot of unfinished questions." The woman, who had withdrawn to the door, now walked to the bed. "Good morning, Miss Parker. Or rather," Helen looked at her watch. "Good afternoon. As I told you in the car last night, if you can remember, I brought you here, the same place I brought Sydney, Broots and Debbie several days ago." She glanced at Sydney. "Did I answer them all?"
"Well, you didn't answer the 'where' but you haven't even told us that yet..."
"...and I think we'll keep it quiet, for now at least."
Sydney smiled and then looked down to where the woman was watching them, a look of curiosity mixed with concern and hints of anger on her face.
"It's all right, Parker. You're quite safe."
"Could have fooled me."
Helen laughed. "I told you that last night, Miss Parker, remember?"
Sydney laughed. "It's hard to be convinced as somebody deliberately knocks you out with potent sleeping gas."
"Is that what...?"
"Oh, come on, Miss Parker, you didn't believe my little spiel about the comforts of the car, did you?" Helen grinned. "Of course I used a little something. Nothing too extreme, of course, but you won't be able to get up until it wears off properly..."
"...and that, presumably, is the only reason she hasn't jumped out of the bed and wrapped both hands around your throat by now."
"J...Jarod?" Miss Parker stared at him. "So I did see you."
"Of course you did." He folded his arms, leaning against the doorframe. "I was sitting right beside you on the back seat, remember?"
"Vaguely." Her eyes hardened and she looked back at Helen. "So why did you go to all the effort of bringing me here? And, no, I don't believe it was merely for me to see that you weren't torturing Sydney and the others."
"Now that's what I like to see." Helen laughed. "Good, healthy skepticism."
Miss Parker's eyes narrowed. "Will you tell me, or do I have to give you a dose of good, healthy unconsciousness?”
The redhead laughed before glancing at Jarod. "Okay, your plan was better than mine."
He smirked. "I could have told you that."
"You did tell me that - several times." Helen turned to the bed. "Your reaction to this could be entertaining, but you need to trust me, Miss Parker."
The woman merely raised a well-manicured eyebrow as she glanced around. "Considering the situation, I don't appear to have much choice."
"Good." Helen pulled a bundle of papers out of her pocket and then sat down on the bed and picked up a laptop from its position on the floor, starting it up. "Take a look at these..."
