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Chapter or Story 
Chapter or Story
Part 17
"There are two freedoms -- the false, where a man is free to do what he likes; the true, where he is free to do as he ought."
Charles Kingsley
Achieving
October 30, 2000
19 weeks to go.
"You have a visitor, McCaffrey."
Jarod entered the visitor’s room, half-hoping that the real Steve had come to tell him how the situation with the refugees was going. The other figure, however, was as much an encouragement as anyone else and he eagerly sat down as his eyes widened. "My God, how did you find me?"
The man smiled, his blue eyes, which made such a contrast to his black hair, twinkling, as his lips parted to reveal white teeth. "I admit that it wasn't easy. Even here you manage to hide well. What are you here for?"
Jarod's expression darkened. "The Centre's crimes, and preventing an innocent man with a loving family from having to be here."
"You mean McCaffrey? Yes, we met briefly some years ago. He has a family now?"
"Three small children. So you can see why I have to be here."
"I can. I might have done the same thing, in your situation."
"And the Centre?"
"Doing exactly what you simulated. The Triumvirate is gone, as far as they know, and they're facing off against each other like a couple of raging bulls. If I hadn't needed to talk to you, I would have stayed to watch. It's quite an amusing sight." The man's mouth twisted and Jarod couldn't help grinning.
"I can well believe it."
"Have you talked to Parker or the others?"
"Briefly." Jarod's smile dropped from his face and his expression darkened once more. "They're safe, from what she told me."
"I wanted to keep Brigitte away from Sydney, but I couldn't find a way of doing it that wouldn't make her suspicious."
"But you were giving him the antidote that we worked out," Jarod stated.
The man nodded. "Should I go see them?"
"No. Steve went, after forcing their location out of me. So I'd say they're safe. He's a good as anyone else."
"So what do you want me to do?"
"Go and get in touch with that friend of ours, but don't let Raines, Lyle and the others know you're back. Keep me informed of anything that happens. I want to know as soon as possible. When I'm out of here, it’ll take all of us to finally get rid of them."
The man sat back in his chair and pressed the tips of his fingers together, his expression concerned. "I don't like leaving you here, Jarod."
"But I can't leave yet. It won't be that long, don't worry. Just keep me informed and, together, we'll do what we can to stop them."
November 2, 2000
"So you knew my mother?" Parker asked softly.
"Yes," Steve agreed. "She was one of the best people in the world. If you aimed to be only as good as she was, it’d make you a wonderful woman, Miss Parker. And you do have every opportunity that way."
"And at the Centre - "
"I was the sweeper primarily in charge of Timmy - Angelo," the man corrected himself. "It wasn't uncommon to see your mother down in SL-19, where his room used to be. Timmy always knew when she would be coming and was always waiting for her. He was one of the main children that she was planning to remove from the Centre. She used to discuss the plan with me, sometimes. Never the small details, only what would affect me. And I was so eager for it to happen. And then she staged her death and went to have your brother, Ethan..."
"You know about him?"
"Oh yes. Catherine told me. And..."
"Where is he?"
The man smiled. "You're always impatient, just like your mother. But as for Ethan, after the bomb explosion, Jarod brought him to us - our family. Ethan suffered extreme emotional problems for a long time afterwards, as well as some memory loss, particularly regarding his recent time with Dr…sorry, Mr Raines. He's doing much better now, though. Jarod helped a lot and so, Ethan says, did you."
"I? How?" Miss Parker stared at him.
"Apparently because of your similarity to your mother in looks. Ethan seems to have an innate sense of anything or anyone similar to his mother and it's only his wariness, which was caused by Raines' treatment of him, that makes him unwilling to immediately believe that a person will help him. If he'd known I was coming to visit you, he would have wanted to come but he needed a few more days to recover."
"And so he's living with you?"
"For the moment. We were hoping that Jarod would come and take care of him for a while but...well..."
"Yes, where is Jarod? I mean, you said that he wasn't in the Centre."
"He isn't, Miss Parker. Which is probably fortunate for him, considering how things are going."
November 2, 2000
"Is the treatment complete?"
"Almost, Mr Raines." The sweeper's voice was cold and emotionless and the head of the Centre, more interested in the victim than her guard, had failed to notice the twinkle that had appeared in the man's eye over the past few days. "A few more days and she should be everything that you want her to be."
Brigitte’s body was strapped to a table and her head lolled to one side. Raines' experiments on others had shown that the treatment had most impact when the victim was heavily sedated and this was one victim that Raines couldn't bear to have failed with. He nodded at the man standing at the head of the board, who reached over and slapped the woman hard on the face. His finger marks showed clearly on her white cheek and her eyes opened.
"Yes sir. What do you want me to do?" The voice was clear and free of the English accent that she had once adopted. Now her speech was monotonous and, accompanied by the lack of expression in her eyes, could have been terrifying to anyone who knew what real fear was. However the two men only exchanged satisfied glances.
"Is it infallible?"
"Not quite. There's no guarantee, if the treatment were stopped now, that it wouldn't wear off. There are still signs that the level of brain activity is higher than it should be. However, in a few more days, it should be permanent. Then we can move ahead with stage two."
"Good, good. Then we will have the perfect assassin. Proceed with the treatment."
Raines stood back and watched as his associate walked over to a small medical trolley and picked up a syringe. Clearing it of air bubbles, he walked over and injected the contents into the woman's arm. In seconds the anesthetic had taken effect. Then the man skillfully picked up a pair of electrodes and placed them on either side of the woman's head. The powerful voltage tore through her body, making it jerk violently against the restraints. After several seconds of such treatment, the man produced another syringe and injected the contents of this into the inert figure.
"Explain the treatment to me again."
"The electric treatment stimulates the brain, briefly increasing the metabolic rate which has been slowed by the sedative. This allows the body to more easily absorb the substances we are injecting into it, which in turn will be responsible for suppressing the parts of the brain which are responsible for independent thought and reasoning. Those areas have been identified through years of research in other Centre laboratories. This treatment will result in a perfectly obedient subject, who will do exactly as they are told."
The man, watching the scene from a distance away, opened and closed his mouth several times before pushing the screen over to the other occupant of the room.
