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The Players - Fate, Truth, Trust, and Hope
With Truth comes enlightenment.
With Fate comes responsibility.
With Trust comes openness.
With Hope can there be love?
************************
Angels Hope
Reflections & Prisms
"I would like Jarod to stay Joan." Lily asked. "I want to talk to him for a moment."
"Not too long. You need rest. And I mean it." Joan exited the room closing the door behind her.
"So what did you want to talk to me about?" Jarod asked sitting in the chair next to the bed.
"I am hoping that you will tell me the truth. I don't trust the others not to lie to me. But you have been through the hell that is the Centre." Lily looked into Jarod's eyes.
"I'll tell you anything you want to know. No lies. There have been enough lies."
"Good. Then my first question is - Are you in love with Miss Parker?"
"What?" Jarod asked stun.
"Are you in love with Miss Parker? It's a simple enough question." Lily asked again.
"That is far from a simple question. A lot has happened....we're not able to..." Jarod got up and walked away from the bed, unsure how to express what their relationship is.was...
"But are you in love with her?" Lily asked again more forceful.
Jarod turned and looked at Lily. "Yes."
"Thank you. Now I know that I can trust you."
"A test?" Jarod asked. Curiosity was intriguing him now.
"Yes. If you could be open enough with me to answer that one question truthfully, then I would know that any other question would be trivial in comparison."
"If I could bare my soul to you, then you can with me." Jarod surmised.
"In a way, yes." Lily closed her eyes. "What is happening to me?"
"The chip started to malfunction. It sent you into a rage. Do you remember what happened in the arboretum?"
"Sort of. It was like I was watching everything happen and couldn't stop myself." Lily hesitated, "but the nightmares are even more real. I'm watching this little girl struggling and being hurt and I can't do anything to help. But I can also feel everything that is happening to her."
"Because she isn't another person, it's you. You went through those things. I know that you're frightened right now."
"I'm not frightened. I don't get frightened." Lily replied defiantly.
Jarod sat down next to her and put his arm around her. "Everyone gets frightened. It's a human flaw that Raines tried to burn out of people or use for his advantage. Just know that I'll be here for you."
"Thank you." She put her head against his chest. Secretly she felt that this was the one place she would feel safe. Jarod wouldn't let anyone hurt her. Both heard a knock on the door and a beep of the lock.
Joan Stedman walked into the room. "OK you two. Enough bonding for now. Lily needs to get some rest. I have some medication to help you relax. Jarod, I think Mark could use some assistance with Miss Parker." Joan had a cup with pills and a glass of water that she brought over to Lily. She extended her hand out with the cup of pills to Lily.
" No." Lily replied.
"No?" Joan looked confused. "No what?" Joan asked
"No I'm not going to take any medication. I'm actually going to get up and get dressed and get the hell out of this room." Lily said forcefully.
"Lily you need to rest. You just had surgery. You are not Wonder Woman." Joan retorted in a monotone voice.
"Lily. Listen to Dr. Stedman. You need to get some sleep." Jarod chimed in.
"I'm not going back to sleep. I'm going to get up and go to my office and get some work done." Lily had anger in her eyes.
Stedman looked at Jarod and nodded her head. Jarod acknowledged her, but shook his head in a slight no. Lily saw the gesture between the two. "Lily. I just want you to get some rest. A lot has happened these last two days." Stedman said in a monotone voice as she made her way to the IV line.
"I don't want to go to sleep!" She yelled. Anger started to fill her.
"Lily, calm down. Try to bring your anger level down, breathe." Lily realized what Jarod was trying to do and took several big breaths. "Dr. Stedman please don't." Jarod said moving to the edge of the bed and closer to Stedman. "Don't force her into this. Talk to her first. Explain what is going on."
Stedman stopped. He turned back around to Lily. "I know you how you're feeling. I know that the thought of closing your eyes and seeing those terrifying images is what is frightening you. They terrify me. I go to sleep and sometimes I wake up screaming. And yes sometimes I don't sleep either. I've stayed awake, occasionally waking Miss Parker, just so I wouldn't have to be alone with those thoughts. What the Centre did to us was horrible, beyond reproach. But you also can't spend the rest of your life without sleep. And avoiding the pain by keeping yourself occupied with work is not going to make it go away. Believe me. I know."
Lily looked at him as her eyes started to tear up, but would not allow herself to cry. "I don't want to remember." She said in a low voice.
"I know. None of us do. The only way to make it go away is to confront them head on." He took her head against his chest and gave her a slight hug. "You don't have a choice." He lifted her chin. "You need to get some rest, please let Dr. Stedman help you."
Lily looked into his soft brown eyes and nodded yes. "I'll take the pills Joan. Not because you're telling me to, but because I want to. And because I feel enough like a pin cushion with all this junk flowing through my veins." She half smiled, took the pills and water offered, and swallowed them.
"I'll be right here with you until you fall asleep. Then I think I will have to see if Miss Parker has killed Mark yet. Good thing she doesn't have her 9 mm."
Lily stayed next to Jarod and after 20 minutes finally fell asleep. Jarod gently lowered her onto her pillow. "I feel so helpless." He said turning to Dr. Stedman. "For the last six years I have controlled or manipulated situations to my advantage. And I find myself in uncharted territory. I don't know what I can do to ease her pain."
"Just be there for her Jarod. You said it yourself - you know what her nightmares are like. Talk her through them. Get her past them. You are her twin brother and beyond anyone else can feel her pain. Even though you did not know each other existed, your lives have paralled." Jarod nodded in agreement. "Why don't you go and see if you can assist Mark. The sedative I gave her is pretty strong and she will be out for a while. A nurse will be monitoring her. I'll have her find you if she wants you."
"Thank you. I'll go find Miss Parker and see what she is up to." Jarod walked to the door and turned to look at his sister. He felt a pang of guilt in his heart and a newfound anger for Raines.
************************
"What do you mean you have found no trace. A body should have been reported by now. I'm telling you that I don't want you back in Blue Cove until you come up with some evidence that he drowned, washed up on shore somewhere, or was ate by sharks." Raines barked in between wheezes. He slammed down the phone onto its base.
"Unpleasant news?" Lyle asked with a smirk on his face knowing fully whom Raines had been talking about. "Still no trace of him?"
"No. The Sweeper team has been unsuccessful in finding the scrolls either. How has your search been for Miss Parker and Jarod?"
"Nothing new to report. It's like they vanished into thin air as well." Lyle retorted. "Angelo hasn't come up with any information that has been of any use, though Sydney has been spending a particularly long amount of time with him."
"Keep your eye on Sydney. His loyalty to this operation is far from clear. He may know where they are."
"I don't think so. He has been way too moody and according to my sources has not received a call from Jarod in weeks. Unusual behavior for Wonder Boy."
"Keep the Sweeper team looking for the person who rented that van. Have them get it and tear it apart if they have to. I want Jarod found!" Raines raised his tone, annoyed at all the incompetence that had happen since they left Carthis. "How are preparations going on the Succession Project? Is everything being finalized for subject 684's arrival?" Raines asked wheezing between sentences.
"The renovation is almost complete on SL27. The labs need some more equipment that we have on order. It should be here by next week. It took longer than expected to clear the debris from the fire. The quarters are ready. Cox has her under surveillance and will bring her in when given the word."
"Fine. Just make sure nothing goes wrong this time. I would hate for you to lose yet another subject due to inaccurate planning." Raines scowled. "She may also be the key to capturing Jarod."
Lyle rolled his eyes and tried to keep the anger that was building up inside not to show. "Everything will run smoothly." He thought to himself, "Especially since Parker and Jarod are out of the way." Though he wanted more than anything to capture Jarod again and get his sister out of his hair, he wondered where they were. And who had them. Possibly a new player in the game and at times that meant trouble.
"It better." Raines flipped his hand toward the door dismissing Lyle and then focused on research paperwork he had on his desk.
"Your time is coming." Lyle said under his breath as he left the room.
**************************
Broots normally liked to ride his bike to work and Debbie her's to school, but today Broots decided that he would drive them. He wanted to see if anyone followed them and Debbie's fears were justified. He continually checked the rear view mirror to see if they were being followed. He didn't see any unusual cars. He pulled up to the school. He gave Debbie a kiss on the cheek. "Have a good day honey. I'll be here at three o'clock to pick you up.
"Dad, I have rehearsal after school." Debbie said as she too looked to see if she could see the car she had seen before.
"Oh. OK. When will you be done?"
"I should be done by five o'clock." She looked around again.
Broots noticing her uneasiness asked, "Honey. Do you see the car you saw before?"
"No. I don't see it now. It usually parks right up there." She pointed to a part of the street a little further up the block from the school.
"Well I don't see it now so just relax, but keep your eyes open. Can't ever be too careful. And remember - no where without someone else with you. OK?" Broots looked at Debbie with concern in his eyes. "I love you honey."
"I love you too Dad. I'll be OK. I've spent some time with Miss Parker." With that she opened the car door and got out. She met some of her friends by the school and walked in together.
Broots looked around again, but didn't see anything suspicious. He headed on into work. After Broots pulled away, a car pulled up down the street from where they had been parked. The man inside took out a notebook and wrote some more information in it.
************************
Parker opened her mother's office door. She looked around the room and on some level smelt her mother's favorite perfume. She walked into the room and went by the pictures. Her mother was holding her and there was such love in her eyes. She could feel her mother's presence all around her. Comforting her.
Mark had told her news that she didn't want to hear. She too had one of those chips in her head. They had done a x-ray and a MRI. Luckily it looked like it was functioning normally. She had asked if there was any way of removing it and they had told her no. She was in the same situation that Lily was in. They didn't know enough about the implantation procedure to remove it without damage. Plus if Lily's newfound memories were correct, it had been there for over 30 years and was now incorporated into her body.
She also was upset that Raines had messed with her mind. If she didn't remember the procedure, then he had conditioned her not to remember. How much more of her childhood had he erased?
"Miss Parker."
"What!" Parker replied sharply.
"I'm sorry if I am disturbing you. We can talk later." Jarod said as he started backing back out of the door.
"Jarod, no. You can come in." She replied half-sorry that she had spoken so sharp.
"I heard the news from Mark. You OK?" Jarod asked with concern in his voice.
"Sure. Not going to let some damn little chip in my head slow me down." She was hiding her true feelings from him. Letting the Ice Queen take over. She went over and sat at the desk.
"It hasn't yet." He smiled and she was forced to crack a small smile herself. But he knew she was upset. He had learned over the years to read her body language. He followed her over to the desk and sat in one of the visitor chairs.
"How is Lily doing?" She asked knowing that she would be foremost on his mind till she was on her feet.
"She is going to need a lot of help. I've had a lifetime to deal with all the ramifications of my time at the Centre. But she's having it thrown at her all at once. She doesn't want to say it, but she's afraid of the nightmares." Jarod tried to explain tactfully.
"Goodbye Utopia. Hello Hell. Raines, or what did she call him - the boogeyman - has gotten his hands onto her and she's God knows how many miles away from the Centre. All I know is when I get a hold of the son of a bitch he's going to wish he had crashed on that tarmac in Morocco." She had vented the anger that had been building up inside. "You did it again."
"What did I do?" Jarod asked.
"You are always with me during the most difficult moments of my life. My mother's and Thomas' death, when I was shot in the back, when I found out I had a brother, when I found out how my mother really died, when I found out my hideous family secret and now."
"Fate seems to keep drawing us together." Jarod thought about what Lily asked and decided to take a chance. "Too bad we can't ever seem to stay that way."
Parker looked at Jarod. "We've already been through this. You run, I chase. That's our lives."
"OK. Then I'll run to SL6 and you'll chase?" Jarod got to his knees and leaned onto the desk. "Take a look around Parker. There's no where to run to anymore. It's just you and me here alone now. No Centre Sweeper Teams, no Raines, no Lyle. Just you and me. The chase is over. It's a stalemate."
"It'll never be over Jarod, not until Raines and the Centre are gone. Raines will have Lyle looking for us." Parker retorted knowing that what Jarod said was right. Where were they going to go?
Jarod got to his feet. "This place has been hidden from the Centre for over thirty years. Do you think that Lyle is going to be able to find it? I'm going to go check on Lily." He started walking towards the door and turned around. "Just ponder this Miss Parker - now who is running and who is chasing?" Jarod turned back around and left the room. He had left the seed. Now it was time to see if it would grow.
************************
The Players - Fate, Truth, Trust, and Hope
With Truth comes pain.
With Fate come decisions.
With Trust comes allegiance.
With Hope comes the future.
The Players - Fate, Truth, Trust, and Hope
With Truth comes enlightenment.
With Fate comes responsibility.
With Trust comes openness.
With Hope can there be love?
************************
Reflections & Prisms
"I would like Jarod to stay Joan." Lily asked. "I want to talk to him for a moment."
"Not too long. You need rest. And I mean it." Joan exited the room closing the door behind her.
"So what did you want to talk to me about?" Jarod asked sitting in the chair next to the bed.
"I am hoping that you will tell me the truth. I don't trust the others not to lie to me. But you have been through the hell that is the Centre." Lily looked into Jarod's eyes.
"I'll tell you anything you want to know. No lies. There have been enough lies."
"Good. Then my first question is - Are you in love with Miss Parker?"
"What?" Jarod asked stun.
"Are you in love with Miss Parker? It's a simple enough question." Lily asked again.
"That is far from a simple question. A lot has happened....we're not able to..." Jarod got up and walked away from the bed, unsure how to express what their relationship is.was...
"But are you in love with her?" Lily asked again more forceful.
Jarod turned and looked at Lily. "Yes."
"Thank you. Now I know that I can trust you."
"A test?" Jarod asked. Curiosity was intriguing him now.
"Yes. If you could be open enough with me to answer that one question truthfully, then I would know that any other question would be trivial in comparison."
"If I could bare my soul to you, then you can with me." Jarod surmised.
"In a way, yes." Lily closed her eyes. "What is happening to me?"
"The chip started to malfunction. It sent you into a rage. Do you remember what happened in the arboretum?"
"Sort of. It was like I was watching everything happen and couldn't stop myself." Lily hesitated, "but the nightmares are even more real. I'm watching this little girl struggling and being hurt and I can't do anything to help. But I can also feel everything that is happening to her."
"Because she isn't another person, it's you. You went through those things. I know that you're frightened right now."
"I'm not frightened. I don't get frightened." Lily replied defiantly.
Jarod sat down next to her and put his arm around her. "Everyone gets frightened. It's a human flaw that Raines tried to burn out of people or use for his advantage. Just know that I'll be here for you."
"Thank you." She put her head against his chest. Secretly she felt that this was the one place she would feel safe. Jarod wouldn't let anyone hurt her. Both heard a knock on the door and a beep of the lock.
Joan Stedman walked into the room. "OK you two. Enough bonding for now. Lily needs to get some rest. I have some medication to help you relax. Jarod, I think Mark could use some assistance with Miss Parker." Joan had a cup with pills and a glass of water that she brought over to Lily. She extended her hand out with the cup of pills to Lily.
" No." Lily replied.
"No?" Joan looked confused. "No what?" Joan asked
"No I'm not going to take any medication. I'm actually going to get up and get dressed and get the hell out of this room." Lily said forcefully.
"Lily you need to rest. You just had surgery. You are not Wonder Woman." Joan retorted in a monotone voice.
"Lily. Listen to Dr. Stedman. You need to get some sleep." Jarod chimed in.
"I'm not going back to sleep. I'm going to get up and go to my office and get some work done." Lily had anger in her eyes.
Stedman looked at Jarod and nodded her head. Jarod acknowledged her, but shook his head in a slight no. Lily saw the gesture between the two. "Lily. I just want you to get some rest. A lot has happened these last two days." Stedman said in a monotone voice as she made her way to the IV line.
"I don't want to go to sleep!" She yelled. Anger started to fill her.
"Lily, calm down. Try to bring your anger level down, breathe." Lily realized what Jarod was trying to do and took several big breaths. "Dr. Stedman please don't." Jarod said moving to the edge of the bed and closer to Stedman. "Don't force her into this. Talk to her first. Explain what is going on."
Stedman stopped. He turned back around to Lily. "I know you how you're feeling. I know that the thought of closing your eyes and seeing those terrifying images is what is frightening you. They terrify me. I go to sleep and sometimes I wake up screaming. And yes sometimes I don't sleep either. I've stayed awake, occasionally waking Miss Parker, just so I wouldn't have to be alone with those thoughts. What the Centre did to us was horrible, beyond reproach. But you also can't spend the rest of your life without sleep. And avoiding the pain by keeping yourself occupied with work is not going to make it go away. Believe me. I know."
Lily looked at him as her eyes started to tear up, but would not allow herself to cry. "I don't want to remember." She said in a low voice.
"I know. None of us do. The only way to make it go away is to confront them head on." He took her head against his chest and gave her a slight hug. "You don't have a choice." He lifted her chin. "You need to get some rest, please let Dr. Stedman help you."
Lily looked into his soft brown eyes and nodded yes. "I'll take the pills Joan. Not because you're telling me to, but because I want to. And because I feel enough like a pin cushion with all this junk flowing through my veins." She half smiled, took the pills and water offered, and swallowed them.
"I'll be right here with you until you fall asleep. Then I think I will have to see if Miss Parker has killed Mark yet. Good thing she doesn't have her 9 mm."
Lily stayed next to Jarod and after 20 minutes finally fell asleep. Jarod gently lowered her onto her pillow. "I feel so helpless." He said turning to Dr. Stedman. "For the last six years I have controlled or manipulated situations to my advantage. And I find myself in uncharted territory. I don't know what I can do to ease her pain."
"Just be there for her Jarod. You said it yourself - you know what her nightmares are like. Talk her through them. Get her past them. You are her twin brother and beyond anyone else can feel her pain. Even though you did not know each other existed, your lives have paralled." Jarod nodded in agreement. "Why don't you go and see if you can assist Mark. The sedative I gave her is pretty strong and she will be out for a while. A nurse will be monitoring her. I'll have her find you if she wants you."
"Thank you. I'll go find Miss Parker and see what she is up to." Jarod walked to the door and turned to look at his sister. He felt a pang of guilt in his heart and a newfound anger for Raines.
************************
"What do you mean you have found no trace. A body should have been reported by now. I'm telling you that I don't want you back in Blue Cove until you come up with some evidence that he drowned, washed up on shore somewhere, or was ate by sharks." Raines barked in between wheezes. He slammed down the phone onto its base.
"Unpleasant news?" Lyle asked with a smirk on his face knowing fully whom Raines had been talking about. "Still no trace of him?"
"No. The Sweeper team has been unsuccessful in finding the scrolls either. How has your search been for Miss Parker and Jarod?"
"Nothing new to report. It's like they vanished into thin air as well." Lyle retorted. "Angelo hasn't come up with any information that has been of any use, though Sydney has been spending a particularly long amount of time with him."
"Keep your eye on Sydney. His loyalty to this operation is far from clear. He may know where they are."
"I don't think so. He has been way too moody and according to my sources has not received a call from Jarod in weeks. Unusual behavior for Wonder Boy."
"Keep the Sweeper team looking for the person who rented that van. Have them get it and tear it apart if they have to. I want Jarod found!" Raines raised his tone, annoyed at all the incompetence that had happen since they left Carthis. "How are preparations going on the Succession Project? Is everything being finalized for subject 684's arrival?" Raines asked wheezing between sentences.
"The renovation is almost complete on SL27. The labs need some more equipment that we have on order. It should be here by next week. It took longer than expected to clear the debris from the fire. The quarters are ready. Cox has her under surveillance and will bring her in when given the word."
"Fine. Just make sure nothing goes wrong this time. I would hate for you to lose yet another subject due to inaccurate planning." Raines scowled. "She may also be the key to capturing Jarod."
Lyle rolled his eyes and tried to keep the anger that was building up inside not to show. "Everything will run smoothly." He thought to himself, "Especially since Parker and Jarod are out of the way." Though he wanted more than anything to capture Jarod again and get his sister out of his hair, he wondered where they were. And who had them. Possibly a new player in the game and at times that meant trouble.
"It better." Raines flipped his hand toward the door dismissing Lyle and then focused on research paperwork he had on his desk.
"Your time is coming." Lyle said under his breath as he left the room.
**************************
Broots normally liked to ride his bike to work and Debbie her's to school, but today Broots decided that he would drive them. He wanted to see if anyone followed them and Debbie's fears were justified. He continually checked the rear view mirror to see if they were being followed. He didn't see any unusual cars. He pulled up to the school. He gave Debbie a kiss on the cheek. "Have a good day honey. I'll be here at three o'clock to pick you up.
"Dad, I have rehearsal after school." Debbie said as she too looked to see if she could see the car she had seen before.
"Oh. OK. When will you be done?"
"I should be done by five o'clock." She looked around again.
Broots noticing her uneasiness asked, "Honey. Do you see the car you saw before?"
"No. I don't see it now. It usually parks right up there." She pointed to a part of the street a little further up the block from the school.
"Well I don't see it now so just relax, but keep your eyes open. Can't ever be too careful. And remember - no where without someone else with you. OK?" Broots looked at Debbie with concern in his eyes. "I love you honey."
"I love you too Dad. I'll be OK. I've spent some time with Miss Parker." With that she opened the car door and got out. She met some of her friends by the school and walked in together.
Broots looked around again, but didn't see anything suspicious. He headed on into work. After Broots pulled away, a car pulled up down the street from where they had been parked. The man inside took out a notebook and wrote some more information in it.
************************
Parker opened her mother's office door. She looked around the room and on some level smelt her mother's favorite perfume. She walked into the room and went by the pictures. Her mother was holding her and there was such love in her eyes. She could feel her mother's presence all around her. Comforting her.
Mark had told her news that she didn't want to hear. She too had one of those chips in her head. They had done a x-ray and a MRI. Luckily it looked like it was functioning normally. She had asked if there was any way of removing it and they had told her no. She was in the same situation that Lily was in. They didn't know enough about the implantation procedure to remove it without damage. Plus if Lily's newfound memories were correct, it had been there for over 30 years and was now incorporated into her body.
She also was upset that Raines had messed with her mind. If she didn't remember the procedure, then he had conditioned her not to remember. How much more of her childhood had he erased?
"Miss Parker."
"What!" Parker replied sharply.
"I'm sorry if I am disturbing you. We can talk later." Jarod said as he started backing back out of the door.
"Jarod, no. You can come in." She replied half-sorry that she had spoken so sharp.
"I heard the news from Mark. You OK?" Jarod asked with concern in his voice.
"Sure. Not going to let some damn little chip in my head slow me down." She was hiding her true feelings from him. Letting the Ice Queen take over. She went over and sat at the desk.
"It hasn't yet." He smiled and she was forced to crack a small smile herself. But he knew she was upset. He had learned over the years to read her body language. He followed her over to the desk and sat in one of the visitor chairs.
"How is Lily doing?" She asked knowing that she would be foremost on his mind till she was on her feet.
"She is going to need a lot of help. I've had a lifetime to deal with all the ramifications of my time at the Centre. But she's having it thrown at her all at once. She doesn't want to say it, but she's afraid of the nightmares." Jarod tried to explain tactfully.
"Goodbye Utopia. Hello Hell. Raines, or what did she call him - the boogeyman - has gotten his hands onto her and she's God knows how many miles away from the Centre. All I know is when I get a hold of the son of a bitch he's going to wish he had crashed on that tarmac in Morocco." She had vented the anger that had been building up inside. "You did it again."
"What did I do?" Jarod asked.
"You are always with me during the most difficult moments of my life. My mother's and Thomas' death, when I was shot in the back, when I found out I had a brother, when I found out how my mother really died, when I found out my hideous family secret and now."
"Fate seems to keep drawing us together." Jarod thought about what Lily asked and decided to take a chance. "Too bad we can't ever seem to stay that way."
Parker looked at Jarod. "We've already been through this. You run, I chase. That's our lives."
"OK. Then I'll run to SL6 and you'll chase?" Jarod got to his knees and leaned onto the desk. "Take a look around Parker. There's no where to run to anymore. It's just you and me here alone now. No Centre Sweeper Teams, no Raines, no Lyle. Just you and me. The chase is over. It's a stalemate."
"It'll never be over Jarod, not until Raines and the Centre are gone. Raines will have Lyle looking for us." Parker retorted knowing that what Jarod said was right. Where were they going to go?
Jarod got to his feet. "This place has been hidden from the Centre for over thirty years. Do you think that Lyle is going to be able to find it? I'm going to go check on Lily." He started walking towards the door and turned around. "Just ponder this Miss Parker - now who is running and who is chasing?" Jarod turned back around and left the room. He had left the seed. Now it was time to see if it would grow.
************************
The Players - Fate, Truth, Trust, and Hope
With Truth comes pain.
With Fate come decisions.
With Trust comes allegiance.
With Hope comes the future.
