Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story 
Chapter or Story
Disclaimer: All the Pretender characters are the sole property of “The Pretender” creators Steve Mitchell and Craig Van Sickle. All other characters are created by the author of this work with no correlation to anyone living or deceased. This written work is produced solely for recreational purposes, to honor “The Pretender” series and to entertain its fans.
Strategy
Thesis #1 - Things that don’t kill you, make you stronger.
Thesis #2 – That which made you stronger, usually has pissed you off enough to seek revenge.
The new player in the game - Revenge.
Angels Hope
Act 2 Scene 1
Lyle bolted straight up in his chair. The memory had been so vivid. He recognized the place where he had been. In SL27. He had been there as a boy. And she had said she was coming home. The Centre at some point had been her home.
“Something wrong Lyle?” Raines wheezed from his seat.
Lyle turned and looked at Raines. And in his mind he heard part of the music, the lyrics dancing in his mind.
And the Boogeyman ate into your brain.
The girl. She had referred to the man that was hurting them as the Boogeyman. Lyle flashed to that encounter again. Mentally he looked at the man giving him the injection and he saw the man’s face. In that moment Lyle realized who the Boogeyman was and the man’s name was Dr. Raines.
“Lyle. You look as if you’ve seen a ghost.” Raines shifted in his seat, his air tank rattling as he re-adjusted. “Did you think of something that can help us catch that woman?”
Lyle debated with himself. Should he tell Raines what he had remembered? It was his job to tell Raines about the memory. “No. I just had a muscle spasm.”
“You should have one of those oriental girls give you a back massage when you get back to the Centre. Have we received any information from the Sweeper teams yet?” Raines asked, but Lyle was looking out the window again. Raines made a mental note of this and went back to writing the notes of the day on his laptop.
Why had he lied to Raines? Something gnawed at him from the back of his mind. The girl………she was a friend. But he didn’t have any friends. Friends were a liability. Why couldn’t he remember her name? But one thing was for sure – his lack of memory. When he got back to the Centre, there would be answers to find.
************************
Lily and her team had arrived in Colorado in the wee hours of the morning. She looked at her watch and knew that Jarod would probably be up in a while. He would then start his mission in Washington. She knew that he did this “Pretending” thing all the time, but she was still nervous.
Joan met them at the Angel’s Hope terminal exit. “How did everything go?”
“Fine. He was successfully irritated and I believe thoroughly pissed off. Mission accomplished.” Lily had replied flippantly as she kept heading towards the main corridors of the facility.
“The idea was to keep him occupied, not get him angrier.” Joan said as she tried to keep up with Lily.
Lily stopped and looked at Joan. “Maybe that was your agenda, it wasn’t mine. Now, if you don’t mind I’m tired and am going to go get some sleep. I want to be awake when Jarod gets back.” Lily turned and stomped off down the hallway.
The remainder of the team acknowledged greetings to Joan and departed into Angel’s Hope. Mark was the last person to reach Joan. “She made contact with him. She disobeyed orders and indirectly contacted him.”
“Did you expect anything less?” Replied Joan as the two headed down the hallway.
“She knows who he is. He’s the person who killed her brother.” Mark pleaded his case.
“But he’s also something even more powerful than that.” Joan stopped and faced Mark. “He’s her first love.”
************************
Sydney walked into Broots’ office. “How are things with Debbie? Have you seen anything suspicious?”
“No. Maybe she was right and it was just her imagination. I watched again this morning to see if anyone was following us, but I didn’t see anything. And Debbie says she didn’t see the car she had seen before. Maybe I have officially lost it from all the years of working here. I’m beginning to see conspiracies where there aren’t any.” Broots shook his head at the thought that the Centre had finally driven him insane.
“I wouldn’t let down your guard so soon Broots. You know how things tend to come around here and I’d hate for them to get the better of you because you let your guard down. Something is going on here. I was trying to take a flight out to see that statue company and Lyle stopped me.”
Broots had a hurt look on his face. “You tried going without me? I thought that, well you know, that you trusted me.”
“I do trust you Broots. But with everything that was going on with Debbie, I didn’t think you should be away from her.”
“Oh. Thank you for thinking about Debbie and I, but next time tell me Syd. I don’t need another friend disappearing and me not knowing where they are.”
“Well we know that Miss Parker and Jarod are with Joan Stedman. Joan is a fine woman, they are in good hands. I just wish I knew where that was.”
“According to Bart at the plane hanger, Raines and Lyle took off last night after that woman on the video. But I saw Raines this morning and he didn’t look all that great.”
“I reviewed the transmission and believe that whoever this woman is she has a personal vendetta against Raines. And I haven’t seen Lyle here at all today. I just can’t figure out what that woman’s connection is to Joan.” Sydney thought for a moment. “In either case, I think we better step up our search through Lyle’s files. Maybe even Raines. There is something going on. I can feel it. Somehow all of this is connected. If you find anything, call me in my office.”
“Sure Sydney. I just wish it was as easy to do as to say.” Broots buried his head into the computer and went back to trying to hack into Lyle’s files.
************************
Lily fell into a restless sleep the minute she hit the pillow. There were so many things running through her mind. Visions of what had happened to her at the Centre. The room they had put her in to play the music that would have driven her crazy, except for that special place she would hide in her mind. Bobby had taught her how to do that. The room had an observation window in it. They had watched her during every experiment, every minute she had been there. Watching the torture they were inflicting and her reaction.
Then she remembered standing in back of the mirror looking at Lyle. An observation window of her own. Now she had been the capturer, not the prisoner. And in her mind she saw standing next to him, who he had been. That little boy who she had befriended and who had technically given her her first kiss (even if it had been on her cheek). And then in the distance behind the two, a figure came into view. And as the figure came closer, she saw the face of the man. He looked just like the picture Jarod had shown her – it was Kyle.
She took her fists and hit the mirror screaming. “How could you kill my brother? I never even got to know him.”
*************************
Jarod had arrived back at Angel’s Hope and was greeted by Mark. He had been told that Lily again was in a nightmare state. He was buzzed into Lily’s room and heard her say that someone had killed her brother. He went to her side and shook her gently. “Lily. Wake up. It’s Jarod. I’m OK. No one has killed me.”
Lily woke with a start and saw Jarod looking down at her. She sat up and hugged Jarod. At least she had her one brother left.
“It’s OK. It was only a nightmare.” Jarod tried to console her.
She let go of Jarod and tried to regain her composure. “I know.”
Jarod noticed the change in body mechanics. “You don’t have to put up that defense with me.” He lifted her chin. “You’re my sister.”
“I’m not putting up any defenses. Fright is a sign of weakness.” Jarod frowned. “What?” Lily now frowned as she questioned him.
“You’re spouting Raines again.” He smiled trying to get her to smile.
“Ugh. I can’t help all this stuff that is stuck in my head.”
“I know. How did things go in New Orleans?” Jarod walked over to the dresser and got her a glass of water. “Mark asked me to give these to you. He noticed you were in pain in the plane.” Jarod handed her a bottle of pills. “You over did it, didn’t you? Can I check the stitches?”
Lily handed the bottle back and got up off the bed. “If I wanted two mother’s, I would go down to the nursery and get them. The two of you think I am a fragile china doll. I don’t need to be babied. I know my own body.”
“I’m not saying that you are a baby. I’m saying that I am concerned that you are pushing yourself and that you haven’t healed yet. And if you are in pain, no one here is going to think that you are weak. They are going to think that your body is sending your thick brain signals to slow down.”
Lily looked at him coyly and punched him in the arm. “If I have a thick brain, it’s only because it genetically runs in the family.” They both laughed. “Leave the pills on the night stand. If I need them, I’ll take them.”
“OK. See it’s all right to laugh. Seriously, how did New Orleans go?”
“Functionally it went as planned. The Sweepers were detained and Raines went for the alternate path. I believe he was convinced of my resolve. Now for the next phase…..”
“The next phase? I thought you were going to keep him distracted while I planted the information in Washington. That was it. Lily, you can’t keep doing this. You’re going to get caught.”
“Jarod. One distraction is not going to be enough. Washington is going to take a little while to complete. He will be right after your Debbie Broots again. I plan to keep him away from Debbie and any other child he thinks he is going to destroy.”
Jarod pulled the chair close to the bed to sit down. “Sit down, rest, and tell me what you plan to do next?”
Lily came and sat on the bed. She looked out into the room. “Mark. You can start recording now, if you haven’t already started.”
Jarod gave her a stern look. “You should let up on him. He really cares for you. I can see it in his eyes.”
“Someone who cares for you doesn’t betray you.” Lily lowered her head and Jarod could see the hurt in her face.
“Sometimes a person doesn’t have a choice in what they have to do, but the outcomes of their actions hurt just the same.” Now Jarod’s face showed the hurt.
“Seems we’re in the same boat, you and I. Both loving someone who has done something to hurt us. Maybe it’s our lot in life.”
“I’m not giving up.” Jarod look soulfully into her eyes. “You shouldn’t either.”
Lily flashed a mental picture of Bobby and then Mark. “I’m not. But I need to work some things out first. Like our next mission in Operation Drive Raines Crazy. So this is what I was thinking……..”
************************
Lyle was at his computer at home. He had been accessing the adoption records for Nebraska and Delaware, but couldn’t find his name anywhere in their records. “Where was I adopted out of old man?” He knew that Parker would know, but he wouldn’t find her till he found the mystery woman.
His first clear memory was in Nebraska, but he was about ten years old then. Where were his memories before then? He had never questioned it before, which also disturbed him. He knew that these were the symptoms of someone who had gone through the Renewal Wing. There was a part of his past he didn’t know and he was going to find out what it was.
Lyle turned off his computer and grabbed his coat. He was going to get answers if he had to kill the wheezing sack of bones to do it. He laughed to himself – his sister did have a way of describing people. He wondered how she was. He shook his head as he locked the door. “Concern is a sign of weakness.” He proceeded to his car.
************************
Parker sat at her mother’s desk. When she had asked the guard if Jarod had returned, he had told her yes. But that he had gone to Lily’s room straight from the plane. She had talked herself into thinking she didn’t care if he came to see her first or not. That it didn’t matter that there was no one else at Angel’s Hope who they both knew. But Jarod had been embraced and had become one of the family. He had found another sister and Parker had been pushed to the side. She was not use to not being the one person he sought after. He had been leaving her presents, clues, and information for six years. She had found that she liked to hear his voice when she picked up her phone and responded with her usual “What”.
But she also knew that she had hurt him. She had chosen her father over him. She had let the Sweepers walk him away into the plane in Morocco. What was worse was she knew the truth. She had chosen the Centre over him. And not really chosen it, had been afraid to counter what her father and Raines were doing. She had given up his freedom for hers. But after her father had jumped with the scrolls she knew that she had made a mistake. That the only person who had cared for her, been with her through thick and thin had been Jarod.
Parker got up from the desk and walked in front of her mother’s picture. “Why am I doing this to myself mother? I am a strong woman and I don’t need a man to complete me. Whether it is my father or Jarod.” But in the back of her mind she could hear her mother weeping. Such sadness radiated through her. “Fine. If you don’t want me to rely on myself, then how do I get to where I am suppose to be?”
Suddenly there was a knock on the door.
“Come in.” Parker yelled as she headed back to the desk.
The door opened and Jarod stuck his head in. “You busy?”
Parker just sat at the desk and smiled.
************************
Joan was walking out of the elevator on one of the sublevels. She had been notified that two new arrivals had been brought in from Atlanta by one of the teams stationed there. The woman had been injured running from one of the Centre’s Sweeper teams.
“How is the woman doing?” Joan was reviewing the file that her assistant Sean had handed her.
“She had a bullet wound in the left shoulder and facial lacerations that we treated in Atlanta before bringing her here. The man was unharmed, but refuses to leave her side.” They were approaching the medical area where the woman was being moved from when the doors swung open. An unconscious woman with her face and shoulder bandaged laid on the gurney. The one thing Joan noticed was the long red hair coming out from under the bandages.
Joan took the chart off the gurney and reviewed it. Joan looked up and addressed the young man that was at the woman’s side. “Hello. My name is Dr. Stedman. I am the facilitator here at Angel’s Hope.” Joan looked down at the woman. “She’s mighty lucky that the bullet hit her shoulder. With some therapy she should regain full use of her arm. Are you alright…Do you care to share your name?”
The young man looked at Joan. “There are men looking for us. Dangerous men. My mother said that this would be a safe place to come. That we could trust you.”
Joan smiled. “And your mother was right. We can protect you from the Centre. If you feel uncomfortable giving us your names, we can create alias’ for you till you trust us your with your real names. We’ll refer to you as Nathan and your mother as Mary. Will that be all right?”
The young man looked as if his mind were somewhere else. He finally came back to the conversation. “Yes. That will be fine.”
“Your mother will have to stay here under observation. We are putting you in a special secure section of Angel’s Hope so that you can retain your privacy. Let the staff know if you have any needs. We have a wide arrange of services including counseling if you need someone to talk to.” Joan gave that pleasant therapist smile. “I promise things can only get better.”
The young man looked at the woman on the gurney and then back at Joan. “Yes, I believe they will.”
************************
Strategy has brought the five players together.
Fate has his destiny unraveling before him.
Truth will be presented to the one who is seeking it.
Trust must allow for emotions to be felt and revealed.
Hope has just arrived.
Revenge is seeking justice.
Strategy
Thesis #1 - Things that don’t kill you, make you stronger.
Thesis #2 – That which made you stronger, usually has pissed you off enough to seek revenge.
The new player in the game - Revenge.
Act 2 Scene 1
Lyle bolted straight up in his chair. The memory had been so vivid. He recognized the place where he had been. In SL27. He had been there as a boy. And she had said she was coming home. The Centre at some point had been her home.
“Something wrong Lyle?” Raines wheezed from his seat.
Lyle turned and looked at Raines. And in his mind he heard part of the music, the lyrics dancing in his mind.
And the Boogeyman ate into your brain.
The girl. She had referred to the man that was hurting them as the Boogeyman. Lyle flashed to that encounter again. Mentally he looked at the man giving him the injection and he saw the man’s face. In that moment Lyle realized who the Boogeyman was and the man’s name was Dr. Raines.
“Lyle. You look as if you’ve seen a ghost.” Raines shifted in his seat, his air tank rattling as he re-adjusted. “Did you think of something that can help us catch that woman?”
Lyle debated with himself. Should he tell Raines what he had remembered? It was his job to tell Raines about the memory. “No. I just had a muscle spasm.”
“You should have one of those oriental girls give you a back massage when you get back to the Centre. Have we received any information from the Sweeper teams yet?” Raines asked, but Lyle was looking out the window again. Raines made a mental note of this and went back to writing the notes of the day on his laptop.
Why had he lied to Raines? Something gnawed at him from the back of his mind. The girl………she was a friend. But he didn’t have any friends. Friends were a liability. Why couldn’t he remember her name? But one thing was for sure – his lack of memory. When he got back to the Centre, there would be answers to find.
************************
Lily and her team had arrived in Colorado in the wee hours of the morning. She looked at her watch and knew that Jarod would probably be up in a while. He would then start his mission in Washington. She knew that he did this “Pretending” thing all the time, but she was still nervous.
Joan met them at the Angel’s Hope terminal exit. “How did everything go?”
“Fine. He was successfully irritated and I believe thoroughly pissed off. Mission accomplished.” Lily had replied flippantly as she kept heading towards the main corridors of the facility.
“The idea was to keep him occupied, not get him angrier.” Joan said as she tried to keep up with Lily.
Lily stopped and looked at Joan. “Maybe that was your agenda, it wasn’t mine. Now, if you don’t mind I’m tired and am going to go get some sleep. I want to be awake when Jarod gets back.” Lily turned and stomped off down the hallway.
The remainder of the team acknowledged greetings to Joan and departed into Angel’s Hope. Mark was the last person to reach Joan. “She made contact with him. She disobeyed orders and indirectly contacted him.”
“Did you expect anything less?” Replied Joan as the two headed down the hallway.
“She knows who he is. He’s the person who killed her brother.” Mark pleaded his case.
“But he’s also something even more powerful than that.” Joan stopped and faced Mark. “He’s her first love.”
************************
Sydney walked into Broots’ office. “How are things with Debbie? Have you seen anything suspicious?”
“No. Maybe she was right and it was just her imagination. I watched again this morning to see if anyone was following us, but I didn’t see anything. And Debbie says she didn’t see the car she had seen before. Maybe I have officially lost it from all the years of working here. I’m beginning to see conspiracies where there aren’t any.” Broots shook his head at the thought that the Centre had finally driven him insane.
“I wouldn’t let down your guard so soon Broots. You know how things tend to come around here and I’d hate for them to get the better of you because you let your guard down. Something is going on here. I was trying to take a flight out to see that statue company and Lyle stopped me.”
Broots had a hurt look on his face. “You tried going without me? I thought that, well you know, that you trusted me.”
“I do trust you Broots. But with everything that was going on with Debbie, I didn’t think you should be away from her.”
“Oh. Thank you for thinking about Debbie and I, but next time tell me Syd. I don’t need another friend disappearing and me not knowing where they are.”
“Well we know that Miss Parker and Jarod are with Joan Stedman. Joan is a fine woman, they are in good hands. I just wish I knew where that was.”
“According to Bart at the plane hanger, Raines and Lyle took off last night after that woman on the video. But I saw Raines this morning and he didn’t look all that great.”
“I reviewed the transmission and believe that whoever this woman is she has a personal vendetta against Raines. And I haven’t seen Lyle here at all today. I just can’t figure out what that woman’s connection is to Joan.” Sydney thought for a moment. “In either case, I think we better step up our search through Lyle’s files. Maybe even Raines. There is something going on. I can feel it. Somehow all of this is connected. If you find anything, call me in my office.”
“Sure Sydney. I just wish it was as easy to do as to say.” Broots buried his head into the computer and went back to trying to hack into Lyle’s files.
************************
Lily fell into a restless sleep the minute she hit the pillow. There were so many things running through her mind. Visions of what had happened to her at the Centre. The room they had put her in to play the music that would have driven her crazy, except for that special place she would hide in her mind. Bobby had taught her how to do that. The room had an observation window in it. They had watched her during every experiment, every minute she had been there. Watching the torture they were inflicting and her reaction.
Then she remembered standing in back of the mirror looking at Lyle. An observation window of her own. Now she had been the capturer, not the prisoner. And in her mind she saw standing next to him, who he had been. That little boy who she had befriended and who had technically given her her first kiss (even if it had been on her cheek). And then in the distance behind the two, a figure came into view. And as the figure came closer, she saw the face of the man. He looked just like the picture Jarod had shown her – it was Kyle.
She took her fists and hit the mirror screaming. “How could you kill my brother? I never even got to know him.”
*************************
Jarod had arrived back at Angel’s Hope and was greeted by Mark. He had been told that Lily again was in a nightmare state. He was buzzed into Lily’s room and heard her say that someone had killed her brother. He went to her side and shook her gently. “Lily. Wake up. It’s Jarod. I’m OK. No one has killed me.”
Lily woke with a start and saw Jarod looking down at her. She sat up and hugged Jarod. At least she had her one brother left.
“It’s OK. It was only a nightmare.” Jarod tried to console her.
She let go of Jarod and tried to regain her composure. “I know.”
Jarod noticed the change in body mechanics. “You don’t have to put up that defense with me.” He lifted her chin. “You’re my sister.”
“I’m not putting up any defenses. Fright is a sign of weakness.” Jarod frowned. “What?” Lily now frowned as she questioned him.
“You’re spouting Raines again.” He smiled trying to get her to smile.
“Ugh. I can’t help all this stuff that is stuck in my head.”
“I know. How did things go in New Orleans?” Jarod walked over to the dresser and got her a glass of water. “Mark asked me to give these to you. He noticed you were in pain in the plane.” Jarod handed her a bottle of pills. “You over did it, didn’t you? Can I check the stitches?”
Lily handed the bottle back and got up off the bed. “If I wanted two mother’s, I would go down to the nursery and get them. The two of you think I am a fragile china doll. I don’t need to be babied. I know my own body.”
“I’m not saying that you are a baby. I’m saying that I am concerned that you are pushing yourself and that you haven’t healed yet. And if you are in pain, no one here is going to think that you are weak. They are going to think that your body is sending your thick brain signals to slow down.”
Lily looked at him coyly and punched him in the arm. “If I have a thick brain, it’s only because it genetically runs in the family.” They both laughed. “Leave the pills on the night stand. If I need them, I’ll take them.”
“OK. See it’s all right to laugh. Seriously, how did New Orleans go?”
“Functionally it went as planned. The Sweepers were detained and Raines went for the alternate path. I believe he was convinced of my resolve. Now for the next phase…..”
“The next phase? I thought you were going to keep him distracted while I planted the information in Washington. That was it. Lily, you can’t keep doing this. You’re going to get caught.”
“Jarod. One distraction is not going to be enough. Washington is going to take a little while to complete. He will be right after your Debbie Broots again. I plan to keep him away from Debbie and any other child he thinks he is going to destroy.”
Jarod pulled the chair close to the bed to sit down. “Sit down, rest, and tell me what you plan to do next?”
Lily came and sat on the bed. She looked out into the room. “Mark. You can start recording now, if you haven’t already started.”
Jarod gave her a stern look. “You should let up on him. He really cares for you. I can see it in his eyes.”
“Someone who cares for you doesn’t betray you.” Lily lowered her head and Jarod could see the hurt in her face.
“Sometimes a person doesn’t have a choice in what they have to do, but the outcomes of their actions hurt just the same.” Now Jarod’s face showed the hurt.
“Seems we’re in the same boat, you and I. Both loving someone who has done something to hurt us. Maybe it’s our lot in life.”
“I’m not giving up.” Jarod look soulfully into her eyes. “You shouldn’t either.”
Lily flashed a mental picture of Bobby and then Mark. “I’m not. But I need to work some things out first. Like our next mission in Operation Drive Raines Crazy. So this is what I was thinking……..”
************************
Lyle was at his computer at home. He had been accessing the adoption records for Nebraska and Delaware, but couldn’t find his name anywhere in their records. “Where was I adopted out of old man?” He knew that Parker would know, but he wouldn’t find her till he found the mystery woman.
His first clear memory was in Nebraska, but he was about ten years old then. Where were his memories before then? He had never questioned it before, which also disturbed him. He knew that these were the symptoms of someone who had gone through the Renewal Wing. There was a part of his past he didn’t know and he was going to find out what it was.
Lyle turned off his computer and grabbed his coat. He was going to get answers if he had to kill the wheezing sack of bones to do it. He laughed to himself – his sister did have a way of describing people. He wondered how she was. He shook his head as he locked the door. “Concern is a sign of weakness.” He proceeded to his car.
************************
Parker sat at her mother’s desk. When she had asked the guard if Jarod had returned, he had told her yes. But that he had gone to Lily’s room straight from the plane. She had talked herself into thinking she didn’t care if he came to see her first or not. That it didn’t matter that there was no one else at Angel’s Hope who they both knew. But Jarod had been embraced and had become one of the family. He had found another sister and Parker had been pushed to the side. She was not use to not being the one person he sought after. He had been leaving her presents, clues, and information for six years. She had found that she liked to hear his voice when she picked up her phone and responded with her usual “What”.
But she also knew that she had hurt him. She had chosen her father over him. She had let the Sweepers walk him away into the plane in Morocco. What was worse was she knew the truth. She had chosen the Centre over him. And not really chosen it, had been afraid to counter what her father and Raines were doing. She had given up his freedom for hers. But after her father had jumped with the scrolls she knew that she had made a mistake. That the only person who had cared for her, been with her through thick and thin had been Jarod.
Parker got up from the desk and walked in front of her mother’s picture. “Why am I doing this to myself mother? I am a strong woman and I don’t need a man to complete me. Whether it is my father or Jarod.” But in the back of her mind she could hear her mother weeping. Such sadness radiated through her. “Fine. If you don’t want me to rely on myself, then how do I get to where I am suppose to be?”
Suddenly there was a knock on the door.
“Come in.” Parker yelled as she headed back to the desk.
The door opened and Jarod stuck his head in. “You busy?”
Parker just sat at the desk and smiled.
************************
Joan was walking out of the elevator on one of the sublevels. She had been notified that two new arrivals had been brought in from Atlanta by one of the teams stationed there. The woman had been injured running from one of the Centre’s Sweeper teams.
“How is the woman doing?” Joan was reviewing the file that her assistant Sean had handed her.
“She had a bullet wound in the left shoulder and facial lacerations that we treated in Atlanta before bringing her here. The man was unharmed, but refuses to leave her side.” They were approaching the medical area where the woman was being moved from when the doors swung open. An unconscious woman with her face and shoulder bandaged laid on the gurney. The one thing Joan noticed was the long red hair coming out from under the bandages.
Joan took the chart off the gurney and reviewed it. Joan looked up and addressed the young man that was at the woman’s side. “Hello. My name is Dr. Stedman. I am the facilitator here at Angel’s Hope.” Joan looked down at the woman. “She’s mighty lucky that the bullet hit her shoulder. With some therapy she should regain full use of her arm. Are you alright…Do you care to share your name?”
The young man looked at Joan. “There are men looking for us. Dangerous men. My mother said that this would be a safe place to come. That we could trust you.”
Joan smiled. “And your mother was right. We can protect you from the Centre. If you feel uncomfortable giving us your names, we can create alias’ for you till you trust us your with your real names. We’ll refer to you as Nathan and your mother as Mary. Will that be all right?”
The young man looked as if his mind were somewhere else. He finally came back to the conversation. “Yes. That will be fine.”
“Your mother will have to stay here under observation. We are putting you in a special secure section of Angel’s Hope so that you can retain your privacy. Let the staff know if you have any needs. We have a wide arrange of services including counseling if you need someone to talk to.” Joan gave that pleasant therapist smile. “I promise things can only get better.”
The young man looked at the woman on the gurney and then back at Joan. “Yes, I believe they will.”
************************
Strategy has brought the five players together.
Fate has his destiny unraveling before him.
Truth will be presented to the one who is seeking it.
Trust must allow for emotions to be felt and revealed.
Hope has just arrived.
Revenge is seeking justice.
