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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. I also do not own any music by Phil Collins including Against All Odds.
Players
Each trying to find out where they fit in the game.
Moving in straight lines and circles.
In the end, trying to figure out who they are.
*************************
Angels Hope
Feelings & Fall Outs
Mark hung his head. “I could take it as a good sign that you didn’t kill me right on the spot for kissing you.” He lifted his head and turned her around to face him. “I need to know one thing. When this is all over, will there be an us?”
Lily looked into Mark’s face, trying not to cry. “I don’t know. A lot has changed.”
“But my feelings for you haven’t changed. And I don’t think, deep down, yours have either. You didn’t pull away from that kiss. You were kissing back. So somewhere in there.” Mark pointed to Lily’s heart. “You still love me.”
“You’re right. Love doesn’t just turn on and off like a switch. But a knife in your back sure puts a damper on things.” Lily couldn’t face him any more. She started walking around the room. “You knew important information about my life and didn’t tell me. A relationship is based on trust.” She looked back at him.
“I’m sorry.” Mark tried to follow her, but Lily just kept moving. “Joan gave very specific orders that your file was to remain confidential. She said that it was in your best interest. And then when we started seeing each other, she warned me again that informing you of that information could be detrimental. I never wanted to have anything hurt you.”
“But you were supposed to be the one person who knew me. Keeping my life from me was the worst thing you could ever do. You knew that I wanted….needed to know who I was. Years of struggling to figure out where I fit into this world. Not just the computer programmer or the virologist or the engineer, but who I am. I’ve never known where I came from, who were my parents, and you let me believe that Becky was my sister. So in the end not only did you hurt me, but you hurt her too.”
“This whole thing is such a mess. I know that I have an obligation to my job, but I also don’t want to lose you. What do I have to do to convince you that you are the most important person in my life?” Mark looked at her hopefully.
“Who am I?” Lily’s face looked questioningly. “I’ve already short circuited, so telling me isn’t going to do anything.”
“Lily.” He looked at her pleadingly. “I can’t…I” He looked up at the monitor that was stationed in the corner of the room.
“Then there’s nothing more to be said.” Lily went back to her console. “There can’t be an us if I don’t know who I am.” Lily noticed that the transmission to Bobby had concluded. Maybe he was the only one who really knew who she was.
Mark saw that she was monitoring the transmission again and his heart ached. She had attached herself to someone who could remind her of her past. But he wanted her to think about the future and he knew the only way she could do that. “O’Connor.”
Lily’s head whipped around. “What did you say?”
“Your real last name is O’Connor.” Mark started speaking quickly, knowing what was going to happen. “You are the daughter of Margaret and Charles O’Connor. You have two brothers, Jarod and Kyle. You have a sister named Emily. Your mother became pregnant with you and Jarod after visiting a fertility clinic named NuGenesis. They are connected to the Centre. Raines was taking the twins of chosen couples and separating….” Both turned their heads as the lock on the door sounded and Joan stepped in through the door. There were guards and a lab assistant with her.
“Mark. Come with me please.” She spoke harshly and was noticeably upset.
“Joan. She has the right to kno…” Mark began, but was cut off abruptly.
“Not another word. You have compromised your authority and put this whole project in danger. I want you in my office now!”
Lily stood up and moved in front of Mark from her console. “I have the right to know who I am. I have a family. I’ve never had a family before except for Becky. It’s not Mark’s fault - I pushed him into it.”
Mark put his hands onto Lily’s shoulders. He subconsciously moved his thumbs to the back of Lily’s neck and started rubbing it. He had always done this when he knew she was stressed. Suddenly he realized it wasn’t there. “Lily. Where is your Angel’s Hope medallion?”
Joan was about to say something when she stopped short.
Lily felt around her neck and checked in her blouse. “I never realized it was missing. Did they take it off during the surgery?”
“Joan I was there during surgery. They didn’t take it off. That means it was already gone. Do you realize what this means?”
“That she lost it during the struggle at the Centre. They may have evidence that Angel’s Hope exists and Lily’s name. Get a Retrieval team ready. Get me the operative at the Centre. See if they have heard anything.”
“Joan - stop! If Raines knew anything, he would have used it in New Orleans. They haven’t found it.” Lily went over to the excited woman to calm her down. “Get the Alpha Retrieval Team out there. They will get in and out without detection.”
“Will the two of you listen to me!” Mark yelled. Both Lily and Joan stopped and looked at the screaming man. “Thank you. First. Joan, Lily’s right. We would have heard something by now if they had the medallion. Second. You wanted a reason why Lily’s behavior changed radically after the chip malfunctioned the way it did. You got your answer. She doesn’t have her medallion on.”
“What does my medallion have to do with anything?” Lily asked completely confused.
Mark looked at Joan as the realization set in. “Go ahead and tell her. The situation’s completely out of control as it is.”
Mark came next to Lily and held her hands. “Your medallion had a jamming device in it. Similar to the device you had implanted in the vase.”
“What vase?” Joan asked, but was interrupted by Lily.
“So you were jamming the negative impulses all along?” Lily asked again confused.
Mark looked at Joan again. “Why not?“ Joan said throwing her hands up in the air.
Mark took a deep breath. “It not only jammed the negative impulses, but it also aided in the repression of...your memories.”
Lily’s confusion turned to anger. She slipped her hands from Mark‘s. “Oh this is great! Not only do you lie to me, but you give me hypnotic jewelry. What next? Is there a tracking device in my shoes?”
Mark tried to take her hands again, but ended up grabbing her elbows instead. “But this is good news. We have backups of your medallion. You put it on and you’ll be back the way you were. No more horrid nightmares, no more anger spurts, and you’ll feel calmer. We can get back to normal. Glen.” Mark called to the technician. “Go to the lab and get another medallion.”
The technician hesitated. “Dr. Stedman?”
“Go ahead.” Joan was watching Lily intently. She could see that her young prodigy was not jumping with excitement. “What’s going on inside Lily?”
Mark, in his joy, had not noticed that Lily was not happy at all. “What’s wrong?”
“Obviously the same thing that’s been wrong for all these days. You really don’t understand what’s going on with me at all.” She went over to the console and unlocked the doors to the arboretum. “I hope there are at least two people who have learned that they do know each other. Even if they didn’t want to admit it.”
“Who’s where? Why are there things going on here that I don’t know?” Joan was back in the game.
“I locked Jarod and Parker in the arboretum. They needed to talk things out. Without all the bullshit that is going on around them.” Lily started pacing.
“And what else have you done Lily? Joan asked grabbing Lily. “What else have you done?”
Lily looked into Joan’s face. “Saving a friend. Maybe the only person who ever cared about the real me.”
“Bobby again. Lily. We’re not even sure that the Bobby you knew even still exists. When are you going to stop playing this game and get back in the swing? You have never operated a mission like this before. You are endangering not only yourself, but also your other teams members.”
“I am not playing a game and I know exactly what I’m doing. I will evaluate whether or not Bobby is a liability and act accordingly. I have never lost a mission. That son of a bitch is going to pay for what he did to my family and me if it is the last thing I do. If you have ever trusted me in my life, trust me now!” Lily’s determination showed through like a shining star.
Just then Glen came back into the room. He handed Mark the medallion. Mark looked at Lily and Joan.
“What do you want to do Lily? It’s your call.” Joan said as she walked away from the young lady.
She took the medallion from Mark and looked at it. “The two of you may not like what you’ve been seeing lately. But if I don’t go through this, I’ll never figure out who I am. A person’s personality is the sum of their entire life’s experiences. How can I be a whole person without knowing or feeling the memories you don’t want me to have?”
“Then I should conclude that you do not want to wear the medallion.” Joan surmised.
Lily thought for a moment. “How about a compromise?”
“A compromise?” Asked Mark.
“You modify the medallion to help control the negative emotions, but allow the memories to proceed.”
“Lily. If you do that you will continue to remember all those horrible things that happened to you on SL 27. I don‘t want you to be in any more pain.” Mark pleaded.
“You have no idea what I went through. You weren’t there.” Lily retorted.
Mark looked straight into her eyes. “Yes I was.”
************************
Lyle opened his eyes with a start and looking at the flowers. “Lily.”
Another flash of the young girl came to him and then another. They were in SL27, fighting with the guards and trying to keep their sanity. Visions of being kept in a dark room being pumped full of drugs and being shown images on a big screen.
Lyle pushed himself away from his desk in an effort to escape the images he was seeing. He felt more pain to the side of his skull and grabbed his head as he knocked back into the desk. More images flooded him. He could see himself being led down the corridor on SL27 and running for one of the room’s door. He jumped high enough to see through the observation window and saw Lily lying on the floor. She was rocking in the fetal position on her side. Her large screen was also showing horrible scenes of people being murdered. He grabbed and shook the locked door handle trying to get into the room as the guards that were accompanying him pulled him away from the door. He was screaming her name...Lily.
Lyle slid down his desk. He had been unable to help her then, but then he remembered there were other times. When they had gotten out of their rooms and hid. They had talked and cried with each other until they were found. They had spoke of their dreams of escaping the Centre. Finding a way to get out and run away from the pain and the horror.
And then she was gone. He remembered seeing the darken shapes of Lily and...and Angelo. They had all been friends and Angelo had pulled her farther into the vent. And that was the last he had seen of her. That night he had been sent....where had he been sent? He couldn’t remember. But through everything one thing was constant - Raines’ face. He had been there through everything that had happened. Supervising it. And for the first time in a long time Lyle felt his soul. And it ached with the pain of everything that he had gone through. He pulled his knees up to his chest. Sitting on the floor of his office alone and in pain, he did something that he hadn’t done since he was six - he cried.
*************************
Jarod took her hands into his. “Faith Parker, you have to have faith.”
“I could say faith is for the religious zealots and the righteous, neither of which have been acquainted with the Centre.” Parker half wisecracked. Jarod made a face at her. “OK. I will believe that you believe she is doing the right thing. But bottom line is if we end up at the Renewal Wing, I’m requesting that you have the seat right next to mine so I can say I told you so.”
“If I’m in the chair next to you, you won’t know me to say anything anyway.” Jarod quipped back. “But that’s never going to happen.” Jarod wrapped his arms around Parker. “United remember. I’m never going to let anything separate us again. Ever.” He leaned down and kissed her again.
Parker relaxed in his arms and allowed him to pull her closer. It was as if time itself had stopped and that they had intertwined into one.
The stars had aligned and the chosen were ready. Ready to face what was ahead of them and what was creeping up behind them.
************************
The Eight Ball has been shaken.
The Player’s futures are at hand.
Each shaking and taking a chance for happiness.
As for the answers - the ball reads “Maybe”
Players
Each trying to find out where they fit in the game.
Moving in straight lines and circles.
In the end, trying to figure out who they are.
*************************
Feelings & Fall Outs
Mark hung his head. “I could take it as a good sign that you didn’t kill me right on the spot for kissing you.” He lifted his head and turned her around to face him. “I need to know one thing. When this is all over, will there be an us?”
Lily looked into Mark’s face, trying not to cry. “I don’t know. A lot has changed.”
“But my feelings for you haven’t changed. And I don’t think, deep down, yours have either. You didn’t pull away from that kiss. You were kissing back. So somewhere in there.” Mark pointed to Lily’s heart. “You still love me.”
“You’re right. Love doesn’t just turn on and off like a switch. But a knife in your back sure puts a damper on things.” Lily couldn’t face him any more. She started walking around the room. “You knew important information about my life and didn’t tell me. A relationship is based on trust.” She looked back at him.
“I’m sorry.” Mark tried to follow her, but Lily just kept moving. “Joan gave very specific orders that your file was to remain confidential. She said that it was in your best interest. And then when we started seeing each other, she warned me again that informing you of that information could be detrimental. I never wanted to have anything hurt you.”
“But you were supposed to be the one person who knew me. Keeping my life from me was the worst thing you could ever do. You knew that I wanted….needed to know who I was. Years of struggling to figure out where I fit into this world. Not just the computer programmer or the virologist or the engineer, but who I am. I’ve never known where I came from, who were my parents, and you let me believe that Becky was my sister. So in the end not only did you hurt me, but you hurt her too.”
“This whole thing is such a mess. I know that I have an obligation to my job, but I also don’t want to lose you. What do I have to do to convince you that you are the most important person in my life?” Mark looked at her hopefully.
“Who am I?” Lily’s face looked questioningly. “I’ve already short circuited, so telling me isn’t going to do anything.”
“Lily.” He looked at her pleadingly. “I can’t…I” He looked up at the monitor that was stationed in the corner of the room.
“Then there’s nothing more to be said.” Lily went back to her console. “There can’t be an us if I don’t know who I am.” Lily noticed that the transmission to Bobby had concluded. Maybe he was the only one who really knew who she was.
Mark saw that she was monitoring the transmission again and his heart ached. She had attached herself to someone who could remind her of her past. But he wanted her to think about the future and he knew the only way she could do that. “O’Connor.”
Lily’s head whipped around. “What did you say?”
“Your real last name is O’Connor.” Mark started speaking quickly, knowing what was going to happen. “You are the daughter of Margaret and Charles O’Connor. You have two brothers, Jarod and Kyle. You have a sister named Emily. Your mother became pregnant with you and Jarod after visiting a fertility clinic named NuGenesis. They are connected to the Centre. Raines was taking the twins of chosen couples and separating….” Both turned their heads as the lock on the door sounded and Joan stepped in through the door. There were guards and a lab assistant with her.
“Mark. Come with me please.” She spoke harshly and was noticeably upset.
“Joan. She has the right to kno…” Mark began, but was cut off abruptly.
“Not another word. You have compromised your authority and put this whole project in danger. I want you in my office now!”
Lily stood up and moved in front of Mark from her console. “I have the right to know who I am. I have a family. I’ve never had a family before except for Becky. It’s not Mark’s fault - I pushed him into it.”
Mark put his hands onto Lily’s shoulders. He subconsciously moved his thumbs to the back of Lily’s neck and started rubbing it. He had always done this when he knew she was stressed. Suddenly he realized it wasn’t there. “Lily. Where is your Angel’s Hope medallion?”
Joan was about to say something when she stopped short.
Lily felt around her neck and checked in her blouse. “I never realized it was missing. Did they take it off during the surgery?”
“Joan I was there during surgery. They didn’t take it off. That means it was already gone. Do you realize what this means?”
“That she lost it during the struggle at the Centre. They may have evidence that Angel’s Hope exists and Lily’s name. Get a Retrieval team ready. Get me the operative at the Centre. See if they have heard anything.”
“Joan - stop! If Raines knew anything, he would have used it in New Orleans. They haven’t found it.” Lily went over to the excited woman to calm her down. “Get the Alpha Retrieval Team out there. They will get in and out without detection.”
“Will the two of you listen to me!” Mark yelled. Both Lily and Joan stopped and looked at the screaming man. “Thank you. First. Joan, Lily’s right. We would have heard something by now if they had the medallion. Second. You wanted a reason why Lily’s behavior changed radically after the chip malfunctioned the way it did. You got your answer. She doesn’t have her medallion on.”
“What does my medallion have to do with anything?” Lily asked completely confused.
Mark looked at Joan as the realization set in. “Go ahead and tell her. The situation’s completely out of control as it is.”
Mark came next to Lily and held her hands. “Your medallion had a jamming device in it. Similar to the device you had implanted in the vase.”
“What vase?” Joan asked, but was interrupted by Lily.
“So you were jamming the negative impulses all along?” Lily asked again confused.
Mark looked at Joan again. “Why not?“ Joan said throwing her hands up in the air.
Mark took a deep breath. “It not only jammed the negative impulses, but it also aided in the repression of...your memories.”
Lily’s confusion turned to anger. She slipped her hands from Mark‘s. “Oh this is great! Not only do you lie to me, but you give me hypnotic jewelry. What next? Is there a tracking device in my shoes?”
Mark tried to take her hands again, but ended up grabbing her elbows instead. “But this is good news. We have backups of your medallion. You put it on and you’ll be back the way you were. No more horrid nightmares, no more anger spurts, and you’ll feel calmer. We can get back to normal. Glen.” Mark called to the technician. “Go to the lab and get another medallion.”
The technician hesitated. “Dr. Stedman?”
“Go ahead.” Joan was watching Lily intently. She could see that her young prodigy was not jumping with excitement. “What’s going on inside Lily?”
Mark, in his joy, had not noticed that Lily was not happy at all. “What’s wrong?”
“Obviously the same thing that’s been wrong for all these days. You really don’t understand what’s going on with me at all.” She went over to the console and unlocked the doors to the arboretum. “I hope there are at least two people who have learned that they do know each other. Even if they didn’t want to admit it.”
“Who’s where? Why are there things going on here that I don’t know?” Joan was back in the game.
“I locked Jarod and Parker in the arboretum. They needed to talk things out. Without all the bullshit that is going on around them.” Lily started pacing.
“And what else have you done Lily? Joan asked grabbing Lily. “What else have you done?”
Lily looked into Joan’s face. “Saving a friend. Maybe the only person who ever cared about the real me.”
“Bobby again. Lily. We’re not even sure that the Bobby you knew even still exists. When are you going to stop playing this game and get back in the swing? You have never operated a mission like this before. You are endangering not only yourself, but also your other teams members.”
“I am not playing a game and I know exactly what I’m doing. I will evaluate whether or not Bobby is a liability and act accordingly. I have never lost a mission. That son of a bitch is going to pay for what he did to my family and me if it is the last thing I do. If you have ever trusted me in my life, trust me now!” Lily’s determination showed through like a shining star.
Just then Glen came back into the room. He handed Mark the medallion. Mark looked at Lily and Joan.
“What do you want to do Lily? It’s your call.” Joan said as she walked away from the young lady.
She took the medallion from Mark and looked at it. “The two of you may not like what you’ve been seeing lately. But if I don’t go through this, I’ll never figure out who I am. A person’s personality is the sum of their entire life’s experiences. How can I be a whole person without knowing or feeling the memories you don’t want me to have?”
“Then I should conclude that you do not want to wear the medallion.” Joan surmised.
Lily thought for a moment. “How about a compromise?”
“A compromise?” Asked Mark.
“You modify the medallion to help control the negative emotions, but allow the memories to proceed.”
“Lily. If you do that you will continue to remember all those horrible things that happened to you on SL 27. I don‘t want you to be in any more pain.” Mark pleaded.
“You have no idea what I went through. You weren’t there.” Lily retorted.
Mark looked straight into her eyes. “Yes I was.”
************************
Lyle opened his eyes with a start and looking at the flowers. “Lily.”
Another flash of the young girl came to him and then another. They were in SL27, fighting with the guards and trying to keep their sanity. Visions of being kept in a dark room being pumped full of drugs and being shown images on a big screen.
Lyle pushed himself away from his desk in an effort to escape the images he was seeing. He felt more pain to the side of his skull and grabbed his head as he knocked back into the desk. More images flooded him. He could see himself being led down the corridor on SL27 and running for one of the room’s door. He jumped high enough to see through the observation window and saw Lily lying on the floor. She was rocking in the fetal position on her side. Her large screen was also showing horrible scenes of people being murdered. He grabbed and shook the locked door handle trying to get into the room as the guards that were accompanying him pulled him away from the door. He was screaming her name...Lily.
Lyle slid down his desk. He had been unable to help her then, but then he remembered there were other times. When they had gotten out of their rooms and hid. They had talked and cried with each other until they were found. They had spoke of their dreams of escaping the Centre. Finding a way to get out and run away from the pain and the horror.
And then she was gone. He remembered seeing the darken shapes of Lily and...and Angelo. They had all been friends and Angelo had pulled her farther into the vent. And that was the last he had seen of her. That night he had been sent....where had he been sent? He couldn’t remember. But through everything one thing was constant - Raines’ face. He had been there through everything that had happened. Supervising it. And for the first time in a long time Lyle felt his soul. And it ached with the pain of everything that he had gone through. He pulled his knees up to his chest. Sitting on the floor of his office alone and in pain, he did something that he hadn’t done since he was six - he cried.
*************************
Jarod took her hands into his. “Faith Parker, you have to have faith.”
“I could say faith is for the religious zealots and the righteous, neither of which have been acquainted with the Centre.” Parker half wisecracked. Jarod made a face at her. “OK. I will believe that you believe she is doing the right thing. But bottom line is if we end up at the Renewal Wing, I’m requesting that you have the seat right next to mine so I can say I told you so.”
“If I’m in the chair next to you, you won’t know me to say anything anyway.” Jarod quipped back. “But that’s never going to happen.” Jarod wrapped his arms around Parker. “United remember. I’m never going to let anything separate us again. Ever.” He leaned down and kissed her again.
Parker relaxed in his arms and allowed him to pull her closer. It was as if time itself had stopped and that they had intertwined into one.
The stars had aligned and the chosen were ready. Ready to face what was ahead of them and what was creeping up behind them.
************************
The Eight Ball has been shaken.
The Player’s futures are at hand.
Each shaking and taking a chance for happiness.
As for the answers - the ball reads “Maybe”
