Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story 
Chapter or Story
Disclaimer: see Chapter sixteen
~~~~~~~
To End The Evil
Part 21
Worries and a call
Jarod walked tiredly into his hotel room in London.
Here in the hotel he was known as John Alborne. At first he wasn’t sure if this secrecy was necessary but now he was glad he had chosen to use so many different names.
The Centre wouldn’t be able to find him. Even if they managed to link the name he used to come to England to him, they would loose his tracks after that.
In addition to that, the University people wouldn’t get to him if they got suspicious. They knew him as Steve Taylor, a person that didn’t exist and wouldn’t be found anywhere.
He sighed and went over to his bed, dropping the briefcase with the Scrolls next to it. Though he was curious what the Scrolls said he postponed examining them.
It was quarter to eight PM here in England and now that all his exertion wore off, the jet lag that he had suppressed before surfaced.
Jarod decided that he would get himself something to eat and sleep some more after that.
Since his hasty departure from Miss Parker’s house he had only slept two hours.
That alone was nothing unusual. He was used to go without sleep but he hadn’t been able to rest much even before he left Blue Cove.
Jarod ordered room service and went to take a shower.
After eating he felt somewhat better but now his tiredness took over again and he yawned.
He would have to call Parker sometime tonight but not now. It was just about noon in Delaware and he didn’t want to call her in the Centre. Not with the news he had to tell her.
Suddenly the pretender stopped dead in his tracks. He couldn’t tell her. Not even when she was home. Her phone was bugged. He swore slightly.
He had to think of something to warn her.
Jarod contemplated that thought and tried to find a solution for this new problem but his mind just didn’t cooperate. His concentration had reached its limits.
He would also have to decide what he would do now. He wouldn’t be able to get out of Europe before the article about the Scrolls was published.
Flying directly after it was out in the open was dangerous, too, for the Centre would sure observe the airports with intercontinental flights back to the USA.
They wouldn’t buy the story with Mr. Taylor from an archaeology firm in Connecticut for long. Not when the Scrolls were involved. They would try to catch him to get to the Scrolls.
Perhaps he should hole up somewhere and wait till the Centre got tired of waiting for him to show up on some airport.
But how long would it take them to get to that point, he wondered.
He sighed and finally went to bed. Maybe after a short nap he would be able to find a solution for his problems.
~~~~~~~
Miss Parker walked into the house and quickly went to the backrooms.
Nothing; nothing more than emptiness.
She huffed irritated.
She had left while Jarod was sleeping in her guestroom yesterday morning.
Since then he was nowhere to be fond. He had just vanished. Nothing indicated that he had been there in the first place. Even the duffle bag with clothes that had been stored in the basement was gone.
She didn’t know what to think about that. She wasn’t sure if she should be worried.
Of course, Jarod could take care of himself and sure enough there was a good reason for him to vanish but the strange feeling in the pit of her stomach stayed.
The small “what if’s” continued to come to her mind.
What if the Centre got him?
What if he prepared a lair and something happened?
On the other hand she was sure that he was ok. It just didn’t feel like anything had happened.
But still… she ‘was’ worried nonetheless.
A short time ago she had had to admit to herself that she cared about Jarod.
She huffed once again. Reluctantly she acknowledged that there was another reason that irritated the hell out of her.
A few weeks ago she would have laughed about that but now… she wasn’t used to come into a deserted house any more. Even if Jarod wasn’t always in the house when she got back from work, he appeared sometime later.
She hadn’t been concerned about coming into a dark house yesterday but she had been sure that Jarod would show up sooner or later.
They hadn’t had the time to talk about their discovery at St. Catherine’s and she had been convinced that they would do so that evening.
But Jarod didn’t come yesterday and he wasn’t here now. She would spend the rest of the evening on the couch waiting for him to come back.
Maybe he had done a pretend further away. Hell, it was what she had wanted to run past him after Sydney did his “something is different about him” and “something is up” talk.
They didn’t need anyone to become suspicious, not even Sydney; at least not right now. They had a hard time to cover their asses as it was.
Maybe Jarod had reached that conclusion himself and went to the west coast or somewhere else in the States to prepare a lair.
Parker actually tried to believe in that thought but she wasn’t convinced by it.
As hard as she tried, she was worried.
~~~~~~~
Jarod blinked his eyes open, frowning slightly when he didn’t recognize his surroundings. It took him a moment to remember everything.
He got up and walked over to the window from where he could see the Thames River. It was foggy outside but pretty nonetheless.
Jarod yawned and ruffled his hair. A look at his watch told him that it was nearly six o’clock in the morning. Frowning, he realized that he had had slept awfully long.
He must have been extremely tired to sleep that much. On the other hand it was perfect timing for he could call Parker now. It was nearly midnight over there. Not like his usual calls in the wee hours of the morning but good enough so that the Centre wouldn’t be suspicious.
They had to keep appearances after all. Giving away their connection was not on his list of things to do. It had been hard enough to cover their asses until now. And the time to come was even more dangerous.
He went over to his duffle bag to retrieve his cell phone. After that he resumed his place in front of the window.
Before he dialled, Jarod contemplated his moves.
He had to warn Parker of the bugs inconspicuously and had yet to cut the call short for he feared that the Centre might try to trace his call. Of course, he used a scrambler but he didn’t want to take any chances. Not before he had decided what he would do next.
An idea forming in his mind, he nodded confidently and hit speed dial.
~~~~~~~
She was startled out of her sleep by the telephone.
She reached for the receiver.
“What?” She snapped sleepily.
“Ah, and a good evening to you, Miss Parker,” Jarod purred.
Parker frowned. “Jarod, where the hell are you?”
“Safe and sound and away from the Centre. What more can I hope for?” he retorted smugly. Jarod closed his eyes and prayed that she would understand and play along.
In Blue Cove Parker’s frown deepened. She raised an eyebrow. Jarod had either gone mad or he couldn’t speak openly. She decided not to doubt him but to play along and return to their old game. “A nice little apartment in one of the Centre’s sublevels?” she suggested.
Jarod grinned, relieved that she didn’t question him. “Cuuute, not funny but cute!” he drawled.
“Yeah, well…,” she huffed. “What do you want?”
“Have you missed me the last few weeks?” Jarod asked back.
Again, she frowned. Weeks? Jarod had left the house just yesterday, hadn’t he?
She quickly snapped back into the conversation. “Come to think of it… no! But if ‘you’ did we can always arrange a meeting place or better still, I could come to you. I think I would be able to make time in my appointment calendar. So where are you?”
“Nice try Miss Parker but you had better ones,” Jarod chuckled.
“Yeah, sometimes you win, sometimes you loose,” Parker said, repeating Jarod’s words from the first evening they spent in companionable friendship, trying to get him to open up.
Jarod smiled at her comment. “Yeah, right, oh and sorry to disappoint you but I’m very busy right now. It may take a while until I’m able contact you again!”
“Well, anyhow, my door is always open for you,“ Parker declared.
“Yeah, right and you wouldn’t even need to pick up the receiver to call in the cavalry. No thanks!” Jarod replied and terminated the call. He hoped that she would get the meaning.
Parker stared at the phone in confusion. That conversation had been strange.
She frowned and replayed it in her mind. She got up from the couch where she had fallen asleep waiting for Jarod to return. At least now she knew that he was safe and away from the Centre.
Her head snapped up and she smiled.
Maybe this conversation wasn’t that strange after all. Perhaps Jarod had tried to tell her something along the lines.
He had told her that he was not in the Centre but somewhere else safe. He had also told her that she wouldn’t have to worry when he didn’t make contact soon.
What still puzzled her was his question if she had missed him the last few weeks and his comment about calling the cavalry without picking up the receiver.
Cavalry surely referred to the Centre but why wouldn’t she need the telephone to call them. It would mean that they already knew what was happening in the house…
A thought stuck her like lightening: Bugs.
She clenched her teeth. Now everything made sense. Jarod couldn’t talk openly not because ‘he’ wasn’t alone but because ‘her’ line was tapped and surely so was the whole house. His last statement had made that clear.
It was not like the Centre hadn’t bugged her house before but they hadn’t tried in a long time.
Together with Jarod’s last statement the question about the >last few weeks< resolved itself, too.
If the Centre was listening, it was important that they thought they hadn’t had any contact. They would question her loyalty if they thought she lied to them.
And they had all reasons to question her loyalty. They just didn’t know that by now and hopefully it would remain that way.
She huffed. Well, now that she knew about the bugs it would be easy to remove them.
Parker straightened and walked to her bedroom. She would remove them tomorrow. Right now all she wanted to do was sleep.
To be continued…
~~~~~~~
Part 21
Worries and a call
Jarod walked tiredly into his hotel room in London.
Here in the hotel he was known as John Alborne. At first he wasn’t sure if this secrecy was necessary but now he was glad he had chosen to use so many different names.
The Centre wouldn’t be able to find him. Even if they managed to link the name he used to come to England to him, they would loose his tracks after that.
In addition to that, the University people wouldn’t get to him if they got suspicious. They knew him as Steve Taylor, a person that didn’t exist and wouldn’t be found anywhere.
He sighed and went over to his bed, dropping the briefcase with the Scrolls next to it. Though he was curious what the Scrolls said he postponed examining them.
It was quarter to eight PM here in England and now that all his exertion wore off, the jet lag that he had suppressed before surfaced.
Jarod decided that he would get himself something to eat and sleep some more after that.
Since his hasty departure from Miss Parker’s house he had only slept two hours.
That alone was nothing unusual. He was used to go without sleep but he hadn’t been able to rest much even before he left Blue Cove.
Jarod ordered room service and went to take a shower.
After eating he felt somewhat better but now his tiredness took over again and he yawned.
He would have to call Parker sometime tonight but not now. It was just about noon in Delaware and he didn’t want to call her in the Centre. Not with the news he had to tell her.
Suddenly the pretender stopped dead in his tracks. He couldn’t tell her. Not even when she was home. Her phone was bugged. He swore slightly.
He had to think of something to warn her.
Jarod contemplated that thought and tried to find a solution for this new problem but his mind just didn’t cooperate. His concentration had reached its limits.
He would also have to decide what he would do now. He wouldn’t be able to get out of Europe before the article about the Scrolls was published.
Flying directly after it was out in the open was dangerous, too, for the Centre would sure observe the airports with intercontinental flights back to the USA.
They wouldn’t buy the story with Mr. Taylor from an archaeology firm in Connecticut for long. Not when the Scrolls were involved. They would try to catch him to get to the Scrolls.
Perhaps he should hole up somewhere and wait till the Centre got tired of waiting for him to show up on some airport.
But how long would it take them to get to that point, he wondered.
He sighed and finally went to bed. Maybe after a short nap he would be able to find a solution for his problems.
~~~~~~~
Miss Parker walked into the house and quickly went to the backrooms.
Nothing; nothing more than emptiness.
She huffed irritated.
She had left while Jarod was sleeping in her guestroom yesterday morning.
Since then he was nowhere to be fond. He had just vanished. Nothing indicated that he had been there in the first place. Even the duffle bag with clothes that had been stored in the basement was gone.
She didn’t know what to think about that. She wasn’t sure if she should be worried.
Of course, Jarod could take care of himself and sure enough there was a good reason for him to vanish but the strange feeling in the pit of her stomach stayed.
The small “what if’s” continued to come to her mind.
What if the Centre got him?
What if he prepared a lair and something happened?
On the other hand she was sure that he was ok. It just didn’t feel like anything had happened.
But still… she ‘was’ worried nonetheless.
A short time ago she had had to admit to herself that she cared about Jarod.
She huffed once again. Reluctantly she acknowledged that there was another reason that irritated the hell out of her.
A few weeks ago she would have laughed about that but now… she wasn’t used to come into a deserted house any more. Even if Jarod wasn’t always in the house when she got back from work, he appeared sometime later.
She hadn’t been concerned about coming into a dark house yesterday but she had been sure that Jarod would show up sooner or later.
They hadn’t had the time to talk about their discovery at St. Catherine’s and she had been convinced that they would do so that evening.
But Jarod didn’t come yesterday and he wasn’t here now. She would spend the rest of the evening on the couch waiting for him to come back.
Maybe he had done a pretend further away. Hell, it was what she had wanted to run past him after Sydney did his “something is different about him” and “something is up” talk.
They didn’t need anyone to become suspicious, not even Sydney; at least not right now. They had a hard time to cover their asses as it was.
Maybe Jarod had reached that conclusion himself and went to the west coast or somewhere else in the States to prepare a lair.
Parker actually tried to believe in that thought but she wasn’t convinced by it.
As hard as she tried, she was worried.
~~~~~~~
Jarod blinked his eyes open, frowning slightly when he didn’t recognize his surroundings. It took him a moment to remember everything.
He got up and walked over to the window from where he could see the Thames River. It was foggy outside but pretty nonetheless.
Jarod yawned and ruffled his hair. A look at his watch told him that it was nearly six o’clock in the morning. Frowning, he realized that he had had slept awfully long.
He must have been extremely tired to sleep that much. On the other hand it was perfect timing for he could call Parker now. It was nearly midnight over there. Not like his usual calls in the wee hours of the morning but good enough so that the Centre wouldn’t be suspicious.
They had to keep appearances after all. Giving away their connection was not on his list of things to do. It had been hard enough to cover their asses until now. And the time to come was even more dangerous.
He went over to his duffle bag to retrieve his cell phone. After that he resumed his place in front of the window.
Before he dialled, Jarod contemplated his moves.
He had to warn Parker of the bugs inconspicuously and had yet to cut the call short for he feared that the Centre might try to trace his call. Of course, he used a scrambler but he didn’t want to take any chances. Not before he had decided what he would do next.
An idea forming in his mind, he nodded confidently and hit speed dial.
~~~~~~~
She was startled out of her sleep by the telephone.
She reached for the receiver.
“What?” She snapped sleepily.
“Ah, and a good evening to you, Miss Parker,” Jarod purred.
Parker frowned. “Jarod, where the hell are you?”
“Safe and sound and away from the Centre. What more can I hope for?” he retorted smugly. Jarod closed his eyes and prayed that she would understand and play along.
In Blue Cove Parker’s frown deepened. She raised an eyebrow. Jarod had either gone mad or he couldn’t speak openly. She decided not to doubt him but to play along and return to their old game. “A nice little apartment in one of the Centre’s sublevels?” she suggested.
Jarod grinned, relieved that she didn’t question him. “Cuuute, not funny but cute!” he drawled.
“Yeah, well…,” she huffed. “What do you want?”
“Have you missed me the last few weeks?” Jarod asked back.
Again, she frowned. Weeks? Jarod had left the house just yesterday, hadn’t he?
She quickly snapped back into the conversation. “Come to think of it… no! But if ‘you’ did we can always arrange a meeting place or better still, I could come to you. I think I would be able to make time in my appointment calendar. So where are you?”
“Nice try Miss Parker but you had better ones,” Jarod chuckled.
“Yeah, sometimes you win, sometimes you loose,” Parker said, repeating Jarod’s words from the first evening they spent in companionable friendship, trying to get him to open up.
Jarod smiled at her comment. “Yeah, right, oh and sorry to disappoint you but I’m very busy right now. It may take a while until I’m able contact you again!”
“Well, anyhow, my door is always open for you,“ Parker declared.
“Yeah, right and you wouldn’t even need to pick up the receiver to call in the cavalry. No thanks!” Jarod replied and terminated the call. He hoped that she would get the meaning.
Parker stared at the phone in confusion. That conversation had been strange.
She frowned and replayed it in her mind. She got up from the couch where she had fallen asleep waiting for Jarod to return. At least now she knew that he was safe and away from the Centre.
Her head snapped up and she smiled.
Maybe this conversation wasn’t that strange after all. Perhaps Jarod had tried to tell her something along the lines.
He had told her that he was not in the Centre but somewhere else safe. He had also told her that she wouldn’t have to worry when he didn’t make contact soon.
What still puzzled her was his question if she had missed him the last few weeks and his comment about calling the cavalry without picking up the receiver.
Cavalry surely referred to the Centre but why wouldn’t she need the telephone to call them. It would mean that they already knew what was happening in the house…
A thought stuck her like lightening: Bugs.
She clenched her teeth. Now everything made sense. Jarod couldn’t talk openly not because ‘he’ wasn’t alone but because ‘her’ line was tapped and surely so was the whole house. His last statement had made that clear.
It was not like the Centre hadn’t bugged her house before but they hadn’t tried in a long time.
Together with Jarod’s last statement the question about the >last few weeks< resolved itself, too.
If the Centre was listening, it was important that they thought they hadn’t had any contact. They would question her loyalty if they thought she lied to them.
And they had all reasons to question her loyalty. They just didn’t know that by now and hopefully it would remain that way.
She huffed. Well, now that she knew about the bugs it would be easy to remove them.
Parker straightened and walked to her bedroom. She would remove them tomorrow. Right now all she wanted to do was sleep.
To be continued…
