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Chapter or Story
Disclaimer: see Chapter sixteen
~~~~~~~
To End The Evil
Part 29
Dinner with surprises
“Something… hhhh… is up!” Raines rasped.
“Sydney got a call here in the Centre from Miss Parker, inventing him to come over. Mr. Broots got a similar call at home,” Willy informed him.
“I don’t like that. My sister was never a person distributing invitations,” Lyle pondered.
“I told you… hhh… to keep… hhh… an eye on her… hhh,“ Raines growled.
“We did. Nothing happened until now,” Lyle snapped back.
“She is up… hhh… to something. I… hhh… want you… hhh… to interfere!” Raines ordered.
“I will go and check things out. Have a sweeper team ready to move in. I will go first and have a look at what they are doing. We can react when there is something suspicious,“ Lyle suggested.
“Hhhh… right,“ Raines dismissed them. “And Lyle,” Raines called when Lyle reached the door. He turned around to face Raines. “Hhhh… don’t screw it… hhh!”
~~~~~~~
Sydney arrived at Parker’s house a few minutes earlier than he was supposed to. He was curious. She had called him in his sim lab in the Centre just before he was walking out of it to get his weekend started. She had been very tight lipped about the reason for her invitation.
The last weeks had been strange somehow. ‘She’ had been acting strange. It was just a feeling. He couldn’t quite place a finger on it but he knew something had changed.
Up to now he wasn’t sure if it was be for the better or not. Maybe he would be wiser in a few minutes.
He killed the engine and got out of the car. Just as he was about to lock it to walk up the stairs, another car rolled up the drive.
Recognizing Broots’ car Sydney’s frown deepened. He didn’t know that Parker had also called Broots to join them.
Now he got really curious as to what was about to happen.
“S-s-s-sydney,” Broots stuttered when he got out of his car.
“Hello Broots,” Sydney smiled warmly. “I didn’t know you got a call from Miss Parker, too.”
“Yeah, well,“ Broots breathed. “Do you know what this is about?”
“I haven’t got the slightest idea,” Sydney replied.
“Hey boys. Get your asses over here. I don’t want you to root in my driveway. Gardeners are expensive these days,“ Miss Parker called from the front door.
Sydney chuckled slightly and went over to her.
“Get out of your jackets and get in there,” she grinned when they entered the house and pointing into the direction of the dining room.
“Miss Parker, you didn’t cook for us, did you?!?” Sydney asked surprised when he walked into the room and finding the table completely set up to and a wonderful odour permeating the air.
“No, ‘I’ didn’t,“ she replied mysteriously.
Before Sydney could say something else, Broots interrupted. “T-t-there are four plates on the table. D-do we wait for another person to join us?”
Parker grinned. “We won’t have to wait but yes, there is another person who will be present.”
Sydney and Broots both looked puzzled.
Jarod choose that moment to enter the room. Both Sydney’s and Broots’ back were turned to him so that they didn’t notice him come in. He saw Parker grinning widely at her colleagues.
“She’s right, you know. Waiting won’t be necessary. Dinner is almost ready,” he said.
Two heads flew around and then Broots’ and Sydney’s gaze came to rest upon the pretender’s face.
Behind them Parker laughed out loud and Jarod, too, chuckled lightly. Before either man could recover from their shock, Jarod turned and walked back into the kitchen.
Sydney turned back to Parker stunned and Broots looked as if he had just seen a ghost.
“Was that Jarod?” Broots asked, too shocked to stutter.
“Who else?” Parker asked and grinned sheepishly.
Sydney turned and walked over to the kitchen, leaving Broots and Parker in the dining room.
“Jarod?” he asked, when he entered the kitchen.
Jarod turned and smiled warmly at his old mentor. “Sydney, it’s good to see you again,“ he said and left his place at the stove to walk over to the man he always considered a father.
Firmly embracing each other, Jarod pattered Sydney’s back lightly.
“I’ve missed you, Syd,” Jarod whispered into the other mans ear.
Sydney had to blink back a tear that was threatening to fall. “I’ve missed you, too,” he replied silently.
They both withdrew. Jarod went back over to the stove and Sydney leaned against the fridge.
“I must say, I’m surprised to see you here. How long has this been going?” Sydney asked.
“Parker and I recovered our friendship about six weeks ago,“ Jarod told his mentor.
“Six weeks?” Sydney asked suspicion creeping into his consciousness. “That would be…,” he tailed off.
“Yes. You are on a hot track!” Jarod grinned. “We will tell you everything during or after dinner,” he said.
Sydney silently shook his head. His suspicion had been correct. Something ‘was’ going on. He quietly observed Jarod and quickly noted the deep lines of fatigue.
“Jarod,“ he addressed the younger man who turned in response. “You look…,“ Sydney searched for the right word.
“…Tired, completely worn out, like death warmed over,“ Jarod suggested with a slight smile on his face.
Sydney hesitated and then nodded. “Yeah.”
“The last few days were hard. Not everything went smoothly and so…,“ this time Jarod tailed off.
When he noticed Sydney’s worried expression, he smiled warmly at his old mentor. “Don’t worry about me, Sydney. I’ll be alright.”
“If you say so,“ Sydney replied doubtful.
“Yes,“ Jarod nodded firmly. “Can you get these into the dining room, please?” Jarod asked handing Sydney a bottle of wine and some water.
“Sure,” Sydney said and walked out of the room.
~~~~~~~
Sydney walked into the dining room with the bottles in his hands.
Before he reached the table, there was a loud knock on the front door. The three persons present in the room winced and looked at each other.
Parker frowned and drew a deep breath. She straightened and resolutely stalked to the front door.
Opening the door forcefully, she snarled a “WHAT,” at the intruder.
“Good evening, sis. No need to eat me alive,“ Lyle smiled.
Parker snarled. “What do you want, Lyle?”
“Can I come in?” he asked politely.
“No!” Parker snapped. Lyle’s face remained cheerily and he pushed past her. Seeing Sydney and Broots in the den, he asked happily, “Am I interrupting something?”
‘Someday I will wipe that irritating, cooked grin out of his face’, Parker thought. But first things first; She had to get rid of her brother.
“Yes, you are and now get back to where you’ve come from!” she growled dangerously.
“Now, now, is that a way to greet your own brother?” Lyle asked, faking a hurt expression.
Oh, the good old ‘Daddy-approach’. She rolled her eyes. ‘Ok, let’s play the game.’
“Don’t start the way Daddy tried. It doesn’t work!” she snapped, quickly putting the damn “daddy” into her sentence for cover.
“What a shame,” Lyle huffed mockingly.
Parker growled. “What do you want, Lyle? Is that a question so hard to understand?”
Lyle wandered seemingly aimless into to house. Parker followed him, a feeling of apprehension building in the pit of her stomach.
Lyle walked into the dining room. “I just wanted to visit you. Oh, you set for four people. Do you wait for someone else?” Lyle asked innocently, looking form Sydney over to Broots, to settle his gaze upon Parker. She didn’t flinch but returned his stare unimpressed.
“It’s none of your business but I’ll tell you anyway, to get you out of my house as soon as possible. I thought that Broots would bring his daughter with him and therefore I set the table for ‘Four’ persons. It just turned out that his daughter didn’t have the time. You waltzed into my house before I could take the dish away,” Parker answered with played patience.
“Oh, what a shame,“ Lyle sighed and grinned. He looked over to Broots.
Parker shot Broots a stare that send shivers down his spine. He gulped and hastily nodded his confirmation at Lyle.
“Well. Now that there is one plate to much on the table, I could take her seat,” Lyle suggested, a sly expression on his face. “Where is the food anyway? You didn’t leave it without surveillance, did you, sis?” With that, Lyle turned on his heel and walked to the kitchen, before anyone could do something.
Parker winced and quickly set after her brother. Entering the kitchen, she found no one besides Lyle.
“Your arrival didn’t leave me with another option,” she replied, quickly covering her relieve that Jarod had vanished.
“Hmmm. That smells very good, sis. I didn’t know that you could cook,” Lyle said, sniffling the odour and grabbing the spoon that rested besides the stove.
With two determined strides, Parker was besides him. “Yes, it smells good but you won’t taste anything of it,” she said sweetly and snatched the spoon out of his hand.
“Come on, sis. Don’t play to be so heartless,“ Lyle pouted.
“I don’t ‘play’ heartless. I ‘am’ heartless. You should know that,” she growled.
“Where is the trace of our mother in you?”
He was really pushing his luck. She did her best to get her temper under control but if he went on like that, she couldn’t guarantee for anything.
“Our mother was weak. I’m not! There is no trace of her in me,“ she spat, disgusted at herself for saying that but knowing all the while that she didn’t have another choice if she wanted the Centre to believe that she was still on their side.
“What a shame!” he grinned.
Parker walked up to Lyle until they were standing toe to toe. She then leaned over. “If you don’t get out of ‘my’ house ‘now’, I swear Lyle, I will make you dance on this carpet,“ Parker snarled into his ear and then leaned back to see if the threat had reached its destination.
Lyle frowned.
She leaned in again. He could see determination and something else in her eyes. Something that sent icy shivers down his spine. Her eyes held a dangerous sparkle.
“You will have a hard time avoiding the bullets. Would be a shame if you got your legs ruined, too, after you aren’t even able to hold a cup of coffee without a thumb,“ she whispered dangerously, withdrawing while putting up one hand and hiding her thumb behind the palm.
She looked at him and could see him swallow with difficulty.
Parker took a step back to give him enough space to slip out of the room. She didn’t back away from her position though and Lyle knew that.
“Get out, while you still can!” she threatened once more.
Lyle returned her stare but eventually he backed away when she raised an eyebrow.
She followed him through the den, close on his heel, to make her threat even more palpable.
The moment Lyle was out and the door closed, she leaned against it and sighed. Her mask dropped and Sydney saw her shaking slightly.
He went over to her and put a gentle hand on her shoulder. He had followed the twins to the kitchen but he hadn’t been able to make out the words she whispered into Lyle’s ear.
“Come on, Parker. Let’s go to the living room. You should have a seat on the couch,” Sydney suggested.
“No, thanks Syd. I’m fine. We better get the party rolling to keep anyone from getting suspicious,” she replied, straightening.
She didn’t know if Jarod would return. That would depend on the surveillance around her house. She feared it would be hard for him to get back. Maybe it would be better if he didn’t try.
“Broots, would you please get the things from the kitchen?” she asked him.
“S-s-sure,” he quickly scurried away.
She looked at Sydney. “Thanks,” she sighed and then walked over to the door leading to the basement.
“Where are you going, Miss Parker?” Sydney asked his concern for her quickly raising again.
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be back in a few minutes. Get yourself a seat,” with that she walked down.
She returned several minutes later with the electronic device Jarod had used the last night. He had shown her where he put it and how to use it. She was grateful for that now.
She wasn’t sure if Lyle had touched anything besides the spoon in the kitchen but she didn’t want to take any chances.
They surely didn’t need the Centre to listen into the conversation that was about to take place.
To be continued…
~~~~~~~
Part 29
Dinner with surprises
“Something… hhhh… is up!” Raines rasped.
“Sydney got a call here in the Centre from Miss Parker, inventing him to come over. Mr. Broots got a similar call at home,” Willy informed him.
“I don’t like that. My sister was never a person distributing invitations,” Lyle pondered.
“I told you… hhh… to keep… hhh… an eye on her… hhh,“ Raines growled.
“We did. Nothing happened until now,” Lyle snapped back.
“She is up… hhh… to something. I… hhh… want you… hhh… to interfere!” Raines ordered.
“I will go and check things out. Have a sweeper team ready to move in. I will go first and have a look at what they are doing. We can react when there is something suspicious,“ Lyle suggested.
“Hhhh… right,“ Raines dismissed them. “And Lyle,” Raines called when Lyle reached the door. He turned around to face Raines. “Hhhh… don’t screw it… hhh!”
~~~~~~~
Sydney arrived at Parker’s house a few minutes earlier than he was supposed to. He was curious. She had called him in his sim lab in the Centre just before he was walking out of it to get his weekend started. She had been very tight lipped about the reason for her invitation.
The last weeks had been strange somehow. ‘She’ had been acting strange. It was just a feeling. He couldn’t quite place a finger on it but he knew something had changed.
Up to now he wasn’t sure if it was be for the better or not. Maybe he would be wiser in a few minutes.
He killed the engine and got out of the car. Just as he was about to lock it to walk up the stairs, another car rolled up the drive.
Recognizing Broots’ car Sydney’s frown deepened. He didn’t know that Parker had also called Broots to join them.
Now he got really curious as to what was about to happen.
“S-s-s-sydney,” Broots stuttered when he got out of his car.
“Hello Broots,” Sydney smiled warmly. “I didn’t know you got a call from Miss Parker, too.”
“Yeah, well,“ Broots breathed. “Do you know what this is about?”
“I haven’t got the slightest idea,” Sydney replied.
“Hey boys. Get your asses over here. I don’t want you to root in my driveway. Gardeners are expensive these days,“ Miss Parker called from the front door.
Sydney chuckled slightly and went over to her.
“Get out of your jackets and get in there,” she grinned when they entered the house and pointing into the direction of the dining room.
“Miss Parker, you didn’t cook for us, did you?!?” Sydney asked surprised when he walked into the room and finding the table completely set up to and a wonderful odour permeating the air.
“No, ‘I’ didn’t,“ she replied mysteriously.
Before Sydney could say something else, Broots interrupted. “T-t-there are four plates on the table. D-do we wait for another person to join us?”
Parker grinned. “We won’t have to wait but yes, there is another person who will be present.”
Sydney and Broots both looked puzzled.
Jarod choose that moment to enter the room. Both Sydney’s and Broots’ back were turned to him so that they didn’t notice him come in. He saw Parker grinning widely at her colleagues.
“She’s right, you know. Waiting won’t be necessary. Dinner is almost ready,” he said.
Two heads flew around and then Broots’ and Sydney’s gaze came to rest upon the pretender’s face.
Behind them Parker laughed out loud and Jarod, too, chuckled lightly. Before either man could recover from their shock, Jarod turned and walked back into the kitchen.
Sydney turned back to Parker stunned and Broots looked as if he had just seen a ghost.
“Was that Jarod?” Broots asked, too shocked to stutter.
“Who else?” Parker asked and grinned sheepishly.
Sydney turned and walked over to the kitchen, leaving Broots and Parker in the dining room.
“Jarod?” he asked, when he entered the kitchen.
Jarod turned and smiled warmly at his old mentor. “Sydney, it’s good to see you again,“ he said and left his place at the stove to walk over to the man he always considered a father.
Firmly embracing each other, Jarod pattered Sydney’s back lightly.
“I’ve missed you, Syd,” Jarod whispered into the other mans ear.
Sydney had to blink back a tear that was threatening to fall. “I’ve missed you, too,” he replied silently.
They both withdrew. Jarod went back over to the stove and Sydney leaned against the fridge.
“I must say, I’m surprised to see you here. How long has this been going?” Sydney asked.
“Parker and I recovered our friendship about six weeks ago,“ Jarod told his mentor.
“Six weeks?” Sydney asked suspicion creeping into his consciousness. “That would be…,” he tailed off.
“Yes. You are on a hot track!” Jarod grinned. “We will tell you everything during or after dinner,” he said.
Sydney silently shook his head. His suspicion had been correct. Something ‘was’ going on. He quietly observed Jarod and quickly noted the deep lines of fatigue.
“Jarod,“ he addressed the younger man who turned in response. “You look…,“ Sydney searched for the right word.
“…Tired, completely worn out, like death warmed over,“ Jarod suggested with a slight smile on his face.
Sydney hesitated and then nodded. “Yeah.”
“The last few days were hard. Not everything went smoothly and so…,“ this time Jarod tailed off.
When he noticed Sydney’s worried expression, he smiled warmly at his old mentor. “Don’t worry about me, Sydney. I’ll be alright.”
“If you say so,“ Sydney replied doubtful.
“Yes,“ Jarod nodded firmly. “Can you get these into the dining room, please?” Jarod asked handing Sydney a bottle of wine and some water.
“Sure,” Sydney said and walked out of the room.
~~~~~~~
Sydney walked into the dining room with the bottles in his hands.
Before he reached the table, there was a loud knock on the front door. The three persons present in the room winced and looked at each other.
Parker frowned and drew a deep breath. She straightened and resolutely stalked to the front door.
Opening the door forcefully, she snarled a “WHAT,” at the intruder.
“Good evening, sis. No need to eat me alive,“ Lyle smiled.
Parker snarled. “What do you want, Lyle?”
“Can I come in?” he asked politely.
“No!” Parker snapped. Lyle’s face remained cheerily and he pushed past her. Seeing Sydney and Broots in the den, he asked happily, “Am I interrupting something?”
‘Someday I will wipe that irritating, cooked grin out of his face’, Parker thought. But first things first; She had to get rid of her brother.
“Yes, you are and now get back to where you’ve come from!” she growled dangerously.
“Now, now, is that a way to greet your own brother?” Lyle asked, faking a hurt expression.
Oh, the good old ‘Daddy-approach’. She rolled her eyes. ‘Ok, let’s play the game.’
“Don’t start the way Daddy tried. It doesn’t work!” she snapped, quickly putting the damn “daddy” into her sentence for cover.
“What a shame,” Lyle huffed mockingly.
Parker growled. “What do you want, Lyle? Is that a question so hard to understand?”
Lyle wandered seemingly aimless into to house. Parker followed him, a feeling of apprehension building in the pit of her stomach.
Lyle walked into the dining room. “I just wanted to visit you. Oh, you set for four people. Do you wait for someone else?” Lyle asked innocently, looking form Sydney over to Broots, to settle his gaze upon Parker. She didn’t flinch but returned his stare unimpressed.
“It’s none of your business but I’ll tell you anyway, to get you out of my house as soon as possible. I thought that Broots would bring his daughter with him and therefore I set the table for ‘Four’ persons. It just turned out that his daughter didn’t have the time. You waltzed into my house before I could take the dish away,” Parker answered with played patience.
“Oh, what a shame,“ Lyle sighed and grinned. He looked over to Broots.
Parker shot Broots a stare that send shivers down his spine. He gulped and hastily nodded his confirmation at Lyle.
“Well. Now that there is one plate to much on the table, I could take her seat,” Lyle suggested, a sly expression on his face. “Where is the food anyway? You didn’t leave it without surveillance, did you, sis?” With that, Lyle turned on his heel and walked to the kitchen, before anyone could do something.
Parker winced and quickly set after her brother. Entering the kitchen, she found no one besides Lyle.
“Your arrival didn’t leave me with another option,” she replied, quickly covering her relieve that Jarod had vanished.
“Hmmm. That smells very good, sis. I didn’t know that you could cook,” Lyle said, sniffling the odour and grabbing the spoon that rested besides the stove.
With two determined strides, Parker was besides him. “Yes, it smells good but you won’t taste anything of it,” she said sweetly and snatched the spoon out of his hand.
“Come on, sis. Don’t play to be so heartless,“ Lyle pouted.
“I don’t ‘play’ heartless. I ‘am’ heartless. You should know that,” she growled.
“Where is the trace of our mother in you?”
He was really pushing his luck. She did her best to get her temper under control but if he went on like that, she couldn’t guarantee for anything.
“Our mother was weak. I’m not! There is no trace of her in me,“ she spat, disgusted at herself for saying that but knowing all the while that she didn’t have another choice if she wanted the Centre to believe that she was still on their side.
“What a shame!” he grinned.
Parker walked up to Lyle until they were standing toe to toe. She then leaned over. “If you don’t get out of ‘my’ house ‘now’, I swear Lyle, I will make you dance on this carpet,“ Parker snarled into his ear and then leaned back to see if the threat had reached its destination.
Lyle frowned.
She leaned in again. He could see determination and something else in her eyes. Something that sent icy shivers down his spine. Her eyes held a dangerous sparkle.
“You will have a hard time avoiding the bullets. Would be a shame if you got your legs ruined, too, after you aren’t even able to hold a cup of coffee without a thumb,“ she whispered dangerously, withdrawing while putting up one hand and hiding her thumb behind the palm.
She looked at him and could see him swallow with difficulty.
Parker took a step back to give him enough space to slip out of the room. She didn’t back away from her position though and Lyle knew that.
“Get out, while you still can!” she threatened once more.
Lyle returned her stare but eventually he backed away when she raised an eyebrow.
She followed him through the den, close on his heel, to make her threat even more palpable.
The moment Lyle was out and the door closed, she leaned against it and sighed. Her mask dropped and Sydney saw her shaking slightly.
He went over to her and put a gentle hand on her shoulder. He had followed the twins to the kitchen but he hadn’t been able to make out the words she whispered into Lyle’s ear.
“Come on, Parker. Let’s go to the living room. You should have a seat on the couch,” Sydney suggested.
“No, thanks Syd. I’m fine. We better get the party rolling to keep anyone from getting suspicious,” she replied, straightening.
She didn’t know if Jarod would return. That would depend on the surveillance around her house. She feared it would be hard for him to get back. Maybe it would be better if he didn’t try.
“Broots, would you please get the things from the kitchen?” she asked him.
“S-s-sure,” he quickly scurried away.
She looked at Sydney. “Thanks,” she sighed and then walked over to the door leading to the basement.
“Where are you going, Miss Parker?” Sydney asked his concern for her quickly raising again.
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be back in a few minutes. Get yourself a seat,” with that she walked down.
She returned several minutes later with the electronic device Jarod had used the last night. He had shown her where he put it and how to use it. She was grateful for that now.
She wasn’t sure if Lyle had touched anything besides the spoon in the kitchen but she didn’t want to take any chances.
They surely didn’t need the Centre to listen into the conversation that was about to take place.
To be continued…
