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Chapter or Story 
Chapter or Story
Disclaimer: see part one
xx x x x x x
The Past Always Catches Up Part 5
Calculations
The drive was spent mostly in silence on Jarod’s part. Agent Fitzgerald tried to get him to talk and explain his motives, but Jarod replied with barely more than a grunt.
His mind was focussed on different things. He only partially gave attention to what the young agent was saying. He was pondering how he would be able to get Jay out of the Centre. Before that, he would have to get rid of those FBI agents.
Other people might be glad they were there, helping them getting their loved-ones back, but in this case they couldn’t help. They had no idea what was happening here and therefore they wouldn’t be able to do any good.
No, this was something that he would have to do alone, merely supported by his childhood friend and partner.
He looked at his watch.
“Time’s a critical factor,” agent Fitzgerald was just saying next to him.
‘How right he is with just that statement. Time was always essential when it concerned the Centre,’ Jarod thought darkly. He calculated that they would have eighteen hours before the Centre would get close to breaking Jay.
Maybe more; depending on how much strength the boy had in him.
Jay was strong, healthy and he possessed the same inborn stamina that flowed through Jarod’s body, but unlike Jarod’s, the young man’s endurance hadn’t been tested anywhere near its limits.
What had Jarod worried most – above the physical pain they would force on the boy - were the drugs they would use to make Jay crack into pieces - especially the ones that were thought up, mixed and fabricated by Raines.
He still didn’t know why the Centre had never used those drugs on him either before his escape or during his recapture.
Those drugs would have cracked him. He was more or less immune to brainwashing, but combined with drugs, he wouldn’t have been able to keep fighting them.
He could only guess they had never used them because either Sydney had been able to prevent it before his escape or because after his capture Raines hadn’t been there to use them. Either Lyle hadn’t known about their existence, or he had been too proud and too convinced his treatment would work to use them.
Jarod shook his head to force the dark thoughts from his mind and concentrate back on the calculations.
Jay wouldn’t give in easily. He had grown and experienced life outside of the Centre. His will was strong and he wouldn’t let them take his freedom and his experiences away from him without a fight.
Jarod was in the unique position of knowing exactly what Jay would be able to take. The only valuable in his calculation - and sadly that one was the most important - was how long Jay would be able to take it when they pumped him full of drugs.
He guessed that Jay would be able to hold on longer than he anticipated, but he needed to cut the time frame short to calculate with the worst possibilities.
Eighteen hours.
Even with the worst of Raines’ drugs, he was certain that Jay would hold up that long.
Jarod nodded thoughtfully and then realized that the agent next to him had stopped talking. He looked over at him and found the man staring at him. Jarod didn’t comment but concentrated back on the road, his thoughts drifting off once more.
Drifting to where he didn’t want them to drift.
Just as he was in the unique position of knowing exactly how much Jay would be able to take, he knew just as well what the boy would be subjected to and what they would force upon him to break the soul of his younger self.
Jarod shuddered, something that didn’t escape the agent’s watchful eyes.
Minutes later, they arrived back at the place where everything had started. The pavement in front of the high school was still crawling with uniformed and plain clothed policemen, FBI agents and crime scene investigators.
Jarod looked around with a schooled eye and tried to make out Parker’s features. Once his eyes fell on her, he strode towards where she was standing next to the FBI agent.
Martin Fitzgerald observed Jarod and quirked an eyebrow at the efficiency with which the man was scanning the area. It was a quick and subtle glance that quickly scanned over the crowd for information or threat; it was the glance of the hunted.
The agent frowned. There was something about this guy - hell no - there was something about this whole case that made him wonder.
Both parent’s behaviours, the coolness and concentration they showed despite the awful situation they were in, their resistance about working together with the authorities, the man’s stunt at the airport. He had worked on enough cases to know that everyone reacted differently to an awful event like abduction but this was somewhat new. He shook his head. Something just didn’t fit here.
The man was far from being as emotionless and uncaring as he had first thought. It was more like he fought to keep in control of his feelings so that he would be able to react in a split second. That much he had seen during the ride back from the airport.
Shaking out of his silent musings, he followed the man to where his boss was standing. Danny fell in stride next to him.
“What did he say?”
“Barely more than a few grunts,” Martin replied.
“I don’t understand this guy,” Danny shook his head. “He’s strange.”
“Yes, he’s strange,” Martin agreed, “but I think that there’s more to his behaviour than he leads on. This whole case smells fishy.”
His partner turned towards him. “That’s nothing new,” Danny gave back, shrugging.
“No, I mean it, Danny. I think there’s a lot more going on here than we’re able to grasp,” Martin cautioned.
Danny grabbed his arm, making Martin stop and turn towards his partner. “What do you mean?”
“The way he behaved on his way back here, completely lost to the world, as if he was trying to figure something out - calculating something. Hell, even the stunt at the airport in the first place. You ever came across a parent who did something like that after one of his children had been abducted?” Martin asked the Latino.
His partner had a point there. Danny had already wondered himself. He had been longer with the FBI’s Missing Persons Unit than Martin had but the father’s behaviour was nothing he had ever encountered. They started walking again. “And what do you suggest we do?”
“Hey, normally you are the people person,” Martin grinned at him and Danny smirked back. “I think we should wait, listen and try to get a better feeling for the parents,” Martin replied just before they arrived next to their boss and the two parents. They came just in time to hear their boss talking angrily to them. “What in the hell did you do at the airport?”
Martin looked questioningly at Danny. “I already informed him,” Danny shrugged and Martin nodded.
“Just as I told your agents there,” Jarod’s eyes briefly darted towards the agents and then back to Malone, “I’m protecting my family.”
“And forgetting about your other son?” Danny asked from behind, trying to get underneath the man’s skin.
Jarod swivelled round, anger flashing in his eyes. “I’m not forgetting about him,” he snarled. “I just need the rest of my family safe when I go for him.”
Danny was a bit taken aback by the explosive reaction. But just as quickly as the spark of life had come into Jarod’s eyes, it vanished, only to be replaced again by the eerie calm, covering each and every reaction and feeling.
While Danny was still recovering from the surprise, Martin was adding these new facts about the man that was still a mystery to him to memory. Jack Malone’s eyes narrowed at the words the man had spoken.
“Whoa, no one’s going after anyone here,” he held up his hands.
Jarod’s head snapped around to the top agent once more. Only Parker’s hand on his chest stopped him from another explosion. He nodded calmly, trying to convince the team of agents that he meant what he was gesturing.
A cell phone started ringing and Malone quickly got the device out of his pocket and opened it. “Malone,” he announced and then listened to agent Johnson’s information. He turned around so that he stood with his back to the little group.
“Jack, this is really strange. The family appeared in the city about half a year ago but before that, there’s nothing. It’s as if they didn’t even exist. There’s no information about them anywhere,” the female agent told him.
Malone frowned. “Keep digging, Viv. We need more information and I intend to get it,” he snapped the cell phone shut.
Parker and Jarod had used the short interruption to amble away from the agents, even though they knew that at least the two young agents were paying attention to their every move.
“Did everything go smoothly? They’re in the air?” she asked softly. Jarod hadn’t had the time to fill her into the plan how to get Andy and the family out of there but it didn’t need a clairvoyant to know what he had been planning.
“Yes, they are. Our two agents over there came just moments too late,” Jarod grinned briefly.
”How long do we have?” she asked, knowing that she didn’t need to say anything more for Jarod to understand what she meant.
He shook his head and sighed. “That’s the problem. I can’t name an exact point of time. I would guess that he will be able to hold up at least eighteen hours until Raines and Co. will be able to break through. After that time, I don’t know if he’ll be able to hang on. That depends on him and on what kind of drugs they have at their disposal,” he shrugged his shoulders helplessly. “Maybe after that point of time they’ll have him in a state where they can break him for real or brainwash him. I don’t know.”
“He’s a fighter. He’ll make it,” she reassured him and took him in her arms for a brief moment. Jarod relaxed in her arms for a heartbeat. Only seconds later, they both parted at the same time, knowing that now was not the time for lengthy reassurance and caress.
They had a son to rescue.
The gentle show of emotion wasn’t lost on both Danny and Martin but they looked up at their boss when he scoffed and then walked up to them.
“I want those two in the bureau,” he told them shortly.
Martin and Danny both raised and eyebrow but then the trio walked over to Parker and Jarod, asking them to accompany them to the headquarters.
Jarod had a hard time fighting the panic at the loss of time. He was keeping a firm grasp on his emotions just as Parker was.
Still, they both complied with the agent’s wishes with clenched teeth.
To be continued…
xx x x x x x
The Past Always Catches Up Part 5
Calculations
The drive was spent mostly in silence on Jarod’s part. Agent Fitzgerald tried to get him to talk and explain his motives, but Jarod replied with barely more than a grunt.
His mind was focussed on different things. He only partially gave attention to what the young agent was saying. He was pondering how he would be able to get Jay out of the Centre. Before that, he would have to get rid of those FBI agents.
Other people might be glad they were there, helping them getting their loved-ones back, but in this case they couldn’t help. They had no idea what was happening here and therefore they wouldn’t be able to do any good.
No, this was something that he would have to do alone, merely supported by his childhood friend and partner.
He looked at his watch.
“Time’s a critical factor,” agent Fitzgerald was just saying next to him.
‘How right he is with just that statement. Time was always essential when it concerned the Centre,’ Jarod thought darkly. He calculated that they would have eighteen hours before the Centre would get close to breaking Jay.
Maybe more; depending on how much strength the boy had in him.
Jay was strong, healthy and he possessed the same inborn stamina that flowed through Jarod’s body, but unlike Jarod’s, the young man’s endurance hadn’t been tested anywhere near its limits.
What had Jarod worried most – above the physical pain they would force on the boy - were the drugs they would use to make Jay crack into pieces - especially the ones that were thought up, mixed and fabricated by Raines.
He still didn’t know why the Centre had never used those drugs on him either before his escape or during his recapture.
Those drugs would have cracked him. He was more or less immune to brainwashing, but combined with drugs, he wouldn’t have been able to keep fighting them.
He could only guess they had never used them because either Sydney had been able to prevent it before his escape or because after his capture Raines hadn’t been there to use them. Either Lyle hadn’t known about their existence, or he had been too proud and too convinced his treatment would work to use them.
Jarod shook his head to force the dark thoughts from his mind and concentrate back on the calculations.
Jay wouldn’t give in easily. He had grown and experienced life outside of the Centre. His will was strong and he wouldn’t let them take his freedom and his experiences away from him without a fight.
Jarod was in the unique position of knowing exactly what Jay would be able to take. The only valuable in his calculation - and sadly that one was the most important - was how long Jay would be able to take it when they pumped him full of drugs.
He guessed that Jay would be able to hold on longer than he anticipated, but he needed to cut the time frame short to calculate with the worst possibilities.
Eighteen hours.
Even with the worst of Raines’ drugs, he was certain that Jay would hold up that long.
Jarod nodded thoughtfully and then realized that the agent next to him had stopped talking. He looked over at him and found the man staring at him. Jarod didn’t comment but concentrated back on the road, his thoughts drifting off once more.
Drifting to where he didn’t want them to drift.
Just as he was in the unique position of knowing exactly how much Jay would be able to take, he knew just as well what the boy would be subjected to and what they would force upon him to break the soul of his younger self.
Jarod shuddered, something that didn’t escape the agent’s watchful eyes.
Minutes later, they arrived back at the place where everything had started. The pavement in front of the high school was still crawling with uniformed and plain clothed policemen, FBI agents and crime scene investigators.
Jarod looked around with a schooled eye and tried to make out Parker’s features. Once his eyes fell on her, he strode towards where she was standing next to the FBI agent.
Martin Fitzgerald observed Jarod and quirked an eyebrow at the efficiency with which the man was scanning the area. It was a quick and subtle glance that quickly scanned over the crowd for information or threat; it was the glance of the hunted.
The agent frowned. There was something about this guy - hell no - there was something about this whole case that made him wonder.
Both parent’s behaviours, the coolness and concentration they showed despite the awful situation they were in, their resistance about working together with the authorities, the man’s stunt at the airport. He had worked on enough cases to know that everyone reacted differently to an awful event like abduction but this was somewhat new. He shook his head. Something just didn’t fit here.
The man was far from being as emotionless and uncaring as he had first thought. It was more like he fought to keep in control of his feelings so that he would be able to react in a split second. That much he had seen during the ride back from the airport.
Shaking out of his silent musings, he followed the man to where his boss was standing. Danny fell in stride next to him.
“What did he say?”
“Barely more than a few grunts,” Martin replied.
“I don’t understand this guy,” Danny shook his head. “He’s strange.”
“Yes, he’s strange,” Martin agreed, “but I think that there’s more to his behaviour than he leads on. This whole case smells fishy.”
His partner turned towards him. “That’s nothing new,” Danny gave back, shrugging.
“No, I mean it, Danny. I think there’s a lot more going on here than we’re able to grasp,” Martin cautioned.
Danny grabbed his arm, making Martin stop and turn towards his partner. “What do you mean?”
“The way he behaved on his way back here, completely lost to the world, as if he was trying to figure something out - calculating something. Hell, even the stunt at the airport in the first place. You ever came across a parent who did something like that after one of his children had been abducted?” Martin asked the Latino.
His partner had a point there. Danny had already wondered himself. He had been longer with the FBI’s Missing Persons Unit than Martin had but the father’s behaviour was nothing he had ever encountered. They started walking again. “And what do you suggest we do?”
“Hey, normally you are the people person,” Martin grinned at him and Danny smirked back. “I think we should wait, listen and try to get a better feeling for the parents,” Martin replied just before they arrived next to their boss and the two parents. They came just in time to hear their boss talking angrily to them. “What in the hell did you do at the airport?”
Martin looked questioningly at Danny. “I already informed him,” Danny shrugged and Martin nodded.
“Just as I told your agents there,” Jarod’s eyes briefly darted towards the agents and then back to Malone, “I’m protecting my family.”
“And forgetting about your other son?” Danny asked from behind, trying to get underneath the man’s skin.
Jarod swivelled round, anger flashing in his eyes. “I’m not forgetting about him,” he snarled. “I just need the rest of my family safe when I go for him.”
Danny was a bit taken aback by the explosive reaction. But just as quickly as the spark of life had come into Jarod’s eyes, it vanished, only to be replaced again by the eerie calm, covering each and every reaction and feeling.
While Danny was still recovering from the surprise, Martin was adding these new facts about the man that was still a mystery to him to memory. Jack Malone’s eyes narrowed at the words the man had spoken.
“Whoa, no one’s going after anyone here,” he held up his hands.
Jarod’s head snapped around to the top agent once more. Only Parker’s hand on his chest stopped him from another explosion. He nodded calmly, trying to convince the team of agents that he meant what he was gesturing.
A cell phone started ringing and Malone quickly got the device out of his pocket and opened it. “Malone,” he announced and then listened to agent Johnson’s information. He turned around so that he stood with his back to the little group.
“Jack, this is really strange. The family appeared in the city about half a year ago but before that, there’s nothing. It’s as if they didn’t even exist. There’s no information about them anywhere,” the female agent told him.
Malone frowned. “Keep digging, Viv. We need more information and I intend to get it,” he snapped the cell phone shut.
Parker and Jarod had used the short interruption to amble away from the agents, even though they knew that at least the two young agents were paying attention to their every move.
“Did everything go smoothly? They’re in the air?” she asked softly. Jarod hadn’t had the time to fill her into the plan how to get Andy and the family out of there but it didn’t need a clairvoyant to know what he had been planning.
“Yes, they are. Our two agents over there came just moments too late,” Jarod grinned briefly.
”How long do we have?” she asked, knowing that she didn’t need to say anything more for Jarod to understand what she meant.
He shook his head and sighed. “That’s the problem. I can’t name an exact point of time. I would guess that he will be able to hold up at least eighteen hours until Raines and Co. will be able to break through. After that time, I don’t know if he’ll be able to hang on. That depends on him and on what kind of drugs they have at their disposal,” he shrugged his shoulders helplessly. “Maybe after that point of time they’ll have him in a state where they can break him for real or brainwash him. I don’t know.”
“He’s a fighter. He’ll make it,” she reassured him and took him in her arms for a brief moment. Jarod relaxed in her arms for a heartbeat. Only seconds later, they both parted at the same time, knowing that now was not the time for lengthy reassurance and caress.
They had a son to rescue.
The gentle show of emotion wasn’t lost on both Danny and Martin but they looked up at their boss when he scoffed and then walked up to them.
“I want those two in the bureau,” he told them shortly.
Martin and Danny both raised and eyebrow but then the trio walked over to Parker and Jarod, asking them to accompany them to the headquarters.
Jarod had a hard time fighting the panic at the loss of time. He was keeping a firm grasp on his emotions just as Parker was.
Still, they both complied with the agent’s wishes with clenched teeth.
To be continued…
