Table of Contents [Report This]
Disclaimer: The characters Miss Parker, Sydney, Jarod, Broots etc. and the fictional Centre, are all property of MTM, TNT and NBC Productions and used
without permission. I'm not making any money out of this and no infringement is intended.
Missing In Action
Amanda Scott
It had been two days, and Miss Parker had been absent from her work at the Centre. Two days, and she hadn’t answered their calls or even picked up the phone. And, every time Broots and Sydney went over to her house to see her, she wasn’t there. It was almost as if she had been missing in action.
They had put a halt in their work at the Centre and their continuous search for Jarod, and had searched solely for her. But they soon found it excruciatingly hard to find anything, any kind of clue, when she had left nothing for them to find.
****
Chapter One
It wasn’t long before their honeymoon was over and Miss Parker had to return to her “duties” at the Centre. Under her father’s command, he had given her only a week’s vacation before she was to report back to the Centre. And, of course her father had called her every night to see that she was fine and not disobeying those very “important” orders.
The morning sun shown brightly through her bedroom window as she got ready for the long day ahead of her. It blinded her as she applied her make-up and fixed her hair in front of the mirror. So much so, that she wondered if she actually looked presentable, because her reflection was becoming harder and harder to see as the sun’s rays bounced off of it and into her eyes.
As soon as she had finished, she quickly grabbed her bag and ran out the door to her car. She left a little earlier this particular day so that she could get started on what it was that she needed to do.
But, she realized, she needed to take some particular precautions before they started, so that no one else in the Centre could find out about what she and the others were about to do. Because, if they did find out, they all would be, more than likely, six feet under in no time at all.
She tried not to think of what would happen if her “beloved” brother and father were to find out what exactly it was that they were trying to pull off. But, hopefully, they would never find out. She knew that she would never say a thing to either of them, and, it was highly doubtful that Broots or Sydney would dare tell Lyle, or anyone for that matter.
She drove for several minutes and then slowed her car to a crawl as she pulled into a McDonalds. She was making good time, but she hadn’t made time to eat breakfast this morning, and now, she was absolutely famished. She quickly ordered an Egg McMuffin and a small orange juice.
Then, pulling up to the window, she handed the lady her money. Once she was given the correct change and was finally handed her food, she continued on her way.
She opened the tan, paper bag and pulled out her food and drink. Both were devoured in no time at all. She realized it wasn’t the most nutritious breakfast she’d ever had, but it filled her up regardless.
As she pulled out onto the highway once more, she was immediately cut off by some maniac in an old, rusted, beat up, Ford wagon. Looking closer at the driver, she realized that the morning sunlight reflected off of this person’s balding head.
Putting two and two together, she concluded that the man in the car in front of her, was in no doubt, Broots. Anytime they went somewhere in their continuos search for their illusive Pretender, she had insisted that it either be her or Sydney driving. She often found herself wondering how in the world Broots had even gotten his license.
Just then, her train of thoughts were broken by the sound of a fast approaching siren cutting through the dead silence. She quickly pulled over and prepared for a ticket as she noticed in her rear view mirror a police cruiser steadily approaching. She bit her lip and closed her eyes; waiting for the knock on her passenger side door that would inevitably be coming.
But, luckily, the police cruiser sped on past her and stopped directly behind Broots who was already way ahead of her. She couldn’t help but chuckle as she hurried past him, the flashing blue and red lights, and continued on in the direction of the Centre.
“That’ll teach you, Broots,” she thought as she looked again in her rear view mirror and saw the cop leaning against the side of his car. “Hopefully, he’ll revoke your license and make you take the drivers test again. Then maybe... just maybe... you’ll be a better driver.”
She sped on down the highway for about five more miles until she saw the familiar building in the distance. She had seen this building they referred to as “the Centre” almost every day of her miserable life. And, she hoped, that very soon, she would never have to lay eyes on these building again. That was if her plan worked as she and Jarod had hoped.
As she pulled up to the gate, she realized that she had forgotten something. And, as she drove through the parking lot, she realized what it was. She had left her cell phone on the kitchen counter before she had run out the door about fifteen minutes earlier.
“Oh well...,” she thought. “at least I got here earlier today than usual. If someone really needs to contact me, they can call my office phone.”
She quickly pulled into her designated parking spot for those of the Centre who were in the executives - like herself, put the car in park and stepped out.
Her heals made a loud THUD as she stepped out of her car and onto the pavement. She quickly shut the door and activated her anti-theft system. She highly doubted anyone at the Centre would steal her car; considering most of them drove the same one, but she realized, things are very seldom predictable when the Centre is involved. Her car made it’s familiar beeping noise. Knowing that the alarm was now activated, she began towards the Centre’s main building.
Once inside, she was overcome by the burst of cold air that greeted her from above. The temperature outside was now about ninety degrees and her air conditioner in the car had broken the week prier. She had been so busy “searching” for the illusive Pretender that she had had absolutely no time to find a mechanic to fix it. So, when she had stepped into the building, the sudden burst of cool air had sent her into a slight state of shock.
Sydney was also there to greet her as she walked in the door. Just as she had instructed him the day before.
“Broots won’t be here for a while,” she smirked, letting a gigantic grin cover her sun tanned face.
“Why is that? How do you know?” he asked looking bewildered.
“Let’s just say that he was greeted by a nice police officer and they’re probably still having their little chat on the side of the road as we speak. Broots won’t be able to flirt his way out of this one,” she joked. “That is unless... never mind, we won’t even go there.
“I agree, please don’t. If he actually drove like a sane person, that wouldn’t keep happening as much as it does, but we know he will never drive that way so there’s no use trying to imagine. Anyway... what was so important that you made us be here so early today?”
“I’ll tell you, but let’s wait in my office until Broots is finished flirting with the cop.”
****
Chapter Two:
“Hurry up Jarod, the customers are waiting!” a smelly, greasy, middle-aged man yelled to him from behind the food counter of a small truck stop diner.
The noise of a bell filled the air again as another order arrived on the counter and the man yelled once more.
“Cheesy bacon burger with a side of chilly cheese fries!”
Jarod immediately picked up the greasy plate and handed it to the man seated directly in front of him, on the other side of the counter. The man looked up, gave him a slight smile, and returned to reading the paper that lay in front of him.
The man looked as if he had just returned from a business trip, had just stopped in for some lunch and then was to be on his way. Bells sounded behind him as other orders were ready to be served up.
“C’mon Jarod, pick up the pace! These people are hungry and when people are hungry they get grouchy. It’s your job to give them their food before they get too grouchy and decide to leave. You got that!?”
“Of course I do...but...”
“But what? You have customers waiting. Get to work!”
“I’m taking my lunch...”
“You don’t get a lunch break until I tell you when you can have it and how long you have to eat it,” the man roared. “Now do what I say or you’re fired. You got that?”
Jarod’s stomach growled with hunger as he slowly walked back to where he was supposed to pick up the food. There, snatched up several other hot, greasy, plates and took them to the couple that was seated in a booth right next to a window. He gently set the plates down on the table and then walked back to his position behind the counter in the back of the tiny road-side diner.
“Excuse me... I’ve been waiting a half an hour for my coffee and I never got it!” Another man yelled from somewhere in the room.
Quickly, Jarod spun around and saw a man who looked slightly familiar, holding up an empty coffee mug. “I’m sorry about that, but can you wait another ten minutes or so?” he replied politely to the man.
“No... you’ll do it NOW!” his boss yelled as the man in front of the counter slowly folded his newspaper and stood up. Placing his paper under his arm again, and began slowly for the door. But before he did that, he reached into his pocket and put a twenty on the counter.
“You know what Harry... I quit!” he yelled back to him, and sped off in the direction of the door before his boss had time to say edge wise, but not before snatching up the twenty dollar bill on the counter.
“What about my coffee?” the familiar customer yelled to him.
“You know what? You can take that coffee and shove it up your ...”, but before he had time to finish the sentence, he was already out the door and following the man to his car which was parked right outside the diner.
The man quickly turned around and retorted, “Is there a reason you are stocking me? I gave you a twenty, what else do you want?”
“Your paper would be nice,” Jarod immediately answered him.
“My paper?” he asked looking bewildered. “Why do you want my paper? Are you too poor to by one of your own? If you were, you’re not anymore, because I just gave you that twenty. So, get your own paper!”
“Give me the freakin’ paper! Now! It’s an emergency!” he yelled, stepping closer to the man with each passing second.
“Alright, alright! Here, you can have the paper; I wouldn’t want you to get your apron in a wad over some stupid paper. Gosh... people these days...,” he muttered to himself as he stepped into the car and sped off.
Quickly, Jarod read the story on the front page.
Missing Woman Found.
In Severe Condition
at Local Hospital.
written by: Angela Rabb
Monterey, Mexico
A woman who had been apparently
missing for several days, was found
brutally assaulted last night in her
small suburban home just outside of
Monterey, Mexico. Investigators are
looking into matter.
Neighbors say they thought they
heard the noise of a small scuffle
but thought nothing of it.
“Things like this happen all of
the time,” explained Josephine Carr,
the victim’s next door neighbor. “I
just assumed that her and her ex-boy
friend were arguing again.”
Around nine that night, o n e
o t h e r neighbor became suspicious
after a man reportedly l e f t in a
hurry with a large garbage bag full
of the woman’s items.
Police later, found h e r lying
unconscious on her bathroom floor in
a pool of her own blood. Where they
also observed several lacerations on
the victom’s wrists, face, and neck.
So far, police have found no
suspects and no family. If you know
t h i s woman’s identity or who may
have done this to her, or may know
the where-abouts of a family member,
please call this number:
1-800-help-her
Jarod starred blankly at the picture in the far right-hand corner of the article. Of course he knew who this woman was; and he knew he had to save her before the person who’d tried to kill her before, came back to finish the job for good.
****
Chapter Three:
“It’s about time you got here, Broots,” Miss Parker uttered as she turned and saw the short, balding man in the doorway. “So much for all of us getting here early this morning!”
“I would have been here on time except...” he started as he stepped in and shut the door.
“I don’t want to hear any of your pathetic excuses. I saw you get pulled over! If you drove like a sane person, this would never have happened. How did you even get your license in the first place?” A slight pause. “You know what... don’t answer that, because I don’t even want to know. Let’s just discuss the game plan before you-know-who gets here,” she said wearily.
She sat down, put her feet up on her desk, and pondered what exactly it was that she wanted to say. But, at that moment, the doors to her office swung open with a HISS as her father appeared in the doorway.
“Angel... I was hoping you’d be here,” he confessed. “How was your vacation?
“It was very relating, just what I needed,” she confessed. Indeed it had been, she had been waiting to get away from the Centre for such a long time, and spend that time with Jarod. Which was exactly what she had done. In fact, she had spent more time with him than on the beach where she was supposedly going to be
“Good, because there’s some Centre business that I think you need to know.”
“What is it Daddy?” she asked.
“Angel, I need to talk to you in private, if you don’t mind...” he began, but was interrupted, as at that same moment, Sam came storming into her office holding a tan box in his arms.
“Oh I’m sorry...” he mumbled. “I found this package for you. It’s from Jarod.”
“Well, give it here,” she commanded as he quickly handed it over to her and left the room.
“I guess this can wait for some other time,” Mr. Parker announced. “We’ll talk about this later Angel you can count on that.”
He proceeded out of her office and presumably back to his office somewhere else in the building.
“Oh I will,” she mumbled under her breath.
“Well, Miss Parker, you definitely can say that Jarod does seem to have an impeccable sense timing, “ Sydney confessed.
“I couldn’t agree more with you, Syd,” she admitted as she held the package in front of her, examining it.
“What do you suppose it is?” inquired Broots.
“I haven’t a clue, but knowing Jarod, it’ll be something that will greatly help us in our plan. He told me last night when I talked to him on the phone that it was something that might help us. I just hope it will.“
“Maybe you should open that some other time, ”Sydney suggested. “We don’t need anyone else here finding out about what it is that we are going to do. So, opening that box somewhere else out of the Centre’s little cameras and such, might not be too bad of an idea.”
“I don’t know...,” Broots began. “The sooner we find out what’s in that box, the sooner we can start of Catherine’s Plan.”
“I agree with you, Syd. No one here needs know about the contents of this box and the only way to be sure that they don’t is to open it off of Centre grounds so-to-speak. I will call both of you on your secure phone lines once I have opened the box. I need both of you to act like everything is running smoothly, like the well oiled machine they believe the Centre is, so that no one here knows that something out of the ordinary is going to take place. After work, we’ll all go home and get some well needed rest and begin refreshed and ready tomorrow. Agreed?”
“Agreed,” Sydney and Broots replied in unison.
“Actually I am feeling a little nauseous. I need to go home while you two work on our usual Centre business - find a fake lead on Jarod and pretend to go after it. Got it?”
“Yes. You do seem a bit pale, you had better go home and get some rest. We don’t need you getting sick. Now do we? We won’t be able to start your mothers plan if anything happens to you...”
“Your right Syd, I do need some rest, I think I must be catching this flu that’s been going around.”
“You should...”
“Thanks Syd... for everything.”
“For what?” he asked “I would do anything for you and your mother. She was a really good friend of mine and there is no way I’d ever think of doing anything to ruin her dying wish. I would never do anything to jeopardize our friendship either. You got that? There’s no reason why you need to thank me. No reason at all... I’m just doing what you would do for me.”
“Syd, you’re always looking out for me. And for that I thank you.”
“Go. Get some rest. We’ll see you tomorrow.”
She nodded and walked off, her hand covering her mouth as she turned the corner. And, hearing her heave and the vomit splatter on the floor outside of her office, the two men looked at each other in concern for her well-being. Both knew something was wrong, something that would definitely change how they’d carry out the Plan. Only they weren’t exactly sure of what I was.
Picking up her phone, Sydney called the Centre’s janitor.
“You might want to get up here sometime soon... there’s a mess that needs cleaned up.”
Hanging up the phone they looked at each other and wondered what exactly they would do next.
***
Chapter Four:
She’d been home since that afternoon after leaving the Centre. All the time she’d been at home, she’d spent vomiting up anything she did or did not eat. She’d concluded that I was definitely not the flu, for by this time, the bug would have worked it’s way through her system. She’d felt a tiny bit nauseous for more that 48 hours. No, it had to be something else, something more miserable than the flu. And, she was pretty sure of what it was.
Standing in front of her bathroom mirror, she began contemplating what it was that her next move would be. Now, she took a deep breath as she studied the contents of the box. Had she done it right? She had to be absolutely positive.
For the sixth time now, she studied the tiny writing on the side of the container. The suspense was almost as nauseating as how she felt at that moment.
She looked at her watch, then at the floor.
“C’mon!” she yelled in disbelief. “Could you possibly take any longer?”
She looked at her watch once more; three more minutes to go. Suddenly, she was jolted out of her trance by the sound of the ringing phone.
“Hello? Sydney...” she started, “why are you calling so late?”
“I’m sorry, Parker, but I thought I’d check up on you after I saw how you were at the Centre earlier today... you just...”
“I’m a big girl now, Syd,” she interrupted. “I don’t need to be ‘checked up’ on. You got that? Don’t worry about me; I’m fine. Right now, you need to be concentrating on finishing my mother’s Plan. Please, that is the most important thing right now. OK? Please, just leave me be... I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow morning!” And with that, she hung up, not even giving him the chance to say otherwise.
She placed the phone back on the receiver, as she heard the buzz of the egg timer in the background. It was now time for the moment of truth. What she had feared most, might be actually coming true right before her very own eyes. From this point on, her life may never be the same.
Again, she took a deep breath and faced the obstacle that lay before her. Looking down, she burst out into tears.
Positive.
An equal sign.
“NO!” she screamed. “This cannot be happening. Not now, not at this time... What am I... we going to do?”
She looked at her image in the mirror; her face, as white as a ghost’s and tears running down her cheeks. She uttered one, single word before she laid her head down and wept.
“No.”
. . .
Ring, Ring.
“Hello?” Jarod answered groggily.
“Jarod? It’s so good to hear your voice again! I need to talk to you... in person,” she replied shakily.
“Why? Is there something wrong?”
“I can’t tell you now, this line isn’t secure, meet me. You know where... I’ll tell you then. Please, do as I say,” she begged.
“O.K., but, honey what’s ...” he objected, but it was too late; she’d already hung up.
He placed his cell phone back in his pocket, grabbed his leather jacket and hurried out the door.
. . .
She drove blindly through the night as the tears streamed down her face. She had to do something quick; she had to let Jarod know immediately. He’d know what to do for sure. He at that moment, was the only one that mattered, no one or nothing other than him mattered now. Nothing.
As she drove on through the darkness, she tried to be strong for herself and Jarod, but I was no use. All that she could think of was how horrible her life was and had always been.
She soon was awakened from her blind trance as she saw the dark, deserted alley she’d remembered from times past when she’d needed his help. And now, she needed him more than ever.
Putting the car in neutral, she sat there, letting it idle until she saw another set of lights in the distance. Taking a deep breath, she put the car in park, and stepped slowly out; this was the moment of truth.
“Jarod... I don’t know how to say this, so I’ll say this in as few words as possible...”
“What? What is it Parker?”
“I... I’m... I mean... we...” she stopped, looked down at the ground, and then back up at him. “Here...”
She handed something to him. He couldn’t tell what it was immediately, but once his eyes adjusted to the light, he saw clearly what it was that was in his hand
“Your kidding me...” he started.
“No, I wouldn’t kid about something this serious. It’s definitely true. Nothing is ever going to be the same from now on.”
Nodding his head in agreement, he let his wife fall into his arms and watched as she leaned her head against his strong, muscular shoulder and cried.
The snow began falling around them, but neither of them seemed to notice; they were too rapped up in their thoughts. They stood in the alley for some time, neither of them knew how long, until Jarod finally looked up from comforting his weeping wife and noticed the huge flakes of snow falling around them.
“Come on,” he said as gently as possible, “we need to go somewhere else and discuss what we need to do. It’s snowing and you don’t have your coat... we can’t have you getting pneumonia.”
She slowly lifted her head and nodded in agreement. They began toward his car, walking side-by-side, her head till resting on his shoulder and tears streaming down her face.
Once they reached his car, he helped her in and shut the door. Running around the car to the driver’s side, he unlocked his door and got in. Looking over at his wife, he let out a deep and cleansing sigh and started in the opposite direction they’d come from.
Miss Parker, with her head resting against the window, only said one word... “Why?”
Neither of them said a thing until much later when they’d had a chance to gain some control of their emotions.
***
Chapter Five:
Broots looked up from his computer as he noticed Sydney coming in through the door. He looked concerned and, judging from the bags under his eyes, he must not have gotten any sleep that night.
“Have you seen Miss Parker since yesterday?” Broots asked Sydney.
“No, I talked to her last night. I don’t know what, but something seemed to have been troubling her. I couldn’t sleep last night because I had this strange feeling that something was definitely wrong, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. Something is happening Broots .... something we, nor anyone else has control over. And... it scares the heck out of me.”
“For the first time, I hope you’re wrong, Syd,” Broots replied. “For everyone’s sake, I hope you’re wrong.”
“Me too, Broots... me too.”
“Has she come in yet this morning?”
“No, I even stopped over at her house this morning and she wasn’t there; that’s what scares me... it’s like she just left without a word. Possibly, the only good thing is that her car isn’t there, so she must have gone somewhere.”
“Or so we hope...” Broots mumbled.
. . .
Miss Parker awoke off and on during the next couple days. She’d spent all of her conscious hours vomiting up what felt like her entire stomach, including the lining. The last thing she remembered was getting out of Jarod’s car somewhere in the middle of nowhere, and vomiting onto the pavement.
“Where are we?” she questioned her husband who, by the looks of it had been sitting over her all night, watching her as she slept.
“We’re at a motel ... just outside of,” he looked at his map, “Vegas.”
“What are we doing in Vegas again? My last Vegas trip was a complete nightmare! Have you ever shared a hotel room with Broots?”
“Considering I don’t work at the Centre, no.”
“You do not want to! He fell asleep right next to the window listening to one of his pathetic CD’s and started making some rather frightening noises in his sleep. It was almost like he was horny or something... I still have no idea of what a ‘Puff Daddy’ is and, frankly, I don’t think I want to know.”
“This time it’ll be better. I promise. No Broots, Syd or the Centre breathing down your back. Just you and me alone. We need to get this thing handled before we start on your mother’s plan.”
“Thing? Our baby is a Thing? Whether we like it or not, we are bringing another being into the world and there’s nothing that will change that. We are having this baby!”
“I’m not suggesting we don’t,” he insisted. “All I’m saying is that we need to decide how we are going to handle this, because, believe it or not, people are going to start wondering, when you keep getting sick, gain an increasing appetite and along with that your stomach goes from being tiny like it is now, to being a tad bit bigger as the months pass and the baby grows.”
“We just need to get this situation under control before we start on your mother’s plan,” he continued. “Because, if we don’t, there’s no telling what might happen to not only us, but this baby.”
“You’re right I can’t lose you like I did Thomas and I won’t let anything happen to our baby. Excuses me for one little second,” she groaned as she ran out of bed and into the bathroom, closing the door as she vomited once more.
“Is there something I can do?” he asked.
“No... frankly, I think you’ve done enough!” she exclaimed from behind the closed bathroom door.
“On second thought, how about never getting me pregnant again,” she replied jokingly.
“I was thinking...” he started.
“Really? Pretenders think?” she shot back, she was feeling a bit better and regaining her sarcasm.
“May I continue?” he sighed. “I was thinking about names last night while I was watching you sleep.”
“You were?” she asked as she opened the bathroom door a crack.
“How about Jarod Jr.? Or maybe Charles...”
“No... we definitely don’t need two Jarods’ in the family and as for Charles... do you want the kid to get beat up? I was thinking more along the lines of Catherine or Hope.”
“What if it’s boy? Judging by both your family and mine... It could very possibly be. If you don’t like Jarod Jr. or Charles what do you want the our baby to be named if it is a boy?”
“If it’s a boy? Umm... Kyle or Michael, but no matter what this baby is, it will definitely be loved.”
“I assure you that I will never let the Centre anywhere near our child after what they did to me; I don’t want the same to happen to him or her.”
“Of course. There is no way in ....” she looked around, still afraid of the Centre’s all-seeing eyes. They always seemed to be everywhere she went. “My dear brother will never be able to sink his cannibalistic teeth into our child. I will not let him. That’s if he’s alive when I’m done with him. I’ve said this before, but it would give me great satisfaction to perform his autopsy... Before he was dead.”
“Dove,” his pet name for her, “you don’t want to sink down to the Centre your family’s level. We’ll deal with them the legal way... court. Where we can definitely be sure that the law will deal with them in a way that they deserve.”
“I hope you’re right,” she answered him. “If not...”
“There’s no way our plan will fail,” he reassured her.
“We have to figure out exactly what it is that we are going to do.”
“I already have,” he confessed. “Don’t worry there’s no way this can fail.”
***
Chapter Six:
“Broots, I need you to find out who she talked to before she disappeared. Not only who called her, but who she called.”
“On it...” he stated, “The only other person she talked to that day was you... Have you tried her cell?”
“I have... and she’s not answering. This is really starting to worry me. It’s been two days and she hasn’t even showed up here at the Centre, hasn’t answered her phone and when I went over there the other day to see if she was alright, her door was locked and from what I could tell, she wasn’t there. Her car’s not there. It’s almost like she’s missing in action. And frankly, I’m scared.”
“Maybe we should stop looking for Jarod now that Miss Parker’s gone MIA and start looking for leads on her,” Broots suggested.
“Good idea, maybe we should go over to her house and find a way to get in. It’s possible that she might have some clue that could possibly lead us to her.”
“That’s a start.”
. . .
It had been two days, and Miss Parker had been absent from her work at the Centre. Two days, and she hadn’t answered their phone calls or come to the door when they knocked. As Sydney had said, It was almost like she had been Missing In Action.
Both men decided to put a halt in their continuous search for the illusive Pretender and were now searching solely for her.
It neared noon as they approached Miss Parker’s house; almost exactly two days since either of them had last seen her. Enormous raindrops pelted Sydney’s car as he pulled into her drive. Drawing out an umbrella from under his driver’s seat, Sydney opened his car door, quickly followed by none other than Broots.
Running through the stinging rain, they jumped onto her porch. Looking, in through her front door, all that either of them could see was her normal kitchen setting, as clean and organized as usual - the way it had always looked.
“I know she keeps a key around here somewhere,” mumbled Sydney, who was now soaked from the downpour.
He turned to Broots and he, nodding, began to help Sydney look. They searched under pots, her welcome mat, even in the old, creaky floor boards on her steps, but found nothing. Until, a subtle bulge in the siding of her house caught Sydney’s attention. He felt under the thin gap of aluminum siding, and eventually pulled out a shinny brass key. And, placing it into the key hole in her door; opened it cautiously.
Once both men, presumed it safe, they proceeded in, aware that someone from the Centre such as Lyle or Mr. Parker could very well be lurking in the shadows of her house.
Blindly feeling around on the wall, as his eyes began to readjust to the light, Sydney finally felt the light switch and flipped it “on”.
“I’ll go upstairs while you search down here,” Broots offered nervously. He’d never really been in Miss Parker’s house and now that he was, he sensed a kind of eerieness.
“Good idea, Broots,” he agreed. “That means we could be out of here sooner and possibly have a greater chance of actually finding anything of importance. Just... be careful and try not to move things around too much. OK?”
“Sure thing Syd,” he yelled back as he started up her stairs.
As he searched her kitchen, Sydney noticed that the tiny red light on her answering machine was blinking on and off repeatedly, meaning that she had at least one new message since she had last checked. Pressing the button he heard...
“You have six new messages...”
Beep.
“Miss Parker. This is Sydney. Where...” He pressed the button a second time, he already knew what that message said.
Another high-pitched Beep.
“This is Broots, where are you Miss Parker, your father’s not too happy about you not being here at the Centre and no one here knows were you are, not even Syd, please call me back before your father sends the two of us over to the Renewal Wing!”
Beep.
“Miss Parker, this is Sydney again...” He pressed the button another time.
Beep.
“It’s been two days Miss Parker,” this was Broots again; “where are you? Sydney and I are both starting to worry, please call or something to let us know that you are alright.”
He pressed the button several more times until he’d heard all of them, but each time heard only his or Broots’ voice. Concluding that he wasn’t going to get much help from that, he continued on through the downstairs of her house.
. . .
Broots, now finding his way into Miss Parker’s bedroom continued his search. Noticing a pair of her silk underwear on the bed, he quickly walked over to it and picked it up; examining it. He was still in love with her, even after he had witnessed her testament of love to Jarod at their wedding. Sometimes he just couldn’t stand it. He’d always wondered if he could have had a chance with her, if the Pretender, Jarod had stayed away from her. But, Jarod didn’t and that’s the way things had turned out. He knew he just had to grow up and face the facts.
But now he was facing a pair of her tiny, pink, silk underwear and he just couldn’t resist himself. He carefully looked them over, picturing her in them. Miss Parker wearing nothing but those and the matching bra that also lay on her bed beside them. Her thin cream colored body laying on the bed beckoning to him...
He was suddenly snapped out of his this dream-like trance when he heard Sydney call to him.
“Have you found anything up there yet, Broots?” he yelled up the stairs.
“Umm... no,” he answered guiltily as he delicately placed Miss Parker’s underwear exactly where it had been laying on her bed before he’s snatched them up and begun his childish fantasies. “But, I haven’t gotten a chance to check everything out up here, keep looking down where you are. I’m sure we’ll be able to find something that might help us.”
“Well, look faster, I don’t know how long we have before Lyle and his goons come and search the place. She’s been missing for two days, they’re going to become suspicious, like we have of her whereabouts, if they don’t already know where she is, and this is the first place they’re bound to start. They’re going to come soon to ‘sweep’ through this place so to speak. So hurry up!”
Heeding the older and wiser Sydney’s advise, Broots quickly left Miss Parker’s room and her lingerie behind as he stepped into her bathroom. Where he probably would find more of her personal belongings.
Finding nothing out place or askew, he continued looking around in her many other rooms; still finding nothing of importance.
Stepping once more into her room after carefully inspecting the others, Broots took one last look at the things on her bed.
Realizing that all he’d looked at while in there prier was her lingerie, he began again to search her room. This time, looking nonchalantly through her dresser drawers, paying no attention to the many pairs of silk garments that were contained in it. But, as he dug through these many pairs of underwear, he found in the bottom, her shinny, silver gun and its holster. And, putting a white, latex glove on his hand, gently pulled the two items out and placed them in a plastic bag; putting both into the duffel bag that he and Sydney had brought with them for this purpose.
It was highly unlikely that she would have left her gun in her dresser drawer and even more so now that she knew what would happen if anyone else at the Centre were to find out about what they were planning to do. For, now, Broots was even carrying a gun with him, just in case something were to happen.
Gently laying the duffel bag onto her bed, he began to, more thoroughly sift through the rest of her drawers. Finding nothing else abnormal in them, he opened her closet door and began searching through it also.
Downstairs, Sydney had also begun a more thorough search of her belongings. After a while, he noticed Miss Parker’s cell phone laying on her kitchen counter, its red light blinking continuously meaning that it was in need of being recharged.
“So that’s why you haven’t answered our calls,” he whispered. “You didn’t even know we were calling you because you left your phone on the counter. But why? Why were you in such a hurry that you would leave that here? What’s going on? I wish there were some way that you could tell us, that you’re OK so that we can stop worrying about you.”
He put a latex glove on his hand and did the same as Broots hoping to use the phone as some type of evidence but not knowing what he needed this evidence for. More than likely they could use it against the Centre if, for some reason they had taken her.
As he finished sealing the evidence into it’s bag, he suddenly glanced into the next room - Miss Parker’s living room, where it had remained dark. Noticing something lying on the couch, he decided to go and investigate. As he neared the area, he noticed the object was a medium-sized box. The box that Jarod had sent to them the day of her disappearance. This box remained unopened, it’s contents still unknown to anyone else but Jarod who had placed them in it.
“Sydney,” Broots suddenly hollered from up above. “I need you to come see something. I mean I have... I think I... I’m pretty sure what it was, but I’m not sure. I need you to come look!”
Leaving the box and all that it contained, on the couch, Sydney hurried upstairs to see what Broots had found. He followed Broots from the top of the stairs into Miss Parker’s bedroom where he stood in the door way.
“Do you see anything wrong with this picture?” Broots questioned Sydney.
Looking around, Sydney observed the undergarments on the bed, and the huge gap in the closet.
“What was there where that huge gap is in her closet?”
“I’m not sure,” Broots answered truthfully. “But, I do know that she must have left in a hurry. My guess is that her suit case was there and she packed quickly.”
There was a slight pause while Sydney processed the information in his head.
“The question is why? Why would she be leaving with her suitcase? Why would she be in such a hurry that she would leave her holster and gun in her underwear drawer? Why...”
“And why would she leave her cell phone here, on the counter. Why would she not open the package from Jarod. And, most importantly... why would she leave without telling us or anyone for that matter?”
“There as so many ‘whys’ but no answers,” Broots observed. “If we can answer these questions, we might be able to find her.”
“I can’t agree with you more, Broots. This time, Miss Parker’s left us with a plethora of insurmountable questions but the answer to her where-abouts has something to do with all of this. The question is... what?”
“I wish there were some way we could find her and know that she is fine,” Broots noted.
“Then let’s not waist anymore time, take a picture of her closet for evidence and bring the other items to me so we can leave. Maybe we could finish this at my house so that we don’t risk exposing whatever it was that she was hiding. I have a feeling that once we obtain the answer to just one of these clues, we should be able to find out precious Miss Parker.
***
Chapter Seven:
Her condition hadn’t gotten any better as they left the motel that afternoon. In fact, it seemed, to her that it had actually gotten worse.
“Don’t worry your pretty little head,” Jarod assured her. “It’s a good thing you’re with me. After all, I’ve been a doctor so many times, I can definitely take care of you. You’ll be fine, I assure you.”
“I hope you’re right,” she moaned. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to handle much more of this.”
Pulling out of the motel parking lot, Jarod focused once more on the road. He let his mind drift to when he had first driven a car after he’d escaped from the Centre. It had taken him less than an hour to read the book and actually know how to drive. That was one of the great things about being a Pretender, you could master such things in a small amount of time that would take normal people possibly much longer.
He eased his Lincoln Navigator out onto the highway and followed it south.
. . .
“I’m growing more and more worried about my daughter,” Mr. Parker informed Sydney over the phone. “You need to find her and bring her back. Forget searching for Jarod... for now at least, and find her. I mean it Sydney. If you can’t find her, the Centre might consider your termination. Is that clear?”
“Like a bell, sir. I’m concerned about her too, but...”
“Don’t try to contradict me Sydney,” he bellowed. “I’m in control here. I run the Centre not you. I mean it. If we can’t find her, I will personally carry through with your termination.”
“I understand completely.”
“You have a week. If you and Broots don’t find her in that time, both of you will be dealt with. And Debby will have to find a new father.”
With that note, Mr. Parker hung up.
“He’s made it perfectly clear, Broots. If we don’t find her within the next week, he’s going to personally have us terminated. We have to put our heads together and figure this one out. Our lives depend on this.”
He put the cell phone back into his pocket and took the car out of park. Backing out of her driveway, Sydney suddenly knew what they had to do. If they were going to find her, more than likely they would have to find Jarod first.
. . .
They past several state boundaries until they were at the US/Mexico border.
As they approached, the border guard flashed them down and stopped them.
“Passports and birth certificates please,” he demanded.
Jarod handed the falsified documents over to the man. He’d made these soon after they were married in case her mother’s plan didn’t go through as expected and they could flee the country. Now, he knew that a good rest would do both of them good before they even started.
The Mexican man checked them out and handed them back to Jarod.
“Go on through,” he instructed.
“We’re home free... for now at least, Parker.” he assured her. “Parker?”
He looked over at her again and, seeing no response, he gently shook her. Still, no response.
“PARKER!” he bellowed, but still she remained motionless. And, pulling the car over to the side of the road, he felt for a pulse. It was faint, but there. He sped off in the direction of the hotel as he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed it.
His breathing became fast and sweat poured in beads from his forehead. This couldn’t be happening! What was he going to do? He’d lost many of the people he loved, but he wasn’t going to let this one leave his life. Not her. He’d loved Miss Parker more than anyone he’d ever met, and he loved her more than ever now that she was carrying his child.
He’d saved her life before when she’d been shot in the back. He’d almost lost her then but fought, even risking his own safety for hers and he wasn’t about to let go now. He’d been recaptured by the Centre that day, but it didn’t really matter, because he knew he’d saved the woman he loved. And, every time he looked into his wife’s eyes, he saw the innocent little girl that had given him his first kiss. He knew that was going to fight to save her no matter what the consequences were.
***
Chapter Eight:
Immediately after the two men had reached Sydney’s house, they opened the package. Inside they found Catherine Parker’s diary which Miss Parker had left entrusted to Jarod until they would begin her Plan. As they dug through the packing peanuts they also recovered the tiny key that would be used to open the Book; and a little gray teddy bear that said “press me” on a small heart on its stomach.
So, Sydney pressed it, but couldn’t understand a thing the bear said.
“What did it say?” Broots asked him.
“I’m not sure,” he admitted, “But, I’m pretty sure it’s Spanish. The only thing is we don’t know what it says. I need you somehow figure out what it’s saying. Find someone to translate.”
“Like who?”
“I don’t know... a Spanish teacher, one of your computer geek friends. I don’t care who it is you ask, as long as it’s no one associated with the Centre. Go out on the streets or something just find out as soon as possible. I’ll drop you off at your house so you can get your car and start looking.”
“OK...” he agreed hesitantly. “I’ll try. When I go pick up Debby from school, I’ll go ask her Spanish teacher or something.”
“So we’re agreed. Let’s get moving then, the sooner we find out the better.”
Both men, grabbing the box and its contents, then headed out the door. But as they did, they heard a muffled ringing. Realizing it was his phone, Sydney began sifting through each of his pockets until he found his cell phone. And, flipping it open, he answered.
“Hello?”
“Sydney,” it was the Pretender, Jarod himself. “Something’s wrong. She’s not breathing and her pulse is threaded.” His words were quick and mumbled. “I don’t know what to do. For the first time, I don’t have any idea how to help her.”
“Slow down,” he instructed him. “Now, tell me what happened.”
“I don’t know. We were driving along and she was sleeping. Once we got to the boarder, I looked over at her and started talking to her. But she didn’t respond.”
“She didn’t respond at all?”
“No,” he answered frantically. “I shook her and still she didn’t do anything. Her body is almost limp, Sydney. She barely has a pulse. She can’t die; not now.”
“Where are you, Jarod?” he asked as he glanced over at Broots who was intently listening in on the conversation.
“I can’t tell you Sydney, please understand. I need you to tell me what to do. For the first time in my life, I don’t know what to do. I’m so scared Sydney, you have no idea. I love her so much. I refuse to let her die. I don’t know if I will be able live with myself if I lose someone else.”
“Have you tried CPR?” he questioned.
“Yes! That was the first thing I did! Nothing has worked. Sydney, please help me!” he pleaded.
“I’m sorry Jarod, you know how much I love both you and Miss Parker, but there’s nothing I can do from here and by the time you tell me and I get to wherever you are, it probably will be too late. I’m sorry but you’re on your own.”
“I can’t do this Sydney. At least not alone.”
“Sorry. Like I said, there’s no way I can help. You have to figure this one out on your own. She needs you more than ever now and you can’t let her down. If you do, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life. And so will I.”
Jarod never replied. The only noises that were heard from the other end of the phone line were the frightened tears of the scared little boy that had been lying dormant inside Jarod his whole life.
Flipping the cover back on his cell phone, Sydney and Broots and continued on toward his car. Hoping everything would be alright. Because if it didn’t, Sydney would lose the woman who he felt was like his little sister, and the man who he had been a mentor to all those years ago.
. . .
Jarod sat in the parking lot of the hotel, hugging his wife’s head against his chest. He sought desperately through his mind to find some way to help his her, but could think of nothing. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he thought about what was happening. He knew if he didn’t think of something soon, he was not only going to lose his wife, but also their child.
He had never been so proud of anything in his life. And, when Miss Parker handed him that pregnancy test, he’d wanted to shout to the whole world that he was going to be a father, and now, he feared, he would lose everything he’d held dear.
He was soon startled out of his thoughts when a woman, about thirty or so, knocked on his drivers side door.
Quickly, he rolled down the window.
“I’m sorry, but I couldn’t help but notice that you seem to be in some kind of trouble. Is there anything I can do.... My name’s Jacquelyn Kauffman, I’m a doctor,” she told him through the partially open door.
“It’s my wife,” he said, wiping the tears from his eyes. “As soon as we crossed the boarder, I went to talk to her and found that she was barely breathing. I’ve tried everything I could think of and nothing’s working.”
“Does she have a pulse?” she asked, concerned.
“Just barely. I’m a doctor myself and I can’t think of anything else I can do. You see, we just found out that she’s pregnant a few days ago, and I don’t know what I’ll do if I lose her or the baby. My name’s Jarod, Jarod Parker.”
“You need to get her to a hospital,” the woman instructed him, “soon. There’s one right down the street from here. If you want to get in the back seat with her and try to keep her pulse going, I could drive you there.”
“You would do that for a perfect stranger?” he asked.
“I’m a doctor, I do it every day. That’s my job. Now get her into the back seat and keep her breathing for as long as you can, and I’ll drive as fast as I can to get her there.”
Jarod opened the door, carried his wife in his arms like he had the night they were married as he carried her across the threshold. Now he was carrying her into the back seat with him. As he did, the woman took the vehicle out of park and headed in the direction of the hospital.
The hospital was only about two minutes down the road from the hotel, but to Jarod, it seemed an eternity. He sat in the back trying everything her could think of to keep her breathing. He knew time was running out, and if he didn’t do something soon, he would lose her.
As they pulled into the parking lot of the hospital, Jacque quickly put the Navigator back in park and turned off the engine. After doing so, she unbuckled her seat belt, opened the door, and hurriedly opened the back drivers side door and took the limp body from Jarod as he got out.
His body trembled nervously as he took Miss Parker back in his arms.
“I work here,” the woman informed him, breaking the silence. “I’ll get her immediate care. I assure you of that. We will save your wife Jarod; I’ll do everything in my power.”
“Thank you, doctor,” he answered gratefully. “I know you will. I can see it in your eyes.”
She looked away, avoiding his gaze. She knew he was trying to get inside her mind, but she wouldn’t let him. No one would know what she’d gone through the past month.
“We have to get your wife in there so we can help her. Let’s go,” she ordered as she began running toward the giant building. He moved his arm over a bit so as to support Miss Parker’s head, so that it wouldn’t bounce as he ran.
As they neared the building, the woman doctor threw the doors open and continued her same stride as they entered the building.
“Follow me Jarod,” she instructed him. “We’ll take her into the ER where we can try to see what’s wrong with her.”
They flew into the Emergency Room and laid her onto the gurney.
“Stay with her while I go get some other doctors. I’ll be right back. Just stay calm, everything will be fine,” she assured him once more as she ran out of the room and went to look for the other doctors.
Jarod stared down at his beautiful wife, laying on the gurney in front of him. He grabbed her hand and held it in his. They were still warm - a good sign. But for how much longer?
Kneeling down beside her, and keeping his grip on her soft, cream-colored hand, he whispered to her, “I’m not going to let you go, Parker. We have something we need to do, you know that and I know that. Your mother wanted you to finish her Plan for her. Parker don’t leave me...” he started as the woman doctor came running in with three other doctors.
“I’m sorry,” a tall black doctor told him, “but you can’t be in here.”
“But I’m doctor,” he protested.
“I’m sorry, Jarod,” Jacque told him. “That’s the way it has to be. You’ve done all you can think of, now it’s our turn. You should go get some coffee or something. You need to relax and let us do our job.”
Slowly nodding his head in agreement, he pushed the doors open and stepped out into the hallway. His body felt so drained of energy that he wasn’t sure of what it exactly it was that they’d come to Mexico for.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a chair and, letting go of what control of his body he had left, he limply fell into the rough, red, hospital chair. He closed his eyes and prayed for everything to be right again.
. . .
Sydney sat at his desk, searching desperately for some sort of clue on where they might find Miss Parker and Jarod. Realizing that Jarod usually informs him of things using his secured e-mail, he decided it was a good place for him to start looking. Broots was away trying to translate the bear, leaving him to search for other possible leads.
You have 1 new message, the voice on his computer told him. He immediately opened it, thinking it was something from Jarod. But instead, he found a short video message waiting for him.
Immediately, he opened it. It was a conversation between Miss Parker’s father and Lyle. They were in the middle of a very serious conversation, he could tell by the tone of their voices.
“Are you sure?” Lyle was asking Mr. Parker.
“Of course I’m sure. I wouldn’t be telling you this if I wasn’t,” he snapped. “This is very serious.”
“Of course it is. Have you told Parker?”
“Not yet,” he hissed. “I went to tell her the last day she was here, but Sam came and gave her a package from Jarod. They seemed to be in the middle of something... a lead or something on Jarod, so I decided I’d wait to tell her when she wasn’t with Broots or Sydney.”
“When did you find this out?” he questioned his father.
“Last week, while you and her were away on vacation. I wanted to tell you then, but decided against it so that I could make sure it was true.”
“Does Sydney know?”
“Of course not. I wouldn’t tell him before I told either of you.”
Sydney leaned closer to the computer screen and listened even more intently, but just then, Broots came storming into the room. So turning off the computer, he spun around to see what it was that Broots had to say.
“Sydney, I know what the bear says,” Broots told him out of breath from running around the Centre searching for him. “I know what it says!”
“Relax, you’re starting to sound like the walking oxygen tank himself. What were you doing?”
“I was running around looking for you,” he admitted. “The bear says ‘I love Monterey’. He was telling us where he was,” he whispered. “He’s in Mexico.”
“Well, let’s not waist anymore time. Get your sombrero on , Broots, we’re going to Mexico!”
***
Chapter Nine:
Jarod awoke suddenly as the three doctors wheeled the bed through the door. Unaware that he had dozed off, he was startled as they approached him. He hadn’t gotten any sleep within the past two and a half days and it was a miracle that he had stayed awake that long.
“How is she?” he asked groggily.
“She’s stable now,” Jacque told him. “She should be fine, but she’s in a coma right now. She apparently had an ulcer. But we were able to get rid of it and bring her back.”
“And the baby?”
“We’re not absolutely sure. She hasn’t had any bleeding so that’s one good sign, but we’ll have to monitor her condition and she have an amniocentesis so that we can know for sure if she and the baby are alright. We’re taking her to the ICU now, you may come with us,” she told him as she began in that direction.
“Her heart stopped on the table in there, but we were able to bring her back, often times, after something like that happens, the patient will lose the baby. I know you already know that since you are a doctor, but I want to remind you of that, and prepare you in case that is what does in fact happen.”
He nodded. Jarod knew what could happen to a pregnant woman if her heart stopped and had to be shocked back to life. But, he prayed that his wife would be one of those rare exceptions in the medical world.
“Has your wife had a history of ulcers?”
“Yes, she... um... had one about three years ago. She almost died from it then too.”
“Did she know that she had one at that time?” she asked concerned.
“She did, but she didn’t do anything about it then. She was under a lot of stress and...” he stopped.
“Is it possible that she might have known about this one too?”
“No, she would have told me. She tells me everything. She almost died then, there is no way she would have known about it and risked putting herself through the same thing.”
“Has she been drinking? Smoking?”
“She gave up smoking a couple years ago not long after she had her ulcer. But, she does... did drink every so often before she knew she was pregnant. She hasn’t touched a shot glass since we found out.”
“She pounds boiler makers? That’s what, more than likely, caused her ulcers both times. You need to get her to stop. With every shot she consumes, she is losing very important cells.”
Finally, they entered her room.
And carefully, they lowered her bed, and fixed her tubes that had been stuck in her throat and nose.
“Keep an eye on her,” Jacque instructed. “I’ll be back in a bit to take a sample of her amniotic fluid so we can see what it is that we’re dealing with here.”
He nodded and pulled a chair up next to her bed as the woman doctor left the room. He grabbed a hold of her cream-colored hand and vowed never to let it go.
She was awakened by the noise of the many monitors surrounding her.
“Where am I?” she managed to breath as she tried to adjust her blurry eyes to her surroundings.
“Shh... don’t speak,” he whispered as he began to hold her hand ever tighter and kissed her forehead. He’d almost lost her twice, and now, he refused to let her go for fear that if he did, he would lose her forever.
“You’re at a hospital in Mexico,” he explained. “You almost died.” A tear formed in his eye. “I almost lost you, Parker, and now, I’m never letting you go. You understand that? You are my life, my joy, the reason I have to continue living. You’re my wife.”
Miss Parker looked back up at him, a single tear rolling down her cheek. “You have... no idea... how... much... I love you... Jarod,” she added in between ragged breaths. You are my everything. You’ve saved my life at lease twice now, and probably even more times that I’m not aware of, but for that...”
“It’s OK. You know that I would do anything for you. And right now that really doesn’t matter, you really need to get some more rest. We’ll talk about this later. Just sleep.”
Just then, Miss Parker’s eyes grew wide with fright as she suddenly remembered.
“The baby,” her voice was strong, but he could tell she was scared. “Did I lose the baby? Please, God, please we cannot lose this child.” She grasped at her husbands hands for reassurance.
He took a deep breath.
“No. Both you and the baby should be fine and you,” he said as he brought her IVed hand up to his lips and kissed it, “are expected to make a full recovery. You’ll be up and around in no time at all. But, they do want to take an amniocentesis as a precaution. Plus, most pregnant women are advised to have on whether they’ve gone through something like this or not.”
“I wish I could have done something...” he added, slightly relieved.
“Everything’s going to be OK,” he assured her once more. “We’re going to be a family. Our faith is what’s going to get us through this.”
“Faith!” she announced, ecstatic; looking into his eyes. “That’s her name. That’s the baby’s name! She told me her name, just as Ethan did with my mother. We’re going to have a baby girl, Jarod. My inner sense is allowing me to know so much; she’s so beautiful, brown hair, brown eyes, like you. She’s the reason I pulled through this.”
“And your sister, Faith saved you before when you had your other ulcer. She did tell us that she’d always be with us, maybe this was her way of insuring that.”
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “What did you mean by other ulcer?”
“Well, the nurse told me the reason this all happened was because you had another ulcer? Did you know you had one?”
“I didn’t know I swear that to you. If I’d known I would have told you. You know that!”
“I do, I just wanted to know,” he admitted, “I thought maybe you might have known and not told me because you felt that you could handle it on your own and hoped it would heal itself.”
“I almost killed our baby, Jarod,” she sobbed, “because I used to pound boiler makers to relieve the stress I felt due to my work at the Centre. That’s if I haven’t hurt it again, by making it have some sort of mental disabilities or something. I would never do anything to harm our baby and I don’t know what I’ll do if there is something wrong with her. I honestly don’t.”
. . .
The two men got a Centre jet and quickly flew over to Mexico; Mrs. Parker’s diary in hand. They carried it with them just in case. No one else was on the jet, but Sydney and Broots dared not watch the DSA that was tucked gingerly in the book for fear that some of the Centre heads, might be listening in and gain information that was not pertinent to them. They were afraid to even talk for fear that they might even accidentally say something that would hurt their cause.
Sydney carried the silver briefcase onto the jet with him and kept it on his lap. The “briefcase” was in fact, the DSA player they’d need to view Catherine Parker’s dying request and he didn’t want it to get lost or stolen and not be able to use it to see what the DSA in Catherine’s diary had on it.
After several hours, they finally landed in a small airport somewhere near Monterey and instructed the pilot to go strait back to the Centre. Once the two men were sure that the Centre pilot was far enough away from them, they got a rental car and headed to Monterey.
“What exactly do you expect to find in Monterey,” Broots quietly asked Sydney, as they began in the direction of the town.
“Hopefully something that will help is in this search for Miss Parker, or something that will lead us right to where both she and Jarod are staying.”
“I have an idea,” Broots suddenly belted out. “ Miss Parker looked really sick when we saw her last. Right?”
“Yeah...” he replied hesitantly.
“Well, Jarod’s clue sent us here for some reason, although we don’t know what that reason is. What if she was to meet him here and bring us with her, only she got really sick and called our Pretender?”
“And, he still brought her here hoping we’d be looking for her and see the package in her house,” Sydney continued, “Broots your a genius!”
“So what I’m thinking, is that we check out the hotels around the area and see if they are staying in one of them. And possibly the hospitals...” he replied, pulling his lap top out from under the seat.”
With several taps on the keyboard, he was in one of the hotels’ databases and searching.
P A R K E R, he typed in.
Nothing there.
J A R O D.
Still nothing. He looked over at Sydney in the driver’s seat and shrugged.
“I can’t seem to find any hotels within a 50 mile radius of Monterey that Jarod and/or Miss Parker could be staying at. This better not be one of Jarod’s little wild goose chases. Our lives are on the line here. If we don’t find Miss Parker soon...”
“Broots,” he snapped. “Quit being so pessimistic. We are going to find them. Check the hospitals, she was really sick when we last saw her. Remember when Jarod called me? He seemed really worried like he was afraid that he was going to lose her. More than likely, they never had time to check into a hotel, and instead went right to a hospital. If you check the hospitals within a 50 mile radius of Monterey, we’ll more than likely find the missing Pretender and Mr. Parker’s precious “Angel.”
Again, Broots plugged several keys into his little computer and within seconds he was in another database; only this time he was hacking into a hospital’s records. He again typed in P A R K E R. Suddenly something flashed up on the screen.
The screen read:
Andrea Parker, ICU. Condition- stable Ulcer. 2nd trimester, mother and baby monitored carefully
“She’s at St. Charlotte’s Hospital,” he exclaimed excitedly. “She has another ulcer apparently, and is in the ICU, but is stable. There’s something else...”
“What?” he asked, startled.
“She’s in her second trimester. She’s pregnant Syd.”
“Oh my goodness. Do you remember what happened the last time she had an ulcer? She almost died... If she’s in the ICU, we have to go see her immediately before something happens to her. If we found out, the Centre could have already found out also, and after we took a Centre jet, the pilot now knows the approximate area in which Miss Parker is staying. We have to get her out of there, quick. You said she was at St. Charlotte’s Hospital right?”
The bald man nodded.
“That’s not even ten minutes from here. We’ll be there in no time at all.”
***
Chapter Ten:
The lady doctor came in to check on her just as she had said. In her hand, she carried a very long needle and a small test tube.
“I see you’re awake,” she told Miss Parker. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I have two straws shoved down my nostrils. Other than that, I feel... like I’ve been run over by a Mac truck.”
She smiled.
“Do you know what an amniocentesis is?”
“I’ve heard of it,” she breathed.
“Well,” she explained, “it’s a procedure we give to pregnant women who have gone through something like you went through, to make sure that the baby is alright. I need your consent of course to do this because there is a slight risk involved.”
“Being...?” she questioned.
“There is a very tiny chance that you may lose the baby, but that would be only if the procedure wasn’t done right. And I assure you that I’ve done hundreds of these and haven’t lost one yet. And I’m not planing on losing one anytime soon.”
Miss Parker took, a long, drawn out breath and turned to her husband who was standing beside her, holding her delicate hand. Hoping for his reassurance.
But, shrugging, all he could say was, “It’s your choice, Parker. It’s not my job to decide for you.”
“What if I don’t?” she asked looking back at the woman doctor.
“Well, you could have some complications and end up losing the baby or you could continue on with your pregnancy and deliver a mentally handicapped baby. Or, possibly, your baby could be born normal and have had no complications at all. At least this way we know what we are dealing with. We can also determine the sex of the baby and possibly, if there are some, abnormalities. But I won’t do the procedure unless you are one hundred percent sure that you want me to.”
She took a long deep breath and nodded.
“I need to know. Will you explain to me what it is that this procedure involves,” she asked nervously.
“First I will give you an injection of a local anesthetic into the area where we will take the sample from. Then I will use another needle to obtain a sample of the amniotic fluid that surrounds the developing fetus in your uterus. From there, we will take the sample and analyze it in our laboratory for chromosomal abnormalities and defective enzymes, or growth that may be present. Any questions,” she asked looking around at both of them.
“No, let’s get this over with,” Parker insisted, taking a long breath once again. “The sooner we know, the better.”
. . .
The sun began to set into the horizon as they pulled into the hospital parking lot.
“Are you sure this is the right one, Broots,” he asked, unsure.
“I’m positive, Sydney. This is the place that I found on the computer. She’s here, I’m sure of it.”
“OK,” Sydney began, “but if this isn’t...”
“It is.”
After pulling into an empty parking space near the front of the hospital, Sydney turned off the engine, pulled the key from the ignition, and stepped out of the car. Broots followed a couple paces behind him as they headed toward the enormous sized building.
The huge doors immediately slid open as they got closer to the building. And, as they walked through, both men began to search for the main desk and walked quickly and steadily toward it when they found it.
“Excuse me,” Sydney said to the big nurse at the desk. “Where can we find and Andrea Parker?”
“Are you family? The patient and her husband has requested that only certain people be aloud to visit.”
“Actually, no... no I’m not,” he told her hesitantly. “But I’m a doctor.”
“Name?” The woman impatiently asked.
“I’m Sydney and this is my assistant, Broots.”
The woman quickly tapped at the keyboards and told them, “Room 214. That’s in the ICU, she’s in stable condition, but the doctors here don’t want her to have very many visitors, so make it short. Even if you are a doctor.”
Both men nodded politely and headed towards the elevator.
“I hate hospitals,” Broots finally uttered once they were inside the elevator. “They give me the creeps. They’re always so sterol.”
“That’s the point, Broots, they’re supposed to be that way. If it wasn’t, it wouldn’t be considered a hospital. Relax, we found Miss Parker, and now we can see what happened and begin on her mother’s plan as soon as she is fully recovered. We’re half way done.”
“You’re right. I need to relax and help her recover so we can get started. And the sooner we finish this, the better. Because I’ll actually be able to breathe again.”
***
Chapter Eleven:
“There,” Jacque said as she pulled the needle out and emptied the fluid into a tiny test tube. “See, there’s nothing to it. We should have the results within the next day. I’ll tell the lab technicians, though, to speed this one up for you.”
“Thank you,” Miss Parker whispered to her.
“It’s my job, no need to thank me. I’ll come back as soon as I have to results. Don’t worry about it in the mean time; you need your rest.” And with that, she left the room.
“Jarod, I’m scared,” Miss Parker admitted, her body trembling. “I don’t know what I’ll do if there is really something wrong with our baby, I honestly don’t.” With those last words uttered, she took a deep calming breath.
“We have to stay optimistic,” he assured her. “Everything is going to be just fine. I’m sure of it.”
“I hope you’re right. I pray that you’re right,” she said as a tiny tear rolled down her cheek.
Just then, they were interrupted as someone knocked on the door.
“Come in,” Jarod instructed, thinking it was the doctor returning because she’d forgotten to tell them something.
The door quickly sprung open and in walked Sydney and Broots. In his hand, Broots carried a beautiful bouquet of flowers.
“We stopped at the gift shop and got you some flowers,” he noted. “I hope that’s alright with the two of you/”
“Thank you. They’re wonderful. How’d you find me,” she asked a bit worried. “How’d you get here?” She knew that if they’d found her, the other informants of the Centre, wouldn’t be too far behind.
“We found the box Jarod sent to you, and inside, there was a teddy bear that told us where you were. As soon as we figured out where you were, we hopped onto a Centre jet and flew to a small airport just outside of Monterey. How are you feeling?” Sydney asked.
She could see the concern in his eyes. “I’m doing much better. You said you took a Centre jet, did anyone know where you were going? Did anyone follow you?”
“No, we didn’t tell anyone, Parker; and we made sure no one followed us, so you don’t worry. Everything is going to be just fine. Jarod, may I see you outside for a minute?”
The Pretender quickly followed his mentor’s request and followed him out the door.
“Broots,” Jarod instructed him, “you watch her very carefully, if anything is to happen, you come to get me immediately. Got it? If anything happens to her...” he paused, “it’ll be you who will pay the price.”
He nodded and the two men proceeded out into the hall.
“Jarod, I have some information that I think you need to know,” he started. “While you and Miss Parker were missing and Broots was away trying to figure out what it was that the bear said, I obtained some classified Centre information concerning Miss Parker. Someone sent me a video of a conversation between Mr. Parker and Lyle. Here,” he said as he handed him the laptop. “This will describe things better than I ever will be able to in this lifetime.”
With a sudden click of a button, the two men came up on the screen once again and the conversation began where he’d stopped it the time Broots had come storming into his office.
“He can’t be our father. How could he? She was married to you and she only had an affair with one other person,” Lyle continued.
“I thought so too until I found a letter to Sydney that your mother had written less than a month before her supposed suicide, supposed murder, in the elevator,” he started. “Through the Centre grapevine, I had heard that there might be such a thing, and found it as I was looking through Sydney’s desk while they were on vacation - to see if what I had heard was indeed true.”
He handed Lyle the crumpled up piece of paper. And, immediately he began to read it. His expression grew saddened as he starred blankly at the yellowed piece of paper.
“What are you going to do?” he asked as he finally looked back up at the man he’d thought was his father.
“I’m not sure,” the older man admitted. “But I do know one thing, you and Miss Parker are not my children.”
With that, the screen went blank. And, following that, was a long silence.
“You’re Miss Parker’s father?” Jarod asked looking bewildered.
He nodded.
“I think you know what to do, Sydney. You have to tell her.”
“Why me?” he quivered. “I don’t think I can.”
“Well it’s better that she hear it from you than from me. I’m her husband, but I think it would be better if you told her yourself.”
Again he nodded, starring blankly down at the floor.
“She needs you now more than ever. Comfort her, assure her that everything’s going to be alright. Be a father to her, like you should have been when she was younger. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go visit the someone who was the real reason for our coming to Mexico. This could greatly help us with Catherine’s plan, but I don’t want to bore you with the details now, so I’ll tell you about it later. Just do what you have to do and I will do what I need to do.”
And, with that, the two men went their separate ways and Sydney went once more into the room where the sick Miss Parker lay. “Broots will you excuse us for a second,” he commanded his colleague. “I need to talk to Miss Parker alone.”
Without any sort of hesitation, Broots left the room. He knew that when Sydney used that tone of voice, he’d better do what he said, because what would be said between the two adults, was obviously none of his business.
As soon as Broots closed the door behind him, Sydney immediately drew closer to her, pulled up a chair next to her bed, and grabbed a hold of her hand. “There’s something I think you need to know, Parker,” he started.
“What is it Syd?” she breathed, her hazel eyes, looking directly into his - trying to figure out what it was that he was trying to say.
“I... I’m...”
He took a deep breath and began again.
“You learned a long time ago that you weren’t Mr. Parker’s daughter, right?”
“Yeah, I figured that out a couple years ago. What happened? Do you know who my father is?”
“I do,” he admitted. “Actually, I’ve known it for a long time, but couldn’t bring myself to telling you. Even when you did find out that Mr. Parker wasn’t your father... I wanted to tell you, really I did... but I didn’t know how to.”
She starred blankly at him. “What are you trying to say, Sydney? Who’s my father?”
He took a long deep breath and finally, muttered, “I am.”
“No, there’s no way. You were only my mother’s psychologist, nothing more. Right?”
“I... your mother and I had a relationship before I started my research at the Centre, but what I didn’t realize was that she had married to one of the Centre executives, until much later, after I’d joined the Centre staff. By then, I had no choice but to stay, by that time, I knew so many of the things and projects that the Centre wanted kept secret, so I had no choice but to stay. We met up several months later, went on several ‘business meetings’ or so the Centre believed. We ended up rekindling the old flame, and, as they say, the rest is history.”
“Are you one-hundred percent positive that you’re my father?”
“Absolutely, there’s no doubt in my mind that I’m your father. Your mother even had two birth certificates made up. One naming Mr. Parker as your father, and the real one, naming me as your father. See for yourself,” he instructed, handing her the two documents.
“How do I know that you’re not lying? And how do I know that you didn’t make this birth certificate up, along with this whole story?”
“You know me better than that, Parker, I wanted to tell you sooner, but was afraid of what your ‘father’ might have done, so I chose to keep it a secret. That was until I received this in my secure e-mail...” he insisted as he handed her the lap top. “See for yourself, Parker. I wouldn’t lie to you about this, and you know that. If this doesn’t prove it to you, I don’t know what will.”
With a shaking hand, she gently lifted up the top of the lap top and looked at the video clip. The scene played itself out right in front of her. She watched closely as she took in every word that was spoken. Her mouth hung open as the man she’d always thought was her father, and her brother, discussed what to do about this predicament.
Once again, a small tear, rolled down her cheek as she uttered “Daddy? That’s not my father. All of these years, I’ve been lied to; my whole life is a lie.”
“I’m here, and I will never lie to you again. I will never be able to express how sorry I am for all that has happened to you. Your mother loved you very much that’s why she wrote me and told me that she was pregnant with you. In fact, that letter that they have in their hands there, is the letter Catherine wrote to me. I wanted to tell you the real idea of your paternity, but your mother convinced me not to, for fear that if Mr. Parker were to find out, he’d do something to either, you, her, or me. So I promised her I’d tell no one. Now the time is come when I knew you should know the truth. They’d already found out, so I knew that I had to tell you before they had a chance to.”
She didn’t say a thing, but as the saying goes, actions speak louder than words, for at that moment, she reached up, hugged him, and whispered into his ear, “I... Love... you Daddy.”
They hugged for a long time, letting all the years, and animosity between them melt away leaving only the love they’d had hidden inside, suddenly pour out in a mixture of emotion.
***
Chapter Twelve:
The entirety of the time Jarod spent in the elevator, he had used to figure out what exactly it was that he had wanted to say, and what he wanted to do once he met her again. But, the moment he saw her after all of those years, he realized words couldn’t describe how he felt. After all of the anguish he’d been through and all of the hurt, the moment he’d stepped into her hospital room, he felt a rush of emotions overcome his body.
He walked slowly, and gingerly over to the limp body lying on the bed, taking time to compose his thoughts once more. Her skin was a ghostly white and her body, unmoving. She was as beautiful as he had imagined all of his life, and hadn’t aged a day since the picture that he carried everywhere with him in his wallet, was taken.
The steady, rhythmic beat of the monitors was almost soothing. Every-so-often, he could he could hear her breathing through the ventilator. The sight of her like that, hurt him deeply. He felt that if it weren’t for him, she would not be in that situation. If he hadn’t been born, their life would have been so much different. The only thought that crossed his mind was that all of what was happening with Miss Parker and his mother probably would have never taken place and the two of them, plus Kyle, Emily, and Major Charles would be alive and in good health.
Quietly, he pulled up a chair beside her bed and picked up her hand into his. The woman before him had been in a coma for several days since she was found in her apartment, on her bathroom floor, in a pile of blood. The many lacerations on her wrists and neck were healing up nicely, but he still couldn’t shake the feeling that if it weren’t for him, she’d be fine.
“I don’t know if you can here me or not,” he whispered into her ear as he leaned down to her and ran his fingers through her hair, “but I’m your son - Jarod. I finally found you after all of these years; I just wish that you could hear me and talk to me. There’s so much I want to tell you as soon as you wake up, so please wake up. I’ve missed you so much...”
He ran his hand through her beautiful, curly, blond hair once more. It hadn’t changed either since he’d last seen her. He’d dreamed of the day he’d meet her again, but he’d always imagined it as a happy occasion. And this, was far from happy. All that he could do was to talk to her an hope that she heard him in her comatose state. He’d finally found his mother, so why did he feel so sad?
The answer was quite simple really; he’d dreamed of the day he’d see her again for so long, but all he could see now was a frail body in a hospital bed, not the woman he’d dreamed of seeing since he was young. She lay lifeless as he continued talking to her.
“Mother, it’s me, Jarod. Please wake up. I need to know what happened to you and why I couldn’t find you for so long. Whoever did this to you is going to pay, I promise you that. All I need you to do is to squeeze my hand, just a tiny bit, so that I know you’re OK. Please do that for me.”
He looked down at her hand. But, still it remained motionless and limp, just like the rest of her body.
“I’m sorry sir, but she needs her rest,” a tiny ICU nurse told him as she came in to check on her monitors. “Visiting hours are almost over, but you can come in again tomorrow and see her if you wish.”
He nodded - understanding, let go of her hand and got up from his position beside her. He pulled the chair away from the bed once more and placed it in it’s rightful spot in the room. Finally, he started away, but not before grabbing a hold of her hand once more. All he wanted was to touch her again before he had to leave her, but at that very second, he felt her lightly clench his hand.
He quickly turned his head, looking directly at her. And, at that second, she slowly opened her sleepy eyes and looked at him.
“Mother, it’s me, Jarod,” he informed her as he kneeled down beside her bed once more and held her hand ever more tightly.
“Jarod?” she suddenly breathed.
“Shh... don’t talk; I’m here. I’m not going to leave you again. Sydney and Miss Parker are downstairs, mom. You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this moment when I’d be able to talk to you again.”
“Jarod,” he breathed again; “Jarod, how I’ve missed you.”
He could feel the tears welling up in his eyes once more as leaned in even closer to her so that he was sure he heard every word she uttered.
“Who did this to you mother?” he suddenly asked as he remembered why it was that she was in the hospital and in this condition.
“I... I don’t know,” she admitted.
“Is there any description you can give mother, anything? This is very important, I need you to remember.”
“A man... it was a man.”
“A man? What did he look like?”
“I’m not sure... umm... he was missing a thumb.”
“Missing a thumb? Do you remember anything else about the man? Hair color, eye color... anything?”
“He had brown hair...”. Her breathing was shallow.
“I think you’d better go, sir, like I said, your mother needs her rest.”
This time he heeded the woman’s advice and headed out the door. But not before telling her that he loved her. And as he headed toward the elevator once more, his heart was full of joy. He’d wanted to shout the world how happy he was, but decided against it, remembering that he was in a hospital. But he couldn’t help but let a smile cross his face. For once in his life, he was truly happy. Everything was going right and he was one step closer to starting Catherine’s plan, and ultimately bringing his family back together again.
. . .
When Jarod came back to Miss Parker’s room, he expected to see the two adults crying in each other’s arms, but he was astonished when he beheld quite the opposite.
Broots was once again back in the room and laughing along with the others. It had been the first time in a long while that he’d seen his wife’s beautiful smile. The only time she’d been truly happy before this was on their honeymoon; where obviously, he’d made her very happy.
For him too, this day was probably the best day he’d had, with the exception of their wedding day and honeymoon, in a very long time. To see her so happy, made him feel so much better, and that much more optimistic about what the future had in store for them all.
He stood in the doorway, watching them, for about ten minutes, not wanting to break up the great deal of fun they were having, but after a bit, a Jacque came up behind him and tapped him on the back. Immediately, he spun around.
“I don’t want to break up the excitement that seems to be going on in there, but your wife needs her rest, and visiting hours are over, so you need to tell them to go on home; they can visit her in the morning when visiting hours open again. I’m sorry to break up the reunion,” she repeated, “but in her condition...”
“I understand, I’ll tell them,” he whispered. “Thank you... for all that you’ve done.”
“It’s not over yet, Jarod, you and your wife still have a long road ahead. It may not be easy.”
“I fully understand. But without you, she wouldn’t be here today for this reunion and neither would our baby, and for that I thank you,” he told her as he entered the room to break up the party that was going on in there.
After the woman left, Jarod went in and explained the situation to them.
“It’s been a long day, Jarod, why don’t you and Broots head to the hotel and get some rest. I’ll stay here with my daughter.”
“Sydney,” he protested, “I can’t let you do that. She’s my wife and the mother of our baby. I told her I wouldn’t leave her and I’m sticking to that promise.”
“She’s my daughter and the mother of my grandchild and we’ve been separated for far too long. Besides, you look like crap, a little rest would do you some good. I know you haven’t slept in three days and there’s nothing you can do for her when you’re as tired as you are. I promise you, she’ll be here when you come to see her in the morning. I won’t let anything happen to her.”
Jarod listened to what the man had to say, but still refused to leave. He wasn’t about to break his promise to her.
“Jarod, I’m fine,” Miss Parker breathed. “You can stop worrying about me now; I’m in a hospital. You need to stop worrying about me and start thinking about yourself for once in your life. I want you to go get some sleep, please. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“I’m afraid rest still isn’t an option, not for tonight at least. I’m either going to be here with you or be upstairs, and since Sydney insists on staying here with you, I can stay upstairs tonight.”
“What are you talking about, Jarod? What’s upstairs?” Sydney asked, confused.
Jarod said nothing, only stood in the doorway, motionless; contemplating whether or not he should tell them the truth.
“Jarod,” Sydney pressed. “What’s up stairs?”
After a slight moment of silence, he decided to tell him the truth. They’d had their family reunion so why couldn’t they know about his?
“It’s my mother,” he blurted excitedly. “I’ve finally found her.”
With each word spoken, his face lit up even more and more. He and Major Charles had been searching for her for such a long time now and they could tell that he was truly happy.
“I should probably be going. I don’t want her to be alone upstairs anymore. I’ll see you in the morning, Parker, I love you. Sydney,” he said turning to his old friend, “watch my wife and don’t you let anything happen to her.”
“I won’t. Nothing will happen to her. Now go, be with your mother, she needs you now,” Sydney shot back.
And with that, they all went their separate ways.
“Sydney... Daddy,” Miss Parker began after the others had left the room. “Thank you for coming, and for telling me the truth after all these years, you’ll never know how much this means to me.”
“Parker, I couldn’t stand not knowing where my only daughter was, I had to look for you or I would have gone completely insane. It was nothing, believe me, your my daughter and there’s nothing that will ever change that. Now get some rest, you and the baby need it. You’ve had a long day and a good rest will help your condition dramatically.”
“What if I’ve hurt my baby?” she asked worried. Sydney could tell that she was deathly afraid of the answer. “I don’t know if I could live with myself if I did.”
“Shh...” he whispered softly as he leaned down, brushed her hair away from her face, and kissed her forehead, “sleep. That’s all that matters right now. Like I said, it’s the best you can do right now and no matter what happens we will always be there for you.”
“Thank you, Sydney,” she said, sounding a little less worried.
It wasn’t long before Miss Parker finally gave in to the beckoning of sleep, let all of her fears subside, and fell into a peaceful dream world of soulful bliss.
Visions flashed before her eyes. Visions of her family - Sydney, Jarod, baby Faith, and herself, having a great time, and not under the oppression of the Centre. She somehow knew this was what the future had in store for her. Suddenly, she was overcome by excruciating pain.
***
Chapter Thirteen:
Sydney sat, drearily, watching his pregnant daughter peacefully slumber, occasionally letting his mind wander about the person in the other room who he would undoubtedly have to see in the morning. He’d let Jarod come down to his wife and he’d go up to see his mother. He looked at his watch; the time was 1:30 in the morning, he had exactly six and a half hours until visiting hours began once again and he could go see the beautiful woman laying upstairs, on a hospital bed, in the care of her son, Jarod.
It wasn’t too long before he lay his head gently on the bed beside his sleeping daughter, and drifted off to sleep.
He awoke several hours later to the beeping of his watch alarm and watched the rising sun through the hospital window. Had he really drifted off to sleep? He didn’t think he would ever get some sleep, but eventually, he knew that he would have to.
Jarod came down a couple minutes later looking as dreary as ever. Sydney knew he hadn’t gotten any sleep that night either, so he volunteered to go get him a cup of coffee while Jarod stayed with his wife.
Too tired to argue, Jarod consented and sat in the chair next to his wife’s bed. She was still sleeping and he didn’t dare wake her, because of all she’d been through within the past several days - the morning sickness, nausea and now this; he knew that sleep was something she desperately in need of at this point.
She mumbled some words in her sleep and rolled onto her side, pulling out the IV that was feeding her, but Jarod, in his exhausted state, paid no mind and drifted off to sleep himself. His head slowly sank to his chest, but before he could drift off completely, he was suddenly jolted awake, by the sound of his wife moaning even louder. This time he could tell it was a moan of extreme pain, and immediately, got up and ran to find the doctor.
He had been a doctor in more than one of his pretends, but this time, he was going to be more careful, afraid that he might do something to her that would ruin they’re lives, and he knew he would never be able to forgive himself if that were to happen.
What was wrong with her? Why did something always happen when things were finally starting to look better? Why was there always something that happened in they’re relationship to make life even harder? These and many more questions flashed through his mind as he sought to find Jacque.
Beads of sweat poured from his brow once more as panic overtook his body. He was no longer tired, but once the adrenaline quit pumping, he knew that he probably would be too tired to even move. For now, he know he had to keep going.
Why was this always happening to her? For once, he hoped that he would be he suffering instead of her. She didn’t deserve to be the one that something always happened to. With the death of her mother when she was just 12, the ulcer she’d had years earlier, the murder of her former lover Thomas, a gun shot to the back, and this ulcer; what other complication could she possibly be having now?
“Something’s wrong!” he cried to Jacque as he ran up to her in the hallway.
“I think something’s wrong with the baby. Help me, please,” he begged.
She ran back with him to Miss Parker’s hospital room and when they got there, they found her awake and sitting up. She looked fine, a little concerned, but completely fine. Jarod peered at his wife, puzzled. He knew he must have overreacted, but he couldn’t help but feel there was something wrong. Just then Sydney walked in.
“What’s wrong?” he asked as he looked at the two panicked adults in the doorway. “You too look like you’ve just seen a ghost. What happened?”
“I guess... I guess I just overreacted. She was sleeping,” he began. “She moaned and I thought she was in pain, so... immediately I went for Doctor Kauffman, hoping she could do something to help her. I’m glad I was wrong, I don’t know what I would have done if there was something wrong. I’m so sorry for wasting your time, doctor. I should have thought more clearly, but I’m just so worried about her.”
“It’s OK,” the doctor assured him. “What you did is totally understandable and it actually happens more than you would think.”
She gave him a secret wink and touched his shoulder gently. “Your wife is going to be just fine and so is your baby. I got the results back,” she assured him as she pulled him back out into the hall, “and they look very promising. Although your baby seems to be growing as fast as it should at 28 weeks, all other aspects of the baby’s and mother’s health are perfect. You’re going to be the father of a perfectly healthy baby.”
“Thank you so much,” he sang nervously; so full of joy he felt he’d explode. He’d felt like a great weight had been lifted off of his shoulders and he could run around the hospital and exclaim to everyone there the glee he was feeling at that moment.
“I should probably to go tell my wife the good news ... and thank you again ... for all that you’ve done for us. You’ll never know how much you’ve helped us.” And with that, he went back into the room to tell her the wonderful news.
“The doctor just told me that you in the baby are going to be fine,” he repeated with a sigh of relief. “See, that’s exactly what I told you; I knew that everything would be alright. Nothing can happen to us.”
Just then, Willie and the rest of the Centre sweepers burst into the room. And immediately, Jarod knew that the last words he uttered, were definitely not true.
“There’s Jarod,” one of the sweepers yelled, “cuff him!”
All at once the three men pounced and stuck the handcuffs onto Jarod’s wrists. And spinning him around, they put him face to face to Mr. Parker as he slowly, and calmly entered the room behind them.
“Welcome back to the Centre, Jarod,” he said slyly. “Angel, what are you doing here? I heard some rumors circulating in the Centre that you might be carrying Jarod’s child. Is this true?” he smirked as he pulled out his 9 mm and pointed it directly at her. “Don’t take this personally, Angel, but I can’t have you helping Jarod let alone giving birth to his baby, it just won’t work. You have to understand, I don’t want to do this but I have to... so sorry.”
Suddenly, Jarod broke free from the three men holding him went after Mr. Parker with all his might. Nothing was going to happen to his wife or the baby, he’d promised her that and he wasn’t about to let her down.
Willie and the others tried to pry them apart as Jarod profusely beat the man to a pulp and, ultimitly, broke his nose. He finally backed off after Mr. Parker had fallen to the ground, unconscious.
Now Jarod had a gun pointed at him.
“Don’t ... make me do this Jarod,” Willie stuttered. “But I will pull this trigger if you move any closer.”
“You can hurt me, but I will never let you hurt my wife. You can pull that trigger but you will never ever lay a hand on her!” he promised as he continued walking toward him.
“Jarod I’m warning you...” he roared. “Don’t make me shoot you, I don’t need this on my hands, and personally, I don’t want to see you dead, but I might just have to shot if you step any closer.”
“Is that so?” he exclaimed as he suddenly, lunged at the man and attempted to wrestle the gun out of his hands, but at that same moment, the gun went off. Followed by complete silence.
Everyone in the room looked around in shock. The gun was now in Jarod’s possession and Mr. Parker lay bleeding on the floor - coughing up blood. Not from the broken nose he’d sustained from the fight with Jarod, but from the bullet that had hit him in the stomach.
His wide eyes stared up at them, unable to believe what had just happened. For the first time in her life, Miss Parker could see the terror in her “father’s” eyes. For so long, she’d wanted to be like him. He’d always known what he wanted and wasn’t afraid to go for it. But she now knew that he was nothing more than a cowardly brat who would stop at nothing to get his way. And she prayed that she would never be like him.
“Angel,” he breathed, as he peered up at her as he lay there, coughing up more and more blood.
“Don’t call me that,” she barked coldly. “I’m not your Angel, how dare you not tell me who my real father was. You never loved me and now I’m telling you that the feeling is mutual. I hope you burn in hell. I took a bullet for you and almost died because of it, but as I look back, you never did anything even remotely like that for me. If you were really my father you would have acted like it.”
Tears streamed down her face at the realization that he really wasn’t her father and that most of her life she’d been living a lie.
“But baby...” he groaned in pain. “I love you like you are my daughter and that’s what counts.”
“You never have, and you know that. If you truly did, you wouldn’t have even drawn up the plan to get rid of my child. You were never my father and I was never your daughter. Thanks for letting me live a lie, my life was just peachy! You never stopped trying to make my life as bad as you possibly could, not even hesitating to hide the truth about my mother - your wife, who you wanted to kill. Well guess what? I am going to finish my mother’s plan and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
“You’re insane. You know it’ll never work. You’ll die just as your mother did because the Triumvirate won’t stand for it.”
“If so, I’ll see you in hell, but we both know the Triumvirate has no power over me. The Centre, Triumvirate and all those other organizations associated with them are going to meet you there.” She knew the stress she was feeling wasn’t good for the baby but this was something she’d had bottled up for most of her life and all that anger and betrayal had made her feel that much worse.
“Good bye, Mr. Parker. Hope you have fun where you’re going because you’ll be there for a long time. Maybe you can say hi to good old Mr. Raines, you know - the man who helped you murder my mother.”
“I loved you...” she said coldly, “I just wish that feeling was mutual.”
With that, he drew his last breath and his body went limp. The three sweepers stood there, unsure of what to do. They still had their guns, but so did Jarod. And now, he’d gotten out of the handcuffs.
Immediately, Jarod when after the men, and in one swift motion, he knocked down one of them to the floor. Rushing to his aid, Broots and Sydney attempted to keep the other two sweepers away from. Once the three men where under control and semi-constrained, Miss Parker phoned the police.
It was only about two minutes before the police arrived, took the three Centre Sweepers away and sent the coroner to get rid of Mr. Parker’s body. All this time, Broots and Sydney kept watch over them as Jarod held his wife’s trembling body.
The man she’d held in such high esteem for so long was now dead. Although she’d realized he really wasn’t her father and that he hadn’t deserved her trust and love, she couldn’t help but realize that she would never be able to see him again. The man she’d grown up thinking was her father, was now gone forever.
“I can’t believe this,” she wept. “Why am I crying? I should be happy that he’s gone. He can’t control our lives anymore and we’re practically free. So why do I feel like this?”
“You thought he was your father for so long and it’s impossible for anyone to let go of the disappointment you’ve felt you’re entire life in thinking that you weren’t living up to his expectations. You’re strong and we will get through this. He has no power over you... us anymore and we’re finally free to live our lives the way we’ve always wanted to. Don’t you see? We now have the chance to expose the Centre like the Jew’s exposed the horrendous acts of the NAZIs in the concentration camps at the end of World War Two. And all the secrets and lies of both the Centre and Triumvirate will finally be revealed to the outside world. Once Lyle is eliminated, the Centre has no more power and it will then crumble along side the Triumvirate. Leaving us all to be able to live our own lives the way we were always meant to.”
without permission. I'm not making any money out of this and no infringement is intended.
Amanda Scott
It had been two days, and Miss Parker had been absent from her work at the Centre. Two days, and she hadn’t answered their calls or even picked up the phone. And, every time Broots and Sydney went over to her house to see her, she wasn’t there. It was almost as if she had been missing in action.
They had put a halt in their work at the Centre and their continuous search for Jarod, and had searched solely for her. But they soon found it excruciatingly hard to find anything, any kind of clue, when she had left nothing for them to find.
****
Chapter One
It wasn’t long before their honeymoon was over and Miss Parker had to return to her “duties” at the Centre. Under her father’s command, he had given her only a week’s vacation before she was to report back to the Centre. And, of course her father had called her every night to see that she was fine and not disobeying those very “important” orders.
The morning sun shown brightly through her bedroom window as she got ready for the long day ahead of her. It blinded her as she applied her make-up and fixed her hair in front of the mirror. So much so, that she wondered if she actually looked presentable, because her reflection was becoming harder and harder to see as the sun’s rays bounced off of it and into her eyes.
As soon as she had finished, she quickly grabbed her bag and ran out the door to her car. She left a little earlier this particular day so that she could get started on what it was that she needed to do.
But, she realized, she needed to take some particular precautions before they started, so that no one else in the Centre could find out about what she and the others were about to do. Because, if they did find out, they all would be, more than likely, six feet under in no time at all.
She tried not to think of what would happen if her “beloved” brother and father were to find out what exactly it was that they were trying to pull off. But, hopefully, they would never find out. She knew that she would never say a thing to either of them, and, it was highly doubtful that Broots or Sydney would dare tell Lyle, or anyone for that matter.
She drove for several minutes and then slowed her car to a crawl as she pulled into a McDonalds. She was making good time, but she hadn’t made time to eat breakfast this morning, and now, she was absolutely famished. She quickly ordered an Egg McMuffin and a small orange juice.
Then, pulling up to the window, she handed the lady her money. Once she was given the correct change and was finally handed her food, she continued on her way.
She opened the tan, paper bag and pulled out her food and drink. Both were devoured in no time at all. She realized it wasn’t the most nutritious breakfast she’d ever had, but it filled her up regardless.
As she pulled out onto the highway once more, she was immediately cut off by some maniac in an old, rusted, beat up, Ford wagon. Looking closer at the driver, she realized that the morning sunlight reflected off of this person’s balding head.
Putting two and two together, she concluded that the man in the car in front of her, was in no doubt, Broots. Anytime they went somewhere in their continuos search for their illusive Pretender, she had insisted that it either be her or Sydney driving. She often found herself wondering how in the world Broots had even gotten his license.
Just then, her train of thoughts were broken by the sound of a fast approaching siren cutting through the dead silence. She quickly pulled over and prepared for a ticket as she noticed in her rear view mirror a police cruiser steadily approaching. She bit her lip and closed her eyes; waiting for the knock on her passenger side door that would inevitably be coming.
But, luckily, the police cruiser sped on past her and stopped directly behind Broots who was already way ahead of her. She couldn’t help but chuckle as she hurried past him, the flashing blue and red lights, and continued on in the direction of the Centre.
“That’ll teach you, Broots,” she thought as she looked again in her rear view mirror and saw the cop leaning against the side of his car. “Hopefully, he’ll revoke your license and make you take the drivers test again. Then maybe... just maybe... you’ll be a better driver.”
She sped on down the highway for about five more miles until she saw the familiar building in the distance. She had seen this building they referred to as “the Centre” almost every day of her miserable life. And, she hoped, that very soon, she would never have to lay eyes on these building again. That was if her plan worked as she and Jarod had hoped.
As she pulled up to the gate, she realized that she had forgotten something. And, as she drove through the parking lot, she realized what it was. She had left her cell phone on the kitchen counter before she had run out the door about fifteen minutes earlier.
“Oh well...,” she thought. “at least I got here earlier today than usual. If someone really needs to contact me, they can call my office phone.”
She quickly pulled into her designated parking spot for those of the Centre who were in the executives - like herself, put the car in park and stepped out.
Her heals made a loud THUD as she stepped out of her car and onto the pavement. She quickly shut the door and activated her anti-theft system. She highly doubted anyone at the Centre would steal her car; considering most of them drove the same one, but she realized, things are very seldom predictable when the Centre is involved. Her car made it’s familiar beeping noise. Knowing that the alarm was now activated, she began towards the Centre’s main building.
Once inside, she was overcome by the burst of cold air that greeted her from above. The temperature outside was now about ninety degrees and her air conditioner in the car had broken the week prier. She had been so busy “searching” for the illusive Pretender that she had had absolutely no time to find a mechanic to fix it. So, when she had stepped into the building, the sudden burst of cool air had sent her into a slight state of shock.
Sydney was also there to greet her as she walked in the door. Just as she had instructed him the day before.
“Broots won’t be here for a while,” she smirked, letting a gigantic grin cover her sun tanned face.
“Why is that? How do you know?” he asked looking bewildered.
“Let’s just say that he was greeted by a nice police officer and they’re probably still having their little chat on the side of the road as we speak. Broots won’t be able to flirt his way out of this one,” she joked. “That is unless... never mind, we won’t even go there.
“I agree, please don’t. If he actually drove like a sane person, that wouldn’t keep happening as much as it does, but we know he will never drive that way so there’s no use trying to imagine. Anyway... what was so important that you made us be here so early today?”
“I’ll tell you, but let’s wait in my office until Broots is finished flirting with the cop.”
****
Chapter Two:
“Hurry up Jarod, the customers are waiting!” a smelly, greasy, middle-aged man yelled to him from behind the food counter of a small truck stop diner.
The noise of a bell filled the air again as another order arrived on the counter and the man yelled once more.
“Cheesy bacon burger with a side of chilly cheese fries!”
Jarod immediately picked up the greasy plate and handed it to the man seated directly in front of him, on the other side of the counter. The man looked up, gave him a slight smile, and returned to reading the paper that lay in front of him.
The man looked as if he had just returned from a business trip, had just stopped in for some lunch and then was to be on his way. Bells sounded behind him as other orders were ready to be served up.
“C’mon Jarod, pick up the pace! These people are hungry and when people are hungry they get grouchy. It’s your job to give them their food before they get too grouchy and decide to leave. You got that!?”
“Of course I do...but...”
“But what? You have customers waiting. Get to work!”
“I’m taking my lunch...”
“You don’t get a lunch break until I tell you when you can have it and how long you have to eat it,” the man roared. “Now do what I say or you’re fired. You got that?”
Jarod’s stomach growled with hunger as he slowly walked back to where he was supposed to pick up the food. There, snatched up several other hot, greasy, plates and took them to the couple that was seated in a booth right next to a window. He gently set the plates down on the table and then walked back to his position behind the counter in the back of the tiny road-side diner.
“Excuse me... I’ve been waiting a half an hour for my coffee and I never got it!” Another man yelled from somewhere in the room.
Quickly, Jarod spun around and saw a man who looked slightly familiar, holding up an empty coffee mug. “I’m sorry about that, but can you wait another ten minutes or so?” he replied politely to the man.
“No... you’ll do it NOW!” his boss yelled as the man in front of the counter slowly folded his newspaper and stood up. Placing his paper under his arm again, and began slowly for the door. But before he did that, he reached into his pocket and put a twenty on the counter.
“You know what Harry... I quit!” he yelled back to him, and sped off in the direction of the door before his boss had time to say edge wise, but not before snatching up the twenty dollar bill on the counter.
“What about my coffee?” the familiar customer yelled to him.
“You know what? You can take that coffee and shove it up your ...”, but before he had time to finish the sentence, he was already out the door and following the man to his car which was parked right outside the diner.
The man quickly turned around and retorted, “Is there a reason you are stocking me? I gave you a twenty, what else do you want?”
“Your paper would be nice,” Jarod immediately answered him.
“My paper?” he asked looking bewildered. “Why do you want my paper? Are you too poor to by one of your own? If you were, you’re not anymore, because I just gave you that twenty. So, get your own paper!”
“Give me the freakin’ paper! Now! It’s an emergency!” he yelled, stepping closer to the man with each passing second.
“Alright, alright! Here, you can have the paper; I wouldn’t want you to get your apron in a wad over some stupid paper. Gosh... people these days...,” he muttered to himself as he stepped into the car and sped off.
Quickly, Jarod read the story on the front page.
Missing Woman Found.
In Severe Condition
at Local Hospital.
written by: Angela Rabb
Monterey, Mexico
A woman who had been apparently
missing for several days, was found
brutally assaulted last night in her
small suburban home just outside of
Monterey, Mexico. Investigators are
looking into matter.
Neighbors say they thought they
heard the noise of a small scuffle
but thought nothing of it.
“Things like this happen all of
the time,” explained Josephine Carr,
the victim’s next door neighbor. “I
just assumed that her and her ex-boy
friend were arguing again.”
Around nine that night, o n e
o t h e r neighbor became suspicious
after a man reportedly l e f t in a
hurry with a large garbage bag full
of the woman’s items.
Police later, found h e r lying
unconscious on her bathroom floor in
a pool of her own blood. Where they
also observed several lacerations on
the victom’s wrists, face, and neck.
So far, police have found no
suspects and no family. If you know
t h i s woman’s identity or who may
have done this to her, or may know
the where-abouts of a family member,
please call this number:
1-800-help-her
Jarod starred blankly at the picture in the far right-hand corner of the article. Of course he knew who this woman was; and he knew he had to save her before the person who’d tried to kill her before, came back to finish the job for good.
****
Chapter Three:
“It’s about time you got here, Broots,” Miss Parker uttered as she turned and saw the short, balding man in the doorway. “So much for all of us getting here early this morning!”
“I would have been here on time except...” he started as he stepped in and shut the door.
“I don’t want to hear any of your pathetic excuses. I saw you get pulled over! If you drove like a sane person, this would never have happened. How did you even get your license in the first place?” A slight pause. “You know what... don’t answer that, because I don’t even want to know. Let’s just discuss the game plan before you-know-who gets here,” she said wearily.
She sat down, put her feet up on her desk, and pondered what exactly it was that she wanted to say. But, at that moment, the doors to her office swung open with a HISS as her father appeared in the doorway.
“Angel... I was hoping you’d be here,” he confessed. “How was your vacation?
“It was very relating, just what I needed,” she confessed. Indeed it had been, she had been waiting to get away from the Centre for such a long time, and spend that time with Jarod. Which was exactly what she had done. In fact, she had spent more time with him than on the beach where she was supposedly going to be
“Good, because there’s some Centre business that I think you need to know.”
“What is it Daddy?” she asked.
“Angel, I need to talk to you in private, if you don’t mind...” he began, but was interrupted, as at that same moment, Sam came storming into her office holding a tan box in his arms.
“Oh I’m sorry...” he mumbled. “I found this package for you. It’s from Jarod.”
“Well, give it here,” she commanded as he quickly handed it over to her and left the room.
“I guess this can wait for some other time,” Mr. Parker announced. “We’ll talk about this later Angel you can count on that.”
He proceeded out of her office and presumably back to his office somewhere else in the building.
“Oh I will,” she mumbled under her breath.
“Well, Miss Parker, you definitely can say that Jarod does seem to have an impeccable sense timing, “ Sydney confessed.
“I couldn’t agree more with you, Syd,” she admitted as she held the package in front of her, examining it.
“What do you suppose it is?” inquired Broots.
“I haven’t a clue, but knowing Jarod, it’ll be something that will greatly help us in our plan. He told me last night when I talked to him on the phone that it was something that might help us. I just hope it will.“
“Maybe you should open that some other time, ”Sydney suggested. “We don’t need anyone else here finding out about what it is that we are going to do. So, opening that box somewhere else out of the Centre’s little cameras and such, might not be too bad of an idea.”
“I don’t know...,” Broots began. “The sooner we find out what’s in that box, the sooner we can start of Catherine’s Plan.”
“I agree with you, Syd. No one here needs know about the contents of this box and the only way to be sure that they don’t is to open it off of Centre grounds so-to-speak. I will call both of you on your secure phone lines once I have opened the box. I need both of you to act like everything is running smoothly, like the well oiled machine they believe the Centre is, so that no one here knows that something out of the ordinary is going to take place. After work, we’ll all go home and get some well needed rest and begin refreshed and ready tomorrow. Agreed?”
“Agreed,” Sydney and Broots replied in unison.
“Actually I am feeling a little nauseous. I need to go home while you two work on our usual Centre business - find a fake lead on Jarod and pretend to go after it. Got it?”
“Yes. You do seem a bit pale, you had better go home and get some rest. We don’t need you getting sick. Now do we? We won’t be able to start your mothers plan if anything happens to you...”
“Your right Syd, I do need some rest, I think I must be catching this flu that’s been going around.”
“You should...”
“Thanks Syd... for everything.”
“For what?” he asked “I would do anything for you and your mother. She was a really good friend of mine and there is no way I’d ever think of doing anything to ruin her dying wish. I would never do anything to jeopardize our friendship either. You got that? There’s no reason why you need to thank me. No reason at all... I’m just doing what you would do for me.”
“Syd, you’re always looking out for me. And for that I thank you.”
“Go. Get some rest. We’ll see you tomorrow.”
She nodded and walked off, her hand covering her mouth as she turned the corner. And, hearing her heave and the vomit splatter on the floor outside of her office, the two men looked at each other in concern for her well-being. Both knew something was wrong, something that would definitely change how they’d carry out the Plan. Only they weren’t exactly sure of what I was.
Picking up her phone, Sydney called the Centre’s janitor.
“You might want to get up here sometime soon... there’s a mess that needs cleaned up.”
Hanging up the phone they looked at each other and wondered what exactly they would do next.
***
Chapter Four:
She’d been home since that afternoon after leaving the Centre. All the time she’d been at home, she’d spent vomiting up anything she did or did not eat. She’d concluded that I was definitely not the flu, for by this time, the bug would have worked it’s way through her system. She’d felt a tiny bit nauseous for more that 48 hours. No, it had to be something else, something more miserable than the flu. And, she was pretty sure of what it was.
Standing in front of her bathroom mirror, she began contemplating what it was that her next move would be. Now, she took a deep breath as she studied the contents of the box. Had she done it right? She had to be absolutely positive.
For the sixth time now, she studied the tiny writing on the side of the container. The suspense was almost as nauseating as how she felt at that moment.
She looked at her watch, then at the floor.
“C’mon!” she yelled in disbelief. “Could you possibly take any longer?”
She looked at her watch once more; three more minutes to go. Suddenly, she was jolted out of her trance by the sound of the ringing phone.
“Hello? Sydney...” she started, “why are you calling so late?”
“I’m sorry, Parker, but I thought I’d check up on you after I saw how you were at the Centre earlier today... you just...”
“I’m a big girl now, Syd,” she interrupted. “I don’t need to be ‘checked up’ on. You got that? Don’t worry about me; I’m fine. Right now, you need to be concentrating on finishing my mother’s Plan. Please, that is the most important thing right now. OK? Please, just leave me be... I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow morning!” And with that, she hung up, not even giving him the chance to say otherwise.
She placed the phone back on the receiver, as she heard the buzz of the egg timer in the background. It was now time for the moment of truth. What she had feared most, might be actually coming true right before her very own eyes. From this point on, her life may never be the same.
Again, she took a deep breath and faced the obstacle that lay before her. Looking down, she burst out into tears.
Positive.
An equal sign.
“NO!” she screamed. “This cannot be happening. Not now, not at this time... What am I... we going to do?”
She looked at her image in the mirror; her face, as white as a ghost’s and tears running down her cheeks. She uttered one, single word before she laid her head down and wept.
“No.”
. . .
Ring, Ring.
“Hello?” Jarod answered groggily.
“Jarod? It’s so good to hear your voice again! I need to talk to you... in person,” she replied shakily.
“Why? Is there something wrong?”
“I can’t tell you now, this line isn’t secure, meet me. You know where... I’ll tell you then. Please, do as I say,” she begged.
“O.K., but, honey what’s ...” he objected, but it was too late; she’d already hung up.
He placed his cell phone back in his pocket, grabbed his leather jacket and hurried out the door.
. . .
She drove blindly through the night as the tears streamed down her face. She had to do something quick; she had to let Jarod know immediately. He’d know what to do for sure. He at that moment, was the only one that mattered, no one or nothing other than him mattered now. Nothing.
As she drove on through the darkness, she tried to be strong for herself and Jarod, but I was no use. All that she could think of was how horrible her life was and had always been.
She soon was awakened from her blind trance as she saw the dark, deserted alley she’d remembered from times past when she’d needed his help. And now, she needed him more than ever.
Putting the car in neutral, she sat there, letting it idle until she saw another set of lights in the distance. Taking a deep breath, she put the car in park, and stepped slowly out; this was the moment of truth.
“Jarod... I don’t know how to say this, so I’ll say this in as few words as possible...”
“What? What is it Parker?”
“I... I’m... I mean... we...” she stopped, looked down at the ground, and then back up at him. “Here...”
She handed something to him. He couldn’t tell what it was immediately, but once his eyes adjusted to the light, he saw clearly what it was that was in his hand
“Your kidding me...” he started.
“No, I wouldn’t kid about something this serious. It’s definitely true. Nothing is ever going to be the same from now on.”
Nodding his head in agreement, he let his wife fall into his arms and watched as she leaned her head against his strong, muscular shoulder and cried.
The snow began falling around them, but neither of them seemed to notice; they were too rapped up in their thoughts. They stood in the alley for some time, neither of them knew how long, until Jarod finally looked up from comforting his weeping wife and noticed the huge flakes of snow falling around them.
“Come on,” he said as gently as possible, “we need to go somewhere else and discuss what we need to do. It’s snowing and you don’t have your coat... we can’t have you getting pneumonia.”
She slowly lifted her head and nodded in agreement. They began toward his car, walking side-by-side, her head till resting on his shoulder and tears streaming down her face.
Once they reached his car, he helped her in and shut the door. Running around the car to the driver’s side, he unlocked his door and got in. Looking over at his wife, he let out a deep and cleansing sigh and started in the opposite direction they’d come from.
Miss Parker, with her head resting against the window, only said one word... “Why?”
Neither of them said a thing until much later when they’d had a chance to gain some control of their emotions.
***
Chapter Five:
Broots looked up from his computer as he noticed Sydney coming in through the door. He looked concerned and, judging from the bags under his eyes, he must not have gotten any sleep that night.
“Have you seen Miss Parker since yesterday?” Broots asked Sydney.
“No, I talked to her last night. I don’t know what, but something seemed to have been troubling her. I couldn’t sleep last night because I had this strange feeling that something was definitely wrong, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. Something is happening Broots .... something we, nor anyone else has control over. And... it scares the heck out of me.”
“For the first time, I hope you’re wrong, Syd,” Broots replied. “For everyone’s sake, I hope you’re wrong.”
“Me too, Broots... me too.”
“Has she come in yet this morning?”
“No, I even stopped over at her house this morning and she wasn’t there; that’s what scares me... it’s like she just left without a word. Possibly, the only good thing is that her car isn’t there, so she must have gone somewhere.”
“Or so we hope...” Broots mumbled.
. . .
Miss Parker awoke off and on during the next couple days. She’d spent all of her conscious hours vomiting up what felt like her entire stomach, including the lining. The last thing she remembered was getting out of Jarod’s car somewhere in the middle of nowhere, and vomiting onto the pavement.
“Where are we?” she questioned her husband who, by the looks of it had been sitting over her all night, watching her as she slept.
“We’re at a motel ... just outside of,” he looked at his map, “Vegas.”
“What are we doing in Vegas again? My last Vegas trip was a complete nightmare! Have you ever shared a hotel room with Broots?”
“Considering I don’t work at the Centre, no.”
“You do not want to! He fell asleep right next to the window listening to one of his pathetic CD’s and started making some rather frightening noises in his sleep. It was almost like he was horny or something... I still have no idea of what a ‘Puff Daddy’ is and, frankly, I don’t think I want to know.”
“This time it’ll be better. I promise. No Broots, Syd or the Centre breathing down your back. Just you and me alone. We need to get this thing handled before we start on your mother’s plan.”
“Thing? Our baby is a Thing? Whether we like it or not, we are bringing another being into the world and there’s nothing that will change that. We are having this baby!”
“I’m not suggesting we don’t,” he insisted. “All I’m saying is that we need to decide how we are going to handle this, because, believe it or not, people are going to start wondering, when you keep getting sick, gain an increasing appetite and along with that your stomach goes from being tiny like it is now, to being a tad bit bigger as the months pass and the baby grows.”
“We just need to get this situation under control before we start on your mother’s plan,” he continued. “Because, if we don’t, there’s no telling what might happen to not only us, but this baby.”
“You’re right I can’t lose you like I did Thomas and I won’t let anything happen to our baby. Excuses me for one little second,” she groaned as she ran out of bed and into the bathroom, closing the door as she vomited once more.
“Is there something I can do?” he asked.
“No... frankly, I think you’ve done enough!” she exclaimed from behind the closed bathroom door.
“On second thought, how about never getting me pregnant again,” she replied jokingly.
“I was thinking...” he started.
“Really? Pretenders think?” she shot back, she was feeling a bit better and regaining her sarcasm.
“May I continue?” he sighed. “I was thinking about names last night while I was watching you sleep.”
“You were?” she asked as she opened the bathroom door a crack.
“How about Jarod Jr.? Or maybe Charles...”
“No... we definitely don’t need two Jarods’ in the family and as for Charles... do you want the kid to get beat up? I was thinking more along the lines of Catherine or Hope.”
“What if it’s boy? Judging by both your family and mine... It could very possibly be. If you don’t like Jarod Jr. or Charles what do you want the our baby to be named if it is a boy?”
“If it’s a boy? Umm... Kyle or Michael, but no matter what this baby is, it will definitely be loved.”
“I assure you that I will never let the Centre anywhere near our child after what they did to me; I don’t want the same to happen to him or her.”
“Of course. There is no way in ....” she looked around, still afraid of the Centre’s all-seeing eyes. They always seemed to be everywhere she went. “My dear brother will never be able to sink his cannibalistic teeth into our child. I will not let him. That’s if he’s alive when I’m done with him. I’ve said this before, but it would give me great satisfaction to perform his autopsy... Before he was dead.”
“Dove,” his pet name for her, “you don’t want to sink down to the Centre your family’s level. We’ll deal with them the legal way... court. Where we can definitely be sure that the law will deal with them in a way that they deserve.”
“I hope you’re right,” she answered him. “If not...”
“There’s no way our plan will fail,” he reassured her.
“We have to figure out exactly what it is that we are going to do.”
“I already have,” he confessed. “Don’t worry there’s no way this can fail.”
***
Chapter Six:
“Broots, I need you to find out who she talked to before she disappeared. Not only who called her, but who she called.”
“On it...” he stated, “The only other person she talked to that day was you... Have you tried her cell?”
“I have... and she’s not answering. This is really starting to worry me. It’s been two days and she hasn’t even showed up here at the Centre, hasn’t answered her phone and when I went over there the other day to see if she was alright, her door was locked and from what I could tell, she wasn’t there. Her car’s not there. It’s almost like she’s missing in action. And frankly, I’m scared.”
“Maybe we should stop looking for Jarod now that Miss Parker’s gone MIA and start looking for leads on her,” Broots suggested.
“Good idea, maybe we should go over to her house and find a way to get in. It’s possible that she might have some clue that could possibly lead us to her.”
“That’s a start.”
. . .
It had been two days, and Miss Parker had been absent from her work at the Centre. Two days, and she hadn’t answered their phone calls or come to the door when they knocked. As Sydney had said, It was almost like she had been Missing In Action.
Both men decided to put a halt in their continuous search for the illusive Pretender and were now searching solely for her.
It neared noon as they approached Miss Parker’s house; almost exactly two days since either of them had last seen her. Enormous raindrops pelted Sydney’s car as he pulled into her drive. Drawing out an umbrella from under his driver’s seat, Sydney opened his car door, quickly followed by none other than Broots.
Running through the stinging rain, they jumped onto her porch. Looking, in through her front door, all that either of them could see was her normal kitchen setting, as clean and organized as usual - the way it had always looked.
“I know she keeps a key around here somewhere,” mumbled Sydney, who was now soaked from the downpour.
He turned to Broots and he, nodding, began to help Sydney look. They searched under pots, her welcome mat, even in the old, creaky floor boards on her steps, but found nothing. Until, a subtle bulge in the siding of her house caught Sydney’s attention. He felt under the thin gap of aluminum siding, and eventually pulled out a shinny brass key. And, placing it into the key hole in her door; opened it cautiously.
Once both men, presumed it safe, they proceeded in, aware that someone from the Centre such as Lyle or Mr. Parker could very well be lurking in the shadows of her house.
Blindly feeling around on the wall, as his eyes began to readjust to the light, Sydney finally felt the light switch and flipped it “on”.
“I’ll go upstairs while you search down here,” Broots offered nervously. He’d never really been in Miss Parker’s house and now that he was, he sensed a kind of eerieness.
“Good idea, Broots,” he agreed. “That means we could be out of here sooner and possibly have a greater chance of actually finding anything of importance. Just... be careful and try not to move things around too much. OK?”
“Sure thing Syd,” he yelled back as he started up her stairs.
As he searched her kitchen, Sydney noticed that the tiny red light on her answering machine was blinking on and off repeatedly, meaning that she had at least one new message since she had last checked. Pressing the button he heard...
“You have six new messages...”
Beep.
“Miss Parker. This is Sydney. Where...” He pressed the button a second time, he already knew what that message said.
Another high-pitched Beep.
“This is Broots, where are you Miss Parker, your father’s not too happy about you not being here at the Centre and no one here knows were you are, not even Syd, please call me back before your father sends the two of us over to the Renewal Wing!”
Beep.
“Miss Parker, this is Sydney again...” He pressed the button another time.
Beep.
“It’s been two days Miss Parker,” this was Broots again; “where are you? Sydney and I are both starting to worry, please call or something to let us know that you are alright.”
He pressed the button several more times until he’d heard all of them, but each time heard only his or Broots’ voice. Concluding that he wasn’t going to get much help from that, he continued on through the downstairs of her house.
. . .
Broots, now finding his way into Miss Parker’s bedroom continued his search. Noticing a pair of her silk underwear on the bed, he quickly walked over to it and picked it up; examining it. He was still in love with her, even after he had witnessed her testament of love to Jarod at their wedding. Sometimes he just couldn’t stand it. He’d always wondered if he could have had a chance with her, if the Pretender, Jarod had stayed away from her. But, Jarod didn’t and that’s the way things had turned out. He knew he just had to grow up and face the facts.
But now he was facing a pair of her tiny, pink, silk underwear and he just couldn’t resist himself. He carefully looked them over, picturing her in them. Miss Parker wearing nothing but those and the matching bra that also lay on her bed beside them. Her thin cream colored body laying on the bed beckoning to him...
He was suddenly snapped out of his this dream-like trance when he heard Sydney call to him.
“Have you found anything up there yet, Broots?” he yelled up the stairs.
“Umm... no,” he answered guiltily as he delicately placed Miss Parker’s underwear exactly where it had been laying on her bed before he’s snatched them up and begun his childish fantasies. “But, I haven’t gotten a chance to check everything out up here, keep looking down where you are. I’m sure we’ll be able to find something that might help us.”
“Well, look faster, I don’t know how long we have before Lyle and his goons come and search the place. She’s been missing for two days, they’re going to become suspicious, like we have of her whereabouts, if they don’t already know where she is, and this is the first place they’re bound to start. They’re going to come soon to ‘sweep’ through this place so to speak. So hurry up!”
Heeding the older and wiser Sydney’s advise, Broots quickly left Miss Parker’s room and her lingerie behind as he stepped into her bathroom. Where he probably would find more of her personal belongings.
Finding nothing out place or askew, he continued looking around in her many other rooms; still finding nothing of importance.
Stepping once more into her room after carefully inspecting the others, Broots took one last look at the things on her bed.
Realizing that all he’d looked at while in there prier was her lingerie, he began again to search her room. This time, looking nonchalantly through her dresser drawers, paying no attention to the many pairs of silk garments that were contained in it. But, as he dug through these many pairs of underwear, he found in the bottom, her shinny, silver gun and its holster. And, putting a white, latex glove on his hand, gently pulled the two items out and placed them in a plastic bag; putting both into the duffel bag that he and Sydney had brought with them for this purpose.
It was highly unlikely that she would have left her gun in her dresser drawer and even more so now that she knew what would happen if anyone else at the Centre were to find out about what they were planning to do. For, now, Broots was even carrying a gun with him, just in case something were to happen.
Gently laying the duffel bag onto her bed, he began to, more thoroughly sift through the rest of her drawers. Finding nothing else abnormal in them, he opened her closet door and began searching through it also.
Downstairs, Sydney had also begun a more thorough search of her belongings. After a while, he noticed Miss Parker’s cell phone laying on her kitchen counter, its red light blinking continuously meaning that it was in need of being recharged.
“So that’s why you haven’t answered our calls,” he whispered. “You didn’t even know we were calling you because you left your phone on the counter. But why? Why were you in such a hurry that you would leave that here? What’s going on? I wish there were some way that you could tell us, that you’re OK so that we can stop worrying about you.”
He put a latex glove on his hand and did the same as Broots hoping to use the phone as some type of evidence but not knowing what he needed this evidence for. More than likely they could use it against the Centre if, for some reason they had taken her.
As he finished sealing the evidence into it’s bag, he suddenly glanced into the next room - Miss Parker’s living room, where it had remained dark. Noticing something lying on the couch, he decided to go and investigate. As he neared the area, he noticed the object was a medium-sized box. The box that Jarod had sent to them the day of her disappearance. This box remained unopened, it’s contents still unknown to anyone else but Jarod who had placed them in it.
“Sydney,” Broots suddenly hollered from up above. “I need you to come see something. I mean I have... I think I... I’m pretty sure what it was, but I’m not sure. I need you to come look!”
Leaving the box and all that it contained, on the couch, Sydney hurried upstairs to see what Broots had found. He followed Broots from the top of the stairs into Miss Parker’s bedroom where he stood in the door way.
“Do you see anything wrong with this picture?” Broots questioned Sydney.
Looking around, Sydney observed the undergarments on the bed, and the huge gap in the closet.
“What was there where that huge gap is in her closet?”
“I’m not sure,” Broots answered truthfully. “But, I do know that she must have left in a hurry. My guess is that her suit case was there and she packed quickly.”
There was a slight pause while Sydney processed the information in his head.
“The question is why? Why would she be leaving with her suitcase? Why would she be in such a hurry that she would leave her holster and gun in her underwear drawer? Why...”
“And why would she leave her cell phone here, on the counter. Why would she not open the package from Jarod. And, most importantly... why would she leave without telling us or anyone for that matter?”
“There as so many ‘whys’ but no answers,” Broots observed. “If we can answer these questions, we might be able to find her.”
“I can’t agree with you more, Broots. This time, Miss Parker’s left us with a plethora of insurmountable questions but the answer to her where-abouts has something to do with all of this. The question is... what?”
“I wish there were some way we could find her and know that she is fine,” Broots noted.
“Then let’s not waist anymore time, take a picture of her closet for evidence and bring the other items to me so we can leave. Maybe we could finish this at my house so that we don’t risk exposing whatever it was that she was hiding. I have a feeling that once we obtain the answer to just one of these clues, we should be able to find out precious Miss Parker.
***
Chapter Seven:
Her condition hadn’t gotten any better as they left the motel that afternoon. In fact, it seemed, to her that it had actually gotten worse.
“Don’t worry your pretty little head,” Jarod assured her. “It’s a good thing you’re with me. After all, I’ve been a doctor so many times, I can definitely take care of you. You’ll be fine, I assure you.”
“I hope you’re right,” she moaned. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to handle much more of this.”
Pulling out of the motel parking lot, Jarod focused once more on the road. He let his mind drift to when he had first driven a car after he’d escaped from the Centre. It had taken him less than an hour to read the book and actually know how to drive. That was one of the great things about being a Pretender, you could master such things in a small amount of time that would take normal people possibly much longer.
He eased his Lincoln Navigator out onto the highway and followed it south.
. . .
“I’m growing more and more worried about my daughter,” Mr. Parker informed Sydney over the phone. “You need to find her and bring her back. Forget searching for Jarod... for now at least, and find her. I mean it Sydney. If you can’t find her, the Centre might consider your termination. Is that clear?”
“Like a bell, sir. I’m concerned about her too, but...”
“Don’t try to contradict me Sydney,” he bellowed. “I’m in control here. I run the Centre not you. I mean it. If we can’t find her, I will personally carry through with your termination.”
“I understand completely.”
“You have a week. If you and Broots don’t find her in that time, both of you will be dealt with. And Debby will have to find a new father.”
With that note, Mr. Parker hung up.
“He’s made it perfectly clear, Broots. If we don’t find her within the next week, he’s going to personally have us terminated. We have to put our heads together and figure this one out. Our lives depend on this.”
He put the cell phone back into his pocket and took the car out of park. Backing out of her driveway, Sydney suddenly knew what they had to do. If they were going to find her, more than likely they would have to find Jarod first.
. . .
They past several state boundaries until they were at the US/Mexico border.
As they approached, the border guard flashed them down and stopped them.
“Passports and birth certificates please,” he demanded.
Jarod handed the falsified documents over to the man. He’d made these soon after they were married in case her mother’s plan didn’t go through as expected and they could flee the country. Now, he knew that a good rest would do both of them good before they even started.
The Mexican man checked them out and handed them back to Jarod.
“Go on through,” he instructed.
“We’re home free... for now at least, Parker.” he assured her. “Parker?”
He looked over at her again and, seeing no response, he gently shook her. Still, no response.
“PARKER!” he bellowed, but still she remained motionless. And, pulling the car over to the side of the road, he felt for a pulse. It was faint, but there. He sped off in the direction of the hotel as he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed it.
His breathing became fast and sweat poured in beads from his forehead. This couldn’t be happening! What was he going to do? He’d lost many of the people he loved, but he wasn’t going to let this one leave his life. Not her. He’d loved Miss Parker more than anyone he’d ever met, and he loved her more than ever now that she was carrying his child.
He’d saved her life before when she’d been shot in the back. He’d almost lost her then but fought, even risking his own safety for hers and he wasn’t about to let go now. He’d been recaptured by the Centre that day, but it didn’t really matter, because he knew he’d saved the woman he loved. And, every time he looked into his wife’s eyes, he saw the innocent little girl that had given him his first kiss. He knew that was going to fight to save her no matter what the consequences were.
***
Chapter Eight:
Immediately after the two men had reached Sydney’s house, they opened the package. Inside they found Catherine Parker’s diary which Miss Parker had left entrusted to Jarod until they would begin her Plan. As they dug through the packing peanuts they also recovered the tiny key that would be used to open the Book; and a little gray teddy bear that said “press me” on a small heart on its stomach.
So, Sydney pressed it, but couldn’t understand a thing the bear said.
“What did it say?” Broots asked him.
“I’m not sure,” he admitted, “But, I’m pretty sure it’s Spanish. The only thing is we don’t know what it says. I need you somehow figure out what it’s saying. Find someone to translate.”
“Like who?”
“I don’t know... a Spanish teacher, one of your computer geek friends. I don’t care who it is you ask, as long as it’s no one associated with the Centre. Go out on the streets or something just find out as soon as possible. I’ll drop you off at your house so you can get your car and start looking.”
“OK...” he agreed hesitantly. “I’ll try. When I go pick up Debby from school, I’ll go ask her Spanish teacher or something.”
“So we’re agreed. Let’s get moving then, the sooner we find out the better.”
Both men, grabbing the box and its contents, then headed out the door. But as they did, they heard a muffled ringing. Realizing it was his phone, Sydney began sifting through each of his pockets until he found his cell phone. And, flipping it open, he answered.
“Hello?”
“Sydney,” it was the Pretender, Jarod himself. “Something’s wrong. She’s not breathing and her pulse is threaded.” His words were quick and mumbled. “I don’t know what to do. For the first time, I don’t have any idea how to help her.”
“Slow down,” he instructed him. “Now, tell me what happened.”
“I don’t know. We were driving along and she was sleeping. Once we got to the boarder, I looked over at her and started talking to her. But she didn’t respond.”
“She didn’t respond at all?”
“No,” he answered frantically. “I shook her and still she didn’t do anything. Her body is almost limp, Sydney. She barely has a pulse. She can’t die; not now.”
“Where are you, Jarod?” he asked as he glanced over at Broots who was intently listening in on the conversation.
“I can’t tell you Sydney, please understand. I need you to tell me what to do. For the first time in my life, I don’t know what to do. I’m so scared Sydney, you have no idea. I love her so much. I refuse to let her die. I don’t know if I will be able live with myself if I lose someone else.”
“Have you tried CPR?” he questioned.
“Yes! That was the first thing I did! Nothing has worked. Sydney, please help me!” he pleaded.
“I’m sorry Jarod, you know how much I love both you and Miss Parker, but there’s nothing I can do from here and by the time you tell me and I get to wherever you are, it probably will be too late. I’m sorry but you’re on your own.”
“I can’t do this Sydney. At least not alone.”
“Sorry. Like I said, there’s no way I can help. You have to figure this one out on your own. She needs you more than ever now and you can’t let her down. If you do, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life. And so will I.”
Jarod never replied. The only noises that were heard from the other end of the phone line were the frightened tears of the scared little boy that had been lying dormant inside Jarod his whole life.
Flipping the cover back on his cell phone, Sydney and Broots and continued on toward his car. Hoping everything would be alright. Because if it didn’t, Sydney would lose the woman who he felt was like his little sister, and the man who he had been a mentor to all those years ago.
. . .
Jarod sat in the parking lot of the hotel, hugging his wife’s head against his chest. He sought desperately through his mind to find some way to help his her, but could think of nothing. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he thought about what was happening. He knew if he didn’t think of something soon, he was not only going to lose his wife, but also their child.
He had never been so proud of anything in his life. And, when Miss Parker handed him that pregnancy test, he’d wanted to shout to the whole world that he was going to be a father, and now, he feared, he would lose everything he’d held dear.
He was soon startled out of his thoughts when a woman, about thirty or so, knocked on his drivers side door.
Quickly, he rolled down the window.
“I’m sorry, but I couldn’t help but notice that you seem to be in some kind of trouble. Is there anything I can do.... My name’s Jacquelyn Kauffman, I’m a doctor,” she told him through the partially open door.
“It’s my wife,” he said, wiping the tears from his eyes. “As soon as we crossed the boarder, I went to talk to her and found that she was barely breathing. I’ve tried everything I could think of and nothing’s working.”
“Does she have a pulse?” she asked, concerned.
“Just barely. I’m a doctor myself and I can’t think of anything else I can do. You see, we just found out that she’s pregnant a few days ago, and I don’t know what I’ll do if I lose her or the baby. My name’s Jarod, Jarod Parker.”
“You need to get her to a hospital,” the woman instructed him, “soon. There’s one right down the street from here. If you want to get in the back seat with her and try to keep her pulse going, I could drive you there.”
“You would do that for a perfect stranger?” he asked.
“I’m a doctor, I do it every day. That’s my job. Now get her into the back seat and keep her breathing for as long as you can, and I’ll drive as fast as I can to get her there.”
Jarod opened the door, carried his wife in his arms like he had the night they were married as he carried her across the threshold. Now he was carrying her into the back seat with him. As he did, the woman took the vehicle out of park and headed in the direction of the hospital.
The hospital was only about two minutes down the road from the hotel, but to Jarod, it seemed an eternity. He sat in the back trying everything her could think of to keep her breathing. He knew time was running out, and if he didn’t do something soon, he would lose her.
As they pulled into the parking lot of the hospital, Jacque quickly put the Navigator back in park and turned off the engine. After doing so, she unbuckled her seat belt, opened the door, and hurriedly opened the back drivers side door and took the limp body from Jarod as he got out.
His body trembled nervously as he took Miss Parker back in his arms.
“I work here,” the woman informed him, breaking the silence. “I’ll get her immediate care. I assure you of that. We will save your wife Jarod; I’ll do everything in my power.”
“Thank you, doctor,” he answered gratefully. “I know you will. I can see it in your eyes.”
She looked away, avoiding his gaze. She knew he was trying to get inside her mind, but she wouldn’t let him. No one would know what she’d gone through the past month.
“We have to get your wife in there so we can help her. Let’s go,” she ordered as she began running toward the giant building. He moved his arm over a bit so as to support Miss Parker’s head, so that it wouldn’t bounce as he ran.
As they neared the building, the woman doctor threw the doors open and continued her same stride as they entered the building.
“Follow me Jarod,” she instructed him. “We’ll take her into the ER where we can try to see what’s wrong with her.”
They flew into the Emergency Room and laid her onto the gurney.
“Stay with her while I go get some other doctors. I’ll be right back. Just stay calm, everything will be fine,” she assured him once more as she ran out of the room and went to look for the other doctors.
Jarod stared down at his beautiful wife, laying on the gurney in front of him. He grabbed her hand and held it in his. They were still warm - a good sign. But for how much longer?
Kneeling down beside her, and keeping his grip on her soft, cream-colored hand, he whispered to her, “I’m not going to let you go, Parker. We have something we need to do, you know that and I know that. Your mother wanted you to finish her Plan for her. Parker don’t leave me...” he started as the woman doctor came running in with three other doctors.
“I’m sorry,” a tall black doctor told him, “but you can’t be in here.”
“But I’m doctor,” he protested.
“I’m sorry, Jarod,” Jacque told him. “That’s the way it has to be. You’ve done all you can think of, now it’s our turn. You should go get some coffee or something. You need to relax and let us do our job.”
Slowly nodding his head in agreement, he pushed the doors open and stepped out into the hallway. His body felt so drained of energy that he wasn’t sure of what it exactly it was that they’d come to Mexico for.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a chair and, letting go of what control of his body he had left, he limply fell into the rough, red, hospital chair. He closed his eyes and prayed for everything to be right again.
. . .
Sydney sat at his desk, searching desperately for some sort of clue on where they might find Miss Parker and Jarod. Realizing that Jarod usually informs him of things using his secured e-mail, he decided it was a good place for him to start looking. Broots was away trying to translate the bear, leaving him to search for other possible leads.
You have 1 new message, the voice on his computer told him. He immediately opened it, thinking it was something from Jarod. But instead, he found a short video message waiting for him.
Immediately, he opened it. It was a conversation between Miss Parker’s father and Lyle. They were in the middle of a very serious conversation, he could tell by the tone of their voices.
“Are you sure?” Lyle was asking Mr. Parker.
“Of course I’m sure. I wouldn’t be telling you this if I wasn’t,” he snapped. “This is very serious.”
“Of course it is. Have you told Parker?”
“Not yet,” he hissed. “I went to tell her the last day she was here, but Sam came and gave her a package from Jarod. They seemed to be in the middle of something... a lead or something on Jarod, so I decided I’d wait to tell her when she wasn’t with Broots or Sydney.”
“When did you find this out?” he questioned his father.
“Last week, while you and her were away on vacation. I wanted to tell you then, but decided against it so that I could make sure it was true.”
“Does Sydney know?”
“Of course not. I wouldn’t tell him before I told either of you.”
Sydney leaned closer to the computer screen and listened even more intently, but just then, Broots came storming into the room. So turning off the computer, he spun around to see what it was that Broots had to say.
“Sydney, I know what the bear says,” Broots told him out of breath from running around the Centre searching for him. “I know what it says!”
“Relax, you’re starting to sound like the walking oxygen tank himself. What were you doing?”
“I was running around looking for you,” he admitted. “The bear says ‘I love Monterey’. He was telling us where he was,” he whispered. “He’s in Mexico.”
“Well, let’s not waist anymore time. Get your sombrero on , Broots, we’re going to Mexico!”
***
Chapter Nine:
Jarod awoke suddenly as the three doctors wheeled the bed through the door. Unaware that he had dozed off, he was startled as they approached him. He hadn’t gotten any sleep within the past two and a half days and it was a miracle that he had stayed awake that long.
“How is she?” he asked groggily.
“She’s stable now,” Jacque told him. “She should be fine, but she’s in a coma right now. She apparently had an ulcer. But we were able to get rid of it and bring her back.”
“And the baby?”
“We’re not absolutely sure. She hasn’t had any bleeding so that’s one good sign, but we’ll have to monitor her condition and she have an amniocentesis so that we can know for sure if she and the baby are alright. We’re taking her to the ICU now, you may come with us,” she told him as she began in that direction.
“Her heart stopped on the table in there, but we were able to bring her back, often times, after something like that happens, the patient will lose the baby. I know you already know that since you are a doctor, but I want to remind you of that, and prepare you in case that is what does in fact happen.”
He nodded. Jarod knew what could happen to a pregnant woman if her heart stopped and had to be shocked back to life. But, he prayed that his wife would be one of those rare exceptions in the medical world.
“Has your wife had a history of ulcers?”
“Yes, she... um... had one about three years ago. She almost died from it then too.”
“Did she know that she had one at that time?” she asked concerned.
“She did, but she didn’t do anything about it then. She was under a lot of stress and...” he stopped.
“Is it possible that she might have known about this one too?”
“No, she would have told me. She tells me everything. She almost died then, there is no way she would have known about it and risked putting herself through the same thing.”
“Has she been drinking? Smoking?”
“She gave up smoking a couple years ago not long after she had her ulcer. But, she does... did drink every so often before she knew she was pregnant. She hasn’t touched a shot glass since we found out.”
“She pounds boiler makers? That’s what, more than likely, caused her ulcers both times. You need to get her to stop. With every shot she consumes, she is losing very important cells.”
Finally, they entered her room.
And carefully, they lowered her bed, and fixed her tubes that had been stuck in her throat and nose.
“Keep an eye on her,” Jacque instructed. “I’ll be back in a bit to take a sample of her amniotic fluid so we can see what it is that we’re dealing with here.”
He nodded and pulled a chair up next to her bed as the woman doctor left the room. He grabbed a hold of her cream-colored hand and vowed never to let it go.
She was awakened by the noise of the many monitors surrounding her.
“Where am I?” she managed to breath as she tried to adjust her blurry eyes to her surroundings.
“Shh... don’t speak,” he whispered as he began to hold her hand ever tighter and kissed her forehead. He’d almost lost her twice, and now, he refused to let her go for fear that if he did, he would lose her forever.
“You’re at a hospital in Mexico,” he explained. “You almost died.” A tear formed in his eye. “I almost lost you, Parker, and now, I’m never letting you go. You understand that? You are my life, my joy, the reason I have to continue living. You’re my wife.”
Miss Parker looked back up at him, a single tear rolling down her cheek. “You have... no idea... how... much... I love you... Jarod,” she added in between ragged breaths. You are my everything. You’ve saved my life at lease twice now, and probably even more times that I’m not aware of, but for that...”
“It’s OK. You know that I would do anything for you. And right now that really doesn’t matter, you really need to get some more rest. We’ll talk about this later. Just sleep.”
Just then, Miss Parker’s eyes grew wide with fright as she suddenly remembered.
“The baby,” her voice was strong, but he could tell she was scared. “Did I lose the baby? Please, God, please we cannot lose this child.” She grasped at her husbands hands for reassurance.
He took a deep breath.
“No. Both you and the baby should be fine and you,” he said as he brought her IVed hand up to his lips and kissed it, “are expected to make a full recovery. You’ll be up and around in no time at all. But, they do want to take an amniocentesis as a precaution. Plus, most pregnant women are advised to have on whether they’ve gone through something like this or not.”
“I wish I could have done something...” he added, slightly relieved.
“Everything’s going to be OK,” he assured her once more. “We’re going to be a family. Our faith is what’s going to get us through this.”
“Faith!” she announced, ecstatic; looking into his eyes. “That’s her name. That’s the baby’s name! She told me her name, just as Ethan did with my mother. We’re going to have a baby girl, Jarod. My inner sense is allowing me to know so much; she’s so beautiful, brown hair, brown eyes, like you. She’s the reason I pulled through this.”
“And your sister, Faith saved you before when you had your other ulcer. She did tell us that she’d always be with us, maybe this was her way of insuring that.”
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “What did you mean by other ulcer?”
“Well, the nurse told me the reason this all happened was because you had another ulcer? Did you know you had one?”
“I didn’t know I swear that to you. If I’d known I would have told you. You know that!”
“I do, I just wanted to know,” he admitted, “I thought maybe you might have known and not told me because you felt that you could handle it on your own and hoped it would heal itself.”
“I almost killed our baby, Jarod,” she sobbed, “because I used to pound boiler makers to relieve the stress I felt due to my work at the Centre. That’s if I haven’t hurt it again, by making it have some sort of mental disabilities or something. I would never do anything to harm our baby and I don’t know what I’ll do if there is something wrong with her. I honestly don’t.”
. . .
The two men got a Centre jet and quickly flew over to Mexico; Mrs. Parker’s diary in hand. They carried it with them just in case. No one else was on the jet, but Sydney and Broots dared not watch the DSA that was tucked gingerly in the book for fear that some of the Centre heads, might be listening in and gain information that was not pertinent to them. They were afraid to even talk for fear that they might even accidentally say something that would hurt their cause.
Sydney carried the silver briefcase onto the jet with him and kept it on his lap. The “briefcase” was in fact, the DSA player they’d need to view Catherine Parker’s dying request and he didn’t want it to get lost or stolen and not be able to use it to see what the DSA in Catherine’s diary had on it.
After several hours, they finally landed in a small airport somewhere near Monterey and instructed the pilot to go strait back to the Centre. Once the two men were sure that the Centre pilot was far enough away from them, they got a rental car and headed to Monterey.
“What exactly do you expect to find in Monterey,” Broots quietly asked Sydney, as they began in the direction of the town.
“Hopefully something that will help is in this search for Miss Parker, or something that will lead us right to where both she and Jarod are staying.”
“I have an idea,” Broots suddenly belted out. “ Miss Parker looked really sick when we saw her last. Right?”
“Yeah...” he replied hesitantly.
“Well, Jarod’s clue sent us here for some reason, although we don’t know what that reason is. What if she was to meet him here and bring us with her, only she got really sick and called our Pretender?”
“And, he still brought her here hoping we’d be looking for her and see the package in her house,” Sydney continued, “Broots your a genius!”
“So what I’m thinking, is that we check out the hotels around the area and see if they are staying in one of them. And possibly the hospitals...” he replied, pulling his lap top out from under the seat.”
With several taps on the keyboard, he was in one of the hotels’ databases and searching.
P A R K E R, he typed in.
Nothing there.
J A R O D.
Still nothing. He looked over at Sydney in the driver’s seat and shrugged.
“I can’t seem to find any hotels within a 50 mile radius of Monterey that Jarod and/or Miss Parker could be staying at. This better not be one of Jarod’s little wild goose chases. Our lives are on the line here. If we don’t find Miss Parker soon...”
“Broots,” he snapped. “Quit being so pessimistic. We are going to find them. Check the hospitals, she was really sick when we last saw her. Remember when Jarod called me? He seemed really worried like he was afraid that he was going to lose her. More than likely, they never had time to check into a hotel, and instead went right to a hospital. If you check the hospitals within a 50 mile radius of Monterey, we’ll more than likely find the missing Pretender and Mr. Parker’s precious “Angel.”
Again, Broots plugged several keys into his little computer and within seconds he was in another database; only this time he was hacking into a hospital’s records. He again typed in P A R K E R. Suddenly something flashed up on the screen.
The screen read:
Andrea Parker, ICU. Condition- stable Ulcer. 2nd trimester, mother and baby monitored carefully
“She’s at St. Charlotte’s Hospital,” he exclaimed excitedly. “She has another ulcer apparently, and is in the ICU, but is stable. There’s something else...”
“What?” he asked, startled.
“She’s in her second trimester. She’s pregnant Syd.”
“Oh my goodness. Do you remember what happened the last time she had an ulcer? She almost died... If she’s in the ICU, we have to go see her immediately before something happens to her. If we found out, the Centre could have already found out also, and after we took a Centre jet, the pilot now knows the approximate area in which Miss Parker is staying. We have to get her out of there, quick. You said she was at St. Charlotte’s Hospital right?”
The bald man nodded.
“That’s not even ten minutes from here. We’ll be there in no time at all.”
***
Chapter Ten:
The lady doctor came in to check on her just as she had said. In her hand, she carried a very long needle and a small test tube.
“I see you’re awake,” she told Miss Parker. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I have two straws shoved down my nostrils. Other than that, I feel... like I’ve been run over by a Mac truck.”
She smiled.
“Do you know what an amniocentesis is?”
“I’ve heard of it,” she breathed.
“Well,” she explained, “it’s a procedure we give to pregnant women who have gone through something like you went through, to make sure that the baby is alright. I need your consent of course to do this because there is a slight risk involved.”
“Being...?” she questioned.
“There is a very tiny chance that you may lose the baby, but that would be only if the procedure wasn’t done right. And I assure you that I’ve done hundreds of these and haven’t lost one yet. And I’m not planing on losing one anytime soon.”
Miss Parker took, a long, drawn out breath and turned to her husband who was standing beside her, holding her delicate hand. Hoping for his reassurance.
But, shrugging, all he could say was, “It’s your choice, Parker. It’s not my job to decide for you.”
“What if I don’t?” she asked looking back at the woman doctor.
“Well, you could have some complications and end up losing the baby or you could continue on with your pregnancy and deliver a mentally handicapped baby. Or, possibly, your baby could be born normal and have had no complications at all. At least this way we know what we are dealing with. We can also determine the sex of the baby and possibly, if there are some, abnormalities. But I won’t do the procedure unless you are one hundred percent sure that you want me to.”
She took a long deep breath and nodded.
“I need to know. Will you explain to me what it is that this procedure involves,” she asked nervously.
“First I will give you an injection of a local anesthetic into the area where we will take the sample from. Then I will use another needle to obtain a sample of the amniotic fluid that surrounds the developing fetus in your uterus. From there, we will take the sample and analyze it in our laboratory for chromosomal abnormalities and defective enzymes, or growth that may be present. Any questions,” she asked looking around at both of them.
“No, let’s get this over with,” Parker insisted, taking a long breath once again. “The sooner we know, the better.”
. . .
The sun began to set into the horizon as they pulled into the hospital parking lot.
“Are you sure this is the right one, Broots,” he asked, unsure.
“I’m positive, Sydney. This is the place that I found on the computer. She’s here, I’m sure of it.”
“OK,” Sydney began, “but if this isn’t...”
“It is.”
After pulling into an empty parking space near the front of the hospital, Sydney turned off the engine, pulled the key from the ignition, and stepped out of the car. Broots followed a couple paces behind him as they headed toward the enormous sized building.
The huge doors immediately slid open as they got closer to the building. And, as they walked through, both men began to search for the main desk and walked quickly and steadily toward it when they found it.
“Excuse me,” Sydney said to the big nurse at the desk. “Where can we find and Andrea Parker?”
“Are you family? The patient and her husband has requested that only certain people be aloud to visit.”
“Actually, no... no I’m not,” he told her hesitantly. “But I’m a doctor.”
“Name?” The woman impatiently asked.
“I’m Sydney and this is my assistant, Broots.”
The woman quickly tapped at the keyboards and told them, “Room 214. That’s in the ICU, she’s in stable condition, but the doctors here don’t want her to have very many visitors, so make it short. Even if you are a doctor.”
Both men nodded politely and headed towards the elevator.
“I hate hospitals,” Broots finally uttered once they were inside the elevator. “They give me the creeps. They’re always so sterol.”
“That’s the point, Broots, they’re supposed to be that way. If it wasn’t, it wouldn’t be considered a hospital. Relax, we found Miss Parker, and now we can see what happened and begin on her mother’s plan as soon as she is fully recovered. We’re half way done.”
“You’re right. I need to relax and help her recover so we can get started. And the sooner we finish this, the better. Because I’ll actually be able to breathe again.”
***
Chapter Eleven:
“There,” Jacque said as she pulled the needle out and emptied the fluid into a tiny test tube. “See, there’s nothing to it. We should have the results within the next day. I’ll tell the lab technicians, though, to speed this one up for you.”
“Thank you,” Miss Parker whispered to her.
“It’s my job, no need to thank me. I’ll come back as soon as I have to results. Don’t worry about it in the mean time; you need your rest.” And with that, she left the room.
“Jarod, I’m scared,” Miss Parker admitted, her body trembling. “I don’t know what I’ll do if there is really something wrong with our baby, I honestly don’t.” With those last words uttered, she took a deep calming breath.
“We have to stay optimistic,” he assured her. “Everything is going to be just fine. I’m sure of it.”
“I hope you’re right. I pray that you’re right,” she said as a tiny tear rolled down her cheek.
Just then, they were interrupted as someone knocked on the door.
“Come in,” Jarod instructed, thinking it was the doctor returning because she’d forgotten to tell them something.
The door quickly sprung open and in walked Sydney and Broots. In his hand, Broots carried a beautiful bouquet of flowers.
“We stopped at the gift shop and got you some flowers,” he noted. “I hope that’s alright with the two of you/”
“Thank you. They’re wonderful. How’d you find me,” she asked a bit worried. “How’d you get here?” She knew that if they’d found her, the other informants of the Centre, wouldn’t be too far behind.
“We found the box Jarod sent to you, and inside, there was a teddy bear that told us where you were. As soon as we figured out where you were, we hopped onto a Centre jet and flew to a small airport just outside of Monterey. How are you feeling?” Sydney asked.
She could see the concern in his eyes. “I’m doing much better. You said you took a Centre jet, did anyone know where you were going? Did anyone follow you?”
“No, we didn’t tell anyone, Parker; and we made sure no one followed us, so you don’t worry. Everything is going to be just fine. Jarod, may I see you outside for a minute?”
The Pretender quickly followed his mentor’s request and followed him out the door.
“Broots,” Jarod instructed him, “you watch her very carefully, if anything is to happen, you come to get me immediately. Got it? If anything happens to her...” he paused, “it’ll be you who will pay the price.”
He nodded and the two men proceeded out into the hall.
“Jarod, I have some information that I think you need to know,” he started. “While you and Miss Parker were missing and Broots was away trying to figure out what it was that the bear said, I obtained some classified Centre information concerning Miss Parker. Someone sent me a video of a conversation between Mr. Parker and Lyle. Here,” he said as he handed him the laptop. “This will describe things better than I ever will be able to in this lifetime.”
With a sudden click of a button, the two men came up on the screen once again and the conversation began where he’d stopped it the time Broots had come storming into his office.
“He can’t be our father. How could he? She was married to you and she only had an affair with one other person,” Lyle continued.
“I thought so too until I found a letter to Sydney that your mother had written less than a month before her supposed suicide, supposed murder, in the elevator,” he started. “Through the Centre grapevine, I had heard that there might be such a thing, and found it as I was looking through Sydney’s desk while they were on vacation - to see if what I had heard was indeed true.”
He handed Lyle the crumpled up piece of paper. And, immediately he began to read it. His expression grew saddened as he starred blankly at the yellowed piece of paper.
“What are you going to do?” he asked as he finally looked back up at the man he’d thought was his father.
“I’m not sure,” the older man admitted. “But I do know one thing, you and Miss Parker are not my children.”
With that, the screen went blank. And, following that, was a long silence.
“You’re Miss Parker’s father?” Jarod asked looking bewildered.
He nodded.
“I think you know what to do, Sydney. You have to tell her.”
“Why me?” he quivered. “I don’t think I can.”
“Well it’s better that she hear it from you than from me. I’m her husband, but I think it would be better if you told her yourself.”
Again he nodded, starring blankly down at the floor.
“She needs you now more than ever. Comfort her, assure her that everything’s going to be alright. Be a father to her, like you should have been when she was younger. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go visit the someone who was the real reason for our coming to Mexico. This could greatly help us with Catherine’s plan, but I don’t want to bore you with the details now, so I’ll tell you about it later. Just do what you have to do and I will do what I need to do.”
And, with that, the two men went their separate ways and Sydney went once more into the room where the sick Miss Parker lay. “Broots will you excuse us for a second,” he commanded his colleague. “I need to talk to Miss Parker alone.”
Without any sort of hesitation, Broots left the room. He knew that when Sydney used that tone of voice, he’d better do what he said, because what would be said between the two adults, was obviously none of his business.
As soon as Broots closed the door behind him, Sydney immediately drew closer to her, pulled up a chair next to her bed, and grabbed a hold of her hand. “There’s something I think you need to know, Parker,” he started.
“What is it Syd?” she breathed, her hazel eyes, looking directly into his - trying to figure out what it was that he was trying to say.
“I... I’m...”
He took a deep breath and began again.
“You learned a long time ago that you weren’t Mr. Parker’s daughter, right?”
“Yeah, I figured that out a couple years ago. What happened? Do you know who my father is?”
“I do,” he admitted. “Actually, I’ve known it for a long time, but couldn’t bring myself to telling you. Even when you did find out that Mr. Parker wasn’t your father... I wanted to tell you, really I did... but I didn’t know how to.”
She starred blankly at him. “What are you trying to say, Sydney? Who’s my father?”
He took a long deep breath and finally, muttered, “I am.”
“No, there’s no way. You were only my mother’s psychologist, nothing more. Right?”
“I... your mother and I had a relationship before I started my research at the Centre, but what I didn’t realize was that she had married to one of the Centre executives, until much later, after I’d joined the Centre staff. By then, I had no choice but to stay, by that time, I knew so many of the things and projects that the Centre wanted kept secret, so I had no choice but to stay. We met up several months later, went on several ‘business meetings’ or so the Centre believed. We ended up rekindling the old flame, and, as they say, the rest is history.”
“Are you one-hundred percent positive that you’re my father?”
“Absolutely, there’s no doubt in my mind that I’m your father. Your mother even had two birth certificates made up. One naming Mr. Parker as your father, and the real one, naming me as your father. See for yourself,” he instructed, handing her the two documents.
“How do I know that you’re not lying? And how do I know that you didn’t make this birth certificate up, along with this whole story?”
“You know me better than that, Parker, I wanted to tell you sooner, but was afraid of what your ‘father’ might have done, so I chose to keep it a secret. That was until I received this in my secure e-mail...” he insisted as he handed her the lap top. “See for yourself, Parker. I wouldn’t lie to you about this, and you know that. If this doesn’t prove it to you, I don’t know what will.”
With a shaking hand, she gently lifted up the top of the lap top and looked at the video clip. The scene played itself out right in front of her. She watched closely as she took in every word that was spoken. Her mouth hung open as the man she’d always thought was her father, and her brother, discussed what to do about this predicament.
Once again, a small tear, rolled down her cheek as she uttered “Daddy? That’s not my father. All of these years, I’ve been lied to; my whole life is a lie.”
“I’m here, and I will never lie to you again. I will never be able to express how sorry I am for all that has happened to you. Your mother loved you very much that’s why she wrote me and told me that she was pregnant with you. In fact, that letter that they have in their hands there, is the letter Catherine wrote to me. I wanted to tell you the real idea of your paternity, but your mother convinced me not to, for fear that if Mr. Parker were to find out, he’d do something to either, you, her, or me. So I promised her I’d tell no one. Now the time is come when I knew you should know the truth. They’d already found out, so I knew that I had to tell you before they had a chance to.”
She didn’t say a thing, but as the saying goes, actions speak louder than words, for at that moment, she reached up, hugged him, and whispered into his ear, “I... Love... you Daddy.”
They hugged for a long time, letting all the years, and animosity between them melt away leaving only the love they’d had hidden inside, suddenly pour out in a mixture of emotion.
***
Chapter Twelve:
The entirety of the time Jarod spent in the elevator, he had used to figure out what exactly it was that he had wanted to say, and what he wanted to do once he met her again. But, the moment he saw her after all of those years, he realized words couldn’t describe how he felt. After all of the anguish he’d been through and all of the hurt, the moment he’d stepped into her hospital room, he felt a rush of emotions overcome his body.
He walked slowly, and gingerly over to the limp body lying on the bed, taking time to compose his thoughts once more. Her skin was a ghostly white and her body, unmoving. She was as beautiful as he had imagined all of his life, and hadn’t aged a day since the picture that he carried everywhere with him in his wallet, was taken.
The steady, rhythmic beat of the monitors was almost soothing. Every-so-often, he could he could hear her breathing through the ventilator. The sight of her like that, hurt him deeply. He felt that if it weren’t for him, she would not be in that situation. If he hadn’t been born, their life would have been so much different. The only thought that crossed his mind was that all of what was happening with Miss Parker and his mother probably would have never taken place and the two of them, plus Kyle, Emily, and Major Charles would be alive and in good health.
Quietly, he pulled up a chair beside her bed and picked up her hand into his. The woman before him had been in a coma for several days since she was found in her apartment, on her bathroom floor, in a pile of blood. The many lacerations on her wrists and neck were healing up nicely, but he still couldn’t shake the feeling that if it weren’t for him, she’d be fine.
“I don’t know if you can here me or not,” he whispered into her ear as he leaned down to her and ran his fingers through her hair, “but I’m your son - Jarod. I finally found you after all of these years; I just wish that you could hear me and talk to me. There’s so much I want to tell you as soon as you wake up, so please wake up. I’ve missed you so much...”
He ran his hand through her beautiful, curly, blond hair once more. It hadn’t changed either since he’d last seen her. He’d dreamed of the day he’d meet her again, but he’d always imagined it as a happy occasion. And this, was far from happy. All that he could do was to talk to her an hope that she heard him in her comatose state. He’d finally found his mother, so why did he feel so sad?
The answer was quite simple really; he’d dreamed of the day he’d see her again for so long, but all he could see now was a frail body in a hospital bed, not the woman he’d dreamed of seeing since he was young. She lay lifeless as he continued talking to her.
“Mother, it’s me, Jarod. Please wake up. I need to know what happened to you and why I couldn’t find you for so long. Whoever did this to you is going to pay, I promise you that. All I need you to do is to squeeze my hand, just a tiny bit, so that I know you’re OK. Please do that for me.”
He looked down at her hand. But, still it remained motionless and limp, just like the rest of her body.
“I’m sorry sir, but she needs her rest,” a tiny ICU nurse told him as she came in to check on her monitors. “Visiting hours are almost over, but you can come in again tomorrow and see her if you wish.”
He nodded - understanding, let go of her hand and got up from his position beside her. He pulled the chair away from the bed once more and placed it in it’s rightful spot in the room. Finally, he started away, but not before grabbing a hold of her hand once more. All he wanted was to touch her again before he had to leave her, but at that very second, he felt her lightly clench his hand.
He quickly turned his head, looking directly at her. And, at that second, she slowly opened her sleepy eyes and looked at him.
“Mother, it’s me, Jarod,” he informed her as he kneeled down beside her bed once more and held her hand ever more tightly.
“Jarod?” she suddenly breathed.
“Shh... don’t talk; I’m here. I’m not going to leave you again. Sydney and Miss Parker are downstairs, mom. You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this moment when I’d be able to talk to you again.”
“Jarod,” he breathed again; “Jarod, how I’ve missed you.”
He could feel the tears welling up in his eyes once more as leaned in even closer to her so that he was sure he heard every word she uttered.
“Who did this to you mother?” he suddenly asked as he remembered why it was that she was in the hospital and in this condition.
“I... I don’t know,” she admitted.
“Is there any description you can give mother, anything? This is very important, I need you to remember.”
“A man... it was a man.”
“A man? What did he look like?”
“I’m not sure... umm... he was missing a thumb.”
“Missing a thumb? Do you remember anything else about the man? Hair color, eye color... anything?”
“He had brown hair...”. Her breathing was shallow.
“I think you’d better go, sir, like I said, your mother needs her rest.”
This time he heeded the woman’s advice and headed out the door. But not before telling her that he loved her. And as he headed toward the elevator once more, his heart was full of joy. He’d wanted to shout the world how happy he was, but decided against it, remembering that he was in a hospital. But he couldn’t help but let a smile cross his face. For once in his life, he was truly happy. Everything was going right and he was one step closer to starting Catherine’s plan, and ultimately bringing his family back together again.
. . .
When Jarod came back to Miss Parker’s room, he expected to see the two adults crying in each other’s arms, but he was astonished when he beheld quite the opposite.
Broots was once again back in the room and laughing along with the others. It had been the first time in a long while that he’d seen his wife’s beautiful smile. The only time she’d been truly happy before this was on their honeymoon; where obviously, he’d made her very happy.
For him too, this day was probably the best day he’d had, with the exception of their wedding day and honeymoon, in a very long time. To see her so happy, made him feel so much better, and that much more optimistic about what the future had in store for them all.
He stood in the doorway, watching them, for about ten minutes, not wanting to break up the great deal of fun they were having, but after a bit, a Jacque came up behind him and tapped him on the back. Immediately, he spun around.
“I don’t want to break up the excitement that seems to be going on in there, but your wife needs her rest, and visiting hours are over, so you need to tell them to go on home; they can visit her in the morning when visiting hours open again. I’m sorry to break up the reunion,” she repeated, “but in her condition...”
“I understand, I’ll tell them,” he whispered. “Thank you... for all that you’ve done.”
“It’s not over yet, Jarod, you and your wife still have a long road ahead. It may not be easy.”
“I fully understand. But without you, she wouldn’t be here today for this reunion and neither would our baby, and for that I thank you,” he told her as he entered the room to break up the party that was going on in there.
After the woman left, Jarod went in and explained the situation to them.
“It’s been a long day, Jarod, why don’t you and Broots head to the hotel and get some rest. I’ll stay here with my daughter.”
“Sydney,” he protested, “I can’t let you do that. She’s my wife and the mother of our baby. I told her I wouldn’t leave her and I’m sticking to that promise.”
“She’s my daughter and the mother of my grandchild and we’ve been separated for far too long. Besides, you look like crap, a little rest would do you some good. I know you haven’t slept in three days and there’s nothing you can do for her when you’re as tired as you are. I promise you, she’ll be here when you come to see her in the morning. I won’t let anything happen to her.”
Jarod listened to what the man had to say, but still refused to leave. He wasn’t about to break his promise to her.
“Jarod, I’m fine,” Miss Parker breathed. “You can stop worrying about me now; I’m in a hospital. You need to stop worrying about me and start thinking about yourself for once in your life. I want you to go get some sleep, please. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“I’m afraid rest still isn’t an option, not for tonight at least. I’m either going to be here with you or be upstairs, and since Sydney insists on staying here with you, I can stay upstairs tonight.”
“What are you talking about, Jarod? What’s upstairs?” Sydney asked, confused.
Jarod said nothing, only stood in the doorway, motionless; contemplating whether or not he should tell them the truth.
“Jarod,” Sydney pressed. “What’s up stairs?”
After a slight moment of silence, he decided to tell him the truth. They’d had their family reunion so why couldn’t they know about his?
“It’s my mother,” he blurted excitedly. “I’ve finally found her.”
With each word spoken, his face lit up even more and more. He and Major Charles had been searching for her for such a long time now and they could tell that he was truly happy.
“I should probably be going. I don’t want her to be alone upstairs anymore. I’ll see you in the morning, Parker, I love you. Sydney,” he said turning to his old friend, “watch my wife and don’t you let anything happen to her.”
“I won’t. Nothing will happen to her. Now go, be with your mother, she needs you now,” Sydney shot back.
And with that, they all went their separate ways.
“Sydney... Daddy,” Miss Parker began after the others had left the room. “Thank you for coming, and for telling me the truth after all these years, you’ll never know how much this means to me.”
“Parker, I couldn’t stand not knowing where my only daughter was, I had to look for you or I would have gone completely insane. It was nothing, believe me, your my daughter and there’s nothing that will ever change that. Now get some rest, you and the baby need it. You’ve had a long day and a good rest will help your condition dramatically.”
“What if I’ve hurt my baby?” she asked worried. Sydney could tell that she was deathly afraid of the answer. “I don’t know if I could live with myself if I did.”
“Shh...” he whispered softly as he leaned down, brushed her hair away from her face, and kissed her forehead, “sleep. That’s all that matters right now. Like I said, it’s the best you can do right now and no matter what happens we will always be there for you.”
“Thank you, Sydney,” she said, sounding a little less worried.
It wasn’t long before Miss Parker finally gave in to the beckoning of sleep, let all of her fears subside, and fell into a peaceful dream world of soulful bliss.
Visions flashed before her eyes. Visions of her family - Sydney, Jarod, baby Faith, and herself, having a great time, and not under the oppression of the Centre. She somehow knew this was what the future had in store for her. Suddenly, she was overcome by excruciating pain.
***
Chapter Thirteen:
Sydney sat, drearily, watching his pregnant daughter peacefully slumber, occasionally letting his mind wander about the person in the other room who he would undoubtedly have to see in the morning. He’d let Jarod come down to his wife and he’d go up to see his mother. He looked at his watch; the time was 1:30 in the morning, he had exactly six and a half hours until visiting hours began once again and he could go see the beautiful woman laying upstairs, on a hospital bed, in the care of her son, Jarod.
It wasn’t too long before he lay his head gently on the bed beside his sleeping daughter, and drifted off to sleep.
He awoke several hours later to the beeping of his watch alarm and watched the rising sun through the hospital window. Had he really drifted off to sleep? He didn’t think he would ever get some sleep, but eventually, he knew that he would have to.
Jarod came down a couple minutes later looking as dreary as ever. Sydney knew he hadn’t gotten any sleep that night either, so he volunteered to go get him a cup of coffee while Jarod stayed with his wife.
Too tired to argue, Jarod consented and sat in the chair next to his wife’s bed. She was still sleeping and he didn’t dare wake her, because of all she’d been through within the past several days - the morning sickness, nausea and now this; he knew that sleep was something she desperately in need of at this point.
She mumbled some words in her sleep and rolled onto her side, pulling out the IV that was feeding her, but Jarod, in his exhausted state, paid no mind and drifted off to sleep himself. His head slowly sank to his chest, but before he could drift off completely, he was suddenly jolted awake, by the sound of his wife moaning even louder. This time he could tell it was a moan of extreme pain, and immediately, got up and ran to find the doctor.
He had been a doctor in more than one of his pretends, but this time, he was going to be more careful, afraid that he might do something to her that would ruin they’re lives, and he knew he would never be able to forgive himself if that were to happen.
What was wrong with her? Why did something always happen when things were finally starting to look better? Why was there always something that happened in they’re relationship to make life even harder? These and many more questions flashed through his mind as he sought to find Jacque.
Beads of sweat poured from his brow once more as panic overtook his body. He was no longer tired, but once the adrenaline quit pumping, he knew that he probably would be too tired to even move. For now, he know he had to keep going.
Why was this always happening to her? For once, he hoped that he would be he suffering instead of her. She didn’t deserve to be the one that something always happened to. With the death of her mother when she was just 12, the ulcer she’d had years earlier, the murder of her former lover Thomas, a gun shot to the back, and this ulcer; what other complication could she possibly be having now?
“Something’s wrong!” he cried to Jacque as he ran up to her in the hallway.
“I think something’s wrong with the baby. Help me, please,” he begged.
She ran back with him to Miss Parker’s hospital room and when they got there, they found her awake and sitting up. She looked fine, a little concerned, but completely fine. Jarod peered at his wife, puzzled. He knew he must have overreacted, but he couldn’t help but feel there was something wrong. Just then Sydney walked in.
“What’s wrong?” he asked as he looked at the two panicked adults in the doorway. “You too look like you’ve just seen a ghost. What happened?”
“I guess... I guess I just overreacted. She was sleeping,” he began. “She moaned and I thought she was in pain, so... immediately I went for Doctor Kauffman, hoping she could do something to help her. I’m glad I was wrong, I don’t know what I would have done if there was something wrong. I’m so sorry for wasting your time, doctor. I should have thought more clearly, but I’m just so worried about her.”
“It’s OK,” the doctor assured him. “What you did is totally understandable and it actually happens more than you would think.”
She gave him a secret wink and touched his shoulder gently. “Your wife is going to be just fine and so is your baby. I got the results back,” she assured him as she pulled him back out into the hall, “and they look very promising. Although your baby seems to be growing as fast as it should at 28 weeks, all other aspects of the baby’s and mother’s health are perfect. You’re going to be the father of a perfectly healthy baby.”
“Thank you so much,” he sang nervously; so full of joy he felt he’d explode. He’d felt like a great weight had been lifted off of his shoulders and he could run around the hospital and exclaim to everyone there the glee he was feeling at that moment.
“I should probably to go tell my wife the good news ... and thank you again ... for all that you’ve done for us. You’ll never know how much you’ve helped us.” And with that, he went back into the room to tell her the wonderful news.
“The doctor just told me that you in the baby are going to be fine,” he repeated with a sigh of relief. “See, that’s exactly what I told you; I knew that everything would be alright. Nothing can happen to us.”
Just then, Willie and the rest of the Centre sweepers burst into the room. And immediately, Jarod knew that the last words he uttered, were definitely not true.
“There’s Jarod,” one of the sweepers yelled, “cuff him!”
All at once the three men pounced and stuck the handcuffs onto Jarod’s wrists. And spinning him around, they put him face to face to Mr. Parker as he slowly, and calmly entered the room behind them.
“Welcome back to the Centre, Jarod,” he said slyly. “Angel, what are you doing here? I heard some rumors circulating in the Centre that you might be carrying Jarod’s child. Is this true?” he smirked as he pulled out his 9 mm and pointed it directly at her. “Don’t take this personally, Angel, but I can’t have you helping Jarod let alone giving birth to his baby, it just won’t work. You have to understand, I don’t want to do this but I have to... so sorry.”
Suddenly, Jarod broke free from the three men holding him went after Mr. Parker with all his might. Nothing was going to happen to his wife or the baby, he’d promised her that and he wasn’t about to let her down.
Willie and the others tried to pry them apart as Jarod profusely beat the man to a pulp and, ultimitly, broke his nose. He finally backed off after Mr. Parker had fallen to the ground, unconscious.
Now Jarod had a gun pointed at him.
“Don’t ... make me do this Jarod,” Willie stuttered. “But I will pull this trigger if you move any closer.”
“You can hurt me, but I will never let you hurt my wife. You can pull that trigger but you will never ever lay a hand on her!” he promised as he continued walking toward him.
“Jarod I’m warning you...” he roared. “Don’t make me shoot you, I don’t need this on my hands, and personally, I don’t want to see you dead, but I might just have to shot if you step any closer.”
“Is that so?” he exclaimed as he suddenly, lunged at the man and attempted to wrestle the gun out of his hands, but at that same moment, the gun went off. Followed by complete silence.
Everyone in the room looked around in shock. The gun was now in Jarod’s possession and Mr. Parker lay bleeding on the floor - coughing up blood. Not from the broken nose he’d sustained from the fight with Jarod, but from the bullet that had hit him in the stomach.
His wide eyes stared up at them, unable to believe what had just happened. For the first time in her life, Miss Parker could see the terror in her “father’s” eyes. For so long, she’d wanted to be like him. He’d always known what he wanted and wasn’t afraid to go for it. But she now knew that he was nothing more than a cowardly brat who would stop at nothing to get his way. And she prayed that she would never be like him.
“Angel,” he breathed, as he peered up at her as he lay there, coughing up more and more blood.
“Don’t call me that,” she barked coldly. “I’m not your Angel, how dare you not tell me who my real father was. You never loved me and now I’m telling you that the feeling is mutual. I hope you burn in hell. I took a bullet for you and almost died because of it, but as I look back, you never did anything even remotely like that for me. If you were really my father you would have acted like it.”
Tears streamed down her face at the realization that he really wasn’t her father and that most of her life she’d been living a lie.
“But baby...” he groaned in pain. “I love you like you are my daughter and that’s what counts.”
“You never have, and you know that. If you truly did, you wouldn’t have even drawn up the plan to get rid of my child. You were never my father and I was never your daughter. Thanks for letting me live a lie, my life was just peachy! You never stopped trying to make my life as bad as you possibly could, not even hesitating to hide the truth about my mother - your wife, who you wanted to kill. Well guess what? I am going to finish my mother’s plan and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
“You’re insane. You know it’ll never work. You’ll die just as your mother did because the Triumvirate won’t stand for it.”
“If so, I’ll see you in hell, but we both know the Triumvirate has no power over me. The Centre, Triumvirate and all those other organizations associated with them are going to meet you there.” She knew the stress she was feeling wasn’t good for the baby but this was something she’d had bottled up for most of her life and all that anger and betrayal had made her feel that much worse.
“Good bye, Mr. Parker. Hope you have fun where you’re going because you’ll be there for a long time. Maybe you can say hi to good old Mr. Raines, you know - the man who helped you murder my mother.”
“I loved you...” she said coldly, “I just wish that feeling was mutual.”
With that, he drew his last breath and his body went limp. The three sweepers stood there, unsure of what to do. They still had their guns, but so did Jarod. And now, he’d gotten out of the handcuffs.
Immediately, Jarod when after the men, and in one swift motion, he knocked down one of them to the floor. Rushing to his aid, Broots and Sydney attempted to keep the other two sweepers away from. Once the three men where under control and semi-constrained, Miss Parker phoned the police.
It was only about two minutes before the police arrived, took the three Centre Sweepers away and sent the coroner to get rid of Mr. Parker’s body. All this time, Broots and Sydney kept watch over them as Jarod held his wife’s trembling body.
The man she’d held in such high esteem for so long was now dead. Although she’d realized he really wasn’t her father and that he hadn’t deserved her trust and love, she couldn’t help but realize that she would never be able to see him again. The man she’d grown up thinking was her father, was now gone forever.
“I can’t believe this,” she wept. “Why am I crying? I should be happy that he’s gone. He can’t control our lives anymore and we’re practically free. So why do I feel like this?”
“You thought he was your father for so long and it’s impossible for anyone to let go of the disappointment you’ve felt you’re entire life in thinking that you weren’t living up to his expectations. You’re strong and we will get through this. He has no power over you... us anymore and we’re finally free to live our lives the way we’ve always wanted to. Don’t you see? We now have the chance to expose the Centre like the Jew’s exposed the horrendous acts of the NAZIs in the concentration camps at the end of World War Two. And all the secrets and lies of both the Centre and Triumvirate will finally be revealed to the outside world. Once Lyle is eliminated, the Centre has no more power and it will then crumble along side the Triumvirate. Leaving us all to be able to live our own lives the way we were always meant to.”
