Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story 
Chapter or Story
Part 9
by N.R. Levy
Damon watched the activity at the hospital from the hotel room he had secured across the street. From here, he could see the plainclothes police officers walking to and from the parking lot as well as the uniformed officers who kept a silent track around the hospital perimeter.
Clearly, Jarod had told the police who he was. They were nervous. He had called the hospital to check on Miss Parker's condition, and when they refused to give him any information, Damon knew that either she was alive and they were afraid he was coming for her, or she had died and they didn't want him to know so he would not disappear.
Of course, Jarod knew better. He knew the attack on his blue-eyed nemesis had been an invitation, and the Pretender would not refuse that meeting. His pride, his desire to help those who needed help would not allow it.
He wondered again at the strange connection between Jarod and Miss Parker. He knew, thanks to his Centre contacts, that they had been friends as children, but bitter enemies in adulthood. So why then had his study of Jarod proved her to be his Achilles heel? There was no one, not even a member of his family whose loss would affect his adversary as deeply as hers in Damon's estimation.
Well, another problem for another time. He had to make sure his final preparations were in order. Tonight, it would end - one way or another.
****
Emily woke with a start, panic setting in because she did not know where she was. It took several moments and a couple of deep breaths for her to realize she was still at the hospital in San Diego. She had fallen asleep on the couch outside of Parker's room in ICU. A quick glance at her watch told her it was now nearly 7 a.m.
Standing and stretching, she moved to the window of the room, peeking in to see if anything had changed. It was instantly obvious that nothing had. Parker still lay motionless, and Jarod still sat beside her, willing her to live.
The silence between she and her brother was torturing her, and Emily was not sure how much more she could endure. She needed Jarod's forgiveness even if she didn't deserve it. There was no denying she had caused this, and she understood why it was he could not tell her that everything was going to be all right. Still, she longed for the feeling of his strong arms hugging her, reassuring her. Funny, she thought, how quickly she had become accustomed to that.
Quietly, she entered the room. She slowly made her way to Jarod's side, sinking down to her knees next to his chair. His eyes remained on the unconscious form in the bed, but she noticed a change in his breathing. For a moment, Emily was almost afraid he was going to send her away.
"It wasn't your fault, Emily."
The words came out low, almost to low for her to hear, but she clung to them as they registered inside of her. Cautiously, she leaned forward, letting her head come to rest on his shoulder.
"I never should have called her."
"You never could have stopped her. Nothing stops her, at least..."
Emily heard the emotion in his voice as his words trailed off. She let her arm snake around him, trying to give him some kind of comfort.
"What are you going to do, Jarod?"
"Find him."
"Jarod, she wouldn't want you to do that."
Silence was the only response to that comment, and she knew that inside, he knew she was right.
"I have to stop him."
"She needs you now, Jarod. Let the police -"
"He won't let the police find him. He'll come for me, and when he does, I have to go."
Now Emily sat back from him, moving so that she could look him in the face. He tried to keep his eyes averted from his sister's, keeping them focused on Parker instead. To counteract his attempt, Emily reached up and put her hands on his face, turning it so that he had to face her.
"What am I supposed to tell her when she wakes up if you aren't here? What do I say if you don't come home?"
Jarod sat there for a long time, looking from his sister to his - what? What word described Parker when it came to him? Friend? Enemy? Or was there more? He thought he knew, but his heart wouldn't let him say it out loud. Hell, he couldn't even think it. Right now the only thing he knew was that Parker was hurt because he had not taken care of her, and he had to make sure Damon could never, never get near her again.
"Tell her I said goodbye."
Emily was stunned by his words. She opened her mouth to argue, but her voice got stuck in her throat. Had he really just said that? Suddenly, and for the first time, Emily felt anger toward her brother.
"You want me to tell her what? You selfish, hypocritical bastard! She came here to save you. She's lying there because she wanted to help you, to help us. She deserves better than for you to just go get yourself killed as a way of saying thank you!"
Emily hadn't realized she was screaming until she heard her words echoing in her head. She also hadn't realized that she had struck out at him, or that Jarod had reached for her, his strong hands keeping her arms locked against her sides. And only now, with the string of near-curses out of her mouth did she know that she was crying.
Jarod saw that she was beginning to calm down, and he reached out, pulling Emily toward him.
"I'm sorry, Emily. I'm sorry I left you alone so long. I'm sorry I made you think it was your fault. Please, don't do that to yourself."
"But it was, it was, and now you're going off after him and I might - I might lose both of you, Jarod. I don't think I can handle that."
Emily dissolved against him then, her tears turning to full-out sobs, and her body shaking against his. No, she couldn't lose her brother, or her friend, and she didn't know what she could do to protect either of them.
"I have to go, Emily. He'll come after her. He'll do it just to spite me. I can't let him hurt her again."
Jarod pushed himself back, setting Emily at arms length so he could look at her.
"I can't let that happen."
She hated it, and hated that there was nothing she could do to stop him, but Emily nodded, letting him know that she understood.
"He'll contact me when he's ready, of that I'm certain. Until then, I'll be here. After that, I'm counting on you to take care of her for me. Can you do that?"
Again Emily nodded, and glancing over her shoulder, she let her eyes fall on Parker. As she watched her friend, Jarod's hand reached out and took the sleeping woman's in his own.
"She'll be all right, Jarod. She has to be."
Emily didn't need to look at her brother to hear the tears in his voice.
"Yes. She has to be."
****
Sydney had been stunned by Sam's phone call, and though he couldn't imagine what it was that made the sweeper sound so frantic, the mention of Miss Parker's name was all it had taken for the shrink to grab Broots away from his computer and race to the car.
As they drove to the location Sam had given them, Broots could feel the concern coming from his friend. He hadn't even told him what had happened, only that Miss Parker needed them.
Clearly, Miss Parker was involved in too many dangerous things right now. The search for Damon, and, if he and Sydney were right, her search for her real brother, not to mention the continuous hunt for Jarod were all placing strain on her. Remembering the way she had grabbed her stomach yesterday, Broots wondered if she was sick again.
To try and distract himself from those thoughts, Broots tried to solve the mystery of the hospital records he had searched earlier today. Angelo's files were clearly incomplete. Test results were missing, and a doctor's note had been deleted. He could not be certain if it had been Miss Parker or the Centre who had done that, but it further added to Broots' suspicions that Mr. Lyle had somehow altered the genetics tests done two years ago in order to steal Angelo's place in the Parker family.
Broots had also stopped by the lab that morning in order to try and gage Gus. He hated to think that someone he trusted had betrayed him, worse, betrayed Miss Parker, but this was the Centre and he knew that few people's loyalties could be counted on. The lab technician had given nothing away, but Broots realized he was the only one who could have altered the tests for Lyle.
Sydney slammed the car into park as he reached the destination Sam had given to him. It took the both of them less than a second to realize that the place was one of those from the list of potential hiding places Broots had compiled regarding Angelo.
Once inside, they found the main room was nearly empty save for a chair near another heavy metal door. That door was open, and so the two men headed there.
Sam was sitting on the floor, Angelo's head cradled in his lap. The room had been torn apart, every stick of breakable contents smashed into pieces. Sydney immediately raced to his protégé, sensing the deep emotional pain that Angelo was in. Broots walked behind Sam, leaning close to the sweeper.
"Sam, w-what happened?"
"The kid freaked. He tore the room apart and started screaming that Angel was dying."
Sydney reached out and stroked Angelo's hair, trying to soothe him. He raised an eyebrow at Sam.
"Angel as in Miss Parker?"
"Do you know anyone else he calls that?"
Broots felt panic begin to build inside of him. If Angelo could feel Miss Parker dying, then -
"Oh, God. She didn't say where she was going. Does he know where she is?" Sam shrugged at the technician's words.
"Don't know. He's not exactly big on words, but I thought maybe, Sydney, you might know a way to reach him."
"I can try."
Gently, Sydney took Angelo from Sam, bringing the man into his arms. He rocked the damaged young man back and forth, creating a soothing rhythm he had used year after year to calm Angelo down.
"Angelo, it's Sydney. I know that you're very, very upset right now, and that you're worried about Miss Parker."
"Angel...Angel in trouble. Dying..."
"Do you know where she is, Angelo? Can you help us find her?"
"Angelo find sister - save Angel."
The fact that he said those words aloud spoke volumes about the trust he felt in the three men surrounding him. His sister had told him that it was a secret that no one could know, only now her life was in danger, and he needed their help to help her. He could feel their concern, even their love for her, and it was that sense that told him to let them inside.
"Angelo," Sydney continued in a soft, gentle voice, "can you tell us where she is?"
"Water - by the water with Jarod."
****
Jarod held his cell phone in his hands, trying again to decide whether or not to call Sydney. He knew the old man would be worried about Parker, and that if he did call, Sydney would do his best to keep the Centre away. But could he do it? Jarod simply couldn't allow them close to her right now. She was too vulnerable, far too easy prey for Lyle or Raines or anyone who might want to make sure she didn't recover.
Deciding again that it was best not to call, he began to put the phone away when it's ringing stopped his action. A knot in his stomach told him who the caller was. He had been waiting all day for the call to come.
"Hello?"
"So, how's the little woman?"
"Damon."
"You didn't answer my question."
"You didn't really expect me to, did you?"
"Come, come, Jarod. I didn't mean to play rough, but, you know, she doesn't exactly inspire one to be gentle, does she?"
"What the hell do you want from me?" The words came through gritted teeth, and Jarod felt his hand tightening around the arm of the chair.
"I want your blood, Jarod. I want it in exchange for mine."
****
Emily had not wanted to leave the hospital, but Jarod had insisted she take the time to go home and shower and change because he didn't know when he would have to leave. She thought that meant he wouldn't leave before she got back, but when she returned to the room, his chair was empty.
She scanned the room, wondering if he was simply someplace else. Then the nurse walked in, and Emily turned toward her.
"Excuse me. Have you seen my brother?"
"Oh, yes, miss. He told me to tell you that he left something on the bedside table for you, and to take good care of his friend."
Emily felt instantly nauseous as she watched the nurse leave. After a moment, she made her feet move and she headed toward the table. On it sat Jarod's cell phone and a book. It was called "The Devil's Providence."
She saw an envelope sticking inside of the book and opened it to where it fell open. The envelope had her name written on it and she opened it, pulling free two pieces of paper with Jarod's handwriting on them.
"Emily, I'm sorry to leave without saying goodbye, but I had to go. I'll do my best to get home. Just in case, this is a safe place for you to go, you and Parker. She'll be able to get well there, and she'll find some of the answers she needs. I love you, Jarod."
She looked at the second sheet of paper, and found an address written on it in upstate New York. As she was returning the sheets to the envelope, her eyes fell on a passage in the open pages of the book.
"And the hero looked into the Devil's eyes, and wondered if he was strong enough to do what had to be done. Could he vanquish the monster from the world, protecting those he loved from the evil it spread over them like a dangerous, poisonous blanket? Then he looked into the eyes of the angel who had guided him, and he knew - to die trying was better than to live knowing he had failed."
Emily felt her heart tighten, and she would have dissolved completely into tears had a sound not caught her attention and forced her to look toward the bed.
Parker's eyes were open.
"Jarod?" The word came weakly, barely audible and had Emily not been standing so close, she would have missed it. Quickly, she moved to lean closer to her friend, her hand reaching for Parker's to give it a reassuring squeeze.
"He isn't here right now, Parker, but he has been. He's been here every moment."
"Can't go."
"Can't go where, Parker?"
"He can't go after...please, stop him."
Emily watched as Parker's eyes closed again, and though she felt full of relief at this hopeful sign that Parker would recover, her fear for her brother grew to new proportions. Knowing she had to do something, Emily picked up the hospital phone and dialed the operator.
"Yes, I need the to get the number for the San Diego Police Department. I need to reach a Detective Hanson."
****
Lyle's rage had rarely been pushed to the breaking point since his reinstatement at the Centre, but he knew he was in danger of doing something very, very stupid out of little more than anger. The loss of Angelo was infuriating, but he had to be careful. If anyone suspected why he had really done it, his position here could be very precarious, and he needed to keep the veil drawn over his true motivations.
At the moment, the young sweeper responsible for his dark mood cowered before him, trying to explain why it was that his prize prisoner was now gone, in the custody of "unknown persons."
For his part, Jake Barnes was trembling with fear. Mr. Lyle had a reputation, and he knew the man could kill him as easily as flicking a piece of lint off of his jacket if he wanted to. But he was more afraid of Sam. Sam would not kill him, he would torture him until he begged to be killed - and Jake would rather go quickly any day. So he kept to his story, that strangers had burst into the warehouse, seizing the prisoner and disappearing. Thankfully, the state of the freak's room at least made it look like a struggle had really occurred.
Lyle glared at the man, trying to decide what to do. Then, a thought occurred to him that made him smile.
That smile sent a shiver of fear through young Jake Barnes.
"Jake, I have a new assignment for you. A friend of mine I need you to find for me."
Nervously, Jake switched his weight from one foot to the other, and Lyle knew he had the man under his absolute control. Even if he failed in his mission, he would probably end up dead, which was just as well after the hideous mistake he'd made today.
"Who is it you want me to find, sir?" Fear in the voice - another good sign as far as Lyle was concerned.
"A man named Damon."
