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Chapter or Story 
Chapter or Story
Disclaimer: "The Pretender" and all it’s characters don’t belong to me, but to some wonderful people at NBC, who deserve promotions. Please don’t sue me, I am making no money from this. I just really enjoy the show. Also, the songs are owned by their respective artists, I don’t take credit for them.
Note: This is the continuation of "To Honor" (you should start with part one). I have chosen to turn it into a six part series, so look for the final story soon.
To Honor
part 5
"To Tolerate: Oh, Brother"
By Dede
The moon was already a few hours into its dance across a tinkling sky of snugly blue and comforting dark, when she came down the hall to the doorway. He was inside, staring down at the beautiful little babies fast asleep in their cribs. She moved silently into the room and smiled at the heart-warming sight. He was entranced by these two darling miracles barely two months old. She walked up behind him and slid her hands around his waist. He sighed, but didn’t turn from the visions in their beds to greet her.
"How are my sweet angels?" Emily whispered as she moved to his side and felt the safety of his arm around her.
"Just fine," Jarod whispered back. This is what he loved. The family he had longed for, even if it was at the expanse of an occasional unwelcome houseguest. Emily could sense his contentment and wished they could stay there, happy and peaceful. Her whole life she had needed a more stable family, but she had never imagined fate would turn the end of her quest to save her brother into a life of love and fulfillment with a family of her own.
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He fumbled around for the light switch, but found it didn’t work. In the shadows of the streetlight pooling on the floor, he set his keys and briefcase down on the kitchen counter and moved into the livingroom of his apartment.
The sudden force on his shoulder blade was first. Then came the muffled whispers and the fear swelling up inside. Lyle dug his fingers into the floor, trying to push himself from the rug. He didn’t feel the second blow, but rather heard the sickening crack on the back of his head.
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The metal and glass shined of money in Mr. Parker’s office, yet as his daughter entered she noticed his disturbed expression, while his poisonous wife wore her anger as if it were an amulet.
"You called us, Daddy?" Parker greeted her father and the troll. Sydney was close behind her; however, he remained silent.
"We have a problem, Angel. Lyle was taken from his apartment last night," Mr. Parker grimly reported.
"What!?"
"Are you sure he hasn’t just taken a few days to himself somewhere and forgotten to call in?" Sydney suggested. If Lyle had gone to see Emily and not set up an alibi, he was asking to get caught.
"Brigitte thought it was strange when he didn’t show up for the meeting this morning so she sent Sam over to find out what the problem was. He found the apartment in disarray," Mr. Parker explained. Miss Parker was on the same wavelength, she figured Emily had done this, but why the mess? It was an amateur move.
"Any suspects?" Miss Parker questioned as she sank into the cushions of a chair.
"Two. Jarod and Mr. Raines," Brigitte said walking around the desk and leaning against it. She was searching for any excuse to get Lyle out of the Centre; however, the kidnapping of an operative didn’t look good in the Towers’ eyes.
"Jarod wouldn’t have bothered Lyle," Miss Parker declared, forgetting momentarily whom she was speaking to.
"Why not?" Brigitte zeroed in on the statement. Sydney tightened his grip on the back of Miss Parker’s chair.
"Because.." Miss Parker stumbled, but Sydney caught her,
"Because it isn’t like him to make waves unless provoked. If Lyle wasn’t doing anything to anger Jarod, he had no motive to kidnap him." Good old Syd, always watching out for her. Parker made a mental note to thank him graciously later.
"Hate and Emily are good motives," Brigitte argued, crossing her arms.
"Not for Jarod," Sydney countered.
"Okay, so Raines. Do we have a clue where our wheezing friend is?" Miss Parker closed the Jarod matter.
"No." Mr. Parker sighed.
"Syd, looks like your pet will have to wait. I’m going after baby brother," Miss Parker announced as she stood to leave.
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The phone ringing woke Emily from her unscheduled nap. Her body covered by a white button-up shirt and tan cargo pants rolled lazily, but steadily over toward the night stand. The slight adrenaline kick had her hand clicking the cell-phone open before she managed to blink her eyes.
"Yeah." Emily yawned and looked at her watch, the whole time silently thanking her mother for taking care of the twins.
"Emily, it’s Parker. Is Lyle with you?" Parker’s tone was troubled as if a stone was thrown into the calm waters of her voice. Emily jerked up from the bed.
"What happened?"
"We don’t exactly know, but Lyle… he’s been taken from his apartment and…" Parker tried to explain.
"Any ransom? Clues? Suspicions?" Emily’s mind raced as she pushed the hair back from her face.
"Not really… clues are few. A messed up apartment, a small amount of Lyle’s blood on the carpet, but other than that. We…" Parker was cut-off.
"I’ll take care of it. Come to the house when you can." Emily hung up and sat very still for a moment. The fear crashing down on her in hot foamy waves. What if she lost him?
She may have floated down the stairs and into the livingroom, because the memory of the movements that brought her to Jarod was gone before she arrived. He was typing at his computer on the couch with a distracted look in his features.
"Who was that on the phone?" Jarod inquired casually, despite the nauseated feeling he had immediately after she walked in.
"Parker," Emily whispered.
"You should have told me. What did she want?" Jarod had now taken a hesitant glance at her expression.
"Jarod, Lyle’s in trouble. He’s been kidnapped. Raines probably has him stashed somewhere. Maybe if we found his group we could…" Emily tried to talk fast, knowing the gravity of what she was asking. Jarod sighed in relief.
"Lyle’s a slippery snake. He’s probably on his way home now and didn’t get a chance to call you yet." He began working again.
"You have to help me find him," Emily demanded. His lack of concern had shaken the shock out of her, now she was annoyed.
"No," Jarod said, however, he avoided her eyes. Emily removed the laptop by setting it on one end of the couch and grabbed her brother’s hands.
"He’s the father of your niece and nephew! So get off this couch…" She pulled with all her strength but only succeeded in bring him to the floor. Jarod held back laughter at her extraordinary effort and stood.
"I’m sorry, Emily, but I can’t," he declared.
"Why not?" she fumed.
"I have my reasons." Part of Jarod’s motive was to purposely make her angry, so Emily would focus instead of falling apart. The other part was a still strong sense of honor for his brother’s memory.
"Well, that isn’t good enough. Jarod, you ARE helping Lyle and I’m not taking no for an answer," Emily growled. Jarod studied her for a moment, then picked up his laptop and walked to the closet.
"Jarod, where are you going?" She followed and watched him rummage through it.
"Out," he answered over his shoulder.
"Where?" she asked in confusion. He turned and slid his leather jacket on.
"I can’t deal with this now."
"But…" she started. Jarod rubbed her arm down to the fingers and squeezed her hand.
"Don’t worry. He’s a Parker; he’ll be fine."
"Jarod!" He heard her yell as he closed the front door behind him.
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The sunburnt roadway rested with only the sound of his truck wheels and the memories of each tormented traveler to prove its existence. Time didn’t seem to be able to keep up with Jarod’s emotional speed, however, that never stopped Miss Parker.
"Pizza Hut," he answered his cell-phone.
"Jarod, this is no time for games," Parker’s voice scolded.
"Parker… first of all, there’s always time for games. Second, why are you calling?" ‘Same old Jarod, even after all the events of the past year,’ Parker shook her head.
"You know why." Her tone was firm and commanding… he interpreted worry.
"Lyle will be fine. Besides, despite his relationship with my sister, he’s still a Centre employee. Why don’t your people find him?" he asked.
"Please just see if you can give us a lead, Jarod," Parker begged him. Jarod began to feel the guilt of making her plead. She hated being in that position and he knew it.
"I already heard this from my dear sister, Parker."
He hung up and threw the cell-phone onto the passenger’s seat. Moving down the back road, he drove faster and faster as his thoughts festered. Jarod was angry and confused and worried and annoyed and frustrated and…
"Oh, God damn it!" he yelled to no one. Spinning the stirring-wheel, he nearly lost control of the truck as it did a U-turn in the middle of the road. Sighing harshly, Jarod considered where to start looking.
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"This is Sydney."
"Hello, Sydney, have you heard from Jarod?" Sydney was surprised but not shocked to hear from Margaret. They had spoken little, still she understood him and appeared wise in her observations.
"Not since Parker talked to him, which was a few hours ago." Sydney found his words brought on a pause in the conversation, which allowed him to hear what he presumed was Emily soothing one of the children in the background.
"I’m worried about him," Margaret confessed.
"I’ve never known Jarod to be so irrational, but I’m confident he’ll make the right decision," Sydney tried to assuage her concern.
"I know. I’m just trying to keep Emily glued together and watch the twins." Sydney could only imagine her distress, but she was a strong, capable woman with a mother’s heart and he thought of his own parents as he listened to her voice.
"Well, I believe Miss Parker will be on her way over soon. Would you like me to accompany her?"
"That would be a comfort," Margaret accepted his offer.
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Jarod approached a young man dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a gray flannel with his bandanna covering his red ponytail. He leaned against the corner of a building near the Rehoboth Bay of Delaware, looking around suspiciously.
"Hey, Jake," Jarod greeted his old friend, stopping in front of him.
"Jarod, my man. How’s the wild world of the fugitive?" Jake fired back. Jarod shrugged.
"No one shot me today." Jake nodded.
"Always good. Now what can I do for you?" he asked.
"Those heavies I asked about, where are they?"
"See that abandon building on the pier?" he gestured over his shoulder as he spoke, "Word is they’ve been setting up shop and your guy was brought in late last night."
"Thank you." Jarod took out his wallet and counted a few bills.
"Hey, what’s this guy to you, anyway?" Jake asked curiously while slipping the money into his pocket.
"He’s my sister’s favorite serial killer," Jarod grumbled. He was now focused on the building, seeing a few guards covering from the roof and one or two on the side exits.
"Boyfriend." Jarod glanced over at Jake benevolently.
"Something like that." Jake patted Jarod’s back and chuckled,
"I feel for you, man. I got three sisters." The comment brought a half-smile to Jarod’s features.
"Take care of yourself, Jake." They shook hands.
"You know me." Jake tipped his hat as he wandered toward his favorite bar down the street.
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"Ahh! I’m not telling you anything, so you can forget it, Raines," Lyle hissed at the doctor, or at least he thought he was speaking in the general direction of the man. With the hood on his head, he wasn’t really sure. Lyle hadn’t been able to figure out much since he woke up chained to the metal chair.
"You are not in… a position to argue…. Now what has become of… my research from Donotrase?"
"We assumed you had it!" Raines, frustrated with the answer, was about to order another torture session, when the outside guards were heard yelling.
"What’s going on?" Raines barked.
"Thomson? Karter?" the guard spoke into his radio. A minute elapsed, but no one came back.
"Go see… I want no interruptions," he ordered, "You know what… to do."
"Yes, sir," his assistance obeyed. Raines must have left then because the squeaking of his oxygen tank became distant and finally disappeared.
Suddenly the activity outside came inside with guns blasting and the angry confusion of men yelling. Lyle wanted to move, but the chain attached to his cuffs prevented it.
"Who the hel…" he squawked when behind him, he heard the clicking of a key unlocking the chain.
"Move, now," a voice puffed in his ear. Lyle took no time in running with the help of this lunatic who had stormed the place. At one point during their exit, Lyle thought his companion yelled but couldn’t be sure of anything except the return of fire a second later. When they fell against the side of a building, Lyle used the opportunity to speak.
"Could you take these handcuffs and hood off?" Jarod considered gagging him, however, deciding he had slightly better odds with Lyle unrestricted…
"Jarod!!! You? But why on this earth…?" Lyle was shocked and he couldn’t form the right words fast enough.
"Shut up," Jarod yelled while motioning toward his awaiting truck in the alley. They ran to the vehicle and jumped in.
"But…" Lyle started as he slammed his passenger door.
"Shut up or I’ll knock you out, right now!" Jarod hissed. Lyle actually cringed and fell back into the seat.
"Okay." Lyle glanced around as Jarod turned the engine over. Raines’ men had a van and Jarod knew they would be after him soon.
"Where are we…?"
"Quiet." Sure enough, the guards were coming down the street just behind the truck.
Jarod twisted and jerked the wheel as he sped down another alley, betting that the other side would offer a way out. As they emerged, he saw through the buildings a water outlet he had noticed on his scooting of the area. Pulling a 450-degree turn, so he was sure they would follow him, Jarod drove down a side street.
"Jeez! What is it with your family and cars?" Lyle yelped as he hit the door for the third time. Jarod would have laughed, unfortunately he was too deep in concentration. If he stopped at the wrong moment, Raines’ men would have time to slow down, but he if waited too long… well he hoped for Parker’s sake, Lyle was in condition to swim.
"Wait a minute, Jarod, you’re not…. Jarod! We’re headed straight for…!" Lyle tried to warn the crazy man next to him; however, the determined look to Jarod’s eyes told him speech was futile. Hoping there was enough weight in the back of the pick-up and not enough in the pursuers’ van, he checked the mirror. They were gunning to about 80mph. Now how to deal with this? At the end of the street, Jarod removed his foot from the gas pedal and spun the truck around the corner. The shocked van driver swerved and, taking the turn too sharp, sailed over the guardrail...
"Yes!" Lyle exclaimed once he realized what had happened. He even went so far as to pat Jarod’s shoulder twice. Jarod was paying no attention, though. He was driving back to the outlet, trying to get a view of the wreck. It wasn’t until he saw the van had stayed right-side up and was resting half in the water at the bottom of the bank with angry men climbing out of it, that he glanced at Lyle; a smug smile across his face.
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Despite the brilliant escape, Jarod continued to be silent, checking the mirrors every so often to make sure there were no cars he recognized.
"They’re not following us. I think you dissuaded them," Lyle commented, careful not to make it sound too much like a complement.
"I don’t care. I don’t want to talk to you, Lyle. If it was up to me, there would have been a single gunshot through the window and that would have ended this conversation before it began."
"Why…?" Lyle started to ask, but lost the heart to do so. Maybe he didn’t want to know, especially if… if it was out of Jarod’s bottomless pit of kindness. How had he even known Lyle was in trouble? Parker? Emily?
Jarod concentrated on the road, he had successfully ignored his unwelcome companion so far. A few more hours to go and he could get, farther than the mere foot that separated them, away from Lyle.
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Driving up to the house, they were strangely quiet. Sydney and Miss Parker had been discussing the possibilities Raines had outside the Centre, her conversation with Jarod earlier, and even the twins, but when the house came into view, neither really knew what to say. The home was a comfortable looking farmhouse with a mowed lawn and flowers snuggled in their beds. The fence was short stockade with a newly repaired gate.
Walking up the little path to the wrap-around porch, Parker hoped the stillness was a good sign. While Sydney brought their bags out of the trunk, she knocked with a quick punching motion, then listened to the soft steps approaching and the heavy door’s locks clicking.
"Hello dear," Margaret greeted Miss Parker, who was as usual very uncomfortable standing on this porch.
"Mrs. Riter." Parker didn’t know what was the matter with her, but every time she was around Jarod’s mother, she felt like some unworthy wreck he’d brought home. It made her frigate in her sleek designer clothes.
"I told you, Margaret will be fine." The familiar consolation wasn’t enough to balance Parker’s emotions, so she did the only thing she could think of,
"Is Emily here?" Margaret smiled sadly. She knew why the girl in front of her felt strange, even if Parker didn’t.
"Yes, she’s upstairs." Darting past Margaret, Parker flew up the stairs, leaving behind a faint "Thank you" in her dust. Just then, Sydney moved onto the porch, two small bags in hand.
"Dr. Green," Margaret addressed him and stepped aside to allow his passage.
"How are you?" he asked. Taking in her appearance, he had his answer. She was dressed in a simple pair of pants and a blouse. Locks of hair hung astray and weariness hid in the wrinkles of her shirt.
"On my last nerve. Yourself?"
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Climbing the stairs, Parker heard the sound of a baby’s giggle. It was so innocent. All she could think was that she would one day explain to the child how through corruption and deception it came to be.
Approaching the door to their nursery, the smell of baby powder and the muse of a soft rhythmic song alerted Parker’s senses.
"You do have an obsession with music, don’t you?" Parker commented. Entering the room, she discovered Emily sitting on the couch rocking one of the twins. The baby girl had dark hair and bright blue eyes. ‘No wonder, he named her Catherine.’
"Wait. Let it play, takes my mind somewhere else," Emily stopped Parker from turning off the radio.
("Hello" by Poe plays in the background.)
Parker observed the case sitting next to Emily’s stereo.
"I have this CD."
("Hello, hello
Are you out there?
M. O. D. are you out there?
I can't see your face
But you left a trace on a data back-road
That I almost erased
Not even God takes this long to get back
So get back
'Cause I hit a fork in the road
I lost my way home
I'm cut off from our main line
Like a disconnected modem…")
"Suits Jarod more than Lyle, I suppose." Emily relaxed, laying the baby against her protectively.
"Do you think we’ll find him?" Parker asked trying not to lose herself in the lyrics.
"I know we will, but I worry about his condition." Miss Parker nodded and came to rest next to her.
(…Hello
Tap in the code
I'll reach you below
No one should brave the underworld alone
Hello, hello, hello
How do I reach you?…)
"My father is doing everything he can to locate him, we just can’t find any clues." Parker was frustrated and out of her element here.
"There wouldn’t be, I could smell the Centre on this from the start." Emily’s remark was sharp and bitter, which started little Catherine crying.
"Raines?" Parker rose along with Emily and watched the young mother pace while rocking the baby back to slumberland.
"Yeah…. shh…shh. There we go, time to get your afternoon nap." Placing the baby in her crib, Emily checked Catherine’s brother, Kyle, whom was comfortably asleep.
(…Word has it on the wire
That you don't know who you are
Well if you could jack into my brain
You'd know exactly what you mean here
Mothers are trails on stars in the night
Fathers are black holes that suck up the light
That's the memory I filed on the fringe
Along with the memory of the pain you lived in….)
"Did you hear Brigitte had her baby’s blood tested for ‘defects’?" she inquired quietly.
"Lyle has never been more relieved in his life, I swear." Emily turned to face Parker.
"I’ll bet." Both women cracked smiles. Then Emily motioned for Parker to leave the room ahead of her.
(…Hello
I don't have the password
But the path is chain linked
So if you've got the time
Set the tone to sync…)
"I can’t believe I’m here." Parker leaned uncomfortably against the wall outside the nursery.
"What do you mean?" Emily asked while propping the door halfway open, so she could hear the babies should they wake.
"I’m standing here with Jarod’s sister, who’s tending to Lyle’s twins." The statement embarrassed Emily, because she felt the slight disapproval in it. Instead of worrying, Emily choose to laugh it off,
"Oh, yeah. I see." She knew Parker’s relationship with Lyle was no better than Jarod’s, despite the improvement in his personality.
(…Tap in the code
I'll reach you below
Hello, hello
Are you out there?")
Emily’s cell-phone rang in her room. Parker was so used to reacting to the phone, she walked down the hall into the room and picked it up from among the Jolly Rancher wrappers, before Emily could get in the door.
"What?" Hearing her answer, Jarod thought of the old saying, ‘the more things change, the more they stay the same.’
"Is Emily there?"
"Yeah." Parker turned back around to look at Emily, who had questions in her eyes.
"Well, tell her I got off my duff and am at this moment bring her pet to the house." Jarod glanced toward Lyle, who glared at the comparison.
"Lyle? You found him?"
"Found, rescued, and close to gift wrapped." Jarod was enjoying his triumph.
"Give me that phone," Emily frantically seized it, "Jarod, is he all right?"
"I’m okay. A little banged up, nothing major," Lyle answered.
"So where are you?"
"In my truck on our way back… Oh, and thank you for your concern about my health," Jarod explained.
"I knew you’d be fine. You two are riding together?" It took Lyle a minute to catch why Jarod was smirking.
"We’ll be there around nine," he reassured.
"And we will be waiting," Emily hung up, "I would’ve never believed it." Shacking her head, she choose a strawberry candy and offered one to Parker.
"Jarod’s reliable. He just likes to do things his way," she commented.
"Yeah, I guess I just worried he’d get killed saving Lyle." The idea scared both women too much to contemplate.
"Emily, that brother of yours has more lives than a cat," she laughed.
"Which is the reason you’re interested, isn’t it?" Emily gossiped.
"Jarod and I…. well, he IS exciting," she mused with a cat look in her eyes, "Besides deep down, it was all a matter of time."
"That’s destiny for you." Parker decided not to challenge Emily’s observation, but to avoid further questioning.
"Meanwhile the thought of those two stuck together for hours…"
"Almost as good as ‘a priest and a rabbi go on vacation together,’" Emily laughed.
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"You ever hurt her and I’ll finish what I started back at that warehouse," Jarod threatened.
"You didn’t start it in the warehouse, you started it when I shot at you and accidentally killed your brother." Jarod looked at him sideways, but didn’t wish to continue talking about this particular topic.
"I really didn’t mean to shoot him, Jarod. It’s not that I think you shouldn’t blame me, but I would like it, if you would understand I had no real reason to harm him. I was after you." Lyle’s defense gave Jarod a headache.
"How precisely does that make either of us any better off?"
"Well, we both have a mutual loathing for each other and although there are times I enjoy your style and I think you can on some level appreciate mine, through that hate we should know our place. I personally understand my position, but you’re twisting yours around. You act like revenge is the only reason you want to kill me. I’ve been where you are though and I know better." The self-righteous tone Lyle used somehow translated into an increase of the truck’s speed.
"Where is that exactly?" his voice stayed even.
"On the brink of your first cold blooded murder, where it isn’t just you or him, but rather pure anger bordering on madness that drives you. I’ve felt that way. I know you much more completely than you think."
"I doubt that." Jarod didn’t want to allow Lyle to press any of his buttons.
"Really? How many times did you think about letting a bullet of yours loose and claiming one of the kidnappers shot me?" Lyle insisted on goading the subject. Jarod decided the hell with it. What did he care if Lyle understood what he was capable of?
"Four… or five times, but I wouldn’t have killed you, just caused some injury."
"Because you know that death is far less a punishment than life. See you just have to be honest with me and yourself, Jarod. Simply admit that you want to kill me and it has nothing to do with either of your siblings."
"Well, that’s not quite true. What you’ve done to them enhances the desire to slice your head off." Jarod gave him a menacing look, but Lyle seemed unruffled.
"Of course it does, just like your part in getting my thumb chopped off increases my hunger for your blood, however, that isn’t why I want to kill you." Oh, this was getting interesting.
"Why is that? Why do you hate me?"
"Because you’re pathetic. You could be the ruler of the world. You could do anything you want, but you don’t. The Centre couldn’t keep you in its walls, but make no mistake, it still has you by the leash." And now they were doing 78mph.
"What on earth are you talking about?"
"Miss Parker and Sydney to name a couple of obvious examples. If you would just let go of your obsession with my sister and your old teacher, who by the way did a hell of a lot more to you than I ever did, you could disappear without a trace. But oh no, you can’t even let go now that you found your real family."
"I’ll loyal, unlike you."
"Ha, yeah you’re loyal, like a dog. Besides, despite the fact that you couldn’t have controlled what they did with your work if you’d tried, you still blame yourself for every death that was caused by the research. Get over yourself, Jesus, none of that’s your fault."
"Sitting in the car letting the Devil tell me none of what came from my work is my fault. Where’s the National Inquirer when you need them?"
"That’s right, I’m the Devil. I had a worse childhood than you did, grew up to be a killer, because I was good at it and didn’t really have a choice as to which side of the railroad tracks I worked on. But oh, go right ahead and blame a man for being the only way he knows how to be." Jarod realized he should end the conversation before the thought of hitting the next available tree entered his mind again.
"I’m not getting into this with you. Bottom line: I help people because I like it and I feel I should fight to even the score with the Centre."
"Fine."
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"Coffee?" Margaret offered Sydney, as she crossed the kitchen, pot in hand.
"I’d love some. Thank you." Sydney sat at the round table in the center of the room. Over the sink, looking out onto the front yard, were large windows with slightly chipped paint.
"Why do you think Jarod changed his mind?" Sydney casually asked.
"He knew he couldn’t come home without at least a lead and he likes to do things himself." Margaret’s smile reminded Sydney of a familiar all-knowing smirk.
"You understand him completely even though you’ve been reunited for less than a year." She slid into the chair next to him and added cream to her cup.
"It’ll be a year in three weeks. And I have always known him…" laying her hand across her heart, "here. Maybe you could tell me anything I’ve missed?"
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"Jarod, why didn’t you shot me?" Lyle inquired from some distant place. Ignoring the tone, Jarod retorted,
"Which time?" Lyle’s eyes shifted to Jarod and then back to the endless white line on the roadside.
"When Kyle died. You had opportunity, motive…"
"I don’t believe in killing people for their actions," he asserted as if it insulted him to have Lyle question his resolve.
"Why not?" Lyle’s words hung in the air suspended by the disbelief of their disregard.
"As you’ve pointed out, living is much worse," Jarod answered sharply. He twisted a bit to ease the tension in his shoulders and gasped quietly.
"What’s wrong?" Lyle observed the funny look on Jarod’s face.
"I was shot. It’s just a flesh wound." Jarod commented like he was explaining what television show he watched last night.
"God, how is it you’re still alive?" Lyle exclaimed.
"Excuse me?"
"In the last four years, you must have been shot, stabbed, and drugged, how many times?" Lyle proved his point. The idea in and of itself made Jarod smug. He sadly was a slave to his own superiority and mention of it, despite his humility, was comforting.
"I take care of myself," he said with a slyness about him.
"We should go to a hospital," Lyle tried not to sound concerned, but if Emily found out Jarod had been hurt, she’d kill them both.
"That would be good. We check in and you get me caught by the Centre."
"When are you going to stop suspecting me?" Lyle was tired of these constant accusations.
"When I identify the body." The malicious glint in Jarod’s eyes worried Lyle.
"Well, that was hostile. You used to be a better sport, what happened?"
"I grew up, that’s partly your fault," Jarod grumbled. He didn’t want to be here. Why didn’t he just knock Lyle out when he had the chance?
"Sorry, Peter Pan, but let’s face it, I’m an excellent murderer." ‘Once a serial killer, always a serial killer,’ crossed Jarod’s mind.
"So am I," Jarod looked venomously over at Lyle, "however I don’t act on it."
"You’ve killed. Tell me it didn’t give you a rush." Lyle was digging his claws in now. He was taking the conversation where he wanted it to go, or rather where he wanted Jarod to go.
"Of course it did, meanwhile I was sick for weeks afterward."
"That’s normal. The first time I killed, I stepped outside of the room and threw up until I was dry heaving."
"So you did have a conscience once," Jarod observed.
"I still do; I just refuse to let it control me."
"That’s what it’s supposed to do." The point was not arguable.
"Okay, okay. I give." Now, Lyle sounded exhausted.
"Do I have to talk to you?"
"No, but you should."
"Why?" Jarod asked with as edginess in him.
"We’re family now, we’re stuck together."
"You are NOT part of my family in the legal sense or any other." A strange thought entered Lyle’s mind.
"Are you upset because I haven’t married Emily?"
"NO! I’m thrilled you haven’t married my sister," Jarod’s sincerity bordered on insistence.
"I did try, you know, but she was focused on one thing: saving you."
"Your point?"
"Emily would kill me for you, but she would never kill you for me." Lyle’s voice grew quiet.
"Tried that, did we?" Jarod sarcastically replied.
"You know, I don’t think you hate me as much as you hate yourself."
"What? Have you been taking lessons from Sydney now? You want to be my shrink?" Jarod growled. ‘Somebody pull me outta this hell.’
"No, I just think you should stop feeling guilty. I don’t feel guilty for the past."
"Well, those of us who still have a SOUL have a tendency for such a human quality."
"It’s not a quality, it’s a weakness."
"In your opinion," Jarod responded curtly.
"Yes, in my opinion."
"It hasn’t occurred to you yet that I not only don’t value your opinion, I loathe it?"
"It has. I was rather hoping we could get beyond that," Lyle countered.
"Okay…… I’ll make you a deal, Lyle. We WILL start fresh, no grudges, no comments, no arguments. How long do you think we would last before we killed each other?" Lyle thought a moment.
"About 45 hours."
"You believe that much in my restraint?"
"Yes… and you’re right I would start it."
"So your solution…?"
"I was betting you’d come up with something. You’re the genius."
"Creative observation," Jarod considered the situation, "A way for the two of us to stand each other…"
"Yeah." Jarod took another turn down a country road.
"Do you like vanilla or chocolate ice cream?"
"What?" Suddenly Lyle was concerned Jarod had finally flipped out and he was driving.
"What flavor of ice cream do you like?" Jarod repeated impatiently.
"Vanilla."
"Our first agreement." Slowing as the house came into view, Jarod noted Sydney’s car in the driveway.
"Oh," Lyle commented as the truck stopped. Jarod stepped out of the driver’s side and watched Lyle move around the front. He looked tired, but no worse for wear.
"Finally, we’re home." Lyle smiled and walked up after Jarod. He only saw a glimpse of the fist as Jarod turned and lost his temper.
"This is my home, don’t forget it," Jarod growled, however, he felt better. He could deal with Lyle now that they had vented, yet he had really needed to bash Lyle for the last few hours. He started back to the house when Lyle tackled from behind, forcing him to the ground.
Hearing the yelling, Parker stood and looked out the window. She then motioned for Emily to see what was going on in the front lawn.
"Come on." The women thundered down the stairs and out the front door in a fury of high heel clicking.
"Stop them!" Parker uncharacteristically yelled. She stared in disbelief at the two grown men fighting with each other halfway up the path to the house.
"You gotta be kidding! This has been coming for a long time. We’ll play ref. when one of them gets knocked out," Emily laughed. She was calmly leaning against the railing of the porch steps. In honesty, she was right. Jarod and Lyle had been trying to think of an excuse for this battle since they met.
"You are a pathetic excuse for a human being!" Jarod shouted in Lyle’s face as he hit the man in his ribs.
"And you’re the left-overs of a bad experiment!" Lyle kicked Jarod over onto his back and tried to punch him in face. Jarod countered and twisted Lyle’s arm hard.
"Murderer!" He elbowed Lyle in the side. Lyle grabbed Jarod’s throat with his right hand.
"Thief!" Jarod managed to sidekick Lyle in the chest, successfully freeing himself from the chokehold.
"How dare you touch my sister!?" Lyle slid a fist around Jarod’s defense and caught him near the bullet wound. This only annoyed Jarod who was now headhunting. His uppercut came under Lyle’s jaw causing him to bit his tongue.
"How dare you even think about touching my sister!?"
In the house, Margaret had seen the girls rush past the kitchen doorway.
"What’s going on out there?" Sydney stood from the table. Margaret searched out the window over the sink and said,
"Looks like the boys are home and in the middle of a discussion."
"Are they arguing?" Sydney asked.
"Yeah… with their fists," Margaret commented nonchalantly. Sydney hurried onto the porch. Margaret, dishrag still in hand, followed him outside.
"Jarod! Lyle!" Sydney shouted, but the men ignored him.
"Calm down. Let me handle this," Margaret patted Sydney’s arm, "That’s quite enough. You both are going to get pneumonia! Come in and get cleaned up." They looked up in surprise and embarrassment, when the realization hit them that an audience had formed.
"Sorry, Mom!" Jarod called back as he removed his arm from around Lyle’s neck. Lyle took a moment to breathe after he was released from the hold, Jarod had him pinned in.
"Sorry," he finally choked out as he was getting up. Margaret simply turned and entered the house, considering what she should order for dinner. Sydney also walked in to find the medicine kit.
"How did she do that?" Parker wondered out loud.
"Have you met my mother?" Emily commented as moved down the porch stairs to speak with her ‘heroes.’ Miss Parker remained waiting near the front door.
"Care to explain?" Emily challenged Lyle, meeting up with them.
"Jarod started it." Lyle looked sternly over at him.
"You knew that comment of yours would set me off," Jarod argued.
"Yeah, but since when do you take bait?" Lyle asked. The men staggered up the steps, but Jarod nearly slipped on the top one. It was Lyle who caught him by the arm.
"Now, we’re even," Lyle proclaimed. Jarod gave him the strangest look and then suddenly began to laugh. Not an angry or mocking chuckle, but a hysterical, joyous laugh. Soon Emily began to giggle and even Miss Parker couldn’t manage to hide her smile. Lyle didn’t quite understand at first, however, slowly realizing the irony and absurdity of his statement, he too laughed.
(The radio in Emily’s bedroom played "In the House of Stone and Light" by Martin Page)
Oh my Goddess, uncover me;
Come my restoration, wash my body clean.
I've been walking along the crooked path
Where the walls have fallen and broken me in half.
I'm telling you,
I will not rest till I lay down my head.
I'm gonna go in the house of stone and light.
I shall not cry
For the blind man I leave behind
When I go in the house of stone and light,
In the house of stone and light.
Oh my Lady, show me my soul;
Tell me of that place where I must surely go.
Old man waiting at the gates for me,
Give me the wisdom, give me the key.
I'm telling you,
I will not rest till I lay down my head
In the house of stone and light.
I'll make my way,
O gonna be such a beautiful day
In the house of stone and light,
In the house of stone and light.
Let me in beneath my skin,
Yeah, yeah, oh, oh.
In the house of stone and light.
It's been too long, my spirit's been at war.
Come my restoration, let me be reborn.
And I will embrace the sun upon my face,
Come the day I await the child inside
In the house of stone and light.
And when I go,
I will open my eyes
In the house of stone and light.
I will see you in the house of stone and light.
I'm looking in beneath my skin.
Yeah, yeah, oh, oh.
In the house of stone and light.
In the house of stone and light.
The End
E-mail: Please send me feedback, good or bad; just write a little note if you don’t want to write alot.
Note: This is the continuation of "To Honor" (you should start with part one). I have chosen to turn it into a six part series, so look for the final story soon.
part 5
"To Tolerate: Oh, Brother"
By Dede
The moon was already a few hours into its dance across a tinkling sky of snugly blue and comforting dark, when she came down the hall to the doorway. He was inside, staring down at the beautiful little babies fast asleep in their cribs. She moved silently into the room and smiled at the heart-warming sight. He was entranced by these two darling miracles barely two months old. She walked up behind him and slid her hands around his waist. He sighed, but didn’t turn from the visions in their beds to greet her.
"How are my sweet angels?" Emily whispered as she moved to his side and felt the safety of his arm around her.
"Just fine," Jarod whispered back. This is what he loved. The family he had longed for, even if it was at the expanse of an occasional unwelcome houseguest. Emily could sense his contentment and wished they could stay there, happy and peaceful. Her whole life she had needed a more stable family, but she had never imagined fate would turn the end of her quest to save her brother into a life of love and fulfillment with a family of her own.
-----------
He fumbled around for the light switch, but found it didn’t work. In the shadows of the streetlight pooling on the floor, he set his keys and briefcase down on the kitchen counter and moved into the livingroom of his apartment.
The sudden force on his shoulder blade was first. Then came the muffled whispers and the fear swelling up inside. Lyle dug his fingers into the floor, trying to push himself from the rug. He didn’t feel the second blow, but rather heard the sickening crack on the back of his head.
-----------
The metal and glass shined of money in Mr. Parker’s office, yet as his daughter entered she noticed his disturbed expression, while his poisonous wife wore her anger as if it were an amulet.
"You called us, Daddy?" Parker greeted her father and the troll. Sydney was close behind her; however, he remained silent.
"We have a problem, Angel. Lyle was taken from his apartment last night," Mr. Parker grimly reported.
"What!?"
"Are you sure he hasn’t just taken a few days to himself somewhere and forgotten to call in?" Sydney suggested. If Lyle had gone to see Emily and not set up an alibi, he was asking to get caught.
"Brigitte thought it was strange when he didn’t show up for the meeting this morning so she sent Sam over to find out what the problem was. He found the apartment in disarray," Mr. Parker explained. Miss Parker was on the same wavelength, she figured Emily had done this, but why the mess? It was an amateur move.
"Any suspects?" Miss Parker questioned as she sank into the cushions of a chair.
"Two. Jarod and Mr. Raines," Brigitte said walking around the desk and leaning against it. She was searching for any excuse to get Lyle out of the Centre; however, the kidnapping of an operative didn’t look good in the Towers’ eyes.
"Jarod wouldn’t have bothered Lyle," Miss Parker declared, forgetting momentarily whom she was speaking to.
"Why not?" Brigitte zeroed in on the statement. Sydney tightened his grip on the back of Miss Parker’s chair.
"Because.." Miss Parker stumbled, but Sydney caught her,
"Because it isn’t like him to make waves unless provoked. If Lyle wasn’t doing anything to anger Jarod, he had no motive to kidnap him." Good old Syd, always watching out for her. Parker made a mental note to thank him graciously later.
"Hate and Emily are good motives," Brigitte argued, crossing her arms.
"Not for Jarod," Sydney countered.
"Okay, so Raines. Do we have a clue where our wheezing friend is?" Miss Parker closed the Jarod matter.
"No." Mr. Parker sighed.
"Syd, looks like your pet will have to wait. I’m going after baby brother," Miss Parker announced as she stood to leave.
-----------
The phone ringing woke Emily from her unscheduled nap. Her body covered by a white button-up shirt and tan cargo pants rolled lazily, but steadily over toward the night stand. The slight adrenaline kick had her hand clicking the cell-phone open before she managed to blink her eyes.
"Yeah." Emily yawned and looked at her watch, the whole time silently thanking her mother for taking care of the twins.
"Emily, it’s Parker. Is Lyle with you?" Parker’s tone was troubled as if a stone was thrown into the calm waters of her voice. Emily jerked up from the bed.
"What happened?"
"We don’t exactly know, but Lyle… he’s been taken from his apartment and…" Parker tried to explain.
"Any ransom? Clues? Suspicions?" Emily’s mind raced as she pushed the hair back from her face.
"Not really… clues are few. A messed up apartment, a small amount of Lyle’s blood on the carpet, but other than that. We…" Parker was cut-off.
"I’ll take care of it. Come to the house when you can." Emily hung up and sat very still for a moment. The fear crashing down on her in hot foamy waves. What if she lost him?
She may have floated down the stairs and into the livingroom, because the memory of the movements that brought her to Jarod was gone before she arrived. He was typing at his computer on the couch with a distracted look in his features.
"Who was that on the phone?" Jarod inquired casually, despite the nauseated feeling he had immediately after she walked in.
"Parker," Emily whispered.
"You should have told me. What did she want?" Jarod had now taken a hesitant glance at her expression.
"Jarod, Lyle’s in trouble. He’s been kidnapped. Raines probably has him stashed somewhere. Maybe if we found his group we could…" Emily tried to talk fast, knowing the gravity of what she was asking. Jarod sighed in relief.
"Lyle’s a slippery snake. He’s probably on his way home now and didn’t get a chance to call you yet." He began working again.
"You have to help me find him," Emily demanded. His lack of concern had shaken the shock out of her, now she was annoyed.
"No," Jarod said, however, he avoided her eyes. Emily removed the laptop by setting it on one end of the couch and grabbed her brother’s hands.
"He’s the father of your niece and nephew! So get off this couch…" She pulled with all her strength but only succeeded in bring him to the floor. Jarod held back laughter at her extraordinary effort and stood.
"I’m sorry, Emily, but I can’t," he declared.
"Why not?" she fumed.
"I have my reasons." Part of Jarod’s motive was to purposely make her angry, so Emily would focus instead of falling apart. The other part was a still strong sense of honor for his brother’s memory.
"Well, that isn’t good enough. Jarod, you ARE helping Lyle and I’m not taking no for an answer," Emily growled. Jarod studied her for a moment, then picked up his laptop and walked to the closet.
"Jarod, where are you going?" She followed and watched him rummage through it.
"Out," he answered over his shoulder.
"Where?" she asked in confusion. He turned and slid his leather jacket on.
"I can’t deal with this now."
"But…" she started. Jarod rubbed her arm down to the fingers and squeezed her hand.
"Don’t worry. He’s a Parker; he’ll be fine."
"Jarod!" He heard her yell as he closed the front door behind him.
-----------
The sunburnt roadway rested with only the sound of his truck wheels and the memories of each tormented traveler to prove its existence. Time didn’t seem to be able to keep up with Jarod’s emotional speed, however, that never stopped Miss Parker.
"Pizza Hut," he answered his cell-phone.
"Jarod, this is no time for games," Parker’s voice scolded.
"Parker… first of all, there’s always time for games. Second, why are you calling?" ‘Same old Jarod, even after all the events of the past year,’ Parker shook her head.
"You know why." Her tone was firm and commanding… he interpreted worry.
"Lyle will be fine. Besides, despite his relationship with my sister, he’s still a Centre employee. Why don’t your people find him?" he asked.
"Please just see if you can give us a lead, Jarod," Parker begged him. Jarod began to feel the guilt of making her plead. She hated being in that position and he knew it.
"I already heard this from my dear sister, Parker."
He hung up and threw the cell-phone onto the passenger’s seat. Moving down the back road, he drove faster and faster as his thoughts festered. Jarod was angry and confused and worried and annoyed and frustrated and…
"Oh, God damn it!" he yelled to no one. Spinning the stirring-wheel, he nearly lost control of the truck as it did a U-turn in the middle of the road. Sighing harshly, Jarod considered where to start looking.
-----------
"This is Sydney."
"Hello, Sydney, have you heard from Jarod?" Sydney was surprised but not shocked to hear from Margaret. They had spoken little, still she understood him and appeared wise in her observations.
"Not since Parker talked to him, which was a few hours ago." Sydney found his words brought on a pause in the conversation, which allowed him to hear what he presumed was Emily soothing one of the children in the background.
"I’m worried about him," Margaret confessed.
"I’ve never known Jarod to be so irrational, but I’m confident he’ll make the right decision," Sydney tried to assuage her concern.
"I know. I’m just trying to keep Emily glued together and watch the twins." Sydney could only imagine her distress, but she was a strong, capable woman with a mother’s heart and he thought of his own parents as he listened to her voice.
"Well, I believe Miss Parker will be on her way over soon. Would you like me to accompany her?"
"That would be a comfort," Margaret accepted his offer.
----------
Jarod approached a young man dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a gray flannel with his bandanna covering his red ponytail. He leaned against the corner of a building near the Rehoboth Bay of Delaware, looking around suspiciously.
"Hey, Jake," Jarod greeted his old friend, stopping in front of him.
"Jarod, my man. How’s the wild world of the fugitive?" Jake fired back. Jarod shrugged.
"No one shot me today." Jake nodded.
"Always good. Now what can I do for you?" he asked.
"Those heavies I asked about, where are they?"
"See that abandon building on the pier?" he gestured over his shoulder as he spoke, "Word is they’ve been setting up shop and your guy was brought in late last night."
"Thank you." Jarod took out his wallet and counted a few bills.
"Hey, what’s this guy to you, anyway?" Jake asked curiously while slipping the money into his pocket.
"He’s my sister’s favorite serial killer," Jarod grumbled. He was now focused on the building, seeing a few guards covering from the roof and one or two on the side exits.
"Boyfriend." Jarod glanced over at Jake benevolently.
"Something like that." Jake patted Jarod’s back and chuckled,
"I feel for you, man. I got three sisters." The comment brought a half-smile to Jarod’s features.
"Take care of yourself, Jake." They shook hands.
"You know me." Jake tipped his hat as he wandered toward his favorite bar down the street.
-----------
"Ahh! I’m not telling you anything, so you can forget it, Raines," Lyle hissed at the doctor, or at least he thought he was speaking in the general direction of the man. With the hood on his head, he wasn’t really sure. Lyle hadn’t been able to figure out much since he woke up chained to the metal chair.
"You are not in… a position to argue…. Now what has become of… my research from Donotrase?"
"We assumed you had it!" Raines, frustrated with the answer, was about to order another torture session, when the outside guards were heard yelling.
"What’s going on?" Raines barked.
"Thomson? Karter?" the guard spoke into his radio. A minute elapsed, but no one came back.
"Go see… I want no interruptions," he ordered, "You know what… to do."
"Yes, sir," his assistance obeyed. Raines must have left then because the squeaking of his oxygen tank became distant and finally disappeared.
Suddenly the activity outside came inside with guns blasting and the angry confusion of men yelling. Lyle wanted to move, but the chain attached to his cuffs prevented it.
"Who the hel…" he squawked when behind him, he heard the clicking of a key unlocking the chain.
"Move, now," a voice puffed in his ear. Lyle took no time in running with the help of this lunatic who had stormed the place. At one point during their exit, Lyle thought his companion yelled but couldn’t be sure of anything except the return of fire a second later. When they fell against the side of a building, Lyle used the opportunity to speak.
"Could you take these handcuffs and hood off?" Jarod considered gagging him, however, deciding he had slightly better odds with Lyle unrestricted…
"Jarod!!! You? But why on this earth…?" Lyle was shocked and he couldn’t form the right words fast enough.
"Shut up," Jarod yelled while motioning toward his awaiting truck in the alley. They ran to the vehicle and jumped in.
"But…" Lyle started as he slammed his passenger door.
"Shut up or I’ll knock you out, right now!" Jarod hissed. Lyle actually cringed and fell back into the seat.
"Okay." Lyle glanced around as Jarod turned the engine over. Raines’ men had a van and Jarod knew they would be after him soon.
"Where are we…?"
"Quiet." Sure enough, the guards were coming down the street just behind the truck.
Jarod twisted and jerked the wheel as he sped down another alley, betting that the other side would offer a way out. As they emerged, he saw through the buildings a water outlet he had noticed on his scooting of the area. Pulling a 450-degree turn, so he was sure they would follow him, Jarod drove down a side street.
"Jeez! What is it with your family and cars?" Lyle yelped as he hit the door for the third time. Jarod would have laughed, unfortunately he was too deep in concentration. If he stopped at the wrong moment, Raines’ men would have time to slow down, but he if waited too long… well he hoped for Parker’s sake, Lyle was in condition to swim.
"Wait a minute, Jarod, you’re not…. Jarod! We’re headed straight for…!" Lyle tried to warn the crazy man next to him; however, the determined look to Jarod’s eyes told him speech was futile. Hoping there was enough weight in the back of the pick-up and not enough in the pursuers’ van, he checked the mirror. They were gunning to about 80mph. Now how to deal with this? At the end of the street, Jarod removed his foot from the gas pedal and spun the truck around the corner. The shocked van driver swerved and, taking the turn too sharp, sailed over the guardrail...
"Yes!" Lyle exclaimed once he realized what had happened. He even went so far as to pat Jarod’s shoulder twice. Jarod was paying no attention, though. He was driving back to the outlet, trying to get a view of the wreck. It wasn’t until he saw the van had stayed right-side up and was resting half in the water at the bottom of the bank with angry men climbing out of it, that he glanced at Lyle; a smug smile across his face.
------------
Despite the brilliant escape, Jarod continued to be silent, checking the mirrors every so often to make sure there were no cars he recognized.
"They’re not following us. I think you dissuaded them," Lyle commented, careful not to make it sound too much like a complement.
"I don’t care. I don’t want to talk to you, Lyle. If it was up to me, there would have been a single gunshot through the window and that would have ended this conversation before it began."
"Why…?" Lyle started to ask, but lost the heart to do so. Maybe he didn’t want to know, especially if… if it was out of Jarod’s bottomless pit of kindness. How had he even known Lyle was in trouble? Parker? Emily?
Jarod concentrated on the road, he had successfully ignored his unwelcome companion so far. A few more hours to go and he could get, farther than the mere foot that separated them, away from Lyle.
-------------
Driving up to the house, they were strangely quiet. Sydney and Miss Parker had been discussing the possibilities Raines had outside the Centre, her conversation with Jarod earlier, and even the twins, but when the house came into view, neither really knew what to say. The home was a comfortable looking farmhouse with a mowed lawn and flowers snuggled in their beds. The fence was short stockade with a newly repaired gate.
Walking up the little path to the wrap-around porch, Parker hoped the stillness was a good sign. While Sydney brought their bags out of the trunk, she knocked with a quick punching motion, then listened to the soft steps approaching and the heavy door’s locks clicking.
"Hello dear," Margaret greeted Miss Parker, who was as usual very uncomfortable standing on this porch.
"Mrs. Riter." Parker didn’t know what was the matter with her, but every time she was around Jarod’s mother, she felt like some unworthy wreck he’d brought home. It made her frigate in her sleek designer clothes.
"I told you, Margaret will be fine." The familiar consolation wasn’t enough to balance Parker’s emotions, so she did the only thing she could think of,
"Is Emily here?" Margaret smiled sadly. She knew why the girl in front of her felt strange, even if Parker didn’t.
"Yes, she’s upstairs." Darting past Margaret, Parker flew up the stairs, leaving behind a faint "Thank you" in her dust. Just then, Sydney moved onto the porch, two small bags in hand.
"Dr. Green," Margaret addressed him and stepped aside to allow his passage.
"How are you?" he asked. Taking in her appearance, he had his answer. She was dressed in a simple pair of pants and a blouse. Locks of hair hung astray and weariness hid in the wrinkles of her shirt.
"On my last nerve. Yourself?"
-----------
Climbing the stairs, Parker heard the sound of a baby’s giggle. It was so innocent. All she could think was that she would one day explain to the child how through corruption and deception it came to be.
Approaching the door to their nursery, the smell of baby powder and the muse of a soft rhythmic song alerted Parker’s senses.
"You do have an obsession with music, don’t you?" Parker commented. Entering the room, she discovered Emily sitting on the couch rocking one of the twins. The baby girl had dark hair and bright blue eyes. ‘No wonder, he named her Catherine.’
"Wait. Let it play, takes my mind somewhere else," Emily stopped Parker from turning off the radio.
("Hello" by Poe plays in the background.)
Parker observed the case sitting next to Emily’s stereo.
"I have this CD."
("Hello, hello
Are you out there?
M. O. D. are you out there?
I can't see your face
But you left a trace on a data back-road
That I almost erased
Not even God takes this long to get back
So get back
'Cause I hit a fork in the road
I lost my way home
I'm cut off from our main line
Like a disconnected modem…")
"Suits Jarod more than Lyle, I suppose." Emily relaxed, laying the baby against her protectively.
"Do you think we’ll find him?" Parker asked trying not to lose herself in the lyrics.
"I know we will, but I worry about his condition." Miss Parker nodded and came to rest next to her.
(…Hello
Tap in the code
I'll reach you below
No one should brave the underworld alone
Hello, hello, hello
How do I reach you?…)
"My father is doing everything he can to locate him, we just can’t find any clues." Parker was frustrated and out of her element here.
"There wouldn’t be, I could smell the Centre on this from the start." Emily’s remark was sharp and bitter, which started little Catherine crying.
"Raines?" Parker rose along with Emily and watched the young mother pace while rocking the baby back to slumberland.
"Yeah…. shh…shh. There we go, time to get your afternoon nap." Placing the baby in her crib, Emily checked Catherine’s brother, Kyle, whom was comfortably asleep.
(…Word has it on the wire
That you don't know who you are
Well if you could jack into my brain
You'd know exactly what you mean here
Mothers are trails on stars in the night
Fathers are black holes that suck up the light
That's the memory I filed on the fringe
Along with the memory of the pain you lived in….)
"Did you hear Brigitte had her baby’s blood tested for ‘defects’?" she inquired quietly.
"Lyle has never been more relieved in his life, I swear." Emily turned to face Parker.
"I’ll bet." Both women cracked smiles. Then Emily motioned for Parker to leave the room ahead of her.
(…Hello
I don't have the password
But the path is chain linked
So if you've got the time
Set the tone to sync…)
"I can’t believe I’m here." Parker leaned uncomfortably against the wall outside the nursery.
"What do you mean?" Emily asked while propping the door halfway open, so she could hear the babies should they wake.
"I’m standing here with Jarod’s sister, who’s tending to Lyle’s twins." The statement embarrassed Emily, because she felt the slight disapproval in it. Instead of worrying, Emily choose to laugh it off,
"Oh, yeah. I see." She knew Parker’s relationship with Lyle was no better than Jarod’s, despite the improvement in his personality.
(…Tap in the code
I'll reach you below
Hello, hello
Are you out there?")
Emily’s cell-phone rang in her room. Parker was so used to reacting to the phone, she walked down the hall into the room and picked it up from among the Jolly Rancher wrappers, before Emily could get in the door.
"What?" Hearing her answer, Jarod thought of the old saying, ‘the more things change, the more they stay the same.’
"Is Emily there?"
"Yeah." Parker turned back around to look at Emily, who had questions in her eyes.
"Well, tell her I got off my duff and am at this moment bring her pet to the house." Jarod glanced toward Lyle, who glared at the comparison.
"Lyle? You found him?"
"Found, rescued, and close to gift wrapped." Jarod was enjoying his triumph.
"Give me that phone," Emily frantically seized it, "Jarod, is he all right?"
"I’m okay. A little banged up, nothing major," Lyle answered.
"So where are you?"
"In my truck on our way back… Oh, and thank you for your concern about my health," Jarod explained.
"I knew you’d be fine. You two are riding together?" It took Lyle a minute to catch why Jarod was smirking.
"We’ll be there around nine," he reassured.
"And we will be waiting," Emily hung up, "I would’ve never believed it." Shacking her head, she choose a strawberry candy and offered one to Parker.
"Jarod’s reliable. He just likes to do things his way," she commented.
"Yeah, I guess I just worried he’d get killed saving Lyle." The idea scared both women too much to contemplate.
"Emily, that brother of yours has more lives than a cat," she laughed.
"Which is the reason you’re interested, isn’t it?" Emily gossiped.
"Jarod and I…. well, he IS exciting," she mused with a cat look in her eyes, "Besides deep down, it was all a matter of time."
"That’s destiny for you." Parker decided not to challenge Emily’s observation, but to avoid further questioning.
"Meanwhile the thought of those two stuck together for hours…"
"Almost as good as ‘a priest and a rabbi go on vacation together,’" Emily laughed.
------------
"You ever hurt her and I’ll finish what I started back at that warehouse," Jarod threatened.
"You didn’t start it in the warehouse, you started it when I shot at you and accidentally killed your brother." Jarod looked at him sideways, but didn’t wish to continue talking about this particular topic.
"I really didn’t mean to shoot him, Jarod. It’s not that I think you shouldn’t blame me, but I would like it, if you would understand I had no real reason to harm him. I was after you." Lyle’s defense gave Jarod a headache.
"How precisely does that make either of us any better off?"
"Well, we both have a mutual loathing for each other and although there are times I enjoy your style and I think you can on some level appreciate mine, through that hate we should know our place. I personally understand my position, but you’re twisting yours around. You act like revenge is the only reason you want to kill me. I’ve been where you are though and I know better." The self-righteous tone Lyle used somehow translated into an increase of the truck’s speed.
"Where is that exactly?" his voice stayed even.
"On the brink of your first cold blooded murder, where it isn’t just you or him, but rather pure anger bordering on madness that drives you. I’ve felt that way. I know you much more completely than you think."
"I doubt that." Jarod didn’t want to allow Lyle to press any of his buttons.
"Really? How many times did you think about letting a bullet of yours loose and claiming one of the kidnappers shot me?" Lyle insisted on goading the subject. Jarod decided the hell with it. What did he care if Lyle understood what he was capable of?
"Four… or five times, but I wouldn’t have killed you, just caused some injury."
"Because you know that death is far less a punishment than life. See you just have to be honest with me and yourself, Jarod. Simply admit that you want to kill me and it has nothing to do with either of your siblings."
"Well, that’s not quite true. What you’ve done to them enhances the desire to slice your head off." Jarod gave him a menacing look, but Lyle seemed unruffled.
"Of course it does, just like your part in getting my thumb chopped off increases my hunger for your blood, however, that isn’t why I want to kill you." Oh, this was getting interesting.
"Why is that? Why do you hate me?"
"Because you’re pathetic. You could be the ruler of the world. You could do anything you want, but you don’t. The Centre couldn’t keep you in its walls, but make no mistake, it still has you by the leash." And now they were doing 78mph.
"What on earth are you talking about?"
"Miss Parker and Sydney to name a couple of obvious examples. If you would just let go of your obsession with my sister and your old teacher, who by the way did a hell of a lot more to you than I ever did, you could disappear without a trace. But oh no, you can’t even let go now that you found your real family."
"I’ll loyal, unlike you."
"Ha, yeah you’re loyal, like a dog. Besides, despite the fact that you couldn’t have controlled what they did with your work if you’d tried, you still blame yourself for every death that was caused by the research. Get over yourself, Jesus, none of that’s your fault."
"Sitting in the car letting the Devil tell me none of what came from my work is my fault. Where’s the National Inquirer when you need them?"
"That’s right, I’m the Devil. I had a worse childhood than you did, grew up to be a killer, because I was good at it and didn’t really have a choice as to which side of the railroad tracks I worked on. But oh, go right ahead and blame a man for being the only way he knows how to be." Jarod realized he should end the conversation before the thought of hitting the next available tree entered his mind again.
"I’m not getting into this with you. Bottom line: I help people because I like it and I feel I should fight to even the score with the Centre."
"Fine."
-----------
"Coffee?" Margaret offered Sydney, as she crossed the kitchen, pot in hand.
"I’d love some. Thank you." Sydney sat at the round table in the center of the room. Over the sink, looking out onto the front yard, were large windows with slightly chipped paint.
"Why do you think Jarod changed his mind?" Sydney casually asked.
"He knew he couldn’t come home without at least a lead and he likes to do things himself." Margaret’s smile reminded Sydney of a familiar all-knowing smirk.
"You understand him completely even though you’ve been reunited for less than a year." She slid into the chair next to him and added cream to her cup.
"It’ll be a year in three weeks. And I have always known him…" laying her hand across her heart, "here. Maybe you could tell me anything I’ve missed?"
----------
"Jarod, why didn’t you shot me?" Lyle inquired from some distant place. Ignoring the tone, Jarod retorted,
"Which time?" Lyle’s eyes shifted to Jarod and then back to the endless white line on the roadside.
"When Kyle died. You had opportunity, motive…"
"I don’t believe in killing people for their actions," he asserted as if it insulted him to have Lyle question his resolve.
"Why not?" Lyle’s words hung in the air suspended by the disbelief of their disregard.
"As you’ve pointed out, living is much worse," Jarod answered sharply. He twisted a bit to ease the tension in his shoulders and gasped quietly.
"What’s wrong?" Lyle observed the funny look on Jarod’s face.
"I was shot. It’s just a flesh wound." Jarod commented like he was explaining what television show he watched last night.
"God, how is it you’re still alive?" Lyle exclaimed.
"Excuse me?"
"In the last four years, you must have been shot, stabbed, and drugged, how many times?" Lyle proved his point. The idea in and of itself made Jarod smug. He sadly was a slave to his own superiority and mention of it, despite his humility, was comforting.
"I take care of myself," he said with a slyness about him.
"We should go to a hospital," Lyle tried not to sound concerned, but if Emily found out Jarod had been hurt, she’d kill them both.
"That would be good. We check in and you get me caught by the Centre."
"When are you going to stop suspecting me?" Lyle was tired of these constant accusations.
"When I identify the body." The malicious glint in Jarod’s eyes worried Lyle.
"Well, that was hostile. You used to be a better sport, what happened?"
"I grew up, that’s partly your fault," Jarod grumbled. He didn’t want to be here. Why didn’t he just knock Lyle out when he had the chance?
"Sorry, Peter Pan, but let’s face it, I’m an excellent murderer." ‘Once a serial killer, always a serial killer,’ crossed Jarod’s mind.
"So am I," Jarod looked venomously over at Lyle, "however I don’t act on it."
"You’ve killed. Tell me it didn’t give you a rush." Lyle was digging his claws in now. He was taking the conversation where he wanted it to go, or rather where he wanted Jarod to go.
"Of course it did, meanwhile I was sick for weeks afterward."
"That’s normal. The first time I killed, I stepped outside of the room and threw up until I was dry heaving."
"So you did have a conscience once," Jarod observed.
"I still do; I just refuse to let it control me."
"That’s what it’s supposed to do." The point was not arguable.
"Okay, okay. I give." Now, Lyle sounded exhausted.
"Do I have to talk to you?"
"No, but you should."
"Why?" Jarod asked with as edginess in him.
"We’re family now, we’re stuck together."
"You are NOT part of my family in the legal sense or any other." A strange thought entered Lyle’s mind.
"Are you upset because I haven’t married Emily?"
"NO! I’m thrilled you haven’t married my sister," Jarod’s sincerity bordered on insistence.
"I did try, you know, but she was focused on one thing: saving you."
"Your point?"
"Emily would kill me for you, but she would never kill you for me." Lyle’s voice grew quiet.
"Tried that, did we?" Jarod sarcastically replied.
"You know, I don’t think you hate me as much as you hate yourself."
"What? Have you been taking lessons from Sydney now? You want to be my shrink?" Jarod growled. ‘Somebody pull me outta this hell.’
"No, I just think you should stop feeling guilty. I don’t feel guilty for the past."
"Well, those of us who still have a SOUL have a tendency for such a human quality."
"It’s not a quality, it’s a weakness."
"In your opinion," Jarod responded curtly.
"Yes, in my opinion."
"It hasn’t occurred to you yet that I not only don’t value your opinion, I loathe it?"
"It has. I was rather hoping we could get beyond that," Lyle countered.
"Okay…… I’ll make you a deal, Lyle. We WILL start fresh, no grudges, no comments, no arguments. How long do you think we would last before we killed each other?" Lyle thought a moment.
"About 45 hours."
"You believe that much in my restraint?"
"Yes… and you’re right I would start it."
"So your solution…?"
"I was betting you’d come up with something. You’re the genius."
"Creative observation," Jarod considered the situation, "A way for the two of us to stand each other…"
"Yeah." Jarod took another turn down a country road.
"Do you like vanilla or chocolate ice cream?"
"What?" Suddenly Lyle was concerned Jarod had finally flipped out and he was driving.
"What flavor of ice cream do you like?" Jarod repeated impatiently.
"Vanilla."
"Our first agreement." Slowing as the house came into view, Jarod noted Sydney’s car in the driveway.
"Oh," Lyle commented as the truck stopped. Jarod stepped out of the driver’s side and watched Lyle move around the front. He looked tired, but no worse for wear.
"Finally, we’re home." Lyle smiled and walked up after Jarod. He only saw a glimpse of the fist as Jarod turned and lost his temper.
"This is my home, don’t forget it," Jarod growled, however, he felt better. He could deal with Lyle now that they had vented, yet he had really needed to bash Lyle for the last few hours. He started back to the house when Lyle tackled from behind, forcing him to the ground.
Hearing the yelling, Parker stood and looked out the window. She then motioned for Emily to see what was going on in the front lawn.
"Come on." The women thundered down the stairs and out the front door in a fury of high heel clicking.
"Stop them!" Parker uncharacteristically yelled. She stared in disbelief at the two grown men fighting with each other halfway up the path to the house.
"You gotta be kidding! This has been coming for a long time. We’ll play ref. when one of them gets knocked out," Emily laughed. She was calmly leaning against the railing of the porch steps. In honesty, she was right. Jarod and Lyle had been trying to think of an excuse for this battle since they met.
"You are a pathetic excuse for a human being!" Jarod shouted in Lyle’s face as he hit the man in his ribs.
"And you’re the left-overs of a bad experiment!" Lyle kicked Jarod over onto his back and tried to punch him in face. Jarod countered and twisted Lyle’s arm hard.
"Murderer!" He elbowed Lyle in the side. Lyle grabbed Jarod’s throat with his right hand.
"Thief!" Jarod managed to sidekick Lyle in the chest, successfully freeing himself from the chokehold.
"How dare you touch my sister!?" Lyle slid a fist around Jarod’s defense and caught him near the bullet wound. This only annoyed Jarod who was now headhunting. His uppercut came under Lyle’s jaw causing him to bit his tongue.
"How dare you even think about touching my sister!?"
In the house, Margaret had seen the girls rush past the kitchen doorway.
"What’s going on out there?" Sydney stood from the table. Margaret searched out the window over the sink and said,
"Looks like the boys are home and in the middle of a discussion."
"Are they arguing?" Sydney asked.
"Yeah… with their fists," Margaret commented nonchalantly. Sydney hurried onto the porch. Margaret, dishrag still in hand, followed him outside.
"Jarod! Lyle!" Sydney shouted, but the men ignored him.
"Calm down. Let me handle this," Margaret patted Sydney’s arm, "That’s quite enough. You both are going to get pneumonia! Come in and get cleaned up." They looked up in surprise and embarrassment, when the realization hit them that an audience had formed.
"Sorry, Mom!" Jarod called back as he removed his arm from around Lyle’s neck. Lyle took a moment to breathe after he was released from the hold, Jarod had him pinned in.
"Sorry," he finally choked out as he was getting up. Margaret simply turned and entered the house, considering what she should order for dinner. Sydney also walked in to find the medicine kit.
"How did she do that?" Parker wondered out loud.
"Have you met my mother?" Emily commented as moved down the porch stairs to speak with her ‘heroes.’ Miss Parker remained waiting near the front door.
"Care to explain?" Emily challenged Lyle, meeting up with them.
"Jarod started it." Lyle looked sternly over at him.
"You knew that comment of yours would set me off," Jarod argued.
"Yeah, but since when do you take bait?" Lyle asked. The men staggered up the steps, but Jarod nearly slipped on the top one. It was Lyle who caught him by the arm.
"Now, we’re even," Lyle proclaimed. Jarod gave him the strangest look and then suddenly began to laugh. Not an angry or mocking chuckle, but a hysterical, joyous laugh. Soon Emily began to giggle and even Miss Parker couldn’t manage to hide her smile. Lyle didn’t quite understand at first, however, slowly realizing the irony and absurdity of his statement, he too laughed.
(The radio in Emily’s bedroom played "In the House of Stone and Light" by Martin Page)
Oh my Goddess, uncover me;
Come my restoration, wash my body clean.
I've been walking along the crooked path
Where the walls have fallen and broken me in half.
I'm telling you,
I will not rest till I lay down my head.
I'm gonna go in the house of stone and light.
I shall not cry
For the blind man I leave behind
When I go in the house of stone and light,
In the house of stone and light.
Oh my Lady, show me my soul;
Tell me of that place where I must surely go.
Old man waiting at the gates for me,
Give me the wisdom, give me the key.
I'm telling you,
I will not rest till I lay down my head
In the house of stone and light.
I'll make my way,
O gonna be such a beautiful day
In the house of stone and light,
In the house of stone and light.
Let me in beneath my skin,
Yeah, yeah, oh, oh.
In the house of stone and light.
It's been too long, my spirit's been at war.
Come my restoration, let me be reborn.
And I will embrace the sun upon my face,
Come the day I await the child inside
In the house of stone and light.
And when I go,
I will open my eyes
In the house of stone and light.
I will see you in the house of stone and light.
I'm looking in beneath my skin.
Yeah, yeah, oh, oh.
In the house of stone and light.
In the house of stone and light.
The End
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