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Chapter or Story 
Chapter or Story
***** I am in no way connected to The Pretender, NBC or the like. I am using their characters and plotlines based on their show, of which I am obsessed. The only thing that's mine in here is Nikki.
It Takes A Thief....
Part 7
by CrackerJack
Broot's Hole
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
Again, Broots was at his Computer, hacking his wy into raine's classified files, searching for anything NIkki. After the DSA and the recruitment form, Broots had to admit he was anxious as to what he might find. That was the big question. Just what kind of person was CMMDR. Nikki? Miss Parker seemed anxious to find out and to go and stop her. Whether to keep her from Bringing in Jarod, or to do it herself, she wouldn't reveal, but Broots was voting for the first option. After all, If Jarod was locked up, he couldn't help Miss P find her past. Even Sydney wanted to know where Nikki'd been, as if he'd known her long ago and wanted to check up on her. Broots, himself was curious as to what Nikki's track record was like, so he kept on it. Digging deeper and deeper untill again, he found somehthing. It was a video File, a DSA, and it was Undated. He was about to look at it, when the dor opened, and Bobby steppd in. Broots barely had time to scroll down to another part of the list he was looking at.
"Broots," Bobby began. "Have eny of you found any leads on Nikki yet?" He seemed imptient.
Broots Knew Miss P hadn't told him much, and took his cue nt to change that.
"Uh, n-no. Not since NIkki escaped. "he stammred. He knew he never was much of a liar, and he wouldn't have been surprised if Bobby had seen right through him. HE was surprised however, to find that Bobby seemed to believe him.
"Tell me the second you do find something." He ordered
"You'll be th first to know." He said, secretly urging Bobby to leave. After a warning glance that said, If you even think of Lying to me, it'll be the last thing you think, he left.
Broots gave him 5 minutes to assure he was out of sight, downloaded the DSA, and left to find Syd and Miss P.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Miss Parker's Office
THe Centre,
Blue COve,Delaware
The Three stooges had assembled in Miss P's office, where they were assured that extra degree of Privacy. Broots had explained to them his encounter with Bobby. Miss Parker was pleased to hear that Broots had successfully hidden the DSA from him. But now their attention was drawn to the disc Broots brought in. . .
. . . A young woman, Nikki in her early twenties, was sitting was sitting warily at a desk. She was leafing through a newspaper. She must've read something she didn't like because she slammed the paper down, and her expression darkened. She swiveled the chair around so the back was facing the screen. Raines entered and Nikki snapped at him from behind the Chair.
"What's this?"
"What. "Raines remained indifferent.
"The newspaper. You used my work to Kill."
"You new what the sim was for. They had to be disposed of."
Nikki turned to face him, clearly enraged. She threw the paper at him, Cutting him and causing his face to bleed. She screamed at him.
"A few police officers, and scattered civilians? How could they have done anything to deserve death? My work was not for them!" Now her rage consumed her, as it did with the cutout. She threw the desk, and everything flew to the ground. Some things cut into Raines' flesh, increasing his injurys. Raines left, most likely to call security. The sweepers came, lead by Gar, came and dragged Nikki out of the room, Nikki literally kicking and screaming, causing an injury or two along the way.
"No! It wasn't meant for them! You betrayed me!" She kept it up until they were out the door and well down the hall. Raines righted his desk, picked up the phone and pressed the intercom button.
"Get me the admiral." he said. Afer a few minutes of waiting, he said
"Sargon, Nikki will be joining you tomorrow, whether she likes it or not." . . .
The DSA which was supposed to give them answers only seemed to bring up more questions. At least that's the way Miss P saw it. Sydney, too looked unnerved. Broots was squirming, as usual.
"Oh my god!" he blurted. "Nikki made sims that were MEANT to kill?And she knew it? Now she's after JArod."
Sydney seemed really spooked, almost concerned for Jarod's safety.
"And she WAS forced into the navy." he said. He turned to Miss P, who was already halfway out the door.
"Keep digging." She said to Broots "NOW." She left and took the DSA with her.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
A Hall Somewhere
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
Sydney still had his doubts about Nikki, In spit of what JArod said. The newly disovered DSA only seemed to verify his suspicions. What if Nikki got mad at Jarod? Sydney could see that everytime she got angry, Nikki would lose control and erupt in a violent outburst. What if she hurt Jarod? He was still worrying when two figures stepped out of the shadows. It was Nikki, of course, and Jarod, looking unhurt and still in one piece. He heaved a sigh of relief.
"Did you find anything?" They asked. They spoke in unison, but judging by their reaction, they were not expecting it.
"Quite a bit, but miss PArker has it all. You'll have to get it from her."
He said, not feeling very Hopeful of their chances. When Miss P found something she wanted, she kept it. Jarod seemed confident.
"We can convince her to give it to us." He said. Nikki stayed silent, her eyes slimming.
"Where is she?" Nikki asked.
"I suspect she's checking on Broots, to see if he's uncovered more." Nikki didn't waste any time. AS soon as the words left Sydney's lips, she turned on her heels and took off down the hall, jarod hot on her heels. Sydney decided he wanted to see the confrontation, so he too, followed them.
When Nikki arrived at Broots' "hole" however, Miss PArker wasn't there. Broots was though. He was diligently hacking away until Nikki and Jarod entered. When he saw them enter, Jarod was sure he jumped. One more person to add to the list of people Boots was intimidated by.
"W-what are you back HERE for?" he stuttered. Nikki put on her "tough" persona and badgered him in response.
"I understand you've been digging up some dirt on me. I want to know what you've found." By now Broots was too scared to speak. It annoyed Nikki, and Jarod didn't have to be a pretender to see. It was obvious.
"Show me!" She almost shouted as she grabbed his collar. Broots was almost ready to wet himself by this point. Jarod couldn't help but feel sorry for him, so he interveined.
"Please Broots, it's very important we find out what Raines did to her." Nikki released Broots and just looked at him, waiting for a response. Broots, still obviously nervous, but now able to speak gulped, then pulled up something on his computer.
"uh, we found your enlistment papers. Or at least they're supposed to be your papers." he said. Jarod took over the mouse and inspected the document.
"You didn't sign." He observed. Nikki turned away, her head down.
. . . No! It wasn't meant for them! You Betrayed me!" . . .
"If it was up to me, the papers wouldn't exist at all." She sighed. Now Broots felt sorry for Nikki.
"Miss Parker has the DSA we found." he said hopefully. Instead of a frown, Nikki's face wore the straight mouth Jarod had taken to interpret as a smile.
"Thank you Broots." she said.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Another Hall
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
Sydney found Miss Parker in a hall and ran to stop her.
"Miss Parker! Parker, Nikki's lookng for you. I think she wants the DSA."
"Correction. Nikki's found Miss PArker. And the DSA contains a piece of my life I can't fully remember." Nikki's voice cut in before MissP had a chance to react. She turned around to see Nikki, and JArod behind. Jarod looked like he was trying to conceal something. She focused on Nikki for the moment, and let jarod be temporarily.
"Why should I give it to you?" Miss P asked. She expected NIkki to blow up like she had seen, but instead NIkki seemed more desperate than anything else.
"Because I need to know. Please, Parker. You'd do it for Jarod."
"YOU are not Jarod."
"It's the same dance. Please Parker, what is it?"Miss P wasn't sure whether the desperation was genuine or faked, but it worked.
"Come on," she said. "I've got a player in my office."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Miss Parker's Office
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
. . . "Sargon, Nikki will be joining you tomorrow, whether she likes it or not" . . .. . .
Now NIkki had seen the whole scene, Nikki commented on it.
"I missed. Two feet closer, and he would've been trapped under the desk, and I would've been gone." Jarod was still fidgeting with whatever he had concealed under his jacket, only now he brought it out.
"I've been digging too,and, well, you did say I had the red Files. Here's yours." he said as he plopped the file on the desk. Nikki picked it up and examined it. Jarod would have said more, but they heard a squeaking in the hall. Raines. Jarod and Nikki hid. Raines opened the door and addressed Miss P.
"Have you located Nikki or Jarod yet?" He asked. Nikki was under the desk, but at this she stood up.
"No, Nikki and JArod have located her. And now I remember. With some help I remember. I remember how you USED ME!!" Nikki was getting angry again. Miss P was just hoping she wouldn't overturn her desk. But Nikki just kept yelling at Raines.
"I should Kill you where you stand. You know I could do it. But I won't. There can be things worse than death. Believe me, I know. I'm just going to leave you with the haunting fear that someday, somewhere, I'll be waiting for you." And with that thought, she stopped threateningly and slipped into the darkness of the hall, Jarod right behind her. There was nothing Raines could do to stop them.
The Interstate
Half an hour later
Jarod was behind the wheel of his rental Intrigue, with Nikki at Shotgun. They had planned to escape together, then go their separate ways outside of Delaware. They didn't plan to threaten Raines, or even run in to him. Jarod was left wondering whether or not she would carry It out, but at the same time he regretted having to separate.
"Are you going to do it?"he asked.
"Probably." NIkki replied. "But not for a while. I'd hate to see him die before we worm all his secrets out of him." Jarod took note of her use of the word We.
"but he doesn't need to know that."Nikki finished. Jarod smiled.
"You and I would work well together. Are you sure you want to split up?" he asked.
"Yes. I need to figure myself out, I guess." By this time they had reached a town. Jarod pulled into a Restaurant parking lot. Before Nikki got out of the car he wrote something on a slip of paper and handed it to her.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -----
It Takes A Thief....
Part 7
by CrackerJack
Broot's Hole
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
Again, Broots was at his Computer, hacking his wy into raine's classified files, searching for anything NIkki. After the DSA and the recruitment form, Broots had to admit he was anxious as to what he might find. That was the big question. Just what kind of person was CMMDR. Nikki? Miss Parker seemed anxious to find out and to go and stop her. Whether to keep her from Bringing in Jarod, or to do it herself, she wouldn't reveal, but Broots was voting for the first option. After all, If Jarod was locked up, he couldn't help Miss P find her past. Even Sydney wanted to know where Nikki'd been, as if he'd known her long ago and wanted to check up on her. Broots, himself was curious as to what Nikki's track record was like, so he kept on it. Digging deeper and deeper untill again, he found somehthing. It was a video File, a DSA, and it was Undated. He was about to look at it, when the dor opened, and Bobby steppd in. Broots barely had time to scroll down to another part of the list he was looking at.
"Broots," Bobby began. "Have eny of you found any leads on Nikki yet?" He seemed imptient.
Broots Knew Miss P hadn't told him much, and took his cue nt to change that.
"Uh, n-no. Not since NIkki escaped. "he stammred. He knew he never was much of a liar, and he wouldn't have been surprised if Bobby had seen right through him. HE was surprised however, to find that Bobby seemed to believe him.
"Tell me the second you do find something." He ordered
"You'll be th first to know." He said, secretly urging Bobby to leave. After a warning glance that said, If you even think of Lying to me, it'll be the last thing you think, he left.
Broots gave him 5 minutes to assure he was out of sight, downloaded the DSA, and left to find Syd and Miss P.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Miss Parker's Office
THe Centre,
Blue COve,Delaware
The Three stooges had assembled in Miss P's office, where they were assured that extra degree of Privacy. Broots had explained to them his encounter with Bobby. Miss Parker was pleased to hear that Broots had successfully hidden the DSA from him. But now their attention was drawn to the disc Broots brought in. . .
. . . A young woman, Nikki in her early twenties, was sitting was sitting warily at a desk. She was leafing through a newspaper. She must've read something she didn't like because she slammed the paper down, and her expression darkened. She swiveled the chair around so the back was facing the screen. Raines entered and Nikki snapped at him from behind the Chair.
"What's this?"
"What. "Raines remained indifferent.
"The newspaper. You used my work to Kill."
"You new what the sim was for. They had to be disposed of."
Nikki turned to face him, clearly enraged. She threw the paper at him, Cutting him and causing his face to bleed. She screamed at him.
"A few police officers, and scattered civilians? How could they have done anything to deserve death? My work was not for them!" Now her rage consumed her, as it did with the cutout. She threw the desk, and everything flew to the ground. Some things cut into Raines' flesh, increasing his injurys. Raines left, most likely to call security. The sweepers came, lead by Gar, came and dragged Nikki out of the room, Nikki literally kicking and screaming, causing an injury or two along the way.
"No! It wasn't meant for them! You betrayed me!" She kept it up until they were out the door and well down the hall. Raines righted his desk, picked up the phone and pressed the intercom button.
"Get me the admiral." he said. Afer a few minutes of waiting, he said
"Sargon, Nikki will be joining you tomorrow, whether she likes it or not." . . .
The DSA which was supposed to give them answers only seemed to bring up more questions. At least that's the way Miss P saw it. Sydney, too looked unnerved. Broots was squirming, as usual.
"Oh my god!" he blurted. "Nikki made sims that were MEANT to kill?And she knew it? Now she's after JArod."
Sydney seemed really spooked, almost concerned for Jarod's safety.
"And she WAS forced into the navy." he said. He turned to Miss P, who was already halfway out the door.
"Keep digging." She said to Broots "NOW." She left and took the DSA with her.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
A Hall Somewhere
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
Sydney still had his doubts about Nikki, In spit of what JArod said. The newly disovered DSA only seemed to verify his suspicions. What if Nikki got mad at Jarod? Sydney could see that everytime she got angry, Nikki would lose control and erupt in a violent outburst. What if she hurt Jarod? He was still worrying when two figures stepped out of the shadows. It was Nikki, of course, and Jarod, looking unhurt and still in one piece. He heaved a sigh of relief.
"Did you find anything?" They asked. They spoke in unison, but judging by their reaction, they were not expecting it.
"Quite a bit, but miss PArker has it all. You'll have to get it from her."
He said, not feeling very Hopeful of their chances. When Miss P found something she wanted, she kept it. Jarod seemed confident.
"We can convince her to give it to us." He said. Nikki stayed silent, her eyes slimming.
"Where is she?" Nikki asked.
"I suspect she's checking on Broots, to see if he's uncovered more." Nikki didn't waste any time. AS soon as the words left Sydney's lips, she turned on her heels and took off down the hall, jarod hot on her heels. Sydney decided he wanted to see the confrontation, so he too, followed them.
When Nikki arrived at Broots' "hole" however, Miss PArker wasn't there. Broots was though. He was diligently hacking away until Nikki and Jarod entered. When he saw them enter, Jarod was sure he jumped. One more person to add to the list of people Boots was intimidated by.
"W-what are you back HERE for?" he stuttered. Nikki put on her "tough" persona and badgered him in response.
"I understand you've been digging up some dirt on me. I want to know what you've found." By now Broots was too scared to speak. It annoyed Nikki, and Jarod didn't have to be a pretender to see. It was obvious.
"Show me!" She almost shouted as she grabbed his collar. Broots was almost ready to wet himself by this point. Jarod couldn't help but feel sorry for him, so he interveined.
"Please Broots, it's very important we find out what Raines did to her." Nikki released Broots and just looked at him, waiting for a response. Broots, still obviously nervous, but now able to speak gulped, then pulled up something on his computer.
"uh, we found your enlistment papers. Or at least they're supposed to be your papers." he said. Jarod took over the mouse and inspected the document.
"You didn't sign." He observed. Nikki turned away, her head down.
. . . No! It wasn't meant for them! You Betrayed me!" . . .
"If it was up to me, the papers wouldn't exist at all." She sighed. Now Broots felt sorry for Nikki.
"Miss Parker has the DSA we found." he said hopefully. Instead of a frown, Nikki's face wore the straight mouth Jarod had taken to interpret as a smile.
"Thank you Broots." she said.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Another Hall
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
Sydney found Miss Parker in a hall and ran to stop her.
"Miss Parker! Parker, Nikki's lookng for you. I think she wants the DSA."
"Correction. Nikki's found Miss PArker. And the DSA contains a piece of my life I can't fully remember." Nikki's voice cut in before MissP had a chance to react. She turned around to see Nikki, and JArod behind. Jarod looked like he was trying to conceal something. She focused on Nikki for the moment, and let jarod be temporarily.
"Why should I give it to you?" Miss P asked. She expected NIkki to blow up like she had seen, but instead NIkki seemed more desperate than anything else.
"Because I need to know. Please, Parker. You'd do it for Jarod."
"YOU are not Jarod."
"It's the same dance. Please Parker, what is it?"Miss P wasn't sure whether the desperation was genuine or faked, but it worked.
"Come on," she said. "I've got a player in my office."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Miss Parker's Office
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
. . . "Sargon, Nikki will be joining you tomorrow, whether she likes it or not" . . .. . .
Now NIkki had seen the whole scene, Nikki commented on it.
"I missed. Two feet closer, and he would've been trapped under the desk, and I would've been gone." Jarod was still fidgeting with whatever he had concealed under his jacket, only now he brought it out.
"I've been digging too,and, well, you did say I had the red Files. Here's yours." he said as he plopped the file on the desk. Nikki picked it up and examined it. Jarod would have said more, but they heard a squeaking in the hall. Raines. Jarod and Nikki hid. Raines opened the door and addressed Miss P.
"Have you located Nikki or Jarod yet?" He asked. Nikki was under the desk, but at this she stood up.
"No, Nikki and JArod have located her. And now I remember. With some help I remember. I remember how you USED ME!!" Nikki was getting angry again. Miss P was just hoping she wouldn't overturn her desk. But Nikki just kept yelling at Raines.
"I should Kill you where you stand. You know I could do it. But I won't. There can be things worse than death. Believe me, I know. I'm just going to leave you with the haunting fear that someday, somewhere, I'll be waiting for you." And with that thought, she stopped threateningly and slipped into the darkness of the hall, Jarod right behind her. There was nothing Raines could do to stop them.
The Interstate
Half an hour later
Jarod was behind the wheel of his rental Intrigue, with Nikki at Shotgun. They had planned to escape together, then go their separate ways outside of Delaware. They didn't plan to threaten Raines, or even run in to him. Jarod was left wondering whether or not she would carry It out, but at the same time he regretted having to separate.
"Are you going to do it?"he asked.
"Probably." NIkki replied. "But not for a while. I'd hate to see him die before we worm all his secrets out of him." Jarod took note of her use of the word We.
"but he doesn't need to know that."Nikki finished. Jarod smiled.
"You and I would work well together. Are you sure you want to split up?" he asked.
"Yes. I need to figure myself out, I guess." By this time they had reached a town. Jarod pulled into a Restaurant parking lot. Before Nikki got out of the car he wrote something on a slip of paper and handed it to her.
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