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Chapter or Story
I don’t own The Pretender characters, nor do I own the characters of the Profiler. I am just borrowing them, and I promise to give them back. See full disclaimers on previous parts. Please don’t sue me, as I have no money.
Author’s note. Dr. Albert Hoffman discovered LSD in 1938. 4/12/01
In Pursuit Of Happiness
Part 32
by jojarod50
Marquee Hotel- Thursday
Room 629
3:13 PM Thursday
Jarod stood frozen in place with his lips slightly parted, trying to come to grips with what he and Gemini had just uncovered in Agent Lucas personal files. “He’s amassed enough forged police records and falsified criminal documents on me to put me away for life. Pin down the last time any of that information was accessed, then go ahead and print those out, Gemini,” Jarod said evenly, fighting hard to control his growing anger. “After you’re finished with that, bring up Meisser’s and Lucas’ phone records for cross-referencing. I have to know if Meisser was involved in this. I’ll be back in a moment,“ he said, heading for the kitchenette, hoping the diversion would help calm him down.
“Better not have anything to eat or drink in there, or you may make another unwanted discovery, Albert Hoffman,” his brother chided, hoping to remind him to watch what he’s doing in a lighthearted way.
*
After splashing cold water on his face, Jarod grabbed a hand towel, glaring angrily at his trembling hands. “I can’t wait until I find out precisely who I have to thank for this,” he spit, grateful to be more in touch with reality, but unsure whether he could accomplish what he wanted to in the shape he was in. He was deeply frightened by the prospect of slipping back into of the drug induced psychotic world that he had fought for so long to escape. Beyond his control, the hallucinogen continued triggering all kinds of unsettling memories reeking havoc with his vulnerable mind. At this point, the only thing preventing him from buckling, was his unflinching devotion to family and the woman he had loved since his childhood.
*
Heading back to the livingroom, the pretender picked up the phone and dialed the Federal building, having second thoughts about the importance of knowing what was going on, and leaning more toward just getting everyone to safety.
Obsessively, he hit redial, exasperated by the constant busy signal. “I can’t believe this is happening!” he spat, barely stopping himself from throwing the phone.
“Jarod? What’s wrong?”
“Wrong? Are you serious?” he exclaimed incredulously, a sick look flickering across his face. “Never mind, what do you have so far?”
*
Over by the door, Major Charles tugged at the make-shift rope with satisfaction, after tying the last knot. Placing the Agent’s keys, billfold, badge, and gun, on an end table, it dawned on him that there might be another agent waiting downstairs and decided to brace the front door with a chair.
Glancing over at his boys, he was struck by the difficulty Jarod was suddenly having being civil to his younger self, as he loomed over the boy’s shoulder listening to him read off the screen.
“That’s not what I wanted at all,” he said, slamming down some papers on the desk, causing them to fly everywhere. “Narrow it down to the last two weeks; we don’t have much time,” Jarod said heatedly, spinning around, coming face to face with his dad.
“Jarod?” Major Charles questioned, his stomach taking a dive, frightened by the haunted look on his son’s face. “Do you want me to get you some more Thorozine?”
“For God’s sake, Dad, quit trying to feed me drugs,” he spit angrily, closing his eyes to steady himself, knowing his anger was way out of control. “Look, I know you’re just trying to help, but that’s not going to … Um, better get that agent out of here, before someone else shows up,” he said quietly, his apologetic dark eyes meeting his dad’s again briefly, before stooping to pick up his papers.
“Jarod, I found something,” Gemini interrupted excitedly. “There were several calls made between Agent Meisser and Agent Lucas, in the last several days. In particular, one yesterday at 12:10 PM and another one at 4:53 AM today.”
“Not long after he was here yesterday, and again right before his death. I hoped you’d been wrong about his involvement in this, Dad,” the younger man said, his voice wrought with emotion. Leaving half of the papers behind, Jarod shook his head in dismay and walked over to the agent lying on the floor breathing heavily, as if he were going to break down and cry.
“I’m sorry, Jarod,” Major Charles said gently, walking over to him, knowing he must be feeling totally betrayed. “Jarod? Are you all right?” he asked, as his son turned slightly and stared at him with a strange grin on his face.
“Jarod’s all right, he’s always all right. Didn’t you know that, Dad?” he said as if in a trance, his deeply disturbing wild eyes betraying his deteriorating state of mind. “Better get that agent out of here, before I blow his brains out.”
“Sure, Jarod, I was just going to do that,” his dad said unable to hide the shocked look on his face.
Grabbing the bound agent, Major Charles dragged him into Jarod’s bedroom and shoved him into the far side of the closet. After closing the double doors, he quickly wedged a chair under the handles, preventing any future reappearance from their unwanted guest.
Crossing to Jarod’s bed, he picked up the phone and dialed Sydney, willing to risk tipping their hand to warn him and ask how he could help his son.
***
St. Matthews Memorial Hospital
Room 311
3:38 PM
“Sydney here.”
“Sydney, this is Major Charles. Meisser is dead and Jarod was somehow drugged round 11 AM with some sort of hallucinogen. You better watch your back. Whoever’s involved in this, may come after you and Angelo, too.”
“My God, this is outrageous. I wish you would have called earlier. Major, Jarod hasn’t recovered psychologically from the effects of the overdose Lyle gave him. Being high on a hallucinogen again could emotionally decimate him. How high is he?”
“High? Well, he was totally incoherent for quite a while, but we gave him 100 milligrams of Thorozine to bring him down, so I don’t think …”
“Major, Thorozine is merely an anti-anxiety medication. It couldn’t possibly have brought Jarod down from a hallucinogen. If he’s more lucid now, it’s probably because the drug has peaked and has started to taper off to some extent. In all probability, it could take 4-1/2 more hours before its effects completely subside.”
“Dear Lord, I had no idea he was still high on that stuff.” he said quietly. “I thought there were just some kind of residual effects after it wore off. No wonder his eyes are so dilated they’re nearly black.”
“Your ignorance is perfectly understandable. How is Jarod managing right now?”
“That’s why I called you, Sydney, I’m afraid he’s cracking up,” he said nervously, picking up a little velvet box he’d inadvertently bumped onto the floor. “He’s extremely volatile and just a moment ago was talking about himself in the third person as if Jarod were someone else.”
*
Living Room
Room 629
“I’ve already read that to you, Jarod, do you want me to go over it again?”
A confused expression flickered across the pretender’s face so quickly, that it would have gone totally unnoticed by anyone, except his clone, who was fully aware that he was having a horrible time concentrating.
“No, um, … never mind, let’s just move on,” Jarod said, rubbing his upper arms, feeling unbearably anxious.
“Go back into the FBI data base, and access …” he began unevenly, wobbling slightly, then collapsing to the floor. “Noooo,” he whispered, fighting a suffocating wave of terror as an acute anxiety attack assaulted him.
“Jarod, what’s happening to you?” Gemini called, as he rushed to his side, quickly checking his vitals.
All the pretender could do was clamp his eyes shut and struggle to slow his breathing, as his heart tried to pound its way out of his chest.
Gemini put his arms around his brother and supported him, while he endured the attack, wishing there were more that he could do.
After an excruciating few moments, his brother started to come out of it.
“I don’t feel so good,” he mumbled, attempting to get to his feet. “Help me get to the bathroom. Bet…better hurry.”
***
Room 629b
“Doing? He was trying to figure out who killed Meisser and why he was drugged, but stumbled on some disturbing information concerning Agent Lucas and Gemini III. Now he’s hell bent on connecting all the dots.”
“Dear Lord, he’s going to push himself straight over the edge. That’s the last thing he should be doing right now. I’m afraid he may be more motivated by anger and guilt than he realizes, at the expense of all of your safety. It would be better if you leave now and let the authorities handle this.”
“Jarod’s adamant about staying here, until he’s gotten in contact with Miss Parker and Broots,” the Major said, returning his gaze to the little velvet box and slowly opening it up.
“From what you’ve told me about your son’s bizarre behavior and hallucinations, it sounds like he’s on a extremely potent mind-altering drug such as LSD, which is obviously actively affecting him, Major. You know what you need to do.“
“Convincing him to leave in the emotional state he’s…” the Major said stopping abruptly, as Gemini entered the room with Jarod in tow.
“What happened to Jarod?” his dad asked, quickly standing, letting the phone drop to the floor.
“He’s sick,” Gemini said, hauling his brother into the smaller room.
***
Room 629b
8 minutes later
“It was a minor anxiety attack, Dad,” Jarod said, pretending to be feeling better than he really was. “I just need to sit still for a few moments and I’ll be fine.”
“Humor me, Jarod, why don’t you lie down,” he said, trying to keep him away from the computer. “You look about as bad as you did, when I first saw you at Menningers Psychiatric Hospital, still suffering from the effects of the overdose Lyle gave you.”
“Mr. Lyle,” Jarod growled, closing his eyes, as a collage of graphic scenes assaulted his mind. “I knew there was something I was missing. Gemini, come with me. I need for you to bring up the arrest records and mug shots of the incarcerated Centre players, he said, abruptly leaving the room.
***
Moments later..
“Dad?” he asked, motioning for assistance. “Does that look like Mr. Lyle? It doesn’t to me,” he said, straining to see the screen.
“No, that’s not him. How on earth did you know?”
“This mess has Centre fingerprints all over it, and if anyone could finagle his way out of prison, it would be him. My guess is, Lucas probably switched him out. I can only speculate why, but if I know that sociopath, he’ll use Parker to get to me, once he discovers I survived the hallucinogen and am still an open threat,” he spit, grabbing his windbreaker and heading for the door. “I’m going to the Federal Building. Call Sydney and tell him…”
“Son, I already talked to Sydney,” Major Charles said, grabbing his arm tightly. “He told me Thorozine was incapable of bringing you down off the drug you’re on. How you can function this well under its influence is beyond me, but there’s no way I’m not letting you leave here.”
As if on cue, the phone rang, adding another decimal to the highly charged situation.
*
“Hello, “Jarod said, tentatively, looking at his dad.
“How’s your little acid trip going? Feeling a bit out of touch, Jarod?”
“Lyle, what a surprise. You know, you should file a complaint with the prison photographers. Your mug shot looks more like a man named Mickey J. Morris, than it does like you. Of course, that’s probably because the poor guy was incarcerated in your place. Now, where’s your sense of fair play?”
“Been fooling around with the computer again, Jarod? I’m surprised you could see the screen. You must not be using as much sugar in your coffee these days, considering Meisser laced it with enough LSD, to send you to Disney Land for a few days.”
“Sorry to disappoint you. Guess you’ll have to hire better help, next time,” he said, in a loathing voice, sickened by what he’d just heard.
“Actually, it wasn’t my idea. I thought it would be a terrible waste of time and gray matter.”
”And what about the hallucinogen overdose you gave me at the Centre? Was that a terrible waste, too?”
“You got what you deserved.”
“Did you kill Agent Meisser or did Agent Lucas have it done?” he spit, barely able to contain his rage. “I’ve seen the fraudulent criminal records and documents on me, Lucas must have used to convince Meisser to set me up for a mental breakdown. Maybe you should have waited until he got the job done before you took him out, you sick bastard.”
“You’re slipping, Jarod. Staging your unfortunate relapse was more about having unfettered access to your pretender skills, than just having you put away. Meisser apparently didn’t have the stomach for that, once he found out you weren’t really a threat to National Security, just ours.”
“You won’t think I’m slipping, once I shut down your twisted cloning project.”
“Back off, Jarod. I wouldn’t want your fiancée to meet an untimely death.”
“If you even go near her, I’ll…”
“You’ll what, Jarod? I’m really impressed. I had no idea you were such a passionate guy. Nice ring. Sorry, I don’t think the Triumvirate ever intended on you marrying Catherine Parker’s clone.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I thought you knew, Jarod. She’s the control subject for the entire cloning project. I was sure you of all people, would have double check the Centre lab’s DNA results that supposedly proved I was her twin.”
“Lyle, what do you want?” Jarod asked, totally exasperated, running his trembling fingers through his hair.
“The same thing I’ve always wanted; your cooperation, and I have Miss Parker here to guarantee I get it.
Our geneticists know you bull shitted your way through the preliminary project sessions with Kilmer and Moore. If you accurately sim Gemini III, Parker will go free. Everything’s been arranged for you in the Sim Lab for old times sake, but Meisser has kind of put us in a time crunch. Better hurry, this offer isn’t going to last long, and frankly, your “bride to be” sure looks tempting bound and gagged. Come alone, or I’ll slit her throat.”
-Click-
Jarod fought desperately not to hyperventilate, as he put down the phone, praying he had come off completely in control of his faculties, instead of drugged and utterly overwhelmed. Looking from the Major to Gemini, he ruled out the temptation of simming his situation, knowing it was too risky and the outcomes would be terribly skewed. Collapsing heavily into a nearby chair, his mind raced to come up with a viable plan, that would exclude the possibility of having Gemini and his dad fall into the wrong hands. Grabbing the pad and pencil off the table, he began to write Agent Malone’s cell phone number, but every stroke he made became three.
“Here, Dad, write this down,” Jarod said, tossing them to him and rattling off the number. “Get a hold of Bailey, and tell him what’s been going on. That was Lyle on the phone. He’s holding Miss Parker and I’m guessing, Broots, against their will, at the Centre and is threatening to kill them, unless I sim Gemini III,” he said doubling over slightly. “I think I’m going to be ill,” he lied, very convincingly.
“Here, son, let me help you,” the Major said worriedly, reaching out to give him a hand.
“No, I can manage, make that call. You know what Lyle is capable of, ” he said, using slight of hand to scoop up the gun and agent’s personal effects, the moment his dad reach for the phone.
After making his way to his adjoining room, Jarod locked the side door, exited the front one and left the hotel immediately.
***
St. Matthews Memorial Hospital
Room 511
4:15 PM
“Don’t worry, Dr. Green, Agents Malone and Waters ought to be arriving at the Marquee Hotel any moment, now. Why don’t you and Angelo come with me. Agent Ryan, will bring your bags down as soon as he completes the final paperwork.”
“If you don’t mind, I would rather wait here until I talk with Agent Malone personally,” Sydney said, skeptical of the agent’s claims.
“Suit yourself. His line is busy right now. I’ll try again in a minute. Why don’t you make sure you have all your things together.”
***
Two blocks East of the Marquee Hotel
4:27 PM
Jarod flashed the pilfered Agent’s badge in the cabby’s face, obscuring the photo with his thumb and got inside.
“Don’t you fellows have your own cars?”
“This is a special situation,” he said, buckling his seat belt. “You’re taking me to Blue Cove, but don’t call it in. First, I need to obtain a small quantity of lysergic acid diethylamide-25, um, Rod,” he said, reading his identification tag. “No questions asked. Do you understand?”
“Do I looked like, a rocket scientist, Mac? What the hell are you talking about?”
“Perhaps the term LSD is more familiar to you.”
“Oh yeah, sure Pal. But it’s going to cost you a whole lot extra, if you get my drift,” the seedy little man said, anxious to make a few extra bucks.
“Are you trying to use extortion on a Federal Agent, Mister?”
“Yeah right, Agent, what ever your name is. I’m no idiot, You’re a user man. I want extra for the risk,” he said, almost feeling guilty for trying to take advantage of a guy in such bad shape.
“What?”
“You’re high, right? The dilated eyes are a dead give away. Most people in your position wear sun glasses, so no one will catch on. Are you new at this or what?”
“I was interrupted in the middle of an eye exam. Just drive,” he said in a low voice, pulling out his gun and checking it in an intimidating manor.
***
Marquee Hotel
Room 629
4:41 PM
“Neither one are there,” the profiler said, pulling a stubborn lock of blond hair behind her ear. “And there’s no sign of a struggle in either of the rooms. My guess is they never returned to the hotel this afternoon.”
“I just got off the phone with John. He confirmed as much. He and George checked with the people who were involved in the debriefings. Apparently, an agent picked up Mr. Broots and Miss Parker a little over an hour ago, and was supposed to have brought them back here.”
“Someone out of Agent Lucas’ office?”
“Looks that way. We’ll have people in the air in about 5 minutes; ETA at the Centre, 25. An extraction team will be on site shortly. They’ll notify us, as soon as there’s any word about the hostages,” he said quietly to Sam before turning his attention back to Jarod’s Dad.
“Major, what you’ve all had to go through is unforgivable. I wish I didn’t need to ask this but, would it be possible to ask Jarod a few brief questions about his conversation with Mr. Lyle? That is, if you think he’s up to it. ATF could use all the information they can get, before they go in.”
“He’s um, he’s in the bed room. Just a moment,” he said letting out a deep sigh. “Gemini, would you let Jarod know Agents Malone and Waters are here and would like to ask him a few questions,” he said, pausing until his younger son was out of the room. “Be careful what you say to Jarod.” he said quietly. “He still hasn’t come down from the hallucinogen yet. He’s, um, really unstable and didn’t take the news about Parker and Broots very well.”
“Dad, he’s gone.”
***
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
Renewal Wing 5:12 PM
“Ja…Jarod, how did you get in here? This place is crawling with operatives. Ya you better know what you’re doing, Lyle has someone monitoring the surveillance cameras and probably already knows you’re here.”
“I know, it couldn’t be helped,” he said distractedly, as he worked the lock and opened the cell door. “Here take this,” he said, handing the nervous man his gun, hoping he’d be able to shoot it, if it came down to it.
“Come on, Jarod. This is n no time to play around. You you’re a better shot than I could ever be,” he said firmly, trying to give it back.
“Not today, Broots” he said, refusing to take it back. “Hurry. We don’t have much time.”
As they made their way down the dimly lit tunnel, Jarod suddenly slammed Broots against the wall, grabbed the gun, and stood in front of him, training it point blank on something that wasn’t there. After an excruciatingly tense moment, the pretender let out a shaky breath and leaned heavily against the wall, as Broots stared at him in shock, completely speechless.
“We have to get out of here,” Jarod said, recovering rapidly and proffering the gun to his reluctant partner again. “Where does Lyle have Parker?”
“SL 27, I think. At least that’s what I thought I overheard him say. Jarod, wa what’s the matter with you? You just faced off with a blank wall.”
“It’s called hallucinating. I’ve been drugged. Don’t worry, we only have to last, until the Calvary arrives. Let’s go.”
“Calvary? Oh shit, we’re all going to die!” he said under his breath, as he watched the drugged pretender take off down the dark corridor before hurrying to catch up.
***
SL 27
Raines’ Experimental Lab
“No, we still have plenty of time. I’ve ordered them to take him to your lab, as soon as he steps off the elevator. He’s probably too stoned to do the sim right now, so just have him sedated and loaded aboard the plane. Let me know, if you have any problems with him,” Lyle said giving Parker a little wink.
Then, speaking quietly in German, he appeared to share a joke with the other man, before telling him to leave the room..
Looking over at Miss Parker with a strange look on his face, he then issued some orders to the guards standing near him and told them to position themselves right outside the door.
“Well, Sis, I hate to disappoint you, but your sweetheart was just spotted with the computer geek, entering the west elevator off the renewal wing. Not exactly a ‘genius move’ for a pretender. It’s pretty obvious he’s a lot more stoned then he let on over the phone, or he wouldn’t have been foolish enough to show up alone,” he said, slicking his hair back with his hand. “This is almost too easy to be satisfying. I’ll have to think of something to liven things up a little bit,” he said, approaching Miss Parker, who was subtly working the rope she was bound with, trying to avoid cutting into her wrists, as she started to work her hands free.
“Having delusions of grandeur again, Lyle? With all you’ve done to Jarod, he’s going to cut you to shreds. I thought you learned a long time ago, never to underestimate him.”
“You can’t be serious. He’s too far gone to be any kind of danger to me, “ he said, leaning over and forcing a rough kiss on her. “Oh, don’t look at me that way, you’re not married yet,” he breathed, holding her struggling face still and kissing her roughly again, barely avoiding being badly bitten.
“You twisted pathetic spineless worm. I’m glad our mother never lived to know what a sick creature she gave birth to,” she said, spitting in his face.
“Your mother not mine, you feisty little thing. I like that in a woman,” he said, smacking her across the face with an evil grin, then looking over the rest of her appraisingly.
“You know, I’ve wanted you for a long time, but had to keep up appearances until now. Catherine Parker isn’t my mother and you certainly aren’t my twin,” he said with a smirk, stepping away for a moment to slip off his designer silk jacket, laying it carefully over a chair. “It’s amazing how may people bought into that lie, including you,” he said slowly walking toward her, no question in his mind what he was going to do next.
Suddenly, Jarod burst through the door, took one look at the abrasion on Parker’s face, aimed at Lyle’s lower anatomy and fired, before the former chairman’s son had a chance to react.
Lyle fell to the floor clutching his left thigh, struggling to keep his wits about him, terrified that Jarod would finish the job.
“Think of what you’re doing, Jarod. You don’t want to be a murderer do you?”
“Shut up Lyle. Be grateful I missed what I was aiming for,” he growled, pulling back the hammer on his gun again, and keeping it trained on the injured man.
“Parker, what did he do to you?” Jarod asked, nearly choking on the words.
“Nothing, Jarod. He just ruffed me up a little,” she said trying to calm him down, before he really did murder Lyle.
Holstering his gun for a moment, Jarod untied Parker, quickly examining her wrists and cheek, before helping her out of the chair. Then pulling his gun out again, he cocked it, and aimed it at Lyle, transfixed by the blood on the floor.
“Jarod, are you all right?” Parker asked, frightened by the way he seemed to be phasing in and out of it, as he wobbled slightly, continued to train his gun shakily on the other man.
“I fine, Parker,” he said with a detached look on his face, her words barely registering, as he stared at his victim and the blood on the floor. “ATF will be arriving any minute now. Broots is next door, keeping an eye on a few obstacles we met on our way up. You might want to wait with him, until they arrive. Lyle and I are going to need a little privacy.”
“What ever you say, Jarod. Good luck, Lyle. I hate to say I told you so,” she said with mock sympathy.
“You can’t leave me alone with this mad man. He’s going to let me bleed to death. Parker? Parker come back here!”
***
Author’s note. Dr. Albert Hoffman discovered LSD in 1938. 4/12/01
Part 32
by jojarod50
Marquee Hotel- Thursday
Room 629
3:13 PM Thursday
Jarod stood frozen in place with his lips slightly parted, trying to come to grips with what he and Gemini had just uncovered in Agent Lucas personal files. “He’s amassed enough forged police records and falsified criminal documents on me to put me away for life. Pin down the last time any of that information was accessed, then go ahead and print those out, Gemini,” Jarod said evenly, fighting hard to control his growing anger. “After you’re finished with that, bring up Meisser’s and Lucas’ phone records for cross-referencing. I have to know if Meisser was involved in this. I’ll be back in a moment,“ he said, heading for the kitchenette, hoping the diversion would help calm him down.
“Better not have anything to eat or drink in there, or you may make another unwanted discovery, Albert Hoffman,” his brother chided, hoping to remind him to watch what he’s doing in a lighthearted way.
*
After splashing cold water on his face, Jarod grabbed a hand towel, glaring angrily at his trembling hands. “I can’t wait until I find out precisely who I have to thank for this,” he spit, grateful to be more in touch with reality, but unsure whether he could accomplish what he wanted to in the shape he was in. He was deeply frightened by the prospect of slipping back into of the drug induced psychotic world that he had fought for so long to escape. Beyond his control, the hallucinogen continued triggering all kinds of unsettling memories reeking havoc with his vulnerable mind. At this point, the only thing preventing him from buckling, was his unflinching devotion to family and the woman he had loved since his childhood.
*
Heading back to the livingroom, the pretender picked up the phone and dialed the Federal building, having second thoughts about the importance of knowing what was going on, and leaning more toward just getting everyone to safety.
Obsessively, he hit redial, exasperated by the constant busy signal. “I can’t believe this is happening!” he spat, barely stopping himself from throwing the phone.
“Jarod? What’s wrong?”
“Wrong? Are you serious?” he exclaimed incredulously, a sick look flickering across his face. “Never mind, what do you have so far?”
*
Over by the door, Major Charles tugged at the make-shift rope with satisfaction, after tying the last knot. Placing the Agent’s keys, billfold, badge, and gun, on an end table, it dawned on him that there might be another agent waiting downstairs and decided to brace the front door with a chair.
Glancing over at his boys, he was struck by the difficulty Jarod was suddenly having being civil to his younger self, as he loomed over the boy’s shoulder listening to him read off the screen.
“That’s not what I wanted at all,” he said, slamming down some papers on the desk, causing them to fly everywhere. “Narrow it down to the last two weeks; we don’t have much time,” Jarod said heatedly, spinning around, coming face to face with his dad.
“Jarod?” Major Charles questioned, his stomach taking a dive, frightened by the haunted look on his son’s face. “Do you want me to get you some more Thorozine?”
“For God’s sake, Dad, quit trying to feed me drugs,” he spit angrily, closing his eyes to steady himself, knowing his anger was way out of control. “Look, I know you’re just trying to help, but that’s not going to … Um, better get that agent out of here, before someone else shows up,” he said quietly, his apologetic dark eyes meeting his dad’s again briefly, before stooping to pick up his papers.
“Jarod, I found something,” Gemini interrupted excitedly. “There were several calls made between Agent Meisser and Agent Lucas, in the last several days. In particular, one yesterday at 12:10 PM and another one at 4:53 AM today.”
“Not long after he was here yesterday, and again right before his death. I hoped you’d been wrong about his involvement in this, Dad,” the younger man said, his voice wrought with emotion. Leaving half of the papers behind, Jarod shook his head in dismay and walked over to the agent lying on the floor breathing heavily, as if he were going to break down and cry.
“I’m sorry, Jarod,” Major Charles said gently, walking over to him, knowing he must be feeling totally betrayed. “Jarod? Are you all right?” he asked, as his son turned slightly and stared at him with a strange grin on his face.
“Jarod’s all right, he’s always all right. Didn’t you know that, Dad?” he said as if in a trance, his deeply disturbing wild eyes betraying his deteriorating state of mind. “Better get that agent out of here, before I blow his brains out.”
“Sure, Jarod, I was just going to do that,” his dad said unable to hide the shocked look on his face.
Grabbing the bound agent, Major Charles dragged him into Jarod’s bedroom and shoved him into the far side of the closet. After closing the double doors, he quickly wedged a chair under the handles, preventing any future reappearance from their unwanted guest.
Crossing to Jarod’s bed, he picked up the phone and dialed Sydney, willing to risk tipping their hand to warn him and ask how he could help his son.
***
St. Matthews Memorial Hospital
Room 311
3:38 PM
“Sydney here.”
“Sydney, this is Major Charles. Meisser is dead and Jarod was somehow drugged round 11 AM with some sort of hallucinogen. You better watch your back. Whoever’s involved in this, may come after you and Angelo, too.”
“My God, this is outrageous. I wish you would have called earlier. Major, Jarod hasn’t recovered psychologically from the effects of the overdose Lyle gave him. Being high on a hallucinogen again could emotionally decimate him. How high is he?”
“High? Well, he was totally incoherent for quite a while, but we gave him 100 milligrams of Thorozine to bring him down, so I don’t think …”
“Major, Thorozine is merely an anti-anxiety medication. It couldn’t possibly have brought Jarod down from a hallucinogen. If he’s more lucid now, it’s probably because the drug has peaked and has started to taper off to some extent. In all probability, it could take 4-1/2 more hours before its effects completely subside.”
“Dear Lord, I had no idea he was still high on that stuff.” he said quietly. “I thought there were just some kind of residual effects after it wore off. No wonder his eyes are so dilated they’re nearly black.”
“Your ignorance is perfectly understandable. How is Jarod managing right now?”
“That’s why I called you, Sydney, I’m afraid he’s cracking up,” he said nervously, picking up a little velvet box he’d inadvertently bumped onto the floor. “He’s extremely volatile and just a moment ago was talking about himself in the third person as if Jarod were someone else.”
*
Living Room
Room 629
“I’ve already read that to you, Jarod, do you want me to go over it again?”
A confused expression flickered across the pretender’s face so quickly, that it would have gone totally unnoticed by anyone, except his clone, who was fully aware that he was having a horrible time concentrating.
“No, um, … never mind, let’s just move on,” Jarod said, rubbing his upper arms, feeling unbearably anxious.
“Go back into the FBI data base, and access …” he began unevenly, wobbling slightly, then collapsing to the floor. “Noooo,” he whispered, fighting a suffocating wave of terror as an acute anxiety attack assaulted him.
“Jarod, what’s happening to you?” Gemini called, as he rushed to his side, quickly checking his vitals.
All the pretender could do was clamp his eyes shut and struggle to slow his breathing, as his heart tried to pound its way out of his chest.
Gemini put his arms around his brother and supported him, while he endured the attack, wishing there were more that he could do.
After an excruciating few moments, his brother started to come out of it.
“I don’t feel so good,” he mumbled, attempting to get to his feet. “Help me get to the bathroom. Bet…better hurry.”
***
Room 629b
“Doing? He was trying to figure out who killed Meisser and why he was drugged, but stumbled on some disturbing information concerning Agent Lucas and Gemini III. Now he’s hell bent on connecting all the dots.”
“Dear Lord, he’s going to push himself straight over the edge. That’s the last thing he should be doing right now. I’m afraid he may be more motivated by anger and guilt than he realizes, at the expense of all of your safety. It would be better if you leave now and let the authorities handle this.”
“Jarod’s adamant about staying here, until he’s gotten in contact with Miss Parker and Broots,” the Major said, returning his gaze to the little velvet box and slowly opening it up.
“From what you’ve told me about your son’s bizarre behavior and hallucinations, it sounds like he’s on a extremely potent mind-altering drug such as LSD, which is obviously actively affecting him, Major. You know what you need to do.“
“Convincing him to leave in the emotional state he’s…” the Major said stopping abruptly, as Gemini entered the room with Jarod in tow.
“What happened to Jarod?” his dad asked, quickly standing, letting the phone drop to the floor.
“He’s sick,” Gemini said, hauling his brother into the smaller room.
***
Room 629b
8 minutes later
“It was a minor anxiety attack, Dad,” Jarod said, pretending to be feeling better than he really was. “I just need to sit still for a few moments and I’ll be fine.”
“Humor me, Jarod, why don’t you lie down,” he said, trying to keep him away from the computer. “You look about as bad as you did, when I first saw you at Menningers Psychiatric Hospital, still suffering from the effects of the overdose Lyle gave you.”
“Mr. Lyle,” Jarod growled, closing his eyes, as a collage of graphic scenes assaulted his mind. “I knew there was something I was missing. Gemini, come with me. I need for you to bring up the arrest records and mug shots of the incarcerated Centre players, he said, abruptly leaving the room.
***
Moments later..
“Dad?” he asked, motioning for assistance. “Does that look like Mr. Lyle? It doesn’t to me,” he said, straining to see the screen.
“No, that’s not him. How on earth did you know?”
“This mess has Centre fingerprints all over it, and if anyone could finagle his way out of prison, it would be him. My guess is, Lucas probably switched him out. I can only speculate why, but if I know that sociopath, he’ll use Parker to get to me, once he discovers I survived the hallucinogen and am still an open threat,” he spit, grabbing his windbreaker and heading for the door. “I’m going to the Federal Building. Call Sydney and tell him…”
“Son, I already talked to Sydney,” Major Charles said, grabbing his arm tightly. “He told me Thorozine was incapable of bringing you down off the drug you’re on. How you can function this well under its influence is beyond me, but there’s no way I’m not letting you leave here.”
As if on cue, the phone rang, adding another decimal to the highly charged situation.
*
“Hello, “Jarod said, tentatively, looking at his dad.
“How’s your little acid trip going? Feeling a bit out of touch, Jarod?”
“Lyle, what a surprise. You know, you should file a complaint with the prison photographers. Your mug shot looks more like a man named Mickey J. Morris, than it does like you. Of course, that’s probably because the poor guy was incarcerated in your place. Now, where’s your sense of fair play?”
“Been fooling around with the computer again, Jarod? I’m surprised you could see the screen. You must not be using as much sugar in your coffee these days, considering Meisser laced it with enough LSD, to send you to Disney Land for a few days.”
“Sorry to disappoint you. Guess you’ll have to hire better help, next time,” he said, in a loathing voice, sickened by what he’d just heard.
“Actually, it wasn’t my idea. I thought it would be a terrible waste of time and gray matter.”
”And what about the hallucinogen overdose you gave me at the Centre? Was that a terrible waste, too?”
“You got what you deserved.”
“Did you kill Agent Meisser or did Agent Lucas have it done?” he spit, barely able to contain his rage. “I’ve seen the fraudulent criminal records and documents on me, Lucas must have used to convince Meisser to set me up for a mental breakdown. Maybe you should have waited until he got the job done before you took him out, you sick bastard.”
“You’re slipping, Jarod. Staging your unfortunate relapse was more about having unfettered access to your pretender skills, than just having you put away. Meisser apparently didn’t have the stomach for that, once he found out you weren’t really a threat to National Security, just ours.”
“You won’t think I’m slipping, once I shut down your twisted cloning project.”
“Back off, Jarod. I wouldn’t want your fiancée to meet an untimely death.”
“If you even go near her, I’ll…”
“You’ll what, Jarod? I’m really impressed. I had no idea you were such a passionate guy. Nice ring. Sorry, I don’t think the Triumvirate ever intended on you marrying Catherine Parker’s clone.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I thought you knew, Jarod. She’s the control subject for the entire cloning project. I was sure you of all people, would have double check the Centre lab’s DNA results that supposedly proved I was her twin.”
“Lyle, what do you want?” Jarod asked, totally exasperated, running his trembling fingers through his hair.
“The same thing I’ve always wanted; your cooperation, and I have Miss Parker here to guarantee I get it.
Our geneticists know you bull shitted your way through the preliminary project sessions with Kilmer and Moore. If you accurately sim Gemini III, Parker will go free. Everything’s been arranged for you in the Sim Lab for old times sake, but Meisser has kind of put us in a time crunch. Better hurry, this offer isn’t going to last long, and frankly, your “bride to be” sure looks tempting bound and gagged. Come alone, or I’ll slit her throat.”
-Click-
Jarod fought desperately not to hyperventilate, as he put down the phone, praying he had come off completely in control of his faculties, instead of drugged and utterly overwhelmed. Looking from the Major to Gemini, he ruled out the temptation of simming his situation, knowing it was too risky and the outcomes would be terribly skewed. Collapsing heavily into a nearby chair, his mind raced to come up with a viable plan, that would exclude the possibility of having Gemini and his dad fall into the wrong hands. Grabbing the pad and pencil off the table, he began to write Agent Malone’s cell phone number, but every stroke he made became three.
“Here, Dad, write this down,” Jarod said, tossing them to him and rattling off the number. “Get a hold of Bailey, and tell him what’s been going on. That was Lyle on the phone. He’s holding Miss Parker and I’m guessing, Broots, against their will, at the Centre and is threatening to kill them, unless I sim Gemini III,” he said doubling over slightly. “I think I’m going to be ill,” he lied, very convincingly.
“Here, son, let me help you,” the Major said worriedly, reaching out to give him a hand.
“No, I can manage, make that call. You know what Lyle is capable of, ” he said, using slight of hand to scoop up the gun and agent’s personal effects, the moment his dad reach for the phone.
After making his way to his adjoining room, Jarod locked the side door, exited the front one and left the hotel immediately.
***
St. Matthews Memorial Hospital
Room 511
4:15 PM
“Don’t worry, Dr. Green, Agents Malone and Waters ought to be arriving at the Marquee Hotel any moment, now. Why don’t you and Angelo come with me. Agent Ryan, will bring your bags down as soon as he completes the final paperwork.”
“If you don’t mind, I would rather wait here until I talk with Agent Malone personally,” Sydney said, skeptical of the agent’s claims.
“Suit yourself. His line is busy right now. I’ll try again in a minute. Why don’t you make sure you have all your things together.”
***
Two blocks East of the Marquee Hotel
4:27 PM
Jarod flashed the pilfered Agent’s badge in the cabby’s face, obscuring the photo with his thumb and got inside.
“Don’t you fellows have your own cars?”
“This is a special situation,” he said, buckling his seat belt. “You’re taking me to Blue Cove, but don’t call it in. First, I need to obtain a small quantity of lysergic acid diethylamide-25, um, Rod,” he said, reading his identification tag. “No questions asked. Do you understand?”
“Do I looked like, a rocket scientist, Mac? What the hell are you talking about?”
“Perhaps the term LSD is more familiar to you.”
“Oh yeah, sure Pal. But it’s going to cost you a whole lot extra, if you get my drift,” the seedy little man said, anxious to make a few extra bucks.
“Are you trying to use extortion on a Federal Agent, Mister?”
“Yeah right, Agent, what ever your name is. I’m no idiot, You’re a user man. I want extra for the risk,” he said, almost feeling guilty for trying to take advantage of a guy in such bad shape.
“What?”
“You’re high, right? The dilated eyes are a dead give away. Most people in your position wear sun glasses, so no one will catch on. Are you new at this or what?”
“I was interrupted in the middle of an eye exam. Just drive,” he said in a low voice, pulling out his gun and checking it in an intimidating manor.
***
Marquee Hotel
Room 629
4:41 PM
“Neither one are there,” the profiler said, pulling a stubborn lock of blond hair behind her ear. “And there’s no sign of a struggle in either of the rooms. My guess is they never returned to the hotel this afternoon.”
“I just got off the phone with John. He confirmed as much. He and George checked with the people who were involved in the debriefings. Apparently, an agent picked up Mr. Broots and Miss Parker a little over an hour ago, and was supposed to have brought them back here.”
“Someone out of Agent Lucas’ office?”
“Looks that way. We’ll have people in the air in about 5 minutes; ETA at the Centre, 25. An extraction team will be on site shortly. They’ll notify us, as soon as there’s any word about the hostages,” he said quietly to Sam before turning his attention back to Jarod’s Dad.
“Major, what you’ve all had to go through is unforgivable. I wish I didn’t need to ask this but, would it be possible to ask Jarod a few brief questions about his conversation with Mr. Lyle? That is, if you think he’s up to it. ATF could use all the information they can get, before they go in.”
“He’s um, he’s in the bed room. Just a moment,” he said letting out a deep sigh. “Gemini, would you let Jarod know Agents Malone and Waters are here and would like to ask him a few questions,” he said, pausing until his younger son was out of the room. “Be careful what you say to Jarod.” he said quietly. “He still hasn’t come down from the hallucinogen yet. He’s, um, really unstable and didn’t take the news about Parker and Broots very well.”
“Dad, he’s gone.”
***
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
Renewal Wing 5:12 PM
“Ja…Jarod, how did you get in here? This place is crawling with operatives. Ya you better know what you’re doing, Lyle has someone monitoring the surveillance cameras and probably already knows you’re here.”
“I know, it couldn’t be helped,” he said distractedly, as he worked the lock and opened the cell door. “Here take this,” he said, handing the nervous man his gun, hoping he’d be able to shoot it, if it came down to it.
“Come on, Jarod. This is n no time to play around. You you’re a better shot than I could ever be,” he said firmly, trying to give it back.
“Not today, Broots” he said, refusing to take it back. “Hurry. We don’t have much time.”
As they made their way down the dimly lit tunnel, Jarod suddenly slammed Broots against the wall, grabbed the gun, and stood in front of him, training it point blank on something that wasn’t there. After an excruciatingly tense moment, the pretender let out a shaky breath and leaned heavily against the wall, as Broots stared at him in shock, completely speechless.
“We have to get out of here,” Jarod said, recovering rapidly and proffering the gun to his reluctant partner again. “Where does Lyle have Parker?”
“SL 27, I think. At least that’s what I thought I overheard him say. Jarod, wa what’s the matter with you? You just faced off with a blank wall.”
“It’s called hallucinating. I’ve been drugged. Don’t worry, we only have to last, until the Calvary arrives. Let’s go.”
“Calvary? Oh shit, we’re all going to die!” he said under his breath, as he watched the drugged pretender take off down the dark corridor before hurrying to catch up.
***
SL 27
Raines’ Experimental Lab
“No, we still have plenty of time. I’ve ordered them to take him to your lab, as soon as he steps off the elevator. He’s probably too stoned to do the sim right now, so just have him sedated and loaded aboard the plane. Let me know, if you have any problems with him,” Lyle said giving Parker a little wink.
Then, speaking quietly in German, he appeared to share a joke with the other man, before telling him to leave the room..
Looking over at Miss Parker with a strange look on his face, he then issued some orders to the guards standing near him and told them to position themselves right outside the door.
“Well, Sis, I hate to disappoint you, but your sweetheart was just spotted with the computer geek, entering the west elevator off the renewal wing. Not exactly a ‘genius move’ for a pretender. It’s pretty obvious he’s a lot more stoned then he let on over the phone, or he wouldn’t have been foolish enough to show up alone,” he said, slicking his hair back with his hand. “This is almost too easy to be satisfying. I’ll have to think of something to liven things up a little bit,” he said, approaching Miss Parker, who was subtly working the rope she was bound with, trying to avoid cutting into her wrists, as she started to work her hands free.
“Having delusions of grandeur again, Lyle? With all you’ve done to Jarod, he’s going to cut you to shreds. I thought you learned a long time ago, never to underestimate him.”
“You can’t be serious. He’s too far gone to be any kind of danger to me, “ he said, leaning over and forcing a rough kiss on her. “Oh, don’t look at me that way, you’re not married yet,” he breathed, holding her struggling face still and kissing her roughly again, barely avoiding being badly bitten.
“You twisted pathetic spineless worm. I’m glad our mother never lived to know what a sick creature she gave birth to,” she said, spitting in his face.
“Your mother not mine, you feisty little thing. I like that in a woman,” he said, smacking her across the face with an evil grin, then looking over the rest of her appraisingly.
“You know, I’ve wanted you for a long time, but had to keep up appearances until now. Catherine Parker isn’t my mother and you certainly aren’t my twin,” he said with a smirk, stepping away for a moment to slip off his designer silk jacket, laying it carefully over a chair. “It’s amazing how may people bought into that lie, including you,” he said slowly walking toward her, no question in his mind what he was going to do next.
Suddenly, Jarod burst through the door, took one look at the abrasion on Parker’s face, aimed at Lyle’s lower anatomy and fired, before the former chairman’s son had a chance to react.
Lyle fell to the floor clutching his left thigh, struggling to keep his wits about him, terrified that Jarod would finish the job.
“Think of what you’re doing, Jarod. You don’t want to be a murderer do you?”
“Shut up Lyle. Be grateful I missed what I was aiming for,” he growled, pulling back the hammer on his gun again, and keeping it trained on the injured man.
“Parker, what did he do to you?” Jarod asked, nearly choking on the words.
“Nothing, Jarod. He just ruffed me up a little,” she said trying to calm him down, before he really did murder Lyle.
Holstering his gun for a moment, Jarod untied Parker, quickly examining her wrists and cheek, before helping her out of the chair. Then pulling his gun out again, he cocked it, and aimed it at Lyle, transfixed by the blood on the floor.
“Jarod, are you all right?” Parker asked, frightened by the way he seemed to be phasing in and out of it, as he wobbled slightly, continued to train his gun shakily on the other man.
“I fine, Parker,” he said with a detached look on his face, her words barely registering, as he stared at his victim and the blood on the floor. “ATF will be arriving any minute now. Broots is next door, keeping an eye on a few obstacles we met on our way up. You might want to wait with him, until they arrive. Lyle and I are going to need a little privacy.”
“What ever you say, Jarod. Good luck, Lyle. I hate to say I told you so,” she said with mock sympathy.
“You can’t leave me alone with this mad man. He’s going to let me bleed to death. Parker? Parker come back here!”
***
