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Chapter or Story 
Chapter or Story
Safe House (undisclosed location)
Tuesday
Jarod and Andrea's temporary bedroom
12:05 PM
Jarod mumbled under his breath in the throes of a vivid
nightmare, pleading with a terrifying specter to leave him alone.
Abruptly awakening, he quickly scanned the sparsely furnished room
lit only by an occasional flash of lightening, visible in the dead
of night.
Satisfied that no one was lurking in the shadows, his eyes
fell on his sleeping wife, reassuring him that it had only been a
horrible dream.
Easing back down, the pretender tried to go back to sleep,
aware that, for better or sores, his sedative was losing its
effectiveness.
Jarod and Andrea's temporary bedroom
2:04 AM
"Drop the gun, Hans, you don't stand a chance."
"I might get lucky."
"You're out gunned nine to one. Don't do this."
"Do you have any idea what they'll do to me, if I'm sent to prison?
They have people on the inside."
"We'll put you in protected custody. Now, drop the gun."
The cornered man dove desperately for cover as he fired, unable to
dodge the onslaught of return fire ripping him apart.
*
Jarod's eyes flew open as a round of thunder shook the house
franticly trying to get his bearings.
Forcing himself back down on the pillow as Andrea repositioned
herself, he focused on the rain pelting the window trying not to
obsess about Hans' death.
Eventually, his breathing regulated and he fell back asleep.
*
3:25 AM
Jarod and Andrea's temporary bedroom
Hospital waiting room
"It was an easy delivery; Andi and baby are doing just fine."
"Easy? I bet Andi would beg to differ with you," Emily
chided giving her brother a great big hug.
"Here, son; I got you a cup of coffee from the vending
machine down the hall.
"You look really beat."
"No, you're wrong. I've never felt more alive in my life.
Let me check on Andi and see if she's ready for visitors. I can't
wait for you to meet our son."
"Aren't you going to say "Hi" to me, Jarod?"
"My gosh, Joe! Where'd you come from?"
"I heard you were working for the Fed's again, so I thought
I'd drop by and see how you were doing. Broots filled me in. Way to
go buddy," he said, slapping him on the back. You've sure come a
long way since your ordeal with the Centre."
"Not a day goes by when I don't count my blessing. Wait
here; I'll be right back."
*
Birthing room…
Jarod let out a guttural cry as he opened the door, spilling his
coffee all over himself.
Rushing to the blood soaked bed, he clawed at the paper
pinned to the pillow, struggling to read the terse note.
"He's mine now", Lyle.
*
Jarod awoke as a clap of thunder resonated through the
house, assaulted by a paralyzing anxiety attack.
Once it had passed, the traumatized young man slipped carefully out
of bed and went to the window instinctively scanning the deserted
street.
"Honey, what are you doing?"
"Just closing the window. Andi, go on back to sleep."
Grateful that apparently the down pour had masked his frantic cries,
he padded his way to the bathroom and washed the sweat off his face
dismayed that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop shaking.
Reentering the room, he reluctantly returned to bed for
Andrea's sake, knowing full-well it was pointless to try and get any
more sleep.
8:05 AM
Lightening snaked its way across the sky, followed by an angry clap
of thunder, announcing the beginning of a second storm.
"Waking with a start, Jarod protectively turned toward Andrea only
to find she was no longer in bed.
Yawning heavily, he got up, slipped on some clothing and headed down
stairs, angry that his nightmares had plagued him all night.
Hoping for his daily briefing but not finding Agent Morris at his
post, he padded his way to the kitchen with another deep yawn.
"Good morning, son, how are you feeling?" Major Charles asked as the
younger man entered the kitchen.
"Better, dad; Rough night?"
"I could say the same about you," he said, running his fingers
though his hair. Your mom was so exhausted, she rolled over and went
back to sleep. It was all that thunder and lightning that got to me;
it actually shook the house a couple of times."
"How did you and Andrea fare?"
"I kept watch while she slept," he said with a grin, taking the
kettle off the stove and filling it part way with water. "Now that
she's pregnant, she seems able to sleep through about anything."
"I just caught the weather report. We're in for storms on and off
through Friday. I imagine they'll bring up a good batch of shells.
Michael wanted to ask one of the agents if he could go down at low
tide and check it out, but, um, that may be out of the question."
"You're bored aren't you?"
"That's an understatement."
"Hey, little buddy, don't worry; there'll be plenty more
opportunities to collect shells after this is over," Jarod said,
reaching in the cabinet for a couple of mugs.
"Yeah, you're right," Michael mumbled, leaning heavily on the
table, resting his head in his hand.
"Have you decided whether or not you and Andrea are going to stay
here to raise your child?"
"No, dad, not yet," he said, suddenly losing control of the carafe
and splashing coffee all over the counter.
"I'm going to take a nap after a while; Jarod, you might consider
doing the same thing," the Major suggested, trying not to stare, as
his son took a dish towel and mopped up the mess.
"We'll see."
"Would you like some breakfast? There're plenty of pancakes left,"
he offered, glancing at Michael's plate to make sure he hadn't
filled it again.
"No thanks, dad; I just thought I'd take some tea upstairs to Andi,"
he said, putting a tea bag in the mug and adding the hot water with
a more steady hand.
Eyeing a box of doughnuts, he selected several and added them to the
tray.
"Boy, Andi must have quite an appetite today," he said, watching
Jarod inundate his coffee with sugar.
"Yeah, well, being pregnant will do that to you," he said with a sly
smile, trying his best to balance the tray mainly with his right
hand.
"Michael, why don't you help your brother take that upstairs," he
said, grateful that his son was starting to get his sense of humor
back.
* *
*
Jarod and Andrea's temporary bedroom
5 minutes later…
"Jarod, what are you doing awake?" Andrea asked, as she
entered the room sporting her terry robe.
"Its morning; what kind of question is that?" he asked, drawing her
near him with his good arm and giving her a generous kiss.
"I know, but you didn't sleep well last night."
"And how would you know that? As I remember you were dead to the
world."
"I can tell just by looking at you," she said, giving him a worried
look. "Maybe you should take a nap."
"Only if you tuck me in," he said, kissing her on the neck."
"Jarod, stop it, I'm serious. Here, you better take your new
medication now," she said, taking the pill bottle and proffering him
a tiny pill.
"Hey, hey, I don't want you worrying so much about me; it's not
doing either of us any good," he said, feeling a twang of guilt as
he grabbed his coffee and palmed his unwanted tranquilizer as he
took a sip.
"Would you like some herbal tea?" he asked, busily dunking the tea
bag up and down in the cup.
"It's supposed to be good for morning sickness." he said, motioning
for her to settle into bed, and then handing it to her.
"I'm impressed." she said, taking a tentative sip then setting it
aside. "Who are these doughnuts for?"
"Wouldn't you like to know," he said, sliding into bed with her and
giving her a playful kiss. "After this is over, I'm going to take
you somewhere far away from all this madness, I promise you."
"Mmm, I'm holding you to that," she said, returning his kiss
with one of her own, willing the insanity they were trapped in to go
away, if only for a little while.
9:20 AM
Safe House
Foyer
"Hello, Dr.Green, Come on in."
"Thank you Agent Carroll, is Jarod available?"
"Just call me, Jim. He's upstairs on the phone. I'll let him
know you are here," he said, climbing the stairs.
* * *
Andi and Jarod's temporary bedroom
Moments later…
"And what about our German counterparts; Are they up to
speed on this?"
"Sure, Jarod. Plans for that contingency were set a couple
of weeks ago. If the geneticists managed to clone you again,
psychiatrists will be on hand to counsel them before they're brought
back to the states."
"I see," Jarod said with a heavy sigh.
"Bring up the inmate roster, C-block #17 at South Haven Penitentiary
in Atlanta, and make sure Lyle is staying put."
"Sure, Jarod, but I'm positive…"
"Broots, please, just do it."
"Jarod, Your doctor is here," Jim said tapping on the closed
door.
"Thanks," he said distractedly, holding the phone to his
chest. "You can have him come up."
"Apparently he…he's been in trouble again. They have him in
listed as in solitary confinement."
"Still the model deviant," the pretender mused, leaving his
seat to glance out the window.
"Broots, you know what's at stake here; there can't be any mistakes.
If even one of Sieble's men should escape…"
"Look, Jarod. I know you'd rather be here over-seeing this,
but trust me; these men are professionals; there's nothing to worry
about. I mean, well, if I were in your shoes, I… I wouldn't worry.
Of course I'm no…not, but, well you know what I mean."
*
Sydney gave his patient an exasperated look as he entered the
bedroom, spotting him staring out the window intently listening on
the phone.
"Jarod, it's time for our talk," he said in a tone that conveyed he
was less than thrilled with what he was doing.
"Just a minute."
"Broots what about the person of interest?"
"He hasn't done anything yet. The…there's Ba…Bailey. I better go."
*
"What did I say about involving yourself in the sting
operation? You're supposed to be resting right now," he admonished,
taking a chair by the bed and flipping open the pretender's chart.
"Resting? You've got to be kidding; in this damnable place?
I should be down at the office doing my job."
"Jarod, I thought we had an understanding about the phone."
"Broots is my friend. I have every right to talk to him," he
countered, giving his psychiatrist a defiant look as he headed for
the door.
"Wait, Jarod, where are you going?"
"I need to return this," he said, opening the door and
heading down stairs.
Moments later…
"Jarod, has something happened?"
"Not yet," he said quietly, as he sat down on the bed.
"I'd rather you didn't make any more calls to the down town office.
I thought you already understood that."
"I'd rather I did."
"Jarod, you still have a long way to go before you'll be
ready to resume you job. Your focus needs to be on getting well.
It's my observation that when you talk to Broots you become
noticeably agitated."
"You're wrong, Sydney. Keeping track of what's going on down town,
helps me feel more in control," he said, crossing the room to the
window out of habit, taking a moment to peek through the blinds
again.
"All right, we'll discuss that later. Why don't you have a seat and
we'll begin our session," he suggested, finding it odd that despite
his new medication, he had a bad case of the shakes.
"Jarod, how are you feeling today?"
"Better; the screaming finally stopped," he said, folding
his hands, trying to stop them from shaking only to abandon that and
ease them out of sight.
"My word, Jarod, that's wonderful news. When did you first notice
that?"
Jarod, should I repeat the question?" he asked, suspecting he was
having a flashback.
"Oh, um, the moment I woke up," he said running a hand over his
eyes.
"That's a very significant development in your recovery."
"I know. It was starting to…"
"Starting to what?"
"Never mind."
"Operation retrieval is on again for later this week," he said,
eyeing the bed spread fringe for a moment, before speaking again. "I
want to be down at the office when it takes place."
"I'm not sure you're ready for that. We haven't had time to
desensitize your from the abundant triggers of your traumatic
experience there."
"That's immaterial. The new medication I'm on is working well for
me. None of the flashbacks I've had today are having much of an
impact on me."
"Oh? Why don't you tell me about them one at a time and don't leave
anything out." * * *
"That was very difficult for you. Would you like to take a break?"
"That won't be necessary. You didn't answer my question about going
down town. Frankly, I'm frustrated just sitting here doing nothing."
"You're working very hard at overcoming the trauma you've been
through. I wouldn't characterize that as `sitting around doing
nothing'."
"I'm better now; it shouldn't pose any problem. Damn it, Sydney,
answer me."
"You don't look better to me, Jarod; on the contrary, you seem
extremely nervous and exhausted. It doesn't look like you got any
sleep last night," he challenged, noting the dark circles under his
blood shot eyes.
"I had a difficult time with the storms."
"How many nightmares did you have?"
"I told you, the storms…"
"As I recall, thunder unfortunately is one of your triggers. It must
have precipitated some vivid dreams," he coaxed, realizing by the
look on his face that his patient was still deeply affected by
something.
"This is so self-serving."
"This is how you're going to get well."
The pretender stared passed his psychiatrist lost in thought before
bringing his attention back to the man who knew him too well.
"There was a particularly disturbing one..."he began, trailing off
and looking away.
"Why don't you tell me about it?" he encouraged, noticing that he
was rocking himself slightly.
"It had such a wonderful beginning… Andi had just had our baby," he
began, suddenly shielding his eyes from the other man as he fought
not to break down and cry.
"Jarod, what happened?" his psychiatrist asked gently.
His patient started to say something, then shook his head and fell
silent for a while, only to abandon his second attempt to speak as
well.
"Why can't I talk about this; it was only a dream?" he asked,
shaking his head in dismay. "I felt so good this morning…"
"Yes, your wife mentioned that you brought her breakfast in bed."
"Jarod, it will help you immensely if you tell me what happened.
Take all the time you need," he encouraged, waiting patiently until
he was ready to speak again.
"There was so much blood," he whispered, stepping to the window,
desperate to think of something else.
"Jarod, I think you better sit down," his doctor urged, noting all
the color had drained from his face. "There you go."
"Your dream is a natural extension of your fears. Once the sting
operation is over the threat against you and your family will be
gone."
"I wish I were as convinced as you are," he said, running his
trembling fingers through his dark hair.
"You will, over time. Revealing your fears is the first step in
resolving them," he said, deciding to end the session early, rather
than push him too hard. "Have you had your tranquilizer yet?"
"Andi gave it to me around 8:30."
"That's curious. You're extremely wound up. It doesn't seem to be
having any effect on you."
"I haven't taken it yet."
"Why?"
"There were things I needed to do and after what happened last
night, it would have probably put me to sleep."
"Jarod, we had an agreement about your medications."
"I know."
"I want you to take it now," he said evenly, holding his anger in
check.
"I'd really rather not. I'm not ready to face any more nightmares
right now," he said, eyeing him nervously.
"You'll be able to cope better after you get some decent sleep. You
need to at least try," he said, relieved that he reluctantly
complied.
"What about the sting operation?" Jarod asked, hoping he didn't just
blow his chances.
"We'll get into a deeper discussion about that later today," he said
giving him a gentle pat on the back.
"Now, get some rest. I'll check back with you around 3:00pm," he
said, quietly leaving the room.
* * *
"Deeper discussion; damn."
Jarod waited until the door had closed, before taking a seat and
deliberately beginning to sim his impending trek down town,
determined to be ready no matter the cost.
*
After a few minutes in the bathroom throwing up, he sank onto the
bed completely spent, realizing it would take more than one try
before he was anywhere near ready to actually face the computer room
again.
Stretching out on the bed, he gave up and allowed himself to
concentrate on going to
sleep. *
"You should have co-operated with me while you had the chance.
Shackle him to the wall," Lyle said, enjoying the show as the spent
pretender struggled weakly against the sweepers as they propped him
up, locking his wrists and ankles in the metal restraints.
"You look a little confused, Jarod. My apologies. I must have
forgotten to explain to you that Raines' truth serum is a horrendous
hallucinogenic drug
"No…you can't do this to me," he managed, overwhelmed by the sudden
onslaught of terrifying images flooding his mind.
"Oh yes I can. Daddy won't be back until tomorrow; until then Raines
is in charge. Now tell me, where did Major Charles take our
property?"
"I don't know."
"I can end this right now," he said holding up a little vial. Tell
me what I want to know and I'll give you the antidote. "Where is
Gemini?"
"Go to hell."
"Funny you should mention it, that's exactly where you're going to
go," he said nodding to one of the sweepers who activated an
armature of pulsating flood lights.
*
Suddenly the bedroom filled with light as a violent crack of thunder
awoke the soaking wet pretender.
Quickly scanning the sparsely furnished room, his heavy eyes fell on
the clock, telling him he'd only been asleep for a short time.
Tuesday
Jarod and Andrea's temporary bedroom
12:05 PM
Jarod mumbled under his breath in the throes of a vivid
nightmare, pleading with a terrifying specter to leave him alone.
Abruptly awakening, he quickly scanned the sparsely furnished room
lit only by an occasional flash of lightening, visible in the dead
of night.
Satisfied that no one was lurking in the shadows, his eyes
fell on his sleeping wife, reassuring him that it had only been a
horrible dream.
Easing back down, the pretender tried to go back to sleep,
aware that, for better or sores, his sedative was losing its
effectiveness.
Jarod and Andrea's temporary bedroom
2:04 AM
"Drop the gun, Hans, you don't stand a chance."
"I might get lucky."
"You're out gunned nine to one. Don't do this."
"Do you have any idea what they'll do to me, if I'm sent to prison?
They have people on the inside."
"We'll put you in protected custody. Now, drop the gun."
The cornered man dove desperately for cover as he fired, unable to
dodge the onslaught of return fire ripping him apart.
*
Jarod's eyes flew open as a round of thunder shook the house
franticly trying to get his bearings.
Forcing himself back down on the pillow as Andrea repositioned
herself, he focused on the rain pelting the window trying not to
obsess about Hans' death.
Eventually, his breathing regulated and he fell back asleep.
*
3:25 AM
Jarod and Andrea's temporary bedroom
Hospital waiting room
"It was an easy delivery; Andi and baby are doing just fine."
"Easy? I bet Andi would beg to differ with you," Emily
chided giving her brother a great big hug.
"Here, son; I got you a cup of coffee from the vending
machine down the hall.
"You look really beat."
"No, you're wrong. I've never felt more alive in my life.
Let me check on Andi and see if she's ready for visitors. I can't
wait for you to meet our son."
"Aren't you going to say "Hi" to me, Jarod?"
"My gosh, Joe! Where'd you come from?"
"I heard you were working for the Fed's again, so I thought
I'd drop by and see how you were doing. Broots filled me in. Way to
go buddy," he said, slapping him on the back. You've sure come a
long way since your ordeal with the Centre."
"Not a day goes by when I don't count my blessing. Wait
here; I'll be right back."
*
Birthing room…
Jarod let out a guttural cry as he opened the door, spilling his
coffee all over himself.
Rushing to the blood soaked bed, he clawed at the paper
pinned to the pillow, struggling to read the terse note.
"He's mine now", Lyle.
*
Jarod awoke as a clap of thunder resonated through the
house, assaulted by a paralyzing anxiety attack.
Once it had passed, the traumatized young man slipped carefully out
of bed and went to the window instinctively scanning the deserted
street.
"Honey, what are you doing?"
"Just closing the window. Andi, go on back to sleep."
Grateful that apparently the down pour had masked his frantic cries,
he padded his way to the bathroom and washed the sweat off his face
dismayed that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop shaking.
Reentering the room, he reluctantly returned to bed for
Andrea's sake, knowing full-well it was pointless to try and get any
more sleep.
8:05 AM
Lightening snaked its way across the sky, followed by an angry clap
of thunder, announcing the beginning of a second storm.
"Waking with a start, Jarod protectively turned toward Andrea only
to find she was no longer in bed.
Yawning heavily, he got up, slipped on some clothing and headed down
stairs, angry that his nightmares had plagued him all night.
Hoping for his daily briefing but not finding Agent Morris at his
post, he padded his way to the kitchen with another deep yawn.
"Good morning, son, how are you feeling?" Major Charles asked as the
younger man entered the kitchen.
"Better, dad; Rough night?"
"I could say the same about you," he said, running his fingers
though his hair. Your mom was so exhausted, she rolled over and went
back to sleep. It was all that thunder and lightning that got to me;
it actually shook the house a couple of times."
"How did you and Andrea fare?"
"I kept watch while she slept," he said with a grin, taking the
kettle off the stove and filling it part way with water. "Now that
she's pregnant, she seems able to sleep through about anything."
"I just caught the weather report. We're in for storms on and off
through Friday. I imagine they'll bring up a good batch of shells.
Michael wanted to ask one of the agents if he could go down at low
tide and check it out, but, um, that may be out of the question."
"You're bored aren't you?"
"That's an understatement."
"Hey, little buddy, don't worry; there'll be plenty more
opportunities to collect shells after this is over," Jarod said,
reaching in the cabinet for a couple of mugs.
"Yeah, you're right," Michael mumbled, leaning heavily on the
table, resting his head in his hand.
"Have you decided whether or not you and Andrea are going to stay
here to raise your child?"
"No, dad, not yet," he said, suddenly losing control of the carafe
and splashing coffee all over the counter.
"I'm going to take a nap after a while; Jarod, you might consider
doing the same thing," the Major suggested, trying not to stare, as
his son took a dish towel and mopped up the mess.
"We'll see."
"Would you like some breakfast? There're plenty of pancakes left,"
he offered, glancing at Michael's plate to make sure he hadn't
filled it again.
"No thanks, dad; I just thought I'd take some tea upstairs to Andi,"
he said, putting a tea bag in the mug and adding the hot water with
a more steady hand.
Eyeing a box of doughnuts, he selected several and added them to the
tray.
"Boy, Andi must have quite an appetite today," he said, watching
Jarod inundate his coffee with sugar.
"Yeah, well, being pregnant will do that to you," he said with a sly
smile, trying his best to balance the tray mainly with his right
hand.
"Michael, why don't you help your brother take that upstairs," he
said, grateful that his son was starting to get his sense of humor
back.
* *
*
Jarod and Andrea's temporary bedroom
5 minutes later…
"Jarod, what are you doing awake?" Andrea asked, as she
entered the room sporting her terry robe.
"Its morning; what kind of question is that?" he asked, drawing her
near him with his good arm and giving her a generous kiss.
"I know, but you didn't sleep well last night."
"And how would you know that? As I remember you were dead to the
world."
"I can tell just by looking at you," she said, giving him a worried
look. "Maybe you should take a nap."
"Only if you tuck me in," he said, kissing her on the neck."
"Jarod, stop it, I'm serious. Here, you better take your new
medication now," she said, taking the pill bottle and proffering him
a tiny pill.
"Hey, hey, I don't want you worrying so much about me; it's not
doing either of us any good," he said, feeling a twang of guilt as
he grabbed his coffee and palmed his unwanted tranquilizer as he
took a sip.
"Would you like some herbal tea?" he asked, busily dunking the tea
bag up and down in the cup.
"It's supposed to be good for morning sickness." he said, motioning
for her to settle into bed, and then handing it to her.
"I'm impressed." she said, taking a tentative sip then setting it
aside. "Who are these doughnuts for?"
"Wouldn't you like to know," he said, sliding into bed with her and
giving her a playful kiss. "After this is over, I'm going to take
you somewhere far away from all this madness, I promise you."
"Mmm, I'm holding you to that," she said, returning his kiss
with one of her own, willing the insanity they were trapped in to go
away, if only for a little while.
9:20 AM
Safe House
Foyer
"Hello, Dr.Green, Come on in."
"Thank you Agent Carroll, is Jarod available?"
"Just call me, Jim. He's upstairs on the phone. I'll let him
know you are here," he said, climbing the stairs.
* * *
Andi and Jarod's temporary bedroom
Moments later…
"And what about our German counterparts; Are they up to
speed on this?"
"Sure, Jarod. Plans for that contingency were set a couple
of weeks ago. If the geneticists managed to clone you again,
psychiatrists will be on hand to counsel them before they're brought
back to the states."
"I see," Jarod said with a heavy sigh.
"Bring up the inmate roster, C-block #17 at South Haven Penitentiary
in Atlanta, and make sure Lyle is staying put."
"Sure, Jarod, but I'm positive…"
"Broots, please, just do it."
"Jarod, Your doctor is here," Jim said tapping on the closed
door.
"Thanks," he said distractedly, holding the phone to his
chest. "You can have him come up."
"Apparently he…he's been in trouble again. They have him in
listed as in solitary confinement."
"Still the model deviant," the pretender mused, leaving his
seat to glance out the window.
"Broots, you know what's at stake here; there can't be any mistakes.
If even one of Sieble's men should escape…"
"Look, Jarod. I know you'd rather be here over-seeing this,
but trust me; these men are professionals; there's nothing to worry
about. I mean, well, if I were in your shoes, I… I wouldn't worry.
Of course I'm no…not, but, well you know what I mean."
*
Sydney gave his patient an exasperated look as he entered the
bedroom, spotting him staring out the window intently listening on
the phone.
"Jarod, it's time for our talk," he said in a tone that conveyed he
was less than thrilled with what he was doing.
"Just a minute."
"Broots what about the person of interest?"
"He hasn't done anything yet. The…there's Ba…Bailey. I better go."
*
"What did I say about involving yourself in the sting
operation? You're supposed to be resting right now," he admonished,
taking a chair by the bed and flipping open the pretender's chart.
"Resting? You've got to be kidding; in this damnable place?
I should be down at the office doing my job."
"Jarod, I thought we had an understanding about the phone."
"Broots is my friend. I have every right to talk to him," he
countered, giving his psychiatrist a defiant look as he headed for
the door.
"Wait, Jarod, where are you going?"
"I need to return this," he said, opening the door and
heading down stairs.
Moments later…
"Jarod, has something happened?"
"Not yet," he said quietly, as he sat down on the bed.
"I'd rather you didn't make any more calls to the down town office.
I thought you already understood that."
"I'd rather I did."
"Jarod, you still have a long way to go before you'll be
ready to resume you job. Your focus needs to be on getting well.
It's my observation that when you talk to Broots you become
noticeably agitated."
"You're wrong, Sydney. Keeping track of what's going on down town,
helps me feel more in control," he said, crossing the room to the
window out of habit, taking a moment to peek through the blinds
again.
"All right, we'll discuss that later. Why don't you have a seat and
we'll begin our session," he suggested, finding it odd that despite
his new medication, he had a bad case of the shakes.
"Jarod, how are you feeling today?"
"Better; the screaming finally stopped," he said, folding
his hands, trying to stop them from shaking only to abandon that and
ease them out of sight.
"My word, Jarod, that's wonderful news. When did you first notice
that?"
Jarod, should I repeat the question?" he asked, suspecting he was
having a flashback.
"Oh, um, the moment I woke up," he said running a hand over his
eyes.
"That's a very significant development in your recovery."
"I know. It was starting to…"
"Starting to what?"
"Never mind."
"Operation retrieval is on again for later this week," he said,
eyeing the bed spread fringe for a moment, before speaking again. "I
want to be down at the office when it takes place."
"I'm not sure you're ready for that. We haven't had time to
desensitize your from the abundant triggers of your traumatic
experience there."
"That's immaterial. The new medication I'm on is working well for
me. None of the flashbacks I've had today are having much of an
impact on me."
"Oh? Why don't you tell me about them one at a time and don't leave
anything out." * * *
"That was very difficult for you. Would you like to take a break?"
"That won't be necessary. You didn't answer my question about going
down town. Frankly, I'm frustrated just sitting here doing nothing."
"You're working very hard at overcoming the trauma you've been
through. I wouldn't characterize that as `sitting around doing
nothing'."
"I'm better now; it shouldn't pose any problem. Damn it, Sydney,
answer me."
"You don't look better to me, Jarod; on the contrary, you seem
extremely nervous and exhausted. It doesn't look like you got any
sleep last night," he challenged, noting the dark circles under his
blood shot eyes.
"I had a difficult time with the storms."
"How many nightmares did you have?"
"I told you, the storms…"
"As I recall, thunder unfortunately is one of your triggers. It must
have precipitated some vivid dreams," he coaxed, realizing by the
look on his face that his patient was still deeply affected by
something.
"This is so self-serving."
"This is how you're going to get well."
The pretender stared passed his psychiatrist lost in thought before
bringing his attention back to the man who knew him too well.
"There was a particularly disturbing one..."he began, trailing off
and looking away.
"Why don't you tell me about it?" he encouraged, noticing that he
was rocking himself slightly.
"It had such a wonderful beginning… Andi had just had our baby," he
began, suddenly shielding his eyes from the other man as he fought
not to break down and cry.
"Jarod, what happened?" his psychiatrist asked gently.
His patient started to say something, then shook his head and fell
silent for a while, only to abandon his second attempt to speak as
well.
"Why can't I talk about this; it was only a dream?" he asked,
shaking his head in dismay. "I felt so good this morning…"
"Yes, your wife mentioned that you brought her breakfast in bed."
"Jarod, it will help you immensely if you tell me what happened.
Take all the time you need," he encouraged, waiting patiently until
he was ready to speak again.
"There was so much blood," he whispered, stepping to the window,
desperate to think of something else.
"Jarod, I think you better sit down," his doctor urged, noting all
the color had drained from his face. "There you go."
"Your dream is a natural extension of your fears. Once the sting
operation is over the threat against you and your family will be
gone."
"I wish I were as convinced as you are," he said, running his
trembling fingers through his dark hair.
"You will, over time. Revealing your fears is the first step in
resolving them," he said, deciding to end the session early, rather
than push him too hard. "Have you had your tranquilizer yet?"
"Andi gave it to me around 8:30."
"That's curious. You're extremely wound up. It doesn't seem to be
having any effect on you."
"I haven't taken it yet."
"Why?"
"There were things I needed to do and after what happened last
night, it would have probably put me to sleep."
"Jarod, we had an agreement about your medications."
"I know."
"I want you to take it now," he said evenly, holding his anger in
check.
"I'd really rather not. I'm not ready to face any more nightmares
right now," he said, eyeing him nervously.
"You'll be able to cope better after you get some decent sleep. You
need to at least try," he said, relieved that he reluctantly
complied.
"What about the sting operation?" Jarod asked, hoping he didn't just
blow his chances.
"We'll get into a deeper discussion about that later today," he said
giving him a gentle pat on the back.
"Now, get some rest. I'll check back with you around 3:00pm," he
said, quietly leaving the room.
* * *
"Deeper discussion; damn."
Jarod waited until the door had closed, before taking a seat and
deliberately beginning to sim his impending trek down town,
determined to be ready no matter the cost.
*
After a few minutes in the bathroom throwing up, he sank onto the
bed completely spent, realizing it would take more than one try
before he was anywhere near ready to actually face the computer room
again.
Stretching out on the bed, he gave up and allowed himself to
concentrate on going to
sleep. *
"You should have co-operated with me while you had the chance.
Shackle him to the wall," Lyle said, enjoying the show as the spent
pretender struggled weakly against the sweepers as they propped him
up, locking his wrists and ankles in the metal restraints.
"You look a little confused, Jarod. My apologies. I must have
forgotten to explain to you that Raines' truth serum is a horrendous
hallucinogenic drug
"No…you can't do this to me," he managed, overwhelmed by the sudden
onslaught of terrifying images flooding his mind.
"Oh yes I can. Daddy won't be back until tomorrow; until then Raines
is in charge. Now tell me, where did Major Charles take our
property?"
"I don't know."
"I can end this right now," he said holding up a little vial. Tell
me what I want to know and I'll give you the antidote. "Where is
Gemini?"
"Go to hell."
"Funny you should mention it, that's exactly where you're going to
go," he said nodding to one of the sweepers who activated an
armature of pulsating flood lights.
*
Suddenly the bedroom filled with light as a violent crack of thunder
awoke the soaking wet pretender.
Quickly scanning the sparsely furnished room, his heavy eyes fell on
the clock, telling him he'd only been asleep for a short time.
