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Chapter 12
Mythos House, Michigan
Miss Parker stood slowly, her arm hanging uselessly next to her side. She could feel the blood starting to drip down her arm from the wound in her shoulder. Somehow in the chaos of the fire fight she had been hit by a stray bullet, her own having found Willie where he had been hiding behind an overturned table. The sweeper groaned and moved slightly. She stepped towards the table and took the gun that lay next to an unresponsive hand. She checked the chamber and satisfied that there were enough bullets, she dropped it in her coat pocket. The other sweeper was crumbled in the middle of the floor, his staring eyes indicating that he will never hold another weapon again. She ignored Raines for the moment while she made her way over to where the boy was holding on to the man that had held him. From the relaxed way he laid she knew that he could only dead. The boy was pleading in a broken voice, shaking the body before laying his head on the man’s chest. A low moan of sorrow tore from somewhere deep inside Davey. She felt if her soul was being torn away. The image of her mother’s body in the elevator was so strong that tears were forming in her eyes. Remembering where she was, she drew on her inner strength, steeling her emotions till she was the ice queen once again. She knelt, careful to keep her wounded shoulder away from him.
“Davey, honey, look at me,” she coaxed, taking him by gently by his shoulder.
“No,” Davey cried, twisting out of her grip and increasing his own grip on Cain’s bloody shirt. “He promised.”
Aware of how powerless she felt, she tried to figure out a way in helping the boy. She awkwardly rubbed his back, wondering what Jarod would have done in the same situation. Practicality won out. She needed to stop her own bleeding and she hoped that in giving the boy something to do that it would help to avert his focus from the dead man.
“Davey, I need you to help me,” she said, rubbing Davey’s hair until he nodded against the dark material of Cain’s shirt, “I’ve been hurt and I need to stop the bleeding. Do you think you can find me a towel?”
Davey’s grieved eyes slid from Cain’s body towards her shoulder where the blood had already started to seep through her shirt. His small hands were already reddened from Cain’s blood as they slowly unwound around the shirt he had been clutching. He seemed to draw strength from somewhere.
“Ok,” he muttered brokenly
He sniffled, wiping his nose. He lay his head back down on Cain’s breast and for one brief moment Miss Parker wondered if the boy had understood her. She waited for a few moments, not wanting to intrude but aware of time constraints and her own problems. She was about to intervene when the boy abruptly rose and left without another word.
Miss Parker held her arm next to her as she stepped closer to Raines. The man was lying on his side, groping for the oxygen tank that had somehow managed to elude his grasp. She could hear the wheezing gasps as he tried to draw in oxygen. She lined her gun towards his face, her own impassive.
“You…don’t…want to…do…that…Miss Parker,” Raines managed to utter through lips that was slowly turning blue.
“Why not,” she asked, her gun hand steady, “You had never brought life in this world, only death.”
“I know….where Jarod…is,” he gasped, his beady black eyes boring into hers. She frowned, wondering what Raines meant. It wasn’t as if she had no idea. Jarod was safe, or as safe as he could be, searching for Davey with Lyle in town.
“So do I,” she replied, starting to tighten her finger.
“You…don’t understand…We…have Jarod…”
Miss Parker raised an eyebrow. Seeing the state that Raines was in, prompted her to help the ailing man re-attach his oxygen. She had no pity at all for the ghoul, the only reason she had done it was to get more information out of him. She waited till he had drawn in a few lungful of breaths before she cocked her gun.
“Explain,” she demanded, ignoring the ache that was now pounding with regular intervals from her torn shoulder muscle.
“Let me…live…and I’ll…tell you…where Jarod…can be found,” Raines said, his gaze never leaving hers.
“What makes you so sure I won’t find him on my own, Raines? After all, if my father knew about your extra curricular activities, I’m sure he will gladly sign for your re-education,” She took a step closer, her eyes and gun never leaving Raines, “That is the correct term, isn’t it.”
“Your father….knows…about this project,” Raines drew in a deep wheezing breath, “You…really have…no idea…what you…are dealing with…”
“Why don’t you enlighten me?”
Raines smiled evilly, pushing himself into a seated position. “When we…succeed, the …Centre…will be…ours.”
Miss Parker raised an eyebrow. Her next question was interrupted when the boy returned with a towel held proudly in his hand. He had stopped in the doorway, his eyes filled with fear when they looked at Raines huddled by her feet. She moved away from the former doctor, drawing Davey’s grief stricken gaze towards her. She took the towel from and pressed it against her wound, closing her eyes briefly as the pain flared against the pressure.
“Does it hurt?”
She opened her eyes, glancing quickly towards where Raines was huddled against the wall. He was watching their interaction with interest. Placing herself between Davey and Raines, but in such a way that she could still see the man, she smiled painfully. “Yes, it does.”
Davey nodded, before wiping a silent tear that was making a renewed attempt to run down his cheek.
“Do you think he…,” Davey swallowed before trailing of. His hand wiped again at his eyes as he stood silent in front of her. She didn’t want to answer him. It wasn’t good to dwell on such things. She knew. Her own experience with her mother had taught her that. To wonder what pain she had felt when the bullet had struck her.
“Davey, I need you to do something else for me, ok,” she said, kneeling for the benefit of the boy. He nodded, his glance once again straying to where the body of the man who had held him lay. She gently took his chin in her hand, bringing his gaze back to her.
“I need you to go wait in your room for me. When I’m finished here,” she said, glancing at Raines meaningfully, “I’ll come get you.”
“What about Cain,” he whispered brokenly.
Miss Parker closed her eyes briefly. The boy’s tears reminded her too much of the time when she had come across her own mother’s body in the elevator.
“I promise we’ll come back for him later when it’s safe,” she whispered. Davey agreed, his gaze serious, far too serious for someone his age. “Go now, I’ll be there soon,” she assured him.
“He was my friend,” Davey whispered tearfully, before turning and walking out the room. Miss Parker nodded, trying to understand how the boy’s kidnapper could have influenced the boy so deeply. But then again, when she though about how convoluted Jarod and Sydney’s relationship was, she could bring herself to understand his words. She turned back to where Raines still sat, his color slowly returning back to his normal pasty shade.
“We are not finished. I want to know what you and my father have planned and I want to know now,” she growled, her voice low and menacing.
“You….need to…speak to him…I…cannot…say anything…further without… jeopardizing …all…our… lives.”
Miss Parker gave a short bark of laughter. Her finger tightened on the trigger as she aligned the gun on his foot.
“You had never cared about anyone else’s life but your own, Raines. This concern over my welfare or anyone else’s for that matter means nothing.”
“Wait…Phone your…father before…you do… anything you….might regret…later,” Raines stated, shifting his foot out of her gun sights.
Miss Parker knew that she would get nothing further out of the ghoul. His eyes widened when she pushed her gun against his forehead. He said nothing as she leaned in and smiled before riffling through his pockets until she found a cell phone. Ignoring the look of hatred he threw her way, she dialed her father’s number, making sure in the process that she kept an eye on him.
“Daddy, it’s me,” she said by way of greeting.
“Angel, where are you,” came her father’s almost frantic question.
“What is going on? What have you done with Jarod?”
Her father’s voice came more cautiously. “Where are you?”
She replied tiredly, the pain now edged into her voice, “I know about the boy. I have Raines begging me not to kill him and telling me that you have Jarod. What is going on?”
“You need to come home, Angel. You cannot get involved in this project. It is too dangerous.”
“I have a right to know. If it is about my objective in bringing Jarod back, I need to know, Daddy.”
“I’m sorry Angel but if you don’t return home I cannot protect you.”
Her father hung up, leaving her confused and angry. She adjusted the towel against her wound, grimacing as her shoulder protested. She was on some level aware of the bright red stain that was spreading on the white threads of the material, her mind reeling with the implications of what her father and Raines could have planned. She heard Willie groan again, reminding her that time was not on her side. Bugsy was waiting outside and she still needed to find a way of eluding him. She rifled through the dead sweeper’s pockets until she found what she was looking for. Grabbing the handcuffs, she made her way towards Willie before lifting her gun and pointing it at Raines.
“Move towards Willie,” she said, making sure Raines understood that her threat was serious. The older man nodded. He rose shakily, before making his way over to where Willie was still unconscious. She threw him the handcuffs and he closed the bracelet around his arm before encircling the other cuff around the sweeper’s foot. Satisfied that Raines won’t escape easily she turned, leaving him in the room of death as she made her way upstairs towards where the living quarters are situated. She found Davey on his bed, his face pressed into the pillow. He was crying; his sobs muffled.
“Davey,” she questioned, knowing that they had to leave and soon. He sat up, wiping his eyes. “It’s time to go.” She held out her hand and Davey rose, making his way over to her. He took her proffered hand, holding on tightly. Miss Parker wanted to ignore feelings of protection that were welling up inside her, but she couldn’t. It was as if she could feel her mother’s emotions and with sudden clarity she understood why her mother had risked all to save the Centre children. And she was very prepared to do the same for Davey.
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Police station, Blue water
Murray stared at the screen, showing Jarod climbing into a black Lincoln. Another man climbed in after the agent, closing the door on the cameras. The car pulled away from the curb, exposing the number plate. He stopped the video and wrote the number down. Giving the piece of paper to his assistant, he asked him to run the number against the DMV.
Wiping his head, he stared at the screen and hoped that Jarod wasn’t fish food all ready.
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Blue water
“No, dad. I’ll sort it out.”
Lyle turned to Vince. “In case you haven’t heard, my sister was successful. I expect you to follow through on your end of the bargain.”
Vince smiled, “Of course. When can I expect my payment?”
Lyle returned the smile, “When my sister has been taken care of.”
“Very well, Mr. Lyle, but if you cross me you will miss more than your thumb.”
Lyle agreed. He had no intention of honoring his part in the deal. It was time for him to end his relationship with Vince on a more permanent basis. The anticipation of the coming kill was almost overpowering. Almost.
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Mythos House, Michigan
Miss Parker made her way cautiously towards the back door. Her gun was back in her hand, Davey behind her. Lifting the curtain, she eyed the backyard. It seemed quiet but she wasn’t convinced. Letting the curtain drop, she turned to Davey and whispered to him to stay in the corner. The boy nodded, huddling down and she turned back towards the door. She opened it slowly, eyeing the porch before stepping outside. She heard the boom of the gun and felt the wind as the bullet rushed past her face and smacked into the wood next to where she stood. Splinters from the impact ricochet away, one cutting a neat line just above her eyebrow. Ignoring the blood flowing from the gash, she dove towards her right, slamming the door close behind her in the process. Taking refuge behind a pile of chopped firewood, she waited.
“You have nowhere to go!”
Bugsy’s voice sounded somewhere in front of her. Sliding her head an inch outside her protection, she glanced quickly in that direction. Her eyes were met by brush and trees, shadows playing amongst the greenery, making any identification more difficult.
“Why don’t you give up? Make it easier on yourself.”
His voice had moved slightly towards the left. He was trying to flank her, to force her into the open where he could get a better shot. Miss Parker smiled. She loved it when her enemies underestimated her. She slowly stretched herself out on the ground, her pistol lining up on an angle she knew he had to move in if he wanted to get at her.
A shadow moved against the darker void within the greenery. It was enough. Miss Parker felt the gun buck against her hand when she pulled the trigger. She watched the shadow fall, crashing against the underbrush. She rose and sprinted forward, her gun leading the way. It was unnecessary. Vince’s henchman was lying in his back. His hand still held the gun, but his fingers were loose and without any strength. She could see where her bullet had entered his torso. His eyes drifted towards her.
“Next time, talk less.”
He closed his eyes in acceptance and she left him, knowing that there was nothing more she could do. She had her own problems to sort out and the first one was how to make sure Davey was safe and away from Raines’ clutches. Then she needed to find the truth regarding what her father and Raines had cooked up for Jarod.
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Blue water Airport
Emily watched as the small Cessna landed and rolled to a stop close by the building. A few minutes later the door opened and she watched her mother exit the plane. She waited patiently until her mother came through the doors. They hugged and Emily relaxed as she felt her parent’s arms around her.
“I missed you,” Emily whispered, before pulling away. Margaret smiled, turning to Jessie, “And you must be the wonderful artist my daughter had been staying with.” Jessie blushed as Margaret embraced her. The woman made their way in silence towards the car park. Jessie was driving, leaving mother and daughter free to converse as they made their way into town.
“We have to find Jarod,” Margaret said, “before the Centre has a chance to move him.”
“How do we know he is still here,” Emily sighed, pushing her face into her hands, “I’m sorry, mom. It’s just…”
“Emily, I understand but we can’t allow our fears to push us down a path with no hope. We have to believe that he is still here. What we need to do now is to find the Centre’s safe house.”
“How do we do that without putting Jarod’s life in danger?
“I know a few people that I can phone. We have to move fast to catch the Centre unawares.” Margaret turned to the front, watching as they drove past the docks. She thought back to the last time she had seen him, three years ago. Then she and Emily had to leave him behind. She would not let it happen again.
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Mythos House, Michigan
She was seated in the car they had taken to the house. After she had cleaned the blood from her gash, she and Davey had made their way towards where Bugsy had parked the car. Davey was now seated next to her, his seatbelt secure around his small body. Her mind was in turmoil as she turned the ignition, starting the car. She had never really thought about what she would do when she found the boy. She had no idea where to take him or who to give him to. She was pulled from her reverie by the vibration of the phone she had taken from Raines. She thought it would be her father, phoning to apologize and to beg her to come back to him.
It wasn’t.
It was Sydney.
“Miss Parker, we’ve been trying to find you. Your father gave me this number…”
She laughed, aware of how close to hysteria it sounded.
“Miss Parker, is everything all right?” Sydney asked with concern, his voice soft and father-like. So unlike her own father.
“Just peachy. What do you want,” she asked.
Sydney’s voice dropped. He whispered urgently, “It’s about Jarod, Parker.”
“Isn’t it always,” she replied sarcastically.
“No, you don’t understand,” Sydney’s voice dropped further, she could barely hear him over the phone. “Cox, your father, Lyle and Raines is planning on using Jarod to get rid of the Triumvirate.”
Miss Parker couldn’t believe her ears. So that is the reason her father had been so scared, the reason that Raines had not said one word, for she can only imagine what the Triumvirate would do if they found any trace of the planned rebellion.
“Sydney, where are you calling from?”
“Broots gave me a safe phone. This line is encrypted,” Sydney answered.
At least she could be thankful for small things. “Jarod will never help the Centre, not even to get rid of the Triumvirate. How precisely do they think will they get rat boy to cooperate.” She glanced at Davey but he had drifted to sleep, his head leaning against the window.
“From what we could piece together from the project directive was that they would use the fear that Jarod had for the Centre’s involvement in his family to convince him that they had his mother.”
“They’re insane. Do they have any idea what Jarod would do to them if he found out the truth?”
“I think that Cox is convinced that Jarod would never find out. We found something else that might shed some further light on why Cox thought so,” Sydney went on, “To make a long story short, Raines had been playing with Jarod’s mind. He had tried to develop a method to control him subconsciously. Jarod’s nightmares are the result.”
“Why am I not surprised. That sack of skin Raines had always tried to control wonder boy,” she grimaced, waiting for the pain in her shoulder to subside.
“Miss Parker, are you sure you are all right?”
She could hear the concern in his voice, wondering why he couldn’t have been her father. “I’m just tired, Sydney.”
Sydney answered her and she could hear from his tone of voice that he didn’t believe her. She ignored his question, instead asked him if Broots was there. She smiled when the tech’s tentative voice sounded over the line.
“Broots, I want you to do a search for me in the Blue water area for any recent purchases of property by the Center. When you have an answer call me on this number.”
She terminated the call, leaning her head against the backrest of her seat. An idea was slowly starting to take form. She could only hope that it was good enough to get both her and Jarod out alive.
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Wow, Thank you so much for the reviews. Definitly worth a quick update. ;-)
Chapter 12
Mythos House, Michigan
Miss Parker stood slowly, her arm hanging uselessly next to her side. She could feel the blood starting to drip down her arm from the wound in her shoulder. Somehow in the chaos of the fire fight she had been hit by a stray bullet, her own having found Willie where he had been hiding behind an overturned table. The sweeper groaned and moved slightly. She stepped towards the table and took the gun that lay next to an unresponsive hand. She checked the chamber and satisfied that there were enough bullets, she dropped it in her coat pocket. The other sweeper was crumbled in the middle of the floor, his staring eyes indicating that he will never hold another weapon again. She ignored Raines for the moment while she made her way over to where the boy was holding on to the man that had held him. From the relaxed way he laid she knew that he could only dead. The boy was pleading in a broken voice, shaking the body before laying his head on the man’s chest. A low moan of sorrow tore from somewhere deep inside Davey. She felt if her soul was being torn away. The image of her mother’s body in the elevator was so strong that tears were forming in her eyes. Remembering where she was, she drew on her inner strength, steeling her emotions till she was the ice queen once again. She knelt, careful to keep her wounded shoulder away from him.
“Davey, honey, look at me,” she coaxed, taking him by gently by his shoulder.
“No,” Davey cried, twisting out of her grip and increasing his own grip on Cain’s bloody shirt. “He promised.”
Aware of how powerless she felt, she tried to figure out a way in helping the boy. She awkwardly rubbed his back, wondering what Jarod would have done in the same situation. Practicality won out. She needed to stop her own bleeding and she hoped that in giving the boy something to do that it would help to avert his focus from the dead man.
“Davey, I need you to help me,” she said, rubbing Davey’s hair until he nodded against the dark material of Cain’s shirt, “I’ve been hurt and I need to stop the bleeding. Do you think you can find me a towel?”
Davey’s grieved eyes slid from Cain’s body towards her shoulder where the blood had already started to seep through her shirt. His small hands were already reddened from Cain’s blood as they slowly unwound around the shirt he had been clutching. He seemed to draw strength from somewhere.
“Ok,” he muttered brokenly
He sniffled, wiping his nose. He lay his head back down on Cain’s breast and for one brief moment Miss Parker wondered if the boy had understood her. She waited for a few moments, not wanting to intrude but aware of time constraints and her own problems. She was about to intervene when the boy abruptly rose and left without another word.
Miss Parker held her arm next to her as she stepped closer to Raines. The man was lying on his side, groping for the oxygen tank that had somehow managed to elude his grasp. She could hear the wheezing gasps as he tried to draw in oxygen. She lined her gun towards his face, her own impassive.
“You…don’t…want to…do…that…Miss Parker,” Raines managed to utter through lips that was slowly turning blue.
“Why not,” she asked, her gun hand steady, “You had never brought life in this world, only death.”
“I know….where Jarod…is,” he gasped, his beady black eyes boring into hers. She frowned, wondering what Raines meant. It wasn’t as if she had no idea. Jarod was safe, or as safe as he could be, searching for Davey with Lyle in town.
“So do I,” she replied, starting to tighten her finger.
“You…don’t understand…We…have Jarod…”
Miss Parker raised an eyebrow. Seeing the state that Raines was in, prompted her to help the ailing man re-attach his oxygen. She had no pity at all for the ghoul, the only reason she had done it was to get more information out of him. She waited till he had drawn in a few lungful of breaths before she cocked her gun.
“Explain,” she demanded, ignoring the ache that was now pounding with regular intervals from her torn shoulder muscle.
“Let me…live…and I’ll…tell you…where Jarod…can be found,” Raines said, his gaze never leaving hers.
“What makes you so sure I won’t find him on my own, Raines? After all, if my father knew about your extra curricular activities, I’m sure he will gladly sign for your re-education,” She took a step closer, her eyes and gun never leaving Raines, “That is the correct term, isn’t it.”
“Your father….knows…about this project,” Raines drew in a deep wheezing breath, “You…really have…no idea…what you…are dealing with…”
“Why don’t you enlighten me?”
Raines smiled evilly, pushing himself into a seated position. “When we…succeed, the …Centre…will be…ours.”
Miss Parker raised an eyebrow. Her next question was interrupted when the boy returned with a towel held proudly in his hand. He had stopped in the doorway, his eyes filled with fear when they looked at Raines huddled by her feet. She moved away from the former doctor, drawing Davey’s grief stricken gaze towards her. She took the towel from and pressed it against her wound, closing her eyes briefly as the pain flared against the pressure.
“Does it hurt?”
She opened her eyes, glancing quickly towards where Raines was huddled against the wall. He was watching their interaction with interest. Placing herself between Davey and Raines, but in such a way that she could still see the man, she smiled painfully. “Yes, it does.”
Davey nodded, before wiping a silent tear that was making a renewed attempt to run down his cheek.
“Do you think he…,” Davey swallowed before trailing of. His hand wiped again at his eyes as he stood silent in front of her. She didn’t want to answer him. It wasn’t good to dwell on such things. She knew. Her own experience with her mother had taught her that. To wonder what pain she had felt when the bullet had struck her.
“Davey, I need you to do something else for me, ok,” she said, kneeling for the benefit of the boy. He nodded, his glance once again straying to where the body of the man who had held him lay. She gently took his chin in her hand, bringing his gaze back to her.
“I need you to go wait in your room for me. When I’m finished here,” she said, glancing at Raines meaningfully, “I’ll come get you.”
“What about Cain,” he whispered brokenly.
Miss Parker closed her eyes briefly. The boy’s tears reminded her too much of the time when she had come across her own mother’s body in the elevator.
“I promise we’ll come back for him later when it’s safe,” she whispered. Davey agreed, his gaze serious, far too serious for someone his age. “Go now, I’ll be there soon,” she assured him.
“He was my friend,” Davey whispered tearfully, before turning and walking out the room. Miss Parker nodded, trying to understand how the boy’s kidnapper could have influenced the boy so deeply. But then again, when she though about how convoluted Jarod and Sydney’s relationship was, she could bring herself to understand his words. She turned back to where Raines still sat, his color slowly returning back to his normal pasty shade.
“We are not finished. I want to know what you and my father have planned and I want to know now,” she growled, her voice low and menacing.
“You….need to…speak to him…I…cannot…say anything…further without… jeopardizing …all…our… lives.”
Miss Parker gave a short bark of laughter. Her finger tightened on the trigger as she aligned the gun on his foot.
“You had never cared about anyone else’s life but your own, Raines. This concern over my welfare or anyone else’s for that matter means nothing.”
“Wait…Phone your…father before…you do… anything you….might regret…later,” Raines stated, shifting his foot out of her gun sights.
Miss Parker knew that she would get nothing further out of the ghoul. His eyes widened when she pushed her gun against his forehead. He said nothing as she leaned in and smiled before riffling through his pockets until she found a cell phone. Ignoring the look of hatred he threw her way, she dialed her father’s number, making sure in the process that she kept an eye on him.
“Daddy, it’s me,” she said by way of greeting.
“Angel, where are you,” came her father’s almost frantic question.
“What is going on? What have you done with Jarod?”
Her father’s voice came more cautiously. “Where are you?”
She replied tiredly, the pain now edged into her voice, “I know about the boy. I have Raines begging me not to kill him and telling me that you have Jarod. What is going on?”
“You need to come home, Angel. You cannot get involved in this project. It is too dangerous.”
“I have a right to know. If it is about my objective in bringing Jarod back, I need to know, Daddy.”
“I’m sorry Angel but if you don’t return home I cannot protect you.”
Her father hung up, leaving her confused and angry. She adjusted the towel against her wound, grimacing as her shoulder protested. She was on some level aware of the bright red stain that was spreading on the white threads of the material, her mind reeling with the implications of what her father and Raines could have planned. She heard Willie groan again, reminding her that time was not on her side. Bugsy was waiting outside and she still needed to find a way of eluding him. She rifled through the dead sweeper’s pockets until she found what she was looking for. Grabbing the handcuffs, she made her way towards Willie before lifting her gun and pointing it at Raines.
“Move towards Willie,” she said, making sure Raines understood that her threat was serious. The older man nodded. He rose shakily, before making his way over to where Willie was still unconscious. She threw him the handcuffs and he closed the bracelet around his arm before encircling the other cuff around the sweeper’s foot. Satisfied that Raines won’t escape easily she turned, leaving him in the room of death as she made her way upstairs towards where the living quarters are situated. She found Davey on his bed, his face pressed into the pillow. He was crying; his sobs muffled.
“Davey,” she questioned, knowing that they had to leave and soon. He sat up, wiping his eyes. “It’s time to go.” She held out her hand and Davey rose, making his way over to her. He took her proffered hand, holding on tightly. Miss Parker wanted to ignore feelings of protection that were welling up inside her, but she couldn’t. It was as if she could feel her mother’s emotions and with sudden clarity she understood why her mother had risked all to save the Centre children. And she was very prepared to do the same for Davey.
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Police station, Blue water
Murray stared at the screen, showing Jarod climbing into a black Lincoln. Another man climbed in after the agent, closing the door on the cameras. The car pulled away from the curb, exposing the number plate. He stopped the video and wrote the number down. Giving the piece of paper to his assistant, he asked him to run the number against the DMV.
Wiping his head, he stared at the screen and hoped that Jarod wasn’t fish food all ready.
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Blue water
“No, dad. I’ll sort it out.”
Lyle turned to Vince. “In case you haven’t heard, my sister was successful. I expect you to follow through on your end of the bargain.”
Vince smiled, “Of course. When can I expect my payment?”
Lyle returned the smile, “When my sister has been taken care of.”
“Very well, Mr. Lyle, but if you cross me you will miss more than your thumb.”
Lyle agreed. He had no intention of honoring his part in the deal. It was time for him to end his relationship with Vince on a more permanent basis. The anticipation of the coming kill was almost overpowering. Almost.
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Mythos House, Michigan
Miss Parker made her way cautiously towards the back door. Her gun was back in her hand, Davey behind her. Lifting the curtain, she eyed the backyard. It seemed quiet but she wasn’t convinced. Letting the curtain drop, she turned to Davey and whispered to him to stay in the corner. The boy nodded, huddling down and she turned back towards the door. She opened it slowly, eyeing the porch before stepping outside. She heard the boom of the gun and felt the wind as the bullet rushed past her face and smacked into the wood next to where she stood. Splinters from the impact ricochet away, one cutting a neat line just above her eyebrow. Ignoring the blood flowing from the gash, she dove towards her right, slamming the door close behind her in the process. Taking refuge behind a pile of chopped firewood, she waited.
“You have nowhere to go!”
Bugsy’s voice sounded somewhere in front of her. Sliding her head an inch outside her protection, she glanced quickly in that direction. Her eyes were met by brush and trees, shadows playing amongst the greenery, making any identification more difficult.
“Why don’t you give up? Make it easier on yourself.”
His voice had moved slightly towards the left. He was trying to flank her, to force her into the open where he could get a better shot. Miss Parker smiled. She loved it when her enemies underestimated her. She slowly stretched herself out on the ground, her pistol lining up on an angle she knew he had to move in if he wanted to get at her.
A shadow moved against the darker void within the greenery. It was enough. Miss Parker felt the gun buck against her hand when she pulled the trigger. She watched the shadow fall, crashing against the underbrush. She rose and sprinted forward, her gun leading the way. It was unnecessary. Vince’s henchman was lying in his back. His hand still held the gun, but his fingers were loose and without any strength. She could see where her bullet had entered his torso. His eyes drifted towards her.
“Next time, talk less.”
He closed his eyes in acceptance and she left him, knowing that there was nothing more she could do. She had her own problems to sort out and the first one was how to make sure Davey was safe and away from Raines’ clutches. Then she needed to find the truth regarding what her father and Raines had cooked up for Jarod.
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Blue water Airport
Emily watched as the small Cessna landed and rolled to a stop close by the building. A few minutes later the door opened and she watched her mother exit the plane. She waited patiently until her mother came through the doors. They hugged and Emily relaxed as she felt her parent’s arms around her.
“I missed you,” Emily whispered, before pulling away. Margaret smiled, turning to Jessie, “And you must be the wonderful artist my daughter had been staying with.” Jessie blushed as Margaret embraced her. The woman made their way in silence towards the car park. Jessie was driving, leaving mother and daughter free to converse as they made their way into town.
“We have to find Jarod,” Margaret said, “before the Centre has a chance to move him.”
“How do we know he is still here,” Emily sighed, pushing her face into her hands, “I’m sorry, mom. It’s just…”
“Emily, I understand but we can’t allow our fears to push us down a path with no hope. We have to believe that he is still here. What we need to do now is to find the Centre’s safe house.”
“How do we do that without putting Jarod’s life in danger?
“I know a few people that I can phone. We have to move fast to catch the Centre unawares.” Margaret turned to the front, watching as they drove past the docks. She thought back to the last time she had seen him, three years ago. Then she and Emily had to leave him behind. She would not let it happen again.
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Mythos House, Michigan
She was seated in the car they had taken to the house. After she had cleaned the blood from her gash, she and Davey had made their way towards where Bugsy had parked the car. Davey was now seated next to her, his seatbelt secure around his small body. Her mind was in turmoil as she turned the ignition, starting the car. She had never really thought about what she would do when she found the boy. She had no idea where to take him or who to give him to. She was pulled from her reverie by the vibration of the phone she had taken from Raines. She thought it would be her father, phoning to apologize and to beg her to come back to him.
It wasn’t.
It was Sydney.
“Miss Parker, we’ve been trying to find you. Your father gave me this number…”
She laughed, aware of how close to hysteria it sounded.
“Miss Parker, is everything all right?” Sydney asked with concern, his voice soft and father-like. So unlike her own father.
“Just peachy. What do you want,” she asked.
Sydney’s voice dropped. He whispered urgently, “It’s about Jarod, Parker.”
“Isn’t it always,” she replied sarcastically.
“No, you don’t understand,” Sydney’s voice dropped further, she could barely hear him over the phone. “Cox, your father, Lyle and Raines is planning on using Jarod to get rid of the Triumvirate.”
Miss Parker couldn’t believe her ears. So that is the reason her father had been so scared, the reason that Raines had not said one word, for she can only imagine what the Triumvirate would do if they found any trace of the planned rebellion.
“Sydney, where are you calling from?”
“Broots gave me a safe phone. This line is encrypted,” Sydney answered.
At least she could be thankful for small things. “Jarod will never help the Centre, not even to get rid of the Triumvirate. How precisely do they think will they get rat boy to cooperate.” She glanced at Davey but he had drifted to sleep, his head leaning against the window.
“From what we could piece together from the project directive was that they would use the fear that Jarod had for the Centre’s involvement in his family to convince him that they had his mother.”
“They’re insane. Do they have any idea what Jarod would do to them if he found out the truth?”
“I think that Cox is convinced that Jarod would never find out. We found something else that might shed some further light on why Cox thought so,” Sydney went on, “To make a long story short, Raines had been playing with Jarod’s mind. He had tried to develop a method to control him subconsciously. Jarod’s nightmares are the result.”
“Why am I not surprised. That sack of skin Raines had always tried to control wonder boy,” she grimaced, waiting for the pain in her shoulder to subside.
“Miss Parker, are you sure you are all right?”
She could hear the concern in his voice, wondering why he couldn’t have been her father. “I’m just tired, Sydney.”
Sydney answered her and she could hear from his tone of voice that he didn’t believe her. She ignored his question, instead asked him if Broots was there. She smiled when the tech’s tentative voice sounded over the line.
“Broots, I want you to do a search for me in the Blue water area for any recent purchases of property by the Center. When you have an answer call me on this number.”
She terminated the call, leaning her head against the backrest of her seat. An idea was slowly starting to take form. She could only hope that it was good enough to get both her and Jarod out alive.
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