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Chapter or Story 
Chapter or Story
In her room, Parker wasn't yet even in a mild panic, though she could feel it approaching. Instead, left to her own devices, the craving for nicotine had finally raised its ugly head. She had spent the hours since Methos' last visit making a thorough search of her bags and the half empty supply basket, praying for a stray cigarette or a piece of nicotine gum; anything to gain relief from the tremors and headache that had attacked her. Abruptly, her stomach growled urgently, reminding her that she hadn't had any solid food in a day and a half.
Glancing at her watch, for lack of any other entertainment, she realized it was nearly two o'clock and well past the time she'd become accustomed to seeing someone. Dropping to the bed exhausted, she tried to rationalize and explain away why noone had yet shown up, while terrifying scenarios began to run through her mind; a dark undercurrent to the reasonable, logical thoughts she was clinging to for dear life.
Frustration, her onrushing nicotine fit and unbidden images of disaster in the world beyond her mouse-trap viciously assaulted her at the same time, leading her to rise, stalk to the door and begin kicking it over and over, with all the strength she had left. After several minutes, the pain from her foot finally bellowed louder than the other crises she was facing and she stopped. Dropping to the floor she laid one hand on the smooth surface, as if she might receive some idea of the situation in the house by osmosis.
When it sank in that she had, most likely, been abandoned, she voluntarily disengaged herself from the world around her and slid into the white noise, desiring only to stay there, drowning in lack of sensation, until she forgot there was a world to return to.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLUE COVE:
Deeply engrossed in paperwork that had somehow developed a life of its own when he wasn't looking, Mister Parker only vaguely registered that someone was hammering furiously on his locked office door. Though he tried to ignore it, the visitor was maddeningly persistent, so he rose and unlocked the door, leaving them to let themselves in. To his disgust and dismay, Raines was invading his space once again.
"Where have you been?"
"What do you mean? I've been right here catching up on paperwork for the past three hours. Why? Is there news?"
"Yes, actually. First things first. Four security teams have been searching the Centre for you since late this morning."
"I don't understand. I had brunch in the executive dining hall, then I came directly back here."
Raines stared at the man behind the desk, as if trying to picture him in front of a firing squad, then produced a phone.
"Squad one leader. Report to Mister Parker's office immediately."
Moving into the office, Raines claimed the chair directly across from the other man, scowling at him silently, not bothering to hide his desire to crack Parker's calm facade, preferably with a crescent wrench.
When the young security officer arrived, his shock at seeing Mister Parker was obvious in his expression.
"Sir. I...."
"Don't bother." Raines grunted, cutting him off. "Shall I assume that when you told me you'd looked everywhere, you excluded this office from the search?"
Glancing from Raines to the other man, the youth began to tremble slightly, remembering his indoctrination lecture on failure; all five-tenths of a second of it, the time it took his instructor to say "Don't".
"No, sir. I mean.... this was the first place I looked. The door was secured properly and there were no lights on. "
"Of course. Parker. No lights?"
"I was on the other side of the room working on my laptop. He wouldn't have seen the lights by the couch from outside the door. Naturally he'd think the office was empty. Release the other teams and return to your usual assignment."
"Yes sir. Thank you, sir."
His trembling now flowing from intense relief that he still lived, the young man retreated from the office as fast as courtesy and discipline would allow.
Once he was gone, Raines began to rage against Mister Parker, but didn't get very far.
"How dare you get between me and my people?! Who do you think you are to...."
"Save it, doctor. He's barely shaving for God's sake. He made an honest error. Leave him alone."
"My people don't make errors. Yours, however...."
"Yes, yes. I've heard it all before. You said there was news?"
Despite his obvious fury at Parker's disrespect, the reminder perked Raines' spirits back up.
"You, Sydney and Mister Broots are to go before the Triumvirate tomorrow morning to explain how circumstances have gotten so.... out of hand."
"About damn time. Maybe now we'll get some answers. I assume you've informed Sydney?"
"A team is on their way to his home as we speak. I though it prudent to secure them now instead of finding out in the morning that they had also.... vanished."
"Wise. Very wise. Sydney's been acting strangely lately. I'm not exactly sure I trust him as I once did. Was there anything else? No luck on the searches for Molly and Lyle I suppose."
"No. They will be found, but...."
"I understand. You will excuse me now, I hope? I do have a great deal to do."
For a short while longer, Raines stayed where he was, as if he thought he could intimidate the other man with his mere presence. When it was obvious he was having no effect, he creaked slowly to his feet and left the room, dragging his ever-present steel tank behind.
For the briefest moment, Parker considered going after him, knocking him to the floor and depriving him of his needed oxygen for as long as it took the ghoul to die, but realized the satisfaction wouldn't be nearly worth the Tower's retribution afterwards.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Yes. Yes, I understand, Michael. We'll be right there. I will. I know you're trying your best. It isn't your fault. Yes. Yes, I will tell him. Goodbye. Chris! We need to get into costume again."
"Please. I asked you not to use that name. Wait. Costume? We're going back to the abbey?"
The hint of excitement in Broots' voice made Sydney curious.
"You want to go back?"
"Yeah. Actually.... I had an idea. Between here and Jarod, I was hoping Michael would let me stay with him and the other monks. I'd really love it and I wouldn't be so lonely, you know, missin' Debbie and all."
Chagrined, Sydney turned to Broots, smiling.
"You're right. It's the perfect solution. I should have come up with it myself. I'm sorry. I'm so preoccupied right now...."
"I know. It's okay. I just hope he thinks it's such a great idea."
As he walked to the closet to retrieve the robes and sandals again, Terri exploded into the room just in front of him, forcing him to stumble backwards.
"Abe! The guys that bushwhacked me just pulled up out front."
"You're absolutely sure?"
"Trust me, okay? Oh, this time they will regret ever hearing my name...."
"No, Terri. You can't."
"My fight, Abe. Join in or don't, but no interference."
"Those men will kill us all in a heartbeat, Terri and never think a thing about it. No conscience, no remorse and they will never see a courtroom. Our only chance is to get out of here. "
"No good." she told him, peering cautiously from behind a curtain. "Only half the number I saw is still out front. The rest must have split off to cover the back door. We're not leaving that way."
His options seemingly gone, Sydney could do nothing but stand in the middle of the floor, paralyzed by the thought that Raines' threat was about to come true and he would be unable to save any of them from it.
"Abe. Abe, are you alright?"
"No, but you will be. You head down to the basement. They aren't looking for you. You should be safe there."
"What?"
"Broots and I are the only ones they expect to find here. You must hide until you're sure the two of us and the men have all gone...."
"You're nuts. No way I'm gonna crawl into a hole while the MIB's drag you and Petey away. Forget it."
"Terri, please...."
"No, Abe. I won't."
"Me either." Broots spoke up. "I'm not going with them. She's right. We go down together or we find a way out of this together."
"I won't let you give up and you don't have any right to surrender in his name. I'm a black belt in three different disciplines, Abe and not too far away from it in a fourth." Terri reminded him. "I can show him what to do in a couple seconds. Let me help."
The pounding on the door and the shouts for Sydney and Broots to let the sweepers into the house broke Sydney's emotional numbness, forcing him to realize that Terri's plan might be the only way any of them would see another day of freedom.
"Fine. We might as well shoot for the moon. I see no other way."
Maneuvering Broots to one side of the door and Sydney to the other, Terri rapidly demonstrated to Chris how to use his hands to their best effect without hurting himself. Knowing Sydney had nearly the level of martial arts training she did, Terri merely reminded him of his own injuries before taking a deep breath and opening the door.
"Yes. Can I help you?"
As she expected from their earlier behavior, the three men waiting outside pushed past her into the living room. Not anticipating any resistance, the sweepers were easily surprised and subdued. At Sydney's suggestion, In deference to Broots' still healing lower back, Terri helped Chris drag the unconscious sweepers back out to their car one at a time. After securing all the sets of keys they could find, Sydney locked and closed the doors.
"We've only got a few minutes before they get after us. Let's go take out the guys in the back and get the hell out of here." Terri proposed.
"They won't be coming after anyone for a while. All Centre limousines have police locking systems on all the rear doors. They can only be unlocked from the driver's position and only with the key in the ignition. The windows are also shatterproof."
"I get it. That's why we have all the keys."
"Right. I'd say moving straight to getting the hell out of here would be our best course of action. Let the men in the rear deal with this mess."
"Total agreement here. Get in there and get what you guys need, Petey, and move those cute little buns before those others get antsy." Terri prodded Broots with a gentle swat for emphasis that brought a bright flush to his cheeks he was distinctly glad she couldn't see.
Several minutes later, as they waited in Terri's Range Rover in the garage, Terri and Sydney had just begun to become nervous when several muffled explosions from the house sent them both vaulting out of the vehicle and racing back towards the connecting door into the kitchen.
Halfway across the cement floor, Broots stumbled out to meet them, his head whipping back and forth from his friends to the house, his expression a disconcerting mixture of hate and terror.
"Broots! What happened in there?"
"I've got everything. Let's just go, alright?"
"Wait. We heard...."
"Not now. Maybe not ever." he insisted, clambering into the back seat of the vehicle just ahead of Terri. "Just get me out of here and do it now."
Knowing their short time had dwindled to less than nothing, Sydney held his questions, opened the garage door and moved the SUV out of the building and away from the house, not pushing even when Broots lay down on the seat and curled into a fetal position, the monks robes draped over him and clutched tightly to his chest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"One more time. Slowly and calmly."
"Yes sir, Doctor. Half of our team is locked in the car and all keys have been stolen. When we didn't receive a report from them in the required amount of time, my group went in through the back door and found Mister Broots collecting clothing from a closet. I told him to stop where he was, and when he looked up at the sound of my voice.... all our weapons vaporized, sir. They just exploded. I was the lucky one. I hadn't drawn my pistol yet. Nichols and Peters had theirs in their hands."
"I'll send back up and medical help immediately."
It was a long moment before Raines could turn and look at the man who stood just behind him in the corridor. "It appears Mister Parker was correct about Sydney shielding Broots from us. Now we know why."
As he related the incident at Sydney's home, the eyes of the other widened considerably.
"That poor excuse for a computer nerd? It can't be possible."
"I trust Lewis. He's one of the best sweepers we have. "
"How?"
"I expect I'll learn the answer to that and many other questions when I finally have Broots back here and I can dissect the little rat... whisker by whisker." Raines grunted, moving away down the hall, dialing his cell phone to summon help for his injured men.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Though they had traveled less than half the distance to the abbey, Terri convinced Sydney to put aside his urgent rush to get them all to safety and stop to tend to Broots who, by now, was sobbing heavily. Moving closer to him she sat him up so she and Sydney could talk to him.
"Petey. What is it? You can tell me what happened at the house. I'll understand, I swear I will...."
Broots' only answer was to try to pull away from her touch and escape out the door at his back, but Sydney appeared there, blocking his exit.
"Please, Chris. Talk to us."
Aware, now, that he wasn't going to make it out of the car, Broots stared from one to the other, then stuffed his compact body into the foot-well below his seat facing up at his friends, arms over his face as he sank deeper into his private anguish.
To make things easier, Sydney climbed into the rear seat with Terri and closed the door.
"Broots. You have to talk to us. You can't go on like this. Whatever happened...."
"No... I have to get out. Just.... leave me here..."
"What? You know we can't do that. I would never abandon you. We vowed to be there for each other through this, remember?"
"We heard the gunshots, Petey. Did...."
"No! God, no...."
"If it wasn't gunshots what was it, Petey?" Terri encouraged, grasping his hand and holding it tightly. "You can tell us anything. It'll be alright, I promise. Just say it."
"Please, Syd. If you won't let me out.... then take me back.... take me back...."
"Back where?" Sydney asked him softly. "Where do you want to go?"
"To the Centre.... it's the only place for me now.... please, take me back...."
Stunned beyond words, Sydney had to make a concerted effort to respond, and even then his voice shook.
"Never. I will never let them kill you while I'm alive to prevent it."
"You don't understand! I don't care anymore! I hurt people. I should die for that! I should die...." he repeated, trying to make an even tighter ball of himself.
Sydney, suddenly confronted with deep nausea and an urge to curl up and weep himself, turned toward the window. Realizing how disturbed he was, Terri gently patted his good shoulder.
"Take a minute, Abe. I'll talk to him for a while."
Sydney nodded slowly, trying to breathe deeply and regain his composure.
"Petey. Can you explain what you mean? Who did you hurt?"
"The... the other sweepers.... back at the house. When I was getting the costumes.... they busted in the back door... ran in from the kitchen.... I was so surprised.... and mad at myself for letting them catch me.... I looked up when one of them yelled at me.... and their...."
"Their what, Petey? C'mon. Get it all out. You'll feel so much better if you just say the words."
"Their guns just bl- blew up.... in their hands.... I.... I knew they had to be hurt.... but I just took off.... I ran away.... and I left them there."
"You had no choice, man. Whoever these guys are there were bound to be more of them coming and none of 'em with any sympathy for you." Terri soothed, stroking his hand and trying to comfort him as best she could, biting back her own questions and disbelief.
"You just don't get it! I've never hurt anyone in my life before these last few days... I don't want to hurt anyone else. If the only way to stop me is for me to die or be locked up at the Centre, then..."
Abruptly, Sydney turned back to face Broots, pulling the hand Terri held into his own grip and taking hold of the other as well. Using his own strength, and Chris' eventually, he maneuvered Broots back up onto the car seat.
"I want you to look directly into my eyes, Broots, so you'll believe I truly mean every word I'm about to say to you. Into my eyes, please."
Only when his friend complied would Sydney continue. "Good. Listen to me, Christian. You didn't want to hurt those men. It wasn't a conscious decision on your part. It was a split second reaction with no intent behind it but a need to save yourself and Terri and me. You aren't responsible. Are we clear?"
Though Broots nodded his understanding, Sydney knew he had a long way to go yet before he really believed.
"Good. We have to move. We're far too vulnerable out here and we must reach the abbey as soon as possible. Lyle's developed a serious infection. He's quite ill."
Sliding out, Sydney returned to the driver's seat, started the car and pulled back out onto the secondary road they had stopped by the side of.
In the back seat, Broots, physically and emotionally running on empty, had leaned his head back against the leather and closed his eyes. Obeying a sudden impulse, Terri reached out and tipped him forward, slipping an arm behind his back then supporting his weight down into the warm circle of her arm, pulling him close to her side and wrapping that arm around his shoulders. Feeling as if she'd discovered a long lost younger brother, she stretched the other hand out and closed the window, not wanting the weary man to be chilled, then placed her head close to his and softly hummed a vaguely remembered song from her childhood until she was sure he was asleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SEACOUVER:
"So. It's all ready then?"
"Yeah. It's great. She's as close to being in the right mind set as she can be and the room's perfect. The sound and imaging systems are all up and running. Nothing more we can do now. It's up to her and the illusions we provide her. We just have to wait and see if it all works like it's supposed to."
"I'll call Jarod."
"He hasn't come down?"
"No. Both trays of food I brought him just sat there until I came to get them."
"Hmmm. He'll be better when this is all finished."
"Maybe."
Turning away, Methos grabbed a thick novel and thumped into one of the chairs on the other side of the room, brooding about Jarod and wondering what nasty, icky death he would have to accept from Macleod when he discovered what Methos was about to do to their carefully thought out plan.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At Duncan's summons, Jarod finally emerged from his room, moving slowly down the stairs and pointedly ignoring the concerned expressions of the other two. Favoring his injured hand, he hugged them both quickly, but chose to stay silent, moving off down the hall to face Parker.
Stopping to check the monitor just outside the door, he immediately knew something had gone terribly wrong. She was far too still and quiet and the position she held might not even let him open the door without hurting her. Pulling his copy of the remote from a pocket, he entered the unlock code and slowly pushed the door inward, watching the monitor to be sure he didn't bump her. When the gap was as wide as possible, he attempted to squeeze through and just barely made it, shutting it again behind him.
"Parker? Talk to me. Well. It's my fault. I let Methos talk me into waiting. Now look at her...."
Gently pulling Parker to her feet, Jarod slung one of her arms over his shoulders and towed her to the cot where he gently lowered her onto the mattress and dropped down beside her.
"Miss Parker. You're alright. It's okay to come back now. C'mon. Come back to the world. You're safe, I swear. Please...."
His instinct suddenly whispering in the bottom of his mind, Jarod tried a new tack, trusting an intuition that had rarely failed him in the past. "Missy. It's Jarod. We're in the white zone. White means safety, remember? Red zone is danger; fear friends and strangers. White zone is peace; here find release...."
Jarod's words brought the first voluntary movement from her he'd seen since he found her, but it took another fifteen minutes to get her to come around completely. "Missy? Hey. Good to see you. Welcome back."
Realizing her head was snuggled close to Jarod's chest and her arms wrapped tightly around his waist, Parker tore away and moved clumsily off the bed, her revolted expression saying it all.
"What.... do you think you're doing?"
"My apologies. You were catatonic when I got here. I don't know how long you were out of it before that. I've been trying to bring you around for, oh.... half an hour. Glad to see it finally worked."
"What worked?"
"I used your nickname from when we were young. It seemed to be the only thing you could hear. You were totally unresponsive until...."
"Don't! You say that name and I'll give you a bikini wax you won't soon forget."
Gazing at her thoughtfully, Jarod tried to see in her eyes what was going on in her mind, but she'd completely shut down once again.
"It's just a name. Why should it upset you so much?"
"Because I'm not that child anymore, Jarod. I left the nickname and the hiding places and the daydreams behind when my mother died. I became someone else."
"I know. Never liked her much."
"Why should you? No reason to like someone who's trying to force you to live up to your commitments and responsibilities."
"I bet you don't even remember why you ended up with that nickname."
"No. I don't. I told you..."
"You left it behind. I know. I remembered for you. You came up with the name. You told me you'd decided to drop your first name and be Miss Parker forever, so you'd never forget what you were called by the only person that ever really loved you...."
"Jarod, stop."
"I happen to like the name. In my mind, you'll always be Missy. It isn't what he called you or the name the world uses. Missy represents my images of you, my thoughts."
Back to him, Parker seethed quietly, options for how to respond jumbling together in her head until she couldn't sort them out.
"I hate that name. All it means to me is a time and a place that I can't forget no matter how much I want to. I want to erase the name, erase that part of my life and erase you!"
"Missy..."
"I said stop calling me that! Don't you hear, rat boy? Did all the pampering as a baby lab rat stunt your hearing? Don't speak that name! As a matter of fact, don't speak at all. You give me a headache."
Looking at Parker through slitted eyes, Jarod found, for the first time that the nasty, degrading words were reaching him, making him upset and angry, to a degree they never had before.
"When did you decide you had the right to say things like that to me? What happened to you?"
"Life happened! You going AWOL happened. You're Raines' experiment, a brain-boosted little guinea pig. What should I call you; Wonder Woman?"
"You'll never understand. I had to go when I did. They left me no choice."
"So you left me chronic migraines and a peptic ulcer. Merry Christmas and happy birthday to you too."
"I'm not responsible for that."
"Oh? And who else have I been chasing all over the country for the last four years?"
"You weren't there those last few weeks. Watching the DSA's isn't being there. You can't know.... In spite of all Sydney tried I was finding I still had a conscience.... and morals. There were sims I wouldn't do because they refused to tell me what they'd be used for. The more sims I refused, the angrier they got. They finally resorted to.... to killing an innocent in front of me. Not just any innocent, either. They picked someone I cared about. I... I think they believed it would intimidate me into cooperating. All it did was infuriate me. I got so depressed. I stayed in bed, wouldn't do anything for them at all...."
"I know. I saw."
"No. You don't know. When will you get that? You'll never know and you'll never understand. I tried to take my life. Bet that's something they never told you. I never fought the doctors harder than the morning after that first attempt.... when they were just trying to keep me alive. If I hadn't left I would have kept trying until I succeeded. They couldn't have stopped me forever. Thanks to them I know every way there is to kill someone. The techniques work just as well on yourself. It came down to finding a way out.... or dying. A big part of my life there was about you. My leaving wasn't. Sorry to disillusion you."
"You're right. Sydney never gave me that bit of.... information."
"Didn't think so. Your father never told you why did he?"
"Why what?"
"Why you? They could have picked anyone from the Centre to help Sydney search for me."
"They thought since I knew you I'd be able to intuit your movements and get a step ahead."
"Hasn't worked."
"Not yet."
"And it never will."
"Why not?"
"You don't really know me anymore and intuition has nothing to do with anything."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"Exactly what I said." Jarod replied, standing and pacing a close circle around her. "Why don't you sit down? You look exhausted and you're starting to limp on your left foot a little."
"I kicked the door. A lot. What did you do to your hand?"
"A minor accident."
Almost to the cot, Parker stopped, turned and stared at him, her expression clearly stating that she'd sit when he told the whole truth. "I put it through a window. Guess I haven't exorcised all the inner demons yet. Sometimes they grab the wheel, you know?"
Standing totally still, Jarod watched Parker lower herself to the bed, studying her as if she were a painting he'd once known every flaw and detail in, but which someone had vitally altered, and not for the better.
"Why do you always look at me like I stole a family heirloom or your brand new bike? Whatever it is you've lost, I don't have it. I never had it so get out of my face, Jarod!"
"Yes you do. That's not what I was thinking about though. You must have questions. Something you've always wanted to ask, but not where anyone could hear you."
"Only a million and one."
"Go ahead."
"Will you answer?"
"It depends. Ask."
"I've seen some of the overnight footage from the security cameras. You have some of the most intense nightmares... you seemed to be genuinely panicked. I've always wanted to know what they were about."
"Why?" Jarod challenged, unwilling to risk her scorn and ridicule without knowing her motivations.
"The tapes scared me. You not only talk in your sleep, you yell, scream and beg for mercy."
Feeling Parker hadn't put enough on her side of the scale yet to receive his pain in return, Jarod pushed her a little.
"You never cared before."
"How often have I been stuck in a room with you and nothing to do but gab before? Spill it."
Unimpressed with her attitude, Jarod dismissed the command.
"No."
"No? What do you mean no?"
"You don't really want to hear it. If there were a deck of cards in reach your question would've been "Old Maid or five card stud?" My so-called childhood isn't something I'm willing to discuss just because you're bored. Next question."
"So-called childhood? You had everything handed to you on a silver platter, you whiny little brat! Sydney gave you more attention in twenty-four hours than I got from my father in a year!"
"Is it my fault your father's a heartless bastard who only knows how to look out for himself?"
"You son of a..."
"Go on. Finish that cute little phrase if you really think I'm lying."
"He may be a bastard, but he's all I have."
"Wrong! You have memories. You have photographs and mirrors... you can look at those and know what you came from.... why you look the way you do. You're the one with everything."
Stung, Parker hesitated to answer Jarod, images of her mother's death assaulting her, underscored by the "truth" her father had drilled into her head since that horrible day.
"I... didn't take your memories from you. I'm not the one who shot you up with Styx-15, fed you drugged food or made you do simulations. I wasn't even there all that much after my... after Catherine died."
"Catherine. Is that what you call her now; as if she was never your mother, never meant a damn thing to you?"
"She betrayed the Centre, the husband who loved her.... and her child."
"Death isn't a betrayal, Missy. If she'd had time to finish her work, neither of us would be here right now."
"I asked you nicely not to call me that. Once more and I will tear you apart with my bare hands...."
"Catherine was never the betrayer and you know it. Your father betrayed all of us, every child in that vile place! He let them kill Catherine, he let you witness it then he took you away from me. I told you I knew a way out.... that I could find a safe place for both of us. You just walked away."
"Stop it, Jarod. Stop it now, or I swear...."
"Everything you ever told me was a lie, wasn't it? Were you daddy's little chess piece, even then? Did he send you in to keep me happy, make me believe I had something to live for beyond the sims and the torture and staring at the ceiling every night? Did he? You never cared. You never gave a damn about me. Every word was scripted, wasn't it? You emotionally seduced me then you drove a stake through my heart, all for a pat on the head and a puppy-biscuit from daddy..."
Though she still couldn't find the emotion behind it, Parker could no longer ignore the voices in her mind screaming for her to kill Jarod as quickly and brutally as she possibly could. When she rose off the bed, however, she immediately fell to her knees. Thinking, at first, that her injured foot had failed her, she quickly realized her mistake. Head spinning, vision doubling and tripling, she tried to get up, but found she barely had enough strength to drag most of her body back onto the mattress. Gazing at Jarod she saw that he was also feeling the effects of whatever had attacked her. The words he was speaking, however, stunned her.
"What.... Not.... not yet.... You were suppo.... supposed to wait... I... oh God, no..."
Stumbling toward the bed, weakened by the effects of a higher concentration of the same gas Macleod had used on the Lear from South Carolina, Jarod fell to his knees, panic and the chemical beginning to burn in the back of his throat as the betrayal of his misplaced trust seared his heart like acid. He slipped into unconsciousness just moments after Parker had, his upper body supported on the cot, fingers wrapped around her hand.
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