Chapter 3. That Kind of Tired.

  Miss Parker stared at the unsightly grey carpet of Sydney's office, and decided to start where her latest waking nightmare had kicked off, 3:26am on Monday morning...

<~>

3:26am Monday morning:

  Rolling over and flicking on the lamp on her nightstand, Miss Parker throttled the ringing phone in anger, "What!?" she glared at the clock on her nightstand, 3:26am.

  "...I can call back..."

  "Jarod, of course. No one else I know is masochistic enough to call at this god forsaken hour..." Sarcasm was all Parker could muster as she flicked off the light and lay back against the pillow, exhausted.

  Jarod was quiet for a second, "...I sent you a package... It should arrive later this morning..."

  "What is it this time, another dead fish?" She rolled her eyes in the dark, all too familiar with Jarod's parcels.

  "Not this time... This is for you...."

  "Ohh and the fish was for the whole Centre?"

  Jarod sighed, "...Don't you ever get tired Miss Parker...?"

  "Only when a certain lab rat calls me before sunrise..."

  Jarod sighed again, "...I'm tired..."

  Miss Parker sat up, "Perhaps you should go to sleep then Monkey Boy..." She didn't have to be a genius to connect that one.

  Jarod was silent for a few seconds, leaving his reply just long enough for Parker to wonder if he was still on the line, "...Not that kind of tired..." he answered cryptically and hung up the phone.

  In anger Miss Parker threw her cell phone across the room and smiled in satisfaction as she heard it impact with the wall and the battery fall out next to it. Lying back down, her head resting on the pillow once more, she tried to get to sleep, but instead found herself playing Jarod's last words over and over again in her head. What did he mean by not that kind of tired...?

  Cursing, she rolled back over and watched the blue glow of her alarm clock change from 3:37am to 3:38am. There was no way she was going to get back to sleep now...

  Begrudgingly, she pulled her satin dressing gown over the shirt of Thomas's that she couldn't bring herself to throw out, and made her way in the dark, to the kitchen. Without turning on the light she flicked the kettle on, before reaching for the scotch instead.

  Leaving the kettle to boil, she trudged into the lounge room and lay on the couch, nursing the bottle of scotch.

  ...And Jarod had the nerve to say that he was tired... She took a long swig from the bottle... He didn't know what tired was... She wiped the corners of her mouth with her sleeve... For all she knew, he was off on some island in the Caribbean with that red headed bimbo he'd acquired... She took another extended sip.... They probably had a puppy...

<~>

10:37am Monday morning:

  Miss Parker groaned at the sunlight streaming in through her lounge room window and sat up, knocking the empty scotch bottle on to the carpet with a thud. Yawning tiredly, she stood up and approached the front door. Whatever Jarod had sent her had better be good, she thought to herself as she turned the door handle with another yawn.

  Examining the doormat and finding nothing but the morning paper, she quickly glanced around the porch and felt her heart skip a beat at the sight of a yellow envelope. Lying in the exact spot Thomas...

  Taking a deep breath she retrieved the paper and the envelope and went back inside, inadvertently slamming the door behind her. She was tired and hung-over and already so late for work that she'd decided not to show up at all... Not that they'd received any workable leads from the Golden Monkey in over a month, anyway.

  Carrying her mail and the empty scotch bottle into the kitchen to track down the illusive painkillers that could numb the migraine she felt pounding with every step, Miss Parker made a mental note to stop drinking so much. 

  Leaving the paper and the unopened envelope on her kitchen table, she flicked the kettle on again and made herself a strong black coffee and only when the caffeine and painkillers had taken hold and forced her body awake, did she even consider opening Jarod's parcel.

  Pulling out a seat at the table, she sat down and ripped the top off the envelope. Taking a deep breath and muttering curse words to herself when she thought she heard a car door slam shut, she peered inside and screamed, throwing the envelope across the room and spilling the rest of her hot coffee all over her sleeve.

  Staring in revulsion and incredulity at the torn envelope top sitting on the table in front of her, she didn't even flinch at the sound of her front door being kicked in...

  She didn't budge when Sam and Willie entered with their guns drawn and ‘secured the perimeter,' or when she heard Lyle walk into her house, chatting to who could only be Raines on the phone...

  She didn't even blink when on Sam's word, Lyle found her in the kitchen, sitting almost catatonically at the table...

  "We stopped by to see why you hadn't come in.... Heard you scream...?" Lyle took a good look around her kitchen and lounge room before spotting the envelope on the floor, "...Everything ok...?"

  The concern in his voice was almost... genuine. He knew his sister was a lot of things, but she was certainly not the screaming type and the way she was glaring at the top of the envelope in front of her, told him that his answers were in the envelope on the floor.

  As they were joined by Sam, Miss Parker stood up and grabbed a new bottle of scotch from the cupboard. Unscrewing the lid shakily, she closed her eyes and took a long swig.

  "...I'll take that as a no..." Lyle responded, pointing for Sam to fetch him the envelope.

  Obediently, Sam walked over and picked it up, handing it to Lyle without examining its contents.

  Miss Parker took another long sip as Lyle examined each of the photographs inside, "...Who... Who would do this...?" he asked, unintentionally aloud, as he studied each shot in turn. These were some seriously messed up photos, even he had to admit that they were nauseating.

  Miss Parker knocked the empty scotch bottle from last night off the bench and onto the floor, "Jarod," she muttered from the corner of her mouth, as the bottle shattered on impact.

  Lyle looked at her in disbelief himself, taking the scotch from his sister and sculling from the bottle as she did.

  Miss Parker snatched it back, "He's going to pay."

  Lyle stared from the broken glass scattered across the kitchen floor, to his sister's incensed face, "You can say that again..."

<~> 

  Sydney watched Parker intently, "What was in the envelope?"

  Miss Parker glared at him, "Evidence photos... Trophy shots of Thomas..."

  Sydney covered his mouth with his hand.

  "Oh it gets better..." Miss Parker muttered sarcastically, flicking her expertly manicured fingernails against one another, in anticipation of Sydney's next brilliant question.

  "And you were sure...?"

  "I was hung-over," She pulled a clear plastic evidence bag from her coat pocket and flung it at Sydney, "It looked authentic."

  Sydney caught the bag awkwardly and examined the yellow envelope within. Written on the front in neat red lettering was her name: Miss Parker.

 "This is Jarod's handwriting..." Sydney stared at her in disbelief. He'd know Jarod's handwriting anywhere and there was no mistaking it, Jarod had written her name on the front of the envelope.

  Miss Parker turned away, "Open it," she whispered, almost inaudibly.

  Sydney stalled for a second but was interrupted by her impatience, "Forensics have already processed it twice..."

  He sighed and reached into the plastic bag, retrieving the envelope. Taking a deep breath, he peered inside and nearly dropped it at the sight of the first photograph. All he saw was a dead hand resting on the porch and he'd seen enough.

  "I screamed," she muttered sarcastically, silently thankful that Sydney had decided not to go through each and every photograph as her brother had done.

  "And forensics...?" He turned the envelope over once more, to examine the handwriting. He was certain it was Jarod's.

  "Found four sets of prints on the envelope, two inside it," she watched Sydney bite his lip as he returned the envelope to the plastic, "I told you it got better Syd... it still does..."

  "...They were a match..."

  "Yep. Only set of clean prints they found were Jarod's. The partials were all accounted for... Even time estimates say that he handled it long before me, Sam or Lyle..."

  Sydney traced the letters of Parker's name through the plastic with his thumbs.

  Jarod wouldn't do this, he couldn't, and certainly not to Parker. No, after all these years that he could have just vanished, he'd stuck around to help her see the truth; to help her piece together her life; so that he could find his... He wouldn't hurt her. Not like this. He couldn't...

<~>

12:24pm Monday afternoon:

  Lyle stared at his inebriated sister who was lying on the floor staring up at the ceiling.

  She'd moved on to her second bottle of scotch, "...I don't even want to kill him anymore..." she slurred, "...I just want to hurt everyone he ever cared about..."

  Lyle scratched his forehead, "But we don't even know where Jarod's family are, let alone the extent of his charity..."

  As entertaining as it was to watch his sister continually down increasing amounts of alcohol and grow progressively drunk, Lyle had to wonder what repercussions he'd face when she realised what she'd let him witness. She was usually the queen of cool, the very picture of composure; hell, she was usually a fully functional alcoholic. But even she couldn't hide the effects of the excessive drinking she was undertaking; and coupled with the obvious lack of sleep and the shock from Jarod's parcel, her anger had taken on a life of its own.

  Miss Parker pointed her bare foot up at where he was sitting in one of her black leather armchairs, "...Well, maybe we'll have to hurt him instead..."

  Lyle smiled, maybe they were related after all, "What do you suggest?"

  Miss Parker sat up, "He'll be expecting one of us to do it... We should get somebody he'd trust to bring him in instead..."

  Lyle smiled even further. His sister's drunken plan was brilliant. Shatter Jarod's trust in the good of the world and he'd have Jarod eating out of the palm of his hand in no time...

  "There's just the small problem that we don't know where he is, either," Lyle watched his sisters pupils dilate as he spoke.

  Miss Parker shook her head, "You don't know where he is, but he called me this morning," she smiled humbly, "I trace my calls..."

  Lyle's smile fell. Jarod wasn't stupid enough to stay on the line long enough for a trace program to find him... But then again, before he'd seen the photos with his own eyes, he'd believed that Jarod wasn't stupid enough to torture his sister either... Even he knew that messing with the bull only got you the horns.

  "Well, where is your phone?" Lyle looked around anxiously for the phone that was never far from his sister's side.

  "It's... broken...." She laughed.

  "But you can still trace the call right?" Lyle was willing to give anything a go if there was even the slightest chance that nabbing Jarod was part of the deal. Even he'd been stepping lightly since Mr Parker's departure and Raines's ultimatum, so anything that could swing the power back in his direction even if that power was to be shared, was worth pursuing.

  Miss Parker took a pen off the coffee table and grabbed her brother's arm, pushing up his shirtsleeve. She wrote a phone number and password messily across Lyle's forearm, "...He can..."

  Lyle grinned, examining her barely legible scribble, "...And just say we locate Jarod, what then?"

  "You find someone to make friends with him... and you get them to turn him in..."

  "Anyone?"

  "No," her reply was quick and forceful, unlike most of her previous ranting, "Make it a kid."

  Lyle laughed. He was really beginning to enjoy the company of his drunk, irate sibling. Together they could make quite the team, and should Parker's plan prove successful, their power at the Centre was guaranteed to elevate them to the top of the pecking order. No more bowing to the chairman, curtsying to the director... They'd be up there in the power stakes with the Triumvirate, Jarod as good as broken... Raines's ultimatum in tatters... After all, nothing was mentioned about working together...

  Turning to Sam who was sitting opposite Lyle on the couch, Lyle gestured to his sister, "It would seem that we, have a man to call about a rat."

<~>

   Sydney wasn't sure if it was the siding with Lyle, betraying Jarod, or using a child, that upset Parker the most.

  He even had to admit that he, himself, wasn't aware of the circumstances of Jarod's re-capture. Beyond the facts that he was caught and that Lyle had been the one to do it, of course. As far as he'd been aware, Miss Parker had not been involved.

  Sydney did his best to keep his face neutral. On one hand he had Miss Parker to worry about, but on the other, he had Jarod.

  "Have you spoken to Jarod since his return?" Sydney's voice had regained some of its previous urgency.

  "I wouldn't go so far as to call it that... but words were exchanged..."

  "Well, is he really ok?"

  "He wasn't in the mood to chat."

  "You have to let me see him Parker..."

  Miss Parker stood up, lighting a cigarette and leaning against Sydney's desk, "As of Tuesday, he's Lyle's property, and Lyle's made it clear that until he gives up Gemini, you're not to see him..."

  "But what about you?" Sydney was too distracted to question her previous resolution to give-up the cigarettes, and instead focused on the pain that he could see welling up in her eyes.

  Miss Parker laughed sarcastically, "Did I mention Daddy's back at the helm...? Apparently my only concern now, is finding Gemini... And until he's back here where he belongs, I'm still prime Centre real estate..."

<~>

3:27pm Monday afternoon: 

  Lyle sat impatiently on his sister's leather couch, flicking aimlessly through the TV channels, awaiting a returned phone call from Parker's contact. He wasn't really paying attention to the programs he was flicking through, just probing for something to pass the time while Parker was passed out and Sam was seeing to it that she was re-hydrated and sober enough to go after Jarod.

  Frustratedly, and after nearly two hours of flicking through channels in between phone calls, Lyle turned the TV off and threw the remote at the armchair across the lounge room. A small smile biting at the corners of his mouth as it bounced off the cushion and hit the floor with enough force to knock the batteries out.

  When one of the batteries rolled within range of his shoe, he lined it up ready to be kicked into the kitchen, stopped only by his ringing phone, "This is Lyle... Seattle... Got it." He hung up and smiled at Willie as he kicked the battery triumphantly, "Jarod's in Seattle. Guy even gave us the address he called Parker from."

  Willie smiled in return, waving his phone to indicate that he too had received good news, "Jet's fuelled and ready to go."

  Lyle flipped open his phone once more, and hit redial for Sam's number, "...She ready to travel...? Good. Car's waiting."

<~> 

  Miss Parker woke to the sound of the jet's engine and sat-up confused. She was lying across two of the pale leather seats still dressed in Thomas's shirt, an old pair of pyjama pants and her dressing gown.

  "Feeling any better?" Lyle asked, pointing at the banana bag IV line taped to the back of her hand.

  Parker ripped it out, "I need a drink."

  Lyle smiled, "Actually, you've had a little too much to drink..." he watched amusedly as she reached into her dressing gown pockets for her cigarettes, "We land in 20 minutes..."

  Parker rubbed her aching temples. She couldn't remember getting on the jet, let alone where they were going. All she remembered was why...

  "He's in Seattle. Living in some hole in the wall bar..." Lyle tried to get her attention as she stared right through him, "You're not having cold feet about this are you...?"

  Miss Parker glared at him in return.

  "Just checking. We wouldn't want him getting away again... Not after this..."

  Parker stared out the window. She couldn't quite figure out if Lyle was actually concerned about her, or if he was just using her anger to get Jarod back and win-over Raines. Either way, she had to admit that it brought a smile to her face at the thought of Jarod getting what he deserved...

  Lyle smiled, "It's funny, I would have picked you as the Victoria's Secret type myself..." he gestured to her dressing gown, testing her sober commitment to their newly shared cause.

  Miss Parker rolled her eyes at him, "And I would have picked you as smart enough to keep your mouth shut... Yet there you go, reminding the world that as far as you're concerned, silence really is golden..." Snatching her bag from the empty seat next to Lyle, she made her way to the bathroom to change.

  "Nice to have you back sis, we were beginning to miss the sarcasm whilst you were indisposed..." Lyle raised his empty glass towards the front of the jet, making a show of rattling the ice cubes.

  Parker ignored his last comment and the associated gesture, instead flinging open the door to the tiny bathroom in the jet's rear.

  Looking in the mirror, Parker glared back at whom she saw. The dark bags under her eyes made her look old and tired and hung-over; her hair was a mess and she reeked of scotch. The person glaring back at her wasn't a person she knew anymore, or wanted to know for that matter.

  No, the second Jarod was back in hell where he belonged, she was out. No more running across the country after phantom PEZ dispensers and slinkies, no more strip searches, no more late night phone calls and most of all, no more Centre.

<~>

  Sydney didn't bother to interrupt her again, knowing that it was better to just let her continue at her own pace and give them both time to process just what it was that she was saying...

<~>

11:03pm Monday night:

 Staring across the street at the billboard above Leon's bar, Parker lit up another cigarette. If Jarod wasn't still there, at least he had been at some stage. There was no doubt in her mind that, that billboard was responsible for the virus she'd discovered on Sunday morning, the one that Lyle later informed her was still posing a problem for the main network when he'd left to find her.

  "Go easy on the window. If Jarod spots us, the whole gig is up."

  Begrudgingly admitting that Lyle was right, Parker replaced the curtain and looked around the dilapidated apartment before her. Judging by the thick blanket of dust that covered the floors and kitchenette it hadn't been occupied for at least a year, probably longer. It was any wonder, she thought glaring at the hideous wallpaper adorning the walls. It looked like it was fresh from the walls of a circa 1970's caravan.

  Lyle was drinking coffee from the sole piece of furniture in the flat, a plastic garden chair that he had stolen from outside the café next door, after he'd helped himself to the coffee of course.

  Miss Parker glared at Lyle as he tilted the last of the coffee into his mouth and proceeded to play with the cardboard cup, slowly unfolding and re-folding the rim around the top. She had the headache to end all headaches and had refused a coffee earlier, a decision that was now determined to haunt her, care of her grating brother. Reaching into her coat pocket, Miss Parker retrieved a plastic medicine bottle and swallowed a small handful of pain pills.

  "You know you're an alcoholic right?" Lyle grinned up at his sister, determined to see just how much he could get away with, given that they were working together, that was. After all, he got off rather scot-free after his comments on the jet...

  "Functioning alcoholic. There's a difference."

  Lyle smiled, "So I suppose you could give it up whenever you wanted to?"

  "You suppose correctly." Parker folded her arms across her stomach. She actually planned on giving it and the cigarettes back up the second that Jarod was in Lyle's custody and her contract to the Centre was finished... Not that she was going to give Lyle the satisfaction of knowing that, "But seeing as we're sharing our character flaws, have you managed to find a Sociopaths Anonymous yet, or are you still working on the whole Asian prostitute thing?"

  Lyle smiled, raising an eyebrow in her direction. He'd expected to be met with direct threats on his life, not a half-hearted dig on his character. Obviously these photos had knocked her about even more than was blatantly obvious.

  Deciding to leave her to it Lyle resumed playing with his cardboard cup until his phone rang, "This is Lyle... Perfect. Willie stays with the kid until we confirm a sighting and the kid gets the money when Jarod is contained." He flipped his phone closed, "I've got to hand it to you Parker... You really do have the best ideas when you're pissed..." He flashed her yet another winning grin, leaving it up to her to discern whether he meant angry or drunk, or both. 

<~>

  Sydney watched her eyes closely at the mention of her being an alcoholic.

  Upon catching him, Miss Parker rolled her eyes away from him, "...So either Jarod tells Lyle where little brother is hiding, or I stumble across him and drag his sorry ass back here... Only then can you go and see Boy Wonder in his latest waking nightmare..."

  Sydney watched her icy façade growing stronger by the second, "...Why is there separate security around Jarod? Broots hasn't even been able to crack it yet." Stepping lightly was no longer an option; he had to cut to the chase before she cut herself off.

  "The Triumvirate don't know he's back," she sneered, "They're keeping Jarod's return a secret until they've got Gemini as well... It was Lyle's idea; giving them as much time to break Jarod as possible, before the Sims start piling up again or before the Triumvirate decide to ship him off to Africa... Besides, the Golden Monkey has a bit of a reputation around here..."

  Sydney stared at her assiduously, "...There's more isn't there...?"

  Parker smiled derisively back at him, "Of course... It wouldn't be the Centre if there wasn't..." 

<~>

11:07am Tuesday Morning:

  Miss Parker eyed the unconscious Jarod in the back seat, squashed awkwardly between Willie and Sam, "You're positive he's out cold?"

  "He's comatose til morning. We've got plenty of time Miss Parker." Willie pinched Jarod's cheeks as he answered her. Jarod remained unresponsive.

  "We're prepared in any case. He's not going anywhere." Sam showed her the loaded syringe in his concealed jacket pocket. He for one, was not willing to suffer a repeat of Jarod's last jet ride.

  Parker turned and watched the jet come into view at the end of the tarmac, "You'd better be. No one wants another déjà Vu of the last time Franken Kid was onboard a Centre chartered flight."

  Sam nodded knowingly. After all, he had been the one to cop Lyle's anger after Jarod's first aeronautical escape, and judging by the rumours that he'd intercepted at the Centre lately, Jarod's last bid for freedom had followed a similar course.

  Lyle smiled as he slowed down the black sedan on their approach, "Relax, he's not going to be a problem. We had the jet prepared just for him."

  Parker rolled her eyes. She'd heard similar lines before and way too often, Jarod had undermined even their best preparation attempts. All she wanted was for him to be back at the Centre and out of her life for good.

  Waiting eagerly for Lyle to stop the car and the instant he did, Parker flung open the passenger door and stalked up the jet's staircase. A smile crossed her lips at the sight of the straightjacket and black canvass hood that adorned one of the seats in the jets rear. Maybe they had prepared...

  Seating herself at the front of the plane, Parker eyed the mini-bar, but was distracted as Sam and Willie heaved Jarod's limp body up the stairs and dragged him down the isle past her, Lyle's back obscuring Jarod's face from her view. ‘Just as well,' she scoffed at no one in particular. He was the last person she wanted to see right now... Scrap that, she thought, all of them were. 

<~>

5:46pm Tuesday Afternoon:

  Miss Parker climbed into the back seat of the black town car that she'd requested take her home and watched Willie and Sam roughly dump a tightly bound and hooded Jarod into an awaiting limousine, in the rear view mirror. As the driver pulled away from the jet's hanger, she watched her brother happily chatting on his phone, the two sweepers and the errant Pretender now concealed behind the darkly tinted windows.

  When the limousine and her brother too were hidden from view, Miss Parker stared out of the sedan's window instead; determined not to let the guilty voices in her head ruin the feeling of victory and triumph that she felt now that she'd brought Jarod back. Effectively and efficiently, she'd ending her contract to the Centre. She was done.

<~>

  "I didn't hear of Jarod's return until Wednesday afternoon..." Sydney looked at her questioningly.

  Parker rolled her eyes knowingly, "It's not like I didn't get your phone calls or emails Syd, I just chose not to return them... And like I said before, the Triumvirate still don't know he's here, so in that respect, you should be glad that wheeze-bag Raines enjoys bragging..."

   Sydney shook his head, his eyes resting on her shiny black heels, "You're certain that Jarod was unconscious when they brought him in...?"

  "I told you, I went home... But as far as I know, Lyle didn't start playing with him until Wednesday evening..."

  Sydney stared back at the still shot of Jarod asleep that had remained on his monitor after he'd played the DSA earlier, "...Has he done any damage...?" Sydney trailed off, staring at the empty infirmary room on the screen that contained Jarod.

  "I saw Jarod's chart earlier. He's got a few cracked ribs and had a collapsed lung. The doctor's notes mentioned something about his heart being affected by the shocks but they weren't sure yet... Relatively speaking, I think he's ok Syd."

  "Shocks?" Sydney's voice raised half an octave in concern.

  Parker brushed his concern off, "Lyle invested in a cattle ranch... Turn's out no one thinks twice about a ranch owner ordering a bunch of cattle prods..." Sydney's jaw fell open as she continued, "Jarod's sweepers all get one... Lyle keeps the taser for himself..."

  Sydney stood up and walked over to his books to stop himself saying anything he'd regret later. No matter how much he thought he'd prepared himself to hear how badly Jarod had been treated upon his return, hearing his fears confirmed was a thousand times worse than he could imagine. Staring blankly at his bookshelves, Sydney decided to ask her the question that had occupied his mind since she'd appeared at his office earlier, "...Why did you come to me...?"

  Parker stayed silent. That was the million dollar question right there and she wasn't quite sure how to answer it... 

<~>