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Author's Chapter Notes:

Hey again. Sorry about slight delay (in my defence, I was only a day off) enjoy new chap. 

 

---

Each character is written by a different author (well almost, some writers add on a second later in the story), so to help you readers keep it all straight, each character has a different color.

Writer / Character

Jacci - Mr Cox

KatieQ - Miss Parker

Manoline - Broots, Emily

Tinanaz - Jarod, Sam

TLM - Sydney

Whashaza - Lyle, Alex

Check end notes for when the next chapter is scheduled to arrive

 


"I wish to be notifed the very second of their arrival," Cox informed the sweeper, "The very moment, understood?"

At the soft 'yes sir' Cox dismissed him and sighed heavily. This had been a most frustrating experience. He would be glad to be returning to Africa, they knew how to get things done over there. This place was like a circus and until certain individuals were removed, it would remain so.

He would be accompanying Jarod back to Africa, to ensure there was no repeat of last time and he would also ensure that the "Scooby Gang", as he had heard them called, was nowhere near his cargo.

Once they had arrived, he would see to the proper securing of Jarod and then they could be on their way. He would deal with Lyle's idiocy upon his return once Jarod was safely delivered, and the T-board fiasco as well.

--


Parker came to a not so gentle start in front of the ominous front doors of the Centre. She turned around and glared at two of the three occupants of the backseat, "Not one damn word," hoping to silence both Sydney's and Jarod's protests.

Cox put the phone down and looked at his watch. They had made his deadline, but only just. Now the fun was about to begin. He would see Jarod processed quickly and secured for transport, the plane already organized, and sweepers he trusted ready to move. Nobody was going to mess this up for him now, he was too close to this being over and finally getting his stalled career back on track.

Lyle smiled and got out of the car, watching Cox descend the stairs. They had been parked for less than a minute before the Triumvirate agent had showed up with a whole phalanx of sweepers. He could hear Jarod’s protest at his sister’s command and somewhere in between Sydney’s attempts to calm the pouting Pretender. Soon the sweepers that had come down with Cox had opened the back door and he watched as they dragged Jarod out.

“One Pretender, delivered as promised.”


Parker turned and frowned at the appearance of the triumvirate goons, she turned at look at Cox with a raised eyebrow, "Even for the Ronald McDonald worshipper, this is quite the welcome wagon."

"Intact I hope," he said with a smile. "Miss Parker, your job is now complete, and the Triumvirate thanks you for it. I will expect your preliminary report on my desk within the hour. We leave in 90 minutes."

Miss Parker jumped in before Sydney could be given a chance, "Just where exactly do you think you are going? Jarod belongs to the Centre and I did not just waste five years of my life being tormented by him just to see him be whisked away by a man who spends the better of his life obsessing over road kill."

"That is correct Miss Parker," he said smoothly. "He does indeed belong to the Centre, which in turn belongs to the Triumvirate and we must all answer to them, including myself." He looked at Lyle who was yet to say anything and knew that despite being an incompetent fool, he had brains enough to resist aggravating this situation. "I believe you know where and you have nobody to blame but yourself if you did not catch him sooner now hmmm?" he asked, the smile not slipping from his face, not reacting to her insult. Seemed the woman could barely open her mouth without being irritating and it gave him some sympathy for her hapless teammates, although it was only fleeting.

Needing a moment to absorb Coxes' words, Parker turned her venomous tongue towards Lyle. "You had Alex doing your dirty work, but in the end your no different than him, Gumbi had more spine than you do."

Lyle’s eyes darkened perceptively. “Alex had nothing to do with any of this, Parker. I know how boy wonder’s brains work. If it hadn’t been for me, you’d still be running after him on some godforsaken road to nowhere.”

"Ah, Alex" Cox said turned to Lyle, shaking his head in disapproval. "Surely you knew how unstable he is, you were a fool to involve him." He could see Sydney wanted to chip in his bit too but hopefully the old bastard would be too concerned with Jarod and follow him like a little lost puppy.

Parker clenched her jaw and took a step back from Lyle, "You never change Lyle. Every other word that spews out of your mind is a rotten lie. While I'll admit to a few failures on the road to capturing Jarod, I think no one has as pathetic a failure as you, loosing him weeks after his initial recapture."

"Enough," Cox said sharply, although he didn't raise his voice, in no mood for this childish bickering. "I believe there are reports to write up. I will be accompanying Jarod on the flight and upon my return there will be some restructuring."

Parker caught Sydney's eyes, and pleaded with him to stay silent. The last thing she wanted was to turn Jarod over to Africa like he was yesterday's news. She has seriously underestimated Cox's role and authority in this. "This isn't over Cox." Parker warned.

Lyle’s eyes narrowed as he stared at Cox, trying to figure out what the man meant by his words. If it hadn’t been for him, Cox wouldn’t have the Pretender back at the Centre. He'd still be in Who Ville saving the little guy and not back in the Centre, where he belonged. He silently shared Parker's sentiment.

This was as far from over as it can possibly be.


"Oh and Cox," Parker added, "Don't forget his Huggies."

Cox frowned at the reference, not understanding, but let it pass. "No it isn't," he agreed, deliberately misunderstanding them. "It will be very soon though, once the cargo is delivered safely. Tick tock children." he smiled at them both, feeling the hate coming from Miss Parker and the confusion from Lyle. He almost felt sorry for Lyle, so decided to throw him a bone. "The position for chair will need to be filled," he said as he turned around, wondering if they would rip each other apart over it, which would certainly be a good outcome, or if Miss Parker actually did want to go back to her boring and mundane existence in corporate.

--

Cox moved down to where he had told them to hold Jarod until he was prepped for transport, needing to ensure that there were no more screw ups. Parker and Lyle were no doubt off bickering about who took the credit and Sydney most likely would be already trying to appeal the current decisions. He walked into the room and stopped in surprise at what he saw. "What is this?" he asked calmly.

Jarod heard the new voice and increased the intensity of his screams. He knew the new person, he knew he did, he just couldn't pull the name out of his rapidly fading memory. The only things he knew for sure was that he was back in the hurting place and that he didn’t want to be there. “Wanna go outside! Don’t like it here! Outside, outside, WANT TO GO OUTSIDE!”

Cox blinked in surprise and let out a long slow breath. "What you want is of no consequence here Pretender," he said slowly, trying to determine if he was pretending, or this was some kind of side effect. They would have his balls if Jarod was damaged intellectually, and then he would make sure both Lyle and Alex paid, and paid dearly, for a sustained period of time.

Jarod threw himself down on the ground and started kicking and hitting the floor. “NO LIKE IT HERE, WANT OUTSIDE!” He saw the sweepers coming closer and scrambled to his feet and ran to a corner to hide. “NO, GO AWAY!”

"Restrain him," Cox said in disgust at the display of infantile behaviour. "Soft restraints, don't want him hurting himself," he added. "Draw some blood too, I need to see precisely what is in his system."

Jarod saw the sweeper with the needle coming his way and started fighting the black suited meanies holding him down. He felt a couple of solid kicks landing and he got one good bite in before someone hit him in the stomach. That stopped the tantrum but started a crying jag, sounding more and more like the exhausted and scared two year old he was regressing to. He was secured into a straight jacket with very little problem.

--

Emily continued to scarf down on whatever hideous snack she’d found hidden in the glove compartment, she hadn’t eaten in days so even this would have to do. But it wasn’t only the taste that was making it hard to keep down, Alex’ driving did its part as well. “Could you slow down a bit? Getting there two minutes earlier isn’t going to help much if Mr. Broots’ trigger finger gets a bit wobbly.”

“We’re on a deadline, sweetheart with the emphasis being on getting there on time to save Jarod from the big bad Africans. So just hold your mouth for a second while I concentrate on what I’m doing here.”

“And what exactly is that?” She did her best to remove some of the previously crunchy now gooey substance that was clinging to her teeth like cement. “Do you have anything figured out after getting before them to the airport?”

“Yeah.”

“And that would be..?” She’d long given up on removing the funions without a dentist present, or at least a toothbrush and now focused all her energy on Alex, hoping to gain some kind of insight to what was going on inside that head of his. “Alex I’m not trained like you guys. Believe it or not but I need time to think, and prepare. I don’t do improvisation, ok?”

“Now you’re the resident idiot? I don’t believe that for one second, Emily,” Alex sneered as he spun the car around a bend, narrowly missing a tree that sat flush against the side of the road. He bought the car to a screeching standstill, the dust swirling in the air around him. Turning to Emily, he said “I’ll explain everything once we’ve lost tech boy.” Switching his gaze from Emily to look pointedly at Broots, he said, “Well, Mr Broots, are you getting out or do you require some assistance?”

“W-what?” Broots practically jumped out of his thoughts and banged his head on the ceiling for good measure. They were letting him go? Just like that? “Could I get my bag first please? It’s in the trunk.” He plastered on what he hoped looked like a winning smile. They were letting him go!

“What do you think, Mr Broots?” Alex asked and gave the frightened tech his best smile, knowing the effect it would have on the idiot. "Oh and leave the gun." He watched as Broots nodded dejectedly and silently got out of the car. He barely gave the tech a chance to close the door before he slammed his foot down on the accelerator.

After Broots gets out of the car, he grinned sheepishly and drew a large breath of fresh air. He was free!

Back in the car Emily watched the tech disappear into a cloud of dust in the rearview mirror, relieved that Alex left him with the gun. Regardless of if it was forgetfulness or something more sinister, if there was one thing they didn't need if this strange collaboration was ever going to work, it was a lethal weapon. “Ok, Mr. Broots is gone, now what’s the plan?”

“It’s simple really. Drug the food, wait until everybody sleeps and then redirect the plane to our destination of choice. After that, who knows?” He grinned and gave her a wink. “So, sweetheart, you up for some flying?”

Ignoring the not so subtle remark she muttered, “Guess I don’t have much of a choice do I?” Then she turned towards the road and crossed her arms before saying, this time loud and clear, “What do you need me to do?”

--

Parker waited behind the large support beam in the lobby, her face hardening as Lyle came into view. Time for a little sibling confrontation. She revealed herself just as Lyle passed by the beam, enjoying his slight startle. "Well played, Lyle." She said sarcastically, giving him an exaggerated thumb up.

Lyle rolled his eyes. He wasn’t in the mood to deal with neither his sister nor some more verbal sparring. “Not now, Sis. I’m busy,” he said as he tried to brush past her on his way to the elevator.

Parker wasn't about to let him get away that easily. She back stepped, and stopped him with her outstretched hand. "Going back to lick your wounds? I warned you that this was not going to run out in your favor. Not only has Cox apparently decided he deserves a more supervisory role in running this wretched establishment, he's taking the one thing that truly does belong at the Centre.”

“Yeah, well. Things happen.” Lyle shrugged his shoulders, his eyes warning her to step away. He wasn’t about to include her in his plans. The chair rightfully belonged to him and didn’t need his sister’s interference in his plans again. Glancing at his watch, he looked at her pointedly and said, “Don’t you have a report to write?”

"Recounting your idiocy is going to take a hell of a lot longer than ninety minutes." Parker countered.

“I see your sense of humor is still intact, Parker. What do you want?” Lyle said. He desperately wanted to cut this conversation short. He needed to call Alex and find out what the man’s plans were. And if still could control the psychopath.

"I don't joke." Parker replied. "I want to know all about your little madman, and exactly what your intentions are with Jarod's sister. You've clearly done a number on wonder boy’s brain, and if one little hair is harmed on that redhead, I can't imagine the ramifications if he were to find out."

“In case you haven’t noticed, wunderkind’s brain is slightly left of the ozone at the moment. I wouldn’t worry too much about it, Sis. And what makes you think that I know the whereabouts of Emily?”

"Drop the act Lyle. I'm pretty sure at least half the occupants of Renewal Wing could piece together these facts. I want answers, and I want them now."

“Get in line, Parker. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have things to do, people to see. I’m sure Mr Broots is still waiting for you at White Cloud. Maybe you should try and rescue him and stop wasting my time with your unproven accusations.”

Parker rolled her eyes, Lyle truly was a moron. "You listen to me Lyle, and listen carefully. Conspiring with Alex is like playing Russian roulette, you won't win. He has one, and only purpose to his sordid life and that is to destroy everyone and everything that ever had anything to do with the Centre. He may be your willing slave right now, but underneath it all he's just waiting to make his move. Jarod and his family may be his target of an hour, but guaranteed as his keeper over in Africa, you are on his short list."

“You done.” Lyle sneered. When Miss Parker didn’t reply, he brushed past her and made his way to the elevators. He was well aware how precarious his hold on Alex was. He didn’t need to hear it from Parker as well.

Parker shook her head as she watched Lyle's form disappear into the elevator. Things were going from bad to worse. Looking at her watch she pulled out her cell phone, slamming it shut as Broots’ cell cut straight to voicemail. What now? Opening her phone again she dialed Sydney's phone extension, knowing the shrink would be sulking in his office. "Syd, it's me. We need to get moving - and fast."





Chapter End Notes:
Next chapter: Hmmm.... Thursday





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