Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story 
Chapter or StoryAuthor's Chapter Notes:
Note: MANY MANY thanks to Dianne for beta-reading it for me! You are such a big help! Thanks really a lot!
Under The Surface
Chapter 17
As the Major straightened up and turned around, he saw the shock on Sydney’s face. With a frown, he turned to the direction Sydney was looking and saw what had struck him.
Jarod was sitting in the corner, shaking and sweating heavily. He was pale and there were dark circles under his eyes. He was unshaven and they weren’t sure if he realized they were there at all.
For a moment, the Major felt as if his heart had stopped. The condition his son was in reminded him of his worst nightmare. Without looking at Sydney, he walked up to his son and knelt down in front of him. “Jarod?” He asked and reached out a hand. He was shocked when Jarod roughly pushed his hand away, not even looking up at him. He didn’t seem to be able to grasp who was in front of him. “Jarod, it’s me… your father.”
“No.” The Pretender murmured, rocking back and forth. “No. No. No. You’re not here… he just wants me to believe you’re here. You are not here! You are not real!”
Sydney walked up to them and saw the rage on the Major’s face.
“What have they done to him? I know I shouldn’t have waited so long!” The Major said, casting an accusing glance at Sydney before turning back to Jarod. “Jarod, I AM real! I’m here to get you out!”
“Let’s get him out of here. We don’t have time,” said Sydney.
The Major hated to agree, but Sydney was right. They each took one of Jarod’s arms to pull him to a standing position and both were shocked by his reaction. Jarod started shouting to let him go, he violently tried to pull away, fighting the two of them off. With his strength, he easily pushed the two unprepared men aside.
“Jarod!” The Major gasped.
“We have to do something fast because the electricity is going to be shut down throughout The Centre in a matter of seconds!” Sydney said, looking at the Major.
-----
The Centre
Hangar
Same time
Ethan lay quietly in the air-vent behind Angelo, his heart was beating faster than normal and he was very nervous. When they’d found out from Angelo where his sister was, they’d agreed that they would meet here after Sydney and Major Charles got Jarod. He hoped they were both all right.
Suddenly, Angelo turned his head to look at him and Ethan knew it was time. He followed Angelo as he crept out of the vents. The hangar was big enough for them to hide easily. Ethan couldn’t see anything except the Centre jet and one sweeper by its stairs.
“Angelo, are you sure it’s-”
“Flying Angel,” Angelo cut him off and looked at him for a second.
“Is she on the jet?”
Angelo nodded.
-----
The Centre
The Chairman’s office
6:16 AM
“We’ve wasted enough time here!” Imamu said. “It’s time for you to go, Mr. Lyle.”
“Yes, sir! The jet is waiting in the hangar.”
“Remember one thing, Mr. Raines, compared to Jarod, the DSA’s are worth NOTHING! The only reason we need them is so they don’t get into anyone else’s hands. It doesn’t matter if we don’t find it out from *him* because once we find his family, there will be no one left who can use them! I don’t think I have to tell you how disappointed the Triumvirate will be if they find out… you’ve failed!” He said, his accent stronger.
Raines let out a quiet sigh. He intended to find out where the DSA’s were because he was determined to get higher. It would have been so much easier if the African hadn’t been there watching his back all the time, but he knew once it was over, he was going to have a Pretender. After all, there were three of them, or four if they managed to get Ethan back alive, that he would be able to choose from.
-----
The Centre
SL-27
6:18 AM
Jarod was out of control and Sydney knew they had to do something before they drew attention to themselves. Major Charles was trying to sooth him, but it wasn’t working. The young man kept on insisting that his father was not there and it was only Raines trying to manipulate him. He was obviously under the affect of some drug and Sydney wasn’t sure that he wanted to know what it was.
Looking around, Sydney noticed several needles and syringes on a table. He quickly stepped up to it and took a closer look at them. With a sigh, he picked one up. He knew there was one there that would make Jarod lose consciousness, he knew Raines that much. He picked up another and realized it was what he was looking for because he had used it when any of his patients became ‘uncontrollable’. Sydney went back to Jarod and knelt down in front of him.
Before he could do anything, the Major grabbed his wrist, anger radiating from him. “What do you think you’re doing? I should have known that you’re still working for them! Everything was just a set up!”
Sydney pulled his hand out of the Major’s grasp and stared at him. “If that was true, I would have informed The Centre of where we are!” Sydney said angrily. “This will calm him down. He is under the affect of some drug; he needs to calm down so we can get him out of here! We don’t know if Miss Parker is in the same condition and if she is, we will have to do the same with her so we don’t waste time!” Sydney saw the hesitation in the Major’s eyes, he still hadn’t convinced him. With a sigh, he added, “We have to do something fast. You will have to trust me on this. Either you let me give this to him so we can get out of here, or you don’t and then we not only lose our chance to leave, but our freedom and most likely our lives.”
The Major knew he couldn’t hesitate too much and decided to let him give Jarod the shot, but he made a mental note not to be dependent on him again. It wasn’t good at all, but for his son, he was willing to do anything.
-----
The Centre
Hangar
6:24 AM
Ethan leaned over the unconscious form of the sweeper, he’d hit him on the head seconds before and wanted to make sure he was really out. When he was sure he was out, Ethan started to pull the body aside and was surprised when Angelo came to help him.
When they had the sweeper out of sight, he walked back to the stairs of the plane and noticed that he was alone. Turning back, he saw Angelo standing out of the way. “Angelo, come!” The younger man said, but Angelo just shook his head and turned away.
“Angelo help friend and daughter!” And with that, he ran away.
Ethan was about to shout after him, but he knew he couldn’t draw attention to himself. With a sigh, he took the stairs at the entrance he peeked in carefully, making sure there were no sweepers inside. He slowly walked inside, being as quiet as possible. He didn’t know if his sister was already there or if Angelo simply knew that they were going to bring her there.
He went further into the jet and then he spotted her. She was in a seat, half lying with the seatbelt fastened and she was unconscious. He quickly walked up to her and knelt down. He tried to wake her up, but couldn’t. Ethan realized that she had been drugged and he had no chance of waking her up, so he decided to wait. There were still 25 minutes left until they met and he had a bad feeling.
-----
The Centre
Air Vents
6:38 AM
“Damn it! These vents are so small,” The Major said and stopped, “And he’s too heavy this way,” He added, looking down at his son. He was only half conscious and was murmuring something quietly, but neither of them could understand him.
“Yes, I know.” Sydney replied, a bit out of breath. As soon as he said that, the lights went out, leaving them in total darkness.
-----
The Centre
Corridor
Same Time
Lyle glanced at his watch as he confidently walked down the corridor. Willie was with him, Raines had ordered the sweeper to escort him to Africa.
They were heading to the elevator when it happened. Lyle stopped in his tracks; everything was in darkness. “What in the hell happened?” He asked.
“I don’t know, sir.” Willie replied.
“I figured that.” Lyle answered sarcastically.
-----
The Centre
Chairman’s office
6:41 AM
“I can reassure you, sir, everything’s under total cont…” Raines was saying when a sweeper opened the door.
“What is it?” Imamu asked, angry that the sweeper had dared to interrupt them.
“We have a problem, sir! There’s a blackout.”
“Fix it!” The African said, turning back to Raines.
“Um… that’s the problem, sir!” The sweeper said quickly. “There’s a blackout in the ENTIRE Centre. The elevators and several doors do not work!”
-----
The Centre
Corridor
6:46 AM
The only thing Lyle could see was a red light and that wasn’t much help. He watched as the sweeper tried to open the level door without success. He took out his cell phone and dialed a number. “It’s me. We have a problem!”
“We know! We have the same!” Came Raines’ voice from the other end of the line.
“Something is wrong!” Lyle said with a frown.
“I have the same feeling!” Raines said with suppressed anger in his voice.
“The hangar!” Lyle growled.
-----
The Centre
Hangar
6:57 AM
Ethan sat impatiently in the seat next to his sister. He glanced at Parker to make sure she was still out then he got up. He was very nervous, it had been almost half an hour and there still wasn’t any sign of them. Suddenly, he heard footsteps and he hid. He was prepared to fight whomever it was, even if it was an entire sweeper team.
Ethan felt his heart pounding in his chest as someone entered the plane. He threw himself at the person and pushed him to the floor.
“Ethan!” Sydney shouted and the younger man looked up at him. He saw the upset look on his face and looked down at the man under him. It was his father.
“Oh!” The younger man said, slowly getting up. “I… I’m sorry!”
“Never mind.” The Major said and took Ethan’s outstretched hand.
“What took you so long?”
“Him.” Sydney said as he took a step back and helped a half-conscious Jarod walk inside.
“Thank God, Jarod.” Ethan said and stepped up to him, only to see Jarod start to fall. He and Sydney grabbed Jarod before he could hit the floor.
“We need to get out of here! The sweepers are coming! The power will return in less than a minute!” Sydney said as he and Ethan helped Jarod into a seat. Sydney immediately went back to the door of the jet while the Major went to the pilot cabin.
After making sure Jarod was securely attached to the seat, Ethan turned around to go help Sydney. When the younger man got to him, he thought his blood-circulation was going to stop. Sydney stood straight, totally calm, staring into the face of a sweeper… who had a gun.
-----
Dover, Delaware
17:36 PM
Broots walked up and down in the room. He figured there was probably a hole in the carpet by now, but he didn’t give a damn. They’d left that morning and it was already late afternoon. He knew something had happened; it was obvious. And he didn’t know what to do. There was no one left to help him. Miss Parker… Jarod… Sydney… Major Charles… and even Ethan, they were all gone now. And he alone had no chance. Broots had never been so afraid in his life.
All that was left for him was his laptop and a cell-phone. A secure line; Major Charles had told him it was the line that he used to talk with Jarod. But they had Jarod… so they probably knew about the line too. And that meant he didn’t have much time left. In fact, he was surprised that they weren’t there yet.
Broots was on the verge of losing patience, his nerves stretched thinner by the second and the panic grew. He felt the need to leave, but knew that the others were counting on him. Making up his mind, the tech grabbed his laptop from the table and was about to leave but stopped. He couldn’t do it, he simply couldn’t.
He jumped when the phone rang and his throat tightened as he stared down at the phone on the table. With a sigh, he hesitantly walked back and picked it up. “He-hello!”
”Broots get OUT! We are waiting for you here! Move as fast as you can! Our lives depend on it!” Broots heard Sydney shout then the line went dead.
For a several seconds, he stood in shock and then the world stopped existing for him. He had no idea how he got there, but he suddenly realized he was running down the corridor with his laptop in hand.
Broots couldn’t think clearly, he just ran. And he knew he was running for his life. His shoulder started to ache again, but he didn’t care. He remembered Miss Parker’s words that he could not give up and he kept on going.
The next thing he knew, he was outside. Sydney had told him they were waiting for him there, but where in the hell were they? He cursed the weather for being so dark, it was obvious that rain was going to fall soon. Everything was so silent and not a single person was around. The only noise that the tech heard was his heart pounding and his heavy breathing. He was helpless and he had absolutely no idea where to go. ‘Maybe this is the end,’ Broots thought and started to tremble.
There was a noise from the side of the motel like thunder and he went pale as he jerked his head in that direction. His eyes widened and every single nerve in his body screamed for him to run, but he couldn’t. He wanted to move, but his limbs wouldn’t co-operate. He closed his eyes and was ready to take the bullets when he heard the screeching of tires. Opening one eye, he watched as the door of a black sedan burst open and… Ethan… ETHAN, he realized with relief, leant out enough to grab him and pull him inside.
He had no time to ask what was going on because only seconds after he got in and the car took off they heard a familiar sound. Looking out through the back windshield, he saw two other cars, and they were getting closer. ‘So it begins,’ he thought and silently prayed to a God he didn’t really believe in. After all, he had seen too much.
Broots closed his eyes and bent his head down. There was nothing else he could do; he just bent his head down and tried to prepare for whatever was coming. He held on to the seat in front of him as several bullets hit the car. Broots lost all sense of time and the world stopped existing around him. He was very afraid.
Images of his little girl flooded into his mind, giving him some kind of peace in the knowledge that at least she was safe. He decided to hold on to that trail of thoughts and various memories surfaced in his mind; the first day she went to school, the day he’d won custody of her and all the wonderful times they’d spent together.
The next thing he noticed was the car coming to a halt. ‘We’ve been caught and now I’m going to die,’ the tech thought, keeping his eyes closed and his head bent. He didn’t want to see as the sweepers lifted their guns to him, didn’t want to look at them as they pulled the trigger. If it was coming, then he wouldn’t know when to expect it and that was better than seeing what was going to happen. His stomach tightened and his insides trembled. Suddenly, a hand grabbed him by the shoulders and he let out a short scream.
”Just do it!! JUST DO IT!!” Broots said loudly.
“Do what?” Came a familiar but confused voice from next to him. Broots carefully lifted and then turned his head. He remembered only one other time when he’d felt the same as he did now as he looked into Ethan’s face.
“O…ooh! Yo-you… “ Even though he tried hard, he couldn’t say anything that made sense.
Ethan let out a sigh and patted him on the back. “It’s okay, Broots, we got rid of them. For now.” He said, but didn’t smile.
Broots wished for something more positive. Sydney… Sydney always managed to reassure him! He turned to look for Sydney and that was when he noticed Major Charles leaning into the car. His gaze wandered and Broots finally spotted him; Jarod was in a sitting position next to Ethan, but he was unconscious. His father was trying to get a hold on him.
“Oh my God… Ooh my God! Wha- what happened? Is he alright?” Broots stammered, feeling half relieved, half worried.
“We need to move, Broots!” Ethan said in a serious tone, which Broots was used to. The young man had never opened up to him; in fact, Ethan didn’t open up to anyone. He seemed to feel at ease only with his sister and brother.
“Yeah… yeah sure! What do I have to do?” The tech asked nervously.
“Just help us get Jarod into one of the jets!” The Major said as he tried to pull his son out.
Broots noticed a huge, bloody cut on his forehead, which looked pretty bad. Seeing the serious expressions on their faces, he didn’t dare ask anything, but he had many questions. Looking around, he finally realized where they were.
“Yes, an airport!” The Major said. “Could you help?”
Broots realized that he had said his thought out loud and the Major was answering him. With a sudden jump, he was at their side, helping them get Jarod out of the car.
Broots couldn’t believe his own eyes. Jarod was in bad shape. There were dark circles under his eyes, he had obviously lost a lot of weight in a very short time and he was very pale. Just a quick glance at his chest and shoulders where his shirt had ridden up as they carried him sent a chill down his spine. One name came to him; Raines, and he finally understood why the Pretender had done everything he could in the last five, almost six years, to get away from The Centre.
Once inside the jet, which was in bad shape, they put him down in the first seat. Broots didn’t have time to look around, he was too busy wiping off the dust so the Major and Ethan could put Jarod down. Broots looked up at the Pretender’s father, the right side of his face was covered with blood.
”Are you alright, Major?” The tech finally asked and received a sigh from the older man.
“Yes, I’m fine. We have to get out of here, they’re coming!” He said and straightened up. “Take care of him.” The Major said, nodding toward his older son.
“Where is Sydney? And where’s Miss Parker?” Broots finally asked. The tech watched as the Major looked up at him, but didn’t reply. “Major?” Broots asked in a worried tone and looked at Ethan, expecting the answer from him. Ethan opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Broots tried not to panic, but it was hard. He wanted to know where they were… but Ethan and the Major remained silent.
Chapter 17
As the Major straightened up and turned around, he saw the shock on Sydney’s face. With a frown, he turned to the direction Sydney was looking and saw what had struck him.
Jarod was sitting in the corner, shaking and sweating heavily. He was pale and there were dark circles under his eyes. He was unshaven and they weren’t sure if he realized they were there at all.
For a moment, the Major felt as if his heart had stopped. The condition his son was in reminded him of his worst nightmare. Without looking at Sydney, he walked up to his son and knelt down in front of him. “Jarod?” He asked and reached out a hand. He was shocked when Jarod roughly pushed his hand away, not even looking up at him. He didn’t seem to be able to grasp who was in front of him. “Jarod, it’s me… your father.”
“No.” The Pretender murmured, rocking back and forth. “No. No. No. You’re not here… he just wants me to believe you’re here. You are not here! You are not real!”
Sydney walked up to them and saw the rage on the Major’s face.
“What have they done to him? I know I shouldn’t have waited so long!” The Major said, casting an accusing glance at Sydney before turning back to Jarod. “Jarod, I AM real! I’m here to get you out!”
“Let’s get him out of here. We don’t have time,” said Sydney.
The Major hated to agree, but Sydney was right. They each took one of Jarod’s arms to pull him to a standing position and both were shocked by his reaction. Jarod started shouting to let him go, he violently tried to pull away, fighting the two of them off. With his strength, he easily pushed the two unprepared men aside.
“Jarod!” The Major gasped.
“We have to do something fast because the electricity is going to be shut down throughout The Centre in a matter of seconds!” Sydney said, looking at the Major.
-----
The Centre
Hangar
Same time
Ethan lay quietly in the air-vent behind Angelo, his heart was beating faster than normal and he was very nervous. When they’d found out from Angelo where his sister was, they’d agreed that they would meet here after Sydney and Major Charles got Jarod. He hoped they were both all right.
Suddenly, Angelo turned his head to look at him and Ethan knew it was time. He followed Angelo as he crept out of the vents. The hangar was big enough for them to hide easily. Ethan couldn’t see anything except the Centre jet and one sweeper by its stairs.
“Angelo, are you sure it’s-”
“Flying Angel,” Angelo cut him off and looked at him for a second.
“Is she on the jet?”
Angelo nodded.
-----
The Centre
The Chairman’s office
6:16 AM
“We’ve wasted enough time here!” Imamu said. “It’s time for you to go, Mr. Lyle.”
“Yes, sir! The jet is waiting in the hangar.”
“Remember one thing, Mr. Raines, compared to Jarod, the DSA’s are worth NOTHING! The only reason we need them is so they don’t get into anyone else’s hands. It doesn’t matter if we don’t find it out from *him* because once we find his family, there will be no one left who can use them! I don’t think I have to tell you how disappointed the Triumvirate will be if they find out… you’ve failed!” He said, his accent stronger.
Raines let out a quiet sigh. He intended to find out where the DSA’s were because he was determined to get higher. It would have been so much easier if the African hadn’t been there watching his back all the time, but he knew once it was over, he was going to have a Pretender. After all, there were three of them, or four if they managed to get Ethan back alive, that he would be able to choose from.
-----
The Centre
SL-27
6:18 AM
Jarod was out of control and Sydney knew they had to do something before they drew attention to themselves. Major Charles was trying to sooth him, but it wasn’t working. The young man kept on insisting that his father was not there and it was only Raines trying to manipulate him. He was obviously under the affect of some drug and Sydney wasn’t sure that he wanted to know what it was.
Looking around, Sydney noticed several needles and syringes on a table. He quickly stepped up to it and took a closer look at them. With a sigh, he picked one up. He knew there was one there that would make Jarod lose consciousness, he knew Raines that much. He picked up another and realized it was what he was looking for because he had used it when any of his patients became ‘uncontrollable’. Sydney went back to Jarod and knelt down in front of him.
Before he could do anything, the Major grabbed his wrist, anger radiating from him. “What do you think you’re doing? I should have known that you’re still working for them! Everything was just a set up!”
Sydney pulled his hand out of the Major’s grasp and stared at him. “If that was true, I would have informed The Centre of where we are!” Sydney said angrily. “This will calm him down. He is under the affect of some drug; he needs to calm down so we can get him out of here! We don’t know if Miss Parker is in the same condition and if she is, we will have to do the same with her so we don’t waste time!” Sydney saw the hesitation in the Major’s eyes, he still hadn’t convinced him. With a sigh, he added, “We have to do something fast. You will have to trust me on this. Either you let me give this to him so we can get out of here, or you don’t and then we not only lose our chance to leave, but our freedom and most likely our lives.”
The Major knew he couldn’t hesitate too much and decided to let him give Jarod the shot, but he made a mental note not to be dependent on him again. It wasn’t good at all, but for his son, he was willing to do anything.
-----
The Centre
Hangar
6:24 AM
Ethan leaned over the unconscious form of the sweeper, he’d hit him on the head seconds before and wanted to make sure he was really out. When he was sure he was out, Ethan started to pull the body aside and was surprised when Angelo came to help him.
When they had the sweeper out of sight, he walked back to the stairs of the plane and noticed that he was alone. Turning back, he saw Angelo standing out of the way. “Angelo, come!” The younger man said, but Angelo just shook his head and turned away.
“Angelo help friend and daughter!” And with that, he ran away.
Ethan was about to shout after him, but he knew he couldn’t draw attention to himself. With a sigh, he took the stairs at the entrance he peeked in carefully, making sure there were no sweepers inside. He slowly walked inside, being as quiet as possible. He didn’t know if his sister was already there or if Angelo simply knew that they were going to bring her there.
He went further into the jet and then he spotted her. She was in a seat, half lying with the seatbelt fastened and she was unconscious. He quickly walked up to her and knelt down. He tried to wake her up, but couldn’t. Ethan realized that she had been drugged and he had no chance of waking her up, so he decided to wait. There were still 25 minutes left until they met and he had a bad feeling.
-----
The Centre
Air Vents
6:38 AM
“Damn it! These vents are so small,” The Major said and stopped, “And he’s too heavy this way,” He added, looking down at his son. He was only half conscious and was murmuring something quietly, but neither of them could understand him.
“Yes, I know.” Sydney replied, a bit out of breath. As soon as he said that, the lights went out, leaving them in total darkness.
-----
The Centre
Corridor
Same Time
Lyle glanced at his watch as he confidently walked down the corridor. Willie was with him, Raines had ordered the sweeper to escort him to Africa.
They were heading to the elevator when it happened. Lyle stopped in his tracks; everything was in darkness. “What in the hell happened?” He asked.
“I don’t know, sir.” Willie replied.
“I figured that.” Lyle answered sarcastically.
-----
The Centre
Chairman’s office
6:41 AM
“I can reassure you, sir, everything’s under total cont…” Raines was saying when a sweeper opened the door.
“What is it?” Imamu asked, angry that the sweeper had dared to interrupt them.
“We have a problem, sir! There’s a blackout.”
“Fix it!” The African said, turning back to Raines.
“Um… that’s the problem, sir!” The sweeper said quickly. “There’s a blackout in the ENTIRE Centre. The elevators and several doors do not work!”
-----
The Centre
Corridor
6:46 AM
The only thing Lyle could see was a red light and that wasn’t much help. He watched as the sweeper tried to open the level door without success. He took out his cell phone and dialed a number. “It’s me. We have a problem!”
“We know! We have the same!” Came Raines’ voice from the other end of the line.
“Something is wrong!” Lyle said with a frown.
“I have the same feeling!” Raines said with suppressed anger in his voice.
“The hangar!” Lyle growled.
-----
The Centre
Hangar
6:57 AM
Ethan sat impatiently in the seat next to his sister. He glanced at Parker to make sure she was still out then he got up. He was very nervous, it had been almost half an hour and there still wasn’t any sign of them. Suddenly, he heard footsteps and he hid. He was prepared to fight whomever it was, even if it was an entire sweeper team.
Ethan felt his heart pounding in his chest as someone entered the plane. He threw himself at the person and pushed him to the floor.
“Ethan!” Sydney shouted and the younger man looked up at him. He saw the upset look on his face and looked down at the man under him. It was his father.
“Oh!” The younger man said, slowly getting up. “I… I’m sorry!”
“Never mind.” The Major said and took Ethan’s outstretched hand.
“What took you so long?”
“Him.” Sydney said as he took a step back and helped a half-conscious Jarod walk inside.
“Thank God, Jarod.” Ethan said and stepped up to him, only to see Jarod start to fall. He and Sydney grabbed Jarod before he could hit the floor.
“We need to get out of here! The sweepers are coming! The power will return in less than a minute!” Sydney said as he and Ethan helped Jarod into a seat. Sydney immediately went back to the door of the jet while the Major went to the pilot cabin.
After making sure Jarod was securely attached to the seat, Ethan turned around to go help Sydney. When the younger man got to him, he thought his blood-circulation was going to stop. Sydney stood straight, totally calm, staring into the face of a sweeper… who had a gun.
-----
Dover, Delaware
17:36 PM
Broots walked up and down in the room. He figured there was probably a hole in the carpet by now, but he didn’t give a damn. They’d left that morning and it was already late afternoon. He knew something had happened; it was obvious. And he didn’t know what to do. There was no one left to help him. Miss Parker… Jarod… Sydney… Major Charles… and even Ethan, they were all gone now. And he alone had no chance. Broots had never been so afraid in his life.
All that was left for him was his laptop and a cell-phone. A secure line; Major Charles had told him it was the line that he used to talk with Jarod. But they had Jarod… so they probably knew about the line too. And that meant he didn’t have much time left. In fact, he was surprised that they weren’t there yet.
Broots was on the verge of losing patience, his nerves stretched thinner by the second and the panic grew. He felt the need to leave, but knew that the others were counting on him. Making up his mind, the tech grabbed his laptop from the table and was about to leave but stopped. He couldn’t do it, he simply couldn’t.
He jumped when the phone rang and his throat tightened as he stared down at the phone on the table. With a sigh, he hesitantly walked back and picked it up. “He-hello!”
”Broots get OUT! We are waiting for you here! Move as fast as you can! Our lives depend on it!” Broots heard Sydney shout then the line went dead.
For a several seconds, he stood in shock and then the world stopped existing for him. He had no idea how he got there, but he suddenly realized he was running down the corridor with his laptop in hand.
Broots couldn’t think clearly, he just ran. And he knew he was running for his life. His shoulder started to ache again, but he didn’t care. He remembered Miss Parker’s words that he could not give up and he kept on going.
The next thing he knew, he was outside. Sydney had told him they were waiting for him there, but where in the hell were they? He cursed the weather for being so dark, it was obvious that rain was going to fall soon. Everything was so silent and not a single person was around. The only noise that the tech heard was his heart pounding and his heavy breathing. He was helpless and he had absolutely no idea where to go. ‘Maybe this is the end,’ Broots thought and started to tremble.
There was a noise from the side of the motel like thunder and he went pale as he jerked his head in that direction. His eyes widened and every single nerve in his body screamed for him to run, but he couldn’t. He wanted to move, but his limbs wouldn’t co-operate. He closed his eyes and was ready to take the bullets when he heard the screeching of tires. Opening one eye, he watched as the door of a black sedan burst open and… Ethan… ETHAN, he realized with relief, leant out enough to grab him and pull him inside.
He had no time to ask what was going on because only seconds after he got in and the car took off they heard a familiar sound. Looking out through the back windshield, he saw two other cars, and they were getting closer. ‘So it begins,’ he thought and silently prayed to a God he didn’t really believe in. After all, he had seen too much.
Broots closed his eyes and bent his head down. There was nothing else he could do; he just bent his head down and tried to prepare for whatever was coming. He held on to the seat in front of him as several bullets hit the car. Broots lost all sense of time and the world stopped existing around him. He was very afraid.
Images of his little girl flooded into his mind, giving him some kind of peace in the knowledge that at least she was safe. He decided to hold on to that trail of thoughts and various memories surfaced in his mind; the first day she went to school, the day he’d won custody of her and all the wonderful times they’d spent together.
The next thing he noticed was the car coming to a halt. ‘We’ve been caught and now I’m going to die,’ the tech thought, keeping his eyes closed and his head bent. He didn’t want to see as the sweepers lifted their guns to him, didn’t want to look at them as they pulled the trigger. If it was coming, then he wouldn’t know when to expect it and that was better than seeing what was going to happen. His stomach tightened and his insides trembled. Suddenly, a hand grabbed him by the shoulders and he let out a short scream.
”Just do it!! JUST DO IT!!” Broots said loudly.
“Do what?” Came a familiar but confused voice from next to him. Broots carefully lifted and then turned his head. He remembered only one other time when he’d felt the same as he did now as he looked into Ethan’s face.
“O…ooh! Yo-you… “ Even though he tried hard, he couldn’t say anything that made sense.
Ethan let out a sigh and patted him on the back. “It’s okay, Broots, we got rid of them. For now.” He said, but didn’t smile.
Broots wished for something more positive. Sydney… Sydney always managed to reassure him! He turned to look for Sydney and that was when he noticed Major Charles leaning into the car. His gaze wandered and Broots finally spotted him; Jarod was in a sitting position next to Ethan, but he was unconscious. His father was trying to get a hold on him.
“Oh my God… Ooh my God! Wha- what happened? Is he alright?” Broots stammered, feeling half relieved, half worried.
“We need to move, Broots!” Ethan said in a serious tone, which Broots was used to. The young man had never opened up to him; in fact, Ethan didn’t open up to anyone. He seemed to feel at ease only with his sister and brother.
“Yeah… yeah sure! What do I have to do?” The tech asked nervously.
“Just help us get Jarod into one of the jets!” The Major said as he tried to pull his son out.
Broots noticed a huge, bloody cut on his forehead, which looked pretty bad. Seeing the serious expressions on their faces, he didn’t dare ask anything, but he had many questions. Looking around, he finally realized where they were.
“Yes, an airport!” The Major said. “Could you help?”
Broots realized that he had said his thought out loud and the Major was answering him. With a sudden jump, he was at their side, helping them get Jarod out of the car.
Broots couldn’t believe his own eyes. Jarod was in bad shape. There were dark circles under his eyes, he had obviously lost a lot of weight in a very short time and he was very pale. Just a quick glance at his chest and shoulders where his shirt had ridden up as they carried him sent a chill down his spine. One name came to him; Raines, and he finally understood why the Pretender had done everything he could in the last five, almost six years, to get away from The Centre.
Once inside the jet, which was in bad shape, they put him down in the first seat. Broots didn’t have time to look around, he was too busy wiping off the dust so the Major and Ethan could put Jarod down. Broots looked up at the Pretender’s father, the right side of his face was covered with blood.
”Are you alright, Major?” The tech finally asked and received a sigh from the older man.
“Yes, I’m fine. We have to get out of here, they’re coming!” He said and straightened up. “Take care of him.” The Major said, nodding toward his older son.
“Where is Sydney? And where’s Miss Parker?” Broots finally asked. The tech watched as the Major looked up at him, but didn’t reply. “Major?” Broots asked in a worried tone and looked at Ethan, expecting the answer from him. Ethan opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Broots tried not to panic, but it was hard. He wanted to know where they were… but Ethan and the Major remained silent.
Chapter End Notes:
To be continued...
Cliffhanger?... I know!....NOW!...Give me feedback!
Cliffhanger?... I know!....NOW!...Give me feedback!
