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Disclaimer: I don’t own these characters, they belong to NBC and MTM and I don’t make money of this...and so on!
Note: MANY MANY thanks to Dianne for beta-reading it for me! You are such a big help! Thanks really a lot!
Note: MANY MANY thanks to Dianne for beta-reading it for me! You are such a big help! Thanks really a lot!
6:25am
Living Room
“Are you two alright? What took you so long?” The Major asked when Ethan and Broots finally got back. He had been very worried and was extremely relieved to see them.
“Everything’s fine.” Ethan replied, but didn’t say anything more.
“Did you talk to your daughter?” Major Charles asked.
“Yes, I did. Thank God she’s all right. So are the others.” Broots saw the relief in the Major’s eyes and knew what he was thinking of. “All of them are okay and safe.” He added with several quick nods.
“Finally, something positive.” Jarod’s father said.
“You’re back.” All of them turned to the door as they heard Sydney’s voice float into the room.
“Sydney, you look worn out.” Broots was the first one to reply.
“So do you. At least I got a few hours sleep, but you didn’t get any.”
“You two should go bet some rest. After that, we will have to have a long talk. We have to figure out what to do next.” Major Charles said.
Unknown Place
6:29 am
Upstairs – Miss Parker’s room
Letting out a deep sigh, Parker stretched then sat up on the bed. Her muscles needed some movement, she felt weak and she was bored. She didn’t have a clue how much time had passed since the man had left, but it felt like a whole day. She was not used to that. She wondered how long it was going to take for a sweeper to come and she didn’t like feeling unprepared. With an easy and swift motion, she got out of the bed and stood next to it. Looking down, she realized that she was still wearing her training clothes and her white training shoes were on the floor by the bed, which was strange. They never let her wear shoes while she was in her cell, only when they took her out. With a frown on her face, she slowly bent to pick them up. ‘Whatever happens, it’s better to be wearing shoes,’ she thought.
Unknown place
Same Time
Living Room
“We did get some sleep.” Broots replied. “That’s the reason for us getting back so late. I slept while Ethan was driving and he slept while we waited in town.”
“The exhaustion is not a sign of lack of sleep.” Ethan quietly added to Broots’ explanation.
“Any developments here?” Broots asked and saw the change on the Major’s face, which was also noticed by Ethan.
“I think you’d better check everything with your own eyes.” He finally replied. Broots turned to Ethan, who returned his frown. “It seems Jarod is getting better or at least that is the conclusion I came to during the few seconds I saw him.”
“Oh.” Was all Broots could reply.
“And my sister?” Ethan asked.
The Major seemed to have a problem with answering then he finally replied. “Well, Miss Parker… um… regained consciousness.”
“She’s awake?” Broots immediately turned to leave, but the Major called after him.
“Broots, you should let Sydney talk to her before you go to her. As much as I hate to admit it, it would be better if he was the first one to see her.”
“Why?” Broots and Ethan asked in unison, looking at the older man confused. Sydney raised his eyebrows, looking at the Major expectantly.
They watched as the Major took a deep breath and was about to speak when he, instead of starting to explain, choked out something confusing. “Miss Parker!” They all turned to where the Major was looking. Sydney held his breath as he spotted her, Broots’ face lit up with a huge, relieved smile, but Ethan could feel that something was not quite right.
“Yes, we already know that’s my name.” She shot back, her typical and so famous sarcasm giving signs of its existence.
“You shouldn’t have gotten out of bed until we are sure…”
“I’m sure,” She cut Sydney off, looking straight into his eyes. The older man hoped this wasn’t the moment when they had to face their subject, but her intense stare made him doubt that until she added, “I’m sure that I should.”
”Miss Parker, I’m so happy that you are feeling better.”
“Yeah, I’m sure of that one too!” She said, with a bitter edge to her tone. Sydney knew she was angry with him, he would deal with that later, but her behavior towards this kind of caring moment from Broots was not usual. She was tough, that was sure. She was cold on the surface, undeniable, but she never responded in that kind of rude tone to the tech when it was obvious that he just wanted something good. In this case, expressing his joy over her well-being.
“Parker, why-?” Sydney started again, but was cut off once more.
“Okay, boys, let’s make it short. We all know we aren’t here for a joy ride, so… where is he?” It struck Sydney that she had not moved from the spot at the door until this point. She didn’t get too close though, just took a step forward and folded her arms in front of her, her chin raised high as if challenging them. Sydney tried to stop himself from letting out a frustrated and disappointed sigh. He’d thought by this time they had reached the point when she wanted to get rid of the Centre instead of looking for his protégé all the time.
“He’s in a bad shape, Parker.” Sydney replied, the frustration in his voice obvious. “Why can’t you leave him alone any more?”
”Well, can’t say I’m not happy about it, but I won’t leave him alone until I pay back a few things to him. Even though I have a feeling this whole thing here is fake.”
The Major knew the time to intervene had come before they got into a fight. No matter how much he disliked Sydney, his conscience wouldn’t let him rest later if he let it happen. “Wait a minute, you two are talking about two dif-“
“You are lucky that you didn’t get the same treatment as him!” Sydney shot back, ignoring the Major. The time when the barriers of the psychiatrist’s tolerance were crossed had come. The stressful hours, days, months… but most probably years had their effect and at this point when he’d had to see Jarod suffer that much, Sydney realized he could have not take any more of the Centre’s disgusting villainy and at that moment, her behavior very much reminded him of those. “Jarod was in a very critical state…”
“That’s nice to know, but I’m not really interested in that!” She cut him off, her patience obviously gone. The way she hissed reminded him of the feisty, bitchy and “blind” Miss Parker who’d just joined the hunt and no man on this earth could have stopped her. Sydney could have sworn he saw a very strong hostility in her eyes towards him, as she stepped dangerously close and kept her gaze on him, piercing him with those blue eyes. “If this is another training session then it is the worst one yet, with the most torturing people I’ve met so far.” She hissed. “So, where in the hell are Lyle and all the sweepers!”
“Enough!” The Major finally raised his voice, stepping between them. “You two are in a huge misunderstanding because…” Jarod’s father put a hand on Parker’s shoulder, trying to show peace, but it turned out to be the exact opposite. He was very much surprised as he felt pain shoot up his arm. The pain was so great that he was forced to kneel down. The growing agony finally winning, he found himself lying flat on the floor with her foot on his back. This surprised him; she was much stronger than she seemed, a lot stronger.
“NO! You are misunderstanding, Major! I‘m not here to play the fool, you have to get up sooner if you want to be more clever than me.”
Sydney wasn’t too surprised to see her reacting this way to… a stranger’s touch, but it did surprise him that she reacted like this to the Major. “Parker, calm down!”
“Listen, whoever you are, I don’t give a rat’s ass about your Jarod, I just want Lyle.” She finally stepped back, allowing the Major to try to get up as he held his sore arm. “You can tell him I’m done with this training!”
That was the moment when it finally hit Sydney. Of course, they’d had a misunderstanding; the Centre had done the thing he feared the most. For a moment, he just stared at her without a word.
Broots didn’t know where to look. He kept gazing from Parker to Sydney and vice versa. “Has she been…?” He finally uttered.
“Re-educated,” Sydney replied still looking at Parker.
“No!” Broots whispered desperately. “Miss Parker, you really don’t remember?” He said, taking a step toward her. “Miss Parker, you have to remember. It’s me, Broots and he’s Sydney, we have been working together for years, you have to remember! You were always making sarcastic jokes at my expense, we went to- we went to look for so many…”
“Broots!” Sydney stepped up to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. “She doesn’t remember.”
Broots looked at Sydney as if he was speaking a different language then he looked back at her. Sydney was right. She didn’t remember; that was easy to see from the way she was staring at him.
He had gotten used to her behavior, the way she used to intimidate everyone, especially him. He had gotten used to her sarcastic comments, which were her best weapon for killing his ambitions and joy over things. He even loved it, but right now she was giving him a look that he not only did NOT love, he didn’t like it at all. She was cold and she was looking at him as if he were a total stranger… and the silence that slowly settled down among them gave the whole situation a weird, cold feeling.
Unknown Place
7:10 AM
Upstairs –Jarod’s room
Sydney was sitting in the chair by Jarod’s bed, staring into space, lost in his thoughts. The events had taken another turn and it was an unexpected one. It didn’t surprise him though; still, he wasn’t as sad as he should have been. He was relieved that she was safe and sound, and this way, she could have a normal life without the Centre, without haunting dreams. They could tell her whatever they wanted, set her up in a place that she liked and she would finally be free. Or was the reason he felt relieved the fact that this way they wouldn’t have to “discuss” their issue? Maybe both, but Sydney was sure of one thing; he did feel some kind of relief that Miss Parker would be a woman with no past. It was still better than having the past that they all had. In some ways, she was the luckiest of them all.
He was so lost in his thoughts that at first the old man didn’t even notice the movements of Jarod.
Jarod opened his eyes slowly; the bright light was disturbing, but he kept his eyes open, blinking several times. When his view cleared, everything was spinning and that was not a good sign.
“Jarod? Jarod, can you hear me?” He heard a familiar voice, but the Pretender still couldn’t see. “Jarod?”
“S-Sydney?” Jarod asked in a harsh tone.
“Thank God!” Sydney said and let out a long, relieved sigh.
“It… hurts,” The pretender uttered, taking a deep breath.
“I know, but it will get better.” His mentor tried to reassure him.
“I… can’t move.”
“What do you mean, Jarod?”
“If… ahhh,” Jarod winced from the pain, but he went on. “If I try to move… it hurts… ahhh, it hurts everywhere.”
“That is why you shouldn’t move. There’s no need for you to move anyway.”
“I have to… I have to get up…” Sydney was about to protest when he saw the confusion on Jarod’s face. “What am I doing here?” Sydney smiled; it had taken Jarod some time to notice the change. “I’m not in the Centre anymore.” He stated.
“No, you are not.”
“How?” He asked, lost.
“That doesn’t matter. You are safe…”
“They… they told me they have my father and Gemini, I have to…”
“No, they are safe, Jarod. It was just one of their many lies.” Sydney said quietly. He watched as the Pretender laid his head back on the pillow, closed his eyes and murmured.
“I knew it! I knew it!”
“Jarod, what happened? What did Raines tell you? What did he do to you?”
“I knew it, Sydney… I knew it was a lie.”
No matter how hard Sydney tried, Jarod wouldn’t reply, he wouldn’t reveal anything about his time in the Centre. He figured his protégé needed time and he intended to give him as much time as he needed.
Unknown place
7:30 AM
Living Room
Broots sat on the couch staring into the space. He couldn’t believe what they had done. He remembered when they’d found Fenigor just after the Centre had wiped out all of his memories. He shuddered at the thought of what had happened to Miss Parker.
Ethan had left the house without a word. He’d gone for take a walk; at least that was what the Major told Broots. The Major, who was standing by the window, was obviously restless too, however, his worries were concentrated somewhere else.
Almost half an hour had passed in total silence and it was starting to get uncomfortable.
The door opened and Broots spotted his old friend. He saw the look on Sydney’s face and knew something had happened.
The Major glanced at Sydney for a brief second and then turned his attention back to the window. Sydney knew they would have to have a talk, but Jarod was more important than their problem with each other. “He’s awake.” He said, waiting for a reaction. The Major spun around, ready to get to his son as soon as possible. “Maybe you shouldn’t…” Major Charles ignored Sydney as he passed him by and left the room. Sydney let out a sigh and turned around. Broots felt the tension reach a higher level and decided to follow them.
Unknown Place
7:44 am
Upstairs –Jarod’s room
Jarod opened his eyes as he heard the door burst open. The Major was at his side in a second, relief, pain, happiness and sadness all on his face at the same time.
“Son, are you alright? I was so worried.” The old man said as he placed a hand on Jarod’s shoulder.
Sydney and Broots had just barely stepped into the room when Jarod suddenly pushed his father’s hand roughly away. “Don’t touch me!” He shouted.
“Jarod, it’s okay, I don’t want to…”
“Go away! I don’t want you here! You are not here! I don’t want you here! Sydney! Sydney, make him go away. Make them go away!” The pretender said, obviously upset.
“Major, he’s not in any state to…”
“Don’t tell me what state he’s in! I can see with my own eyes!”
“Sydney! If you ever want to make up for the things you did then you’ll send them away!” Jarod said in a tone that sent a shudder down Sydney’s spine. There was something in Jarod’s voice that unsettled him.
“Major!” Sydney said firmly. “You heard him!”
“Yes, I did!” He said as he straightened up. He walked up to Sydney, stopped in front of him and looked into his eyes. “Congratulations, you’ve won! My son is-”
“You’re son is in a state that he needs to be brought out of! The traumatic experience… the chain of feelings and emotions that his return to the Centre caused is what made him say that. As soon as he is…”
“I just wish one thing, Sydney! I wish you to feel the same. Do you have any idea how it feels to be rejected by your own child? By the very child that you have known about your whole life, but couldn’t have any contact with because they were unreachable!”
“Major…”
“Do you have any children, Sydney?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Then I wonder why they aren’t with you? You messed up with your own and now you are trying to steal mine, but after all, he is more your son than mine!” The words hurt like a knife sliding straight into his heart, but the Major knew he had to say it out loud. He had been thinking about it for a long time now and he couldn’t keep it inside anymore.
As a psychiatrist, Sydney had learnt to control his emotions. He was handling the situation quite well, he thought. Refusing to fire back, he just took a deep breath and nodded. He saw the rage in the Major’s eyes and even though he hadn’t intended to, he’d upset the other man even more. Jarod’s father took one last glance at his son, pain and suffering visible in his eyes, before he stormed out.
“Wow.” was all Broots could say as he watched the events. He knew that Major Charles had said a few things that had to have hit Sydney, but just like always, no emotion was visible on Sydney’s features. He was about to say something when Sydney moved to Jarod’s bed and sat down next to him.
That was the point when Broots came to the conclusion that nothing else seemed to exist for his old friend except Jarod. Then he thought about Miss Parker and all of a sudden –with a wave of conscience- he seemed to understand a bit of the Major’s feelings. The events had taken another turn and under the surface, there was a lot more that suggested more was to come. He still didn’t feel that he could say anything to Sydney… it wasn’t his place or his job and with a strong feeling of sadness and fear of the upcoming days, he turned around and closed the door behind him.
Sydney was too busy right now, he had nothing and no one else on his mind besides Jarod. But knowing his friend, Broots knew the psychiatrist was about to face a big –if not his biggest- issue and Broots couldn’t stop wondering when it would hit him.
Unknown Place
7:54 am
Upstairs Corridor
Broots was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t even notice the Major at the other side of the corridor. He was tired, things were better now, but still worrying, he decided to try to get some sleep. So many things had gotten him down in the last few hours and even though he knew Debbie was all right, he was still sick with worry about her. Focusing on his own problems, he turned to the other end of the corridor and disappeared up into his room.
Staring outside, the Major desperately tried to calm down. He spotted Ethan sitting on a bench, just silently sitting without any movements, as if he was a statue. This reminded him of the fact that he couldn’t get close to him either. Ethan was so strange, so full of mysteries and miseries, and most of all, secrets. He intended to take things step by step, but a few minutes ago, he’d lost his last hope that he could do anything. Emily was safe with the others, but Margaret was still missing. His daughter was so far away from him, Jarod even more and Ethan was just a stranger… for now. The only stable point was the boy, Jarod’s clone or as he preferred, his son.
It got him thinking about those what ifs. What if he was never able to help any of his children? What if Jarod never got better, physically or mentally? What if Ethan never let him get close? What if they never found Margaret? And most of all, what if the damages caused by the Centre were too deep for them to heal enough to be a family.
With a sigh, he turned around to go downstairs. With a sudden thought in his head, he stopped in front of Miss Parker’s room; the room that was now locked. Ironic, he thought. Suddenly it occurred to him that she had been ignored lately, despite the fact that she shouldn’t have been out of sight. She was, after all, the Centre’s huntress… and victim, who at the moment, was even more unpredictable.
Catherine Parker’s memory flooded into his mind yet again and he reached for the key that was lying on the small table next to the door. He didn’t know what, but knew that something was not quite right. Unlocking the door, the Major carefully stepped in. He had learnt from their former encounter and expected her to attack him the moment he stepped in, but nothing happened and for a moment, he thought he was right… she was unpredictable. After closing the door, he looked around and only then did he realize why there hadn’t been an attack.
Parker was lying on the floor on her back, her head facing the opposite direction from him. His first thought was that it was a trick, but something in the back of his mind made him doubt it. Being extremely careful, he moved to her side as quickly as he could. He expected a sudden movement, a sudden attack from her, but when he touched her arm and nothing happened, it made him sure that he was right.
His first thought was to call Sydney, but being a pilot, he knew about first aid. He touched her neck and took her wrist into his hand at the same time, letting out a relieved sigh when he felt a strong pulse. There was no problem with her breathing and every thing seemed to indicate that she had only fainted. Why she had fainted was the question.
Even though he wasn’t young anymore, he collected all his strength and lifted her up off the ground; she was light, maybe a bit too light, so it was easy. As he placed her on the bed, he heard a moan. Looking down, he found himself looking straight into two, piercing blue eyes.
“Are you alright?” He asked.
“Of course I am!” She replied in a deep voice. She raised her hand to push the Major away, but grabbed her head instead. She let out a moan and her brows furrowed.
“I can see you are.” Jarod’s father responded sarcastically. “Let me help you.” The older man reached out his hands and started massaging her temples.
The frown remained on Parker’s face and she kept her eyes shut. “No… leave me alone!” she said, feeling her strength slowly returning. When the Major still didn’t stop, she pushed his hands away with a rough movement. “Don’t touch me!” She hissed and sat up, holding her head.
The Centre
Same Time
Chairman’s Office
Raines and Lyle stood next at each other in total silence. They had been standing there for almost two minutes, but Imamu refused to say a word. He was going through papers and ignoring them.
The lack of action was starting to get on Lyle’s nerves and just as he was about to lose the battle with his own patience, the African raised his head. “I’ve talked to the Triumvirate.” He said with his typical accent. “According to their decision, you two stay in your positions.” He watched as the two men in front of him let out relieved sighs. “But,” He said in a louder and more forceful tone, “Only on one condition.” He said, switching his gaze from Lyle to Raines.
“Anything, Sir, whatever the Triumvirate wants.” Lyle said in his best ass-licking puppy manner.
Raines controlled himself from rolling his eyes before he spoke. “What is the one condition?” He asked, knowing that the Triumvirate was not too easy to please and… they always needed to be satisfied with something as a way of distraction. But distraction this time wasn’t available. Standing there, he had no one to offer to them as he usually did.
Raines and Lyle watched as the African leaned back in his chair and an evil smile appeared on his face.
To Be Continued…
Living Room
“Are you two alright? What took you so long?” The Major asked when Ethan and Broots finally got back. He had been very worried and was extremely relieved to see them.
“Everything’s fine.” Ethan replied, but didn’t say anything more.
“Did you talk to your daughter?” Major Charles asked.
“Yes, I did. Thank God she’s all right. So are the others.” Broots saw the relief in the Major’s eyes and knew what he was thinking of. “All of them are okay and safe.” He added with several quick nods.
“Finally, something positive.” Jarod’s father said.
“You’re back.” All of them turned to the door as they heard Sydney’s voice float into the room.
“Sydney, you look worn out.” Broots was the first one to reply.
“So do you. At least I got a few hours sleep, but you didn’t get any.”
“You two should go bet some rest. After that, we will have to have a long talk. We have to figure out what to do next.” Major Charles said.
Unknown Place
6:29 am
Upstairs – Miss Parker’s room
Letting out a deep sigh, Parker stretched then sat up on the bed. Her muscles needed some movement, she felt weak and she was bored. She didn’t have a clue how much time had passed since the man had left, but it felt like a whole day. She was not used to that. She wondered how long it was going to take for a sweeper to come and she didn’t like feeling unprepared. With an easy and swift motion, she got out of the bed and stood next to it. Looking down, she realized that she was still wearing her training clothes and her white training shoes were on the floor by the bed, which was strange. They never let her wear shoes while she was in her cell, only when they took her out. With a frown on her face, she slowly bent to pick them up. ‘Whatever happens, it’s better to be wearing shoes,’ she thought.
Unknown place
Same Time
Living Room
“We did get some sleep.” Broots replied. “That’s the reason for us getting back so late. I slept while Ethan was driving and he slept while we waited in town.”
“The exhaustion is not a sign of lack of sleep.” Ethan quietly added to Broots’ explanation.
“Any developments here?” Broots asked and saw the change on the Major’s face, which was also noticed by Ethan.
“I think you’d better check everything with your own eyes.” He finally replied. Broots turned to Ethan, who returned his frown. “It seems Jarod is getting better or at least that is the conclusion I came to during the few seconds I saw him.”
“Oh.” Was all Broots could reply.
“And my sister?” Ethan asked.
The Major seemed to have a problem with answering then he finally replied. “Well, Miss Parker… um… regained consciousness.”
“She’s awake?” Broots immediately turned to leave, but the Major called after him.
“Broots, you should let Sydney talk to her before you go to her. As much as I hate to admit it, it would be better if he was the first one to see her.”
“Why?” Broots and Ethan asked in unison, looking at the older man confused. Sydney raised his eyebrows, looking at the Major expectantly.
They watched as the Major took a deep breath and was about to speak when he, instead of starting to explain, choked out something confusing. “Miss Parker!” They all turned to where the Major was looking. Sydney held his breath as he spotted her, Broots’ face lit up with a huge, relieved smile, but Ethan could feel that something was not quite right.
“Yes, we already know that’s my name.” She shot back, her typical and so famous sarcasm giving signs of its existence.
“You shouldn’t have gotten out of bed until we are sure…”
“I’m sure,” She cut Sydney off, looking straight into his eyes. The older man hoped this wasn’t the moment when they had to face their subject, but her intense stare made him doubt that until she added, “I’m sure that I should.”
”Miss Parker, I’m so happy that you are feeling better.”
“Yeah, I’m sure of that one too!” She said, with a bitter edge to her tone. Sydney knew she was angry with him, he would deal with that later, but her behavior towards this kind of caring moment from Broots was not usual. She was tough, that was sure. She was cold on the surface, undeniable, but she never responded in that kind of rude tone to the tech when it was obvious that he just wanted something good. In this case, expressing his joy over her well-being.
“Parker, why-?” Sydney started again, but was cut off once more.
“Okay, boys, let’s make it short. We all know we aren’t here for a joy ride, so… where is he?” It struck Sydney that she had not moved from the spot at the door until this point. She didn’t get too close though, just took a step forward and folded her arms in front of her, her chin raised high as if challenging them. Sydney tried to stop himself from letting out a frustrated and disappointed sigh. He’d thought by this time they had reached the point when she wanted to get rid of the Centre instead of looking for his protégé all the time.
“He’s in a bad shape, Parker.” Sydney replied, the frustration in his voice obvious. “Why can’t you leave him alone any more?”
”Well, can’t say I’m not happy about it, but I won’t leave him alone until I pay back a few things to him. Even though I have a feeling this whole thing here is fake.”
The Major knew the time to intervene had come before they got into a fight. No matter how much he disliked Sydney, his conscience wouldn’t let him rest later if he let it happen. “Wait a minute, you two are talking about two dif-“
“You are lucky that you didn’t get the same treatment as him!” Sydney shot back, ignoring the Major. The time when the barriers of the psychiatrist’s tolerance were crossed had come. The stressful hours, days, months… but most probably years had their effect and at this point when he’d had to see Jarod suffer that much, Sydney realized he could have not take any more of the Centre’s disgusting villainy and at that moment, her behavior very much reminded him of those. “Jarod was in a very critical state…”
“That’s nice to know, but I’m not really interested in that!” She cut him off, her patience obviously gone. The way she hissed reminded him of the feisty, bitchy and “blind” Miss Parker who’d just joined the hunt and no man on this earth could have stopped her. Sydney could have sworn he saw a very strong hostility in her eyes towards him, as she stepped dangerously close and kept her gaze on him, piercing him with those blue eyes. “If this is another training session then it is the worst one yet, with the most torturing people I’ve met so far.” She hissed. “So, where in the hell are Lyle and all the sweepers!”
“Enough!” The Major finally raised his voice, stepping between them. “You two are in a huge misunderstanding because…” Jarod’s father put a hand on Parker’s shoulder, trying to show peace, but it turned out to be the exact opposite. He was very much surprised as he felt pain shoot up his arm. The pain was so great that he was forced to kneel down. The growing agony finally winning, he found himself lying flat on the floor with her foot on his back. This surprised him; she was much stronger than she seemed, a lot stronger.
“NO! You are misunderstanding, Major! I‘m not here to play the fool, you have to get up sooner if you want to be more clever than me.”
Sydney wasn’t too surprised to see her reacting this way to… a stranger’s touch, but it did surprise him that she reacted like this to the Major. “Parker, calm down!”
“Listen, whoever you are, I don’t give a rat’s ass about your Jarod, I just want Lyle.” She finally stepped back, allowing the Major to try to get up as he held his sore arm. “You can tell him I’m done with this training!”
That was the moment when it finally hit Sydney. Of course, they’d had a misunderstanding; the Centre had done the thing he feared the most. For a moment, he just stared at her without a word.
Broots didn’t know where to look. He kept gazing from Parker to Sydney and vice versa. “Has she been…?” He finally uttered.
“Re-educated,” Sydney replied still looking at Parker.
“No!” Broots whispered desperately. “Miss Parker, you really don’t remember?” He said, taking a step toward her. “Miss Parker, you have to remember. It’s me, Broots and he’s Sydney, we have been working together for years, you have to remember! You were always making sarcastic jokes at my expense, we went to- we went to look for so many…”
“Broots!” Sydney stepped up to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. “She doesn’t remember.”
Broots looked at Sydney as if he was speaking a different language then he looked back at her. Sydney was right. She didn’t remember; that was easy to see from the way she was staring at him.
He had gotten used to her behavior, the way she used to intimidate everyone, especially him. He had gotten used to her sarcastic comments, which were her best weapon for killing his ambitions and joy over things. He even loved it, but right now she was giving him a look that he not only did NOT love, he didn’t like it at all. She was cold and she was looking at him as if he were a total stranger… and the silence that slowly settled down among them gave the whole situation a weird, cold feeling.
Unknown Place
7:10 AM
Upstairs –Jarod’s room
Sydney was sitting in the chair by Jarod’s bed, staring into space, lost in his thoughts. The events had taken another turn and it was an unexpected one. It didn’t surprise him though; still, he wasn’t as sad as he should have been. He was relieved that she was safe and sound, and this way, she could have a normal life without the Centre, without haunting dreams. They could tell her whatever they wanted, set her up in a place that she liked and she would finally be free. Or was the reason he felt relieved the fact that this way they wouldn’t have to “discuss” their issue? Maybe both, but Sydney was sure of one thing; he did feel some kind of relief that Miss Parker would be a woman with no past. It was still better than having the past that they all had. In some ways, she was the luckiest of them all.
He was so lost in his thoughts that at first the old man didn’t even notice the movements of Jarod.
Jarod opened his eyes slowly; the bright light was disturbing, but he kept his eyes open, blinking several times. When his view cleared, everything was spinning and that was not a good sign.
“Jarod? Jarod, can you hear me?” He heard a familiar voice, but the Pretender still couldn’t see. “Jarod?”
“S-Sydney?” Jarod asked in a harsh tone.
“Thank God!” Sydney said and let out a long, relieved sigh.
“It… hurts,” The pretender uttered, taking a deep breath.
“I know, but it will get better.” His mentor tried to reassure him.
“I… can’t move.”
“What do you mean, Jarod?”
“If… ahhh,” Jarod winced from the pain, but he went on. “If I try to move… it hurts… ahhh, it hurts everywhere.”
“That is why you shouldn’t move. There’s no need for you to move anyway.”
“I have to… I have to get up…” Sydney was about to protest when he saw the confusion on Jarod’s face. “What am I doing here?” Sydney smiled; it had taken Jarod some time to notice the change. “I’m not in the Centre anymore.” He stated.
“No, you are not.”
“How?” He asked, lost.
“That doesn’t matter. You are safe…”
“They… they told me they have my father and Gemini, I have to…”
“No, they are safe, Jarod. It was just one of their many lies.” Sydney said quietly. He watched as the Pretender laid his head back on the pillow, closed his eyes and murmured.
“I knew it! I knew it!”
“Jarod, what happened? What did Raines tell you? What did he do to you?”
“I knew it, Sydney… I knew it was a lie.”
No matter how hard Sydney tried, Jarod wouldn’t reply, he wouldn’t reveal anything about his time in the Centre. He figured his protégé needed time and he intended to give him as much time as he needed.
Unknown place
7:30 AM
Living Room
Broots sat on the couch staring into the space. He couldn’t believe what they had done. He remembered when they’d found Fenigor just after the Centre had wiped out all of his memories. He shuddered at the thought of what had happened to Miss Parker.
Ethan had left the house without a word. He’d gone for take a walk; at least that was what the Major told Broots. The Major, who was standing by the window, was obviously restless too, however, his worries were concentrated somewhere else.
Almost half an hour had passed in total silence and it was starting to get uncomfortable.
The door opened and Broots spotted his old friend. He saw the look on Sydney’s face and knew something had happened.
The Major glanced at Sydney for a brief second and then turned his attention back to the window. Sydney knew they would have to have a talk, but Jarod was more important than their problem with each other. “He’s awake.” He said, waiting for a reaction. The Major spun around, ready to get to his son as soon as possible. “Maybe you shouldn’t…” Major Charles ignored Sydney as he passed him by and left the room. Sydney let out a sigh and turned around. Broots felt the tension reach a higher level and decided to follow them.
Unknown Place
7:44 am
Upstairs –Jarod’s room
Jarod opened his eyes as he heard the door burst open. The Major was at his side in a second, relief, pain, happiness and sadness all on his face at the same time.
“Son, are you alright? I was so worried.” The old man said as he placed a hand on Jarod’s shoulder.
Sydney and Broots had just barely stepped into the room when Jarod suddenly pushed his father’s hand roughly away. “Don’t touch me!” He shouted.
“Jarod, it’s okay, I don’t want to…”
“Go away! I don’t want you here! You are not here! I don’t want you here! Sydney! Sydney, make him go away. Make them go away!” The pretender said, obviously upset.
“Major, he’s not in any state to…”
“Don’t tell me what state he’s in! I can see with my own eyes!”
“Sydney! If you ever want to make up for the things you did then you’ll send them away!” Jarod said in a tone that sent a shudder down Sydney’s spine. There was something in Jarod’s voice that unsettled him.
“Major!” Sydney said firmly. “You heard him!”
“Yes, I did!” He said as he straightened up. He walked up to Sydney, stopped in front of him and looked into his eyes. “Congratulations, you’ve won! My son is-”
“You’re son is in a state that he needs to be brought out of! The traumatic experience… the chain of feelings and emotions that his return to the Centre caused is what made him say that. As soon as he is…”
“I just wish one thing, Sydney! I wish you to feel the same. Do you have any idea how it feels to be rejected by your own child? By the very child that you have known about your whole life, but couldn’t have any contact with because they were unreachable!”
“Major…”
“Do you have any children, Sydney?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Then I wonder why they aren’t with you? You messed up with your own and now you are trying to steal mine, but after all, he is more your son than mine!” The words hurt like a knife sliding straight into his heart, but the Major knew he had to say it out loud. He had been thinking about it for a long time now and he couldn’t keep it inside anymore.
As a psychiatrist, Sydney had learnt to control his emotions. He was handling the situation quite well, he thought. Refusing to fire back, he just took a deep breath and nodded. He saw the rage in the Major’s eyes and even though he hadn’t intended to, he’d upset the other man even more. Jarod’s father took one last glance at his son, pain and suffering visible in his eyes, before he stormed out.
“Wow.” was all Broots could say as he watched the events. He knew that Major Charles had said a few things that had to have hit Sydney, but just like always, no emotion was visible on Sydney’s features. He was about to say something when Sydney moved to Jarod’s bed and sat down next to him.
That was the point when Broots came to the conclusion that nothing else seemed to exist for his old friend except Jarod. Then he thought about Miss Parker and all of a sudden –with a wave of conscience- he seemed to understand a bit of the Major’s feelings. The events had taken another turn and under the surface, there was a lot more that suggested more was to come. He still didn’t feel that he could say anything to Sydney… it wasn’t his place or his job and with a strong feeling of sadness and fear of the upcoming days, he turned around and closed the door behind him.
Sydney was too busy right now, he had nothing and no one else on his mind besides Jarod. But knowing his friend, Broots knew the psychiatrist was about to face a big –if not his biggest- issue and Broots couldn’t stop wondering when it would hit him.
Unknown Place
7:54 am
Upstairs Corridor
Broots was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t even notice the Major at the other side of the corridor. He was tired, things were better now, but still worrying, he decided to try to get some sleep. So many things had gotten him down in the last few hours and even though he knew Debbie was all right, he was still sick with worry about her. Focusing on his own problems, he turned to the other end of the corridor and disappeared up into his room.
Staring outside, the Major desperately tried to calm down. He spotted Ethan sitting on a bench, just silently sitting without any movements, as if he was a statue. This reminded him of the fact that he couldn’t get close to him either. Ethan was so strange, so full of mysteries and miseries, and most of all, secrets. He intended to take things step by step, but a few minutes ago, he’d lost his last hope that he could do anything. Emily was safe with the others, but Margaret was still missing. His daughter was so far away from him, Jarod even more and Ethan was just a stranger… for now. The only stable point was the boy, Jarod’s clone or as he preferred, his son.
It got him thinking about those what ifs. What if he was never able to help any of his children? What if Jarod never got better, physically or mentally? What if Ethan never let him get close? What if they never found Margaret? And most of all, what if the damages caused by the Centre were too deep for them to heal enough to be a family.
With a sigh, he turned around to go downstairs. With a sudden thought in his head, he stopped in front of Miss Parker’s room; the room that was now locked. Ironic, he thought. Suddenly it occurred to him that she had been ignored lately, despite the fact that she shouldn’t have been out of sight. She was, after all, the Centre’s huntress… and victim, who at the moment, was even more unpredictable.
Catherine Parker’s memory flooded into his mind yet again and he reached for the key that was lying on the small table next to the door. He didn’t know what, but knew that something was not quite right. Unlocking the door, the Major carefully stepped in. He had learnt from their former encounter and expected her to attack him the moment he stepped in, but nothing happened and for a moment, he thought he was right… she was unpredictable. After closing the door, he looked around and only then did he realize why there hadn’t been an attack.
Parker was lying on the floor on her back, her head facing the opposite direction from him. His first thought was that it was a trick, but something in the back of his mind made him doubt it. Being extremely careful, he moved to her side as quickly as he could. He expected a sudden movement, a sudden attack from her, but when he touched her arm and nothing happened, it made him sure that he was right.
His first thought was to call Sydney, but being a pilot, he knew about first aid. He touched her neck and took her wrist into his hand at the same time, letting out a relieved sigh when he felt a strong pulse. There was no problem with her breathing and every thing seemed to indicate that she had only fainted. Why she had fainted was the question.
Even though he wasn’t young anymore, he collected all his strength and lifted her up off the ground; she was light, maybe a bit too light, so it was easy. As he placed her on the bed, he heard a moan. Looking down, he found himself looking straight into two, piercing blue eyes.
“Are you alright?” He asked.
“Of course I am!” She replied in a deep voice. She raised her hand to push the Major away, but grabbed her head instead. She let out a moan and her brows furrowed.
“I can see you are.” Jarod’s father responded sarcastically. “Let me help you.” The older man reached out his hands and started massaging her temples.
The frown remained on Parker’s face and she kept her eyes shut. “No… leave me alone!” she said, feeling her strength slowly returning. When the Major still didn’t stop, she pushed his hands away with a rough movement. “Don’t touch me!” She hissed and sat up, holding her head.
The Centre
Same Time
Chairman’s Office
Raines and Lyle stood next at each other in total silence. They had been standing there for almost two minutes, but Imamu refused to say a word. He was going through papers and ignoring them.
The lack of action was starting to get on Lyle’s nerves and just as he was about to lose the battle with his own patience, the African raised his head. “I’ve talked to the Triumvirate.” He said with his typical accent. “According to their decision, you two stay in your positions.” He watched as the two men in front of him let out relieved sighs. “But,” He said in a louder and more forceful tone, “Only on one condition.” He said, switching his gaze from Lyle to Raines.
“Anything, Sir, whatever the Triumvirate wants.” Lyle said in his best ass-licking puppy manner.
Raines controlled himself from rolling his eyes before he spoke. “What is the one condition?” He asked, knowing that the Triumvirate was not too easy to please and… they always needed to be satisfied with something as a way of distraction. But distraction this time wasn’t available. Standing there, he had no one to offer to them as he usually did.
Raines and Lyle watched as the African leaned back in his chair and an evil smile appeared on his face.
To Be Continued…
